Secondly just to immediately qualify for project selections, qualifying coaching jobs before a single off-season training or a legal team meeting is the most dangerous task of the average football cycle. There are many that we do not know and many that even people who know these people do not know. For example, we thought that of all the new hires in the last season, Kevin Stefanski would be most successful in taking a virtual off-season step by step and using a series of trivia contests and group therapy sessions to galvanize a list full of stars Enlarge?
Did we think Joe Judge would appear as the classmate, rather than be seen as a consolation prize after failing to land Matt Rhule? Did we think that of all the new hires, the most immediately attacked would be Mike McCarthy, a coach who won a Super Bowl?
The idea is that, like the project, there are a lot of immediate thoughts based on who we are told and we notice that they are ready. But you never are ready to be a head coach in the NFL. The position exposes the depth of your personality and training, unlike any position in sports. So, given this, let’s give it a whirl, but also show our work in an effort to be transparent.
Kim Klement / SUA TODAY Sports (Saleh); Christopher Hanewinckel / USA TODAY Sports (Smith); Kirby Lee / USA TODAY Sports (Culley)
New York Jets: Robert Saleh
I’ve said that before, but I think Saleh brings all the good energy of the Rex Ryan era without the side effects. Essentially, Ryan’s version of green tea. This is its emotional component. Yes, Saleh had an excellent defensive list and a complementary offense in San Francisco, but he also had to fight for the defense of giant personalities. You simply don’t have someone like Richard Sherman on board without a solid and necessary knowledge of your scheme and where it’s going. His slogan “All Gas, No Brakes” served as the motivational foundation of the 49ers list that made the Super Bowl.
The other slice of A the note is that he managed to keep him away from Mike LaFleur de Shanahan, who clung tightly to the two top offensive assistants. Introducing this system to Sam Darnold or using it to attract Deshaun Watson of Houston is a massive part of this equation.
NOTE A
Los Angeles Chargers: Brandon Staley
I think it’s okay to love an employee, but also not to like the circumstances that happened. Like my colleague Jenny Vrentas underlined in last week’s edition of The podcast on the weak side, so much of the reason LA was considered a top destination this offseason was due to things that were put into practice by head coach Anthony Lynn (including Lynn’s hand in Justin Herbert’s progress).
That being said, I wrote in early December that Staley was next to Sean McVay, right on the defensive side of the ball. He is a former offensive player who devoured the most effective defensive scheme in football and calibrated it in a historic Rams unit that led the team in 2020. Staley is the kind of low-buy, early-buy proposition that we challenge more groups of owners do. Like McVay and the Rams, the Chargers had to choose between catching Staley now or joining a much longer line next year.
NOTE A-
Atlanta Falcons: Arthur Smith
Smith will bring Atlanta back to the most successful offensive system of the Matt Ryan era. The former Titans offensive coordinator has perfected the wide-area system that Kyle Shanahan has repopulated throughout the NFL. If Atlanta were to rebuild, Smith would probably not be some sort of organizational catalyst according to the task, say, of finally trading Ryan and Julio Jones and raising available capital. He is in the perfect position to immediately inject an offensive skill and bring the falcons to a place where they can compete in a division that (probably) lost Drew Brees.
Before the news of a commercial success of Deshaun Watson, I would put Smith in pole position as coach of the frontrunner of the year, given the ceiling of the list and how quickly he should be able to return the offensive.
Grade: B +
Jacksonville Jaguars: Urban Meyer
This engagement brings some complicated feelings. Meyer has been flirting with top NFL jobs for years, and has finally decided to jump on the bandwagon, once he’s secured a cover space and Andrew Luck’s biggest defensive prospect. On the one hand, it makes a lot of sense. Meyer’s last team, Ohio, has worked perfectly (on the field) since his departure. He has the ability to encourage and develop good staff, but an obvious blind spot when it comes to the actions of those off-field staff – an important criticism that should not simply be left on the sidelines. I think the programs should be applied more collegially anyway. It makes sense to have a team that can develop young players faster and thus become less dependent on complicated long-term veteran contracts.
Meyer has the ability to surround himself with innovators and with the wide network that his brand name is able to throw, he is more likely to attract top schematic talents to help Trevor Lawrence flourish.
The downside is that Jacksonville is betting at a turning point in the franchise’s history. That and the staff he is gathering now is not one to overwhelm him. If you’re Lawrence and you have a choice between, say, Darrell Bevel and Brian Daboll or Eric Bieniemy, who would you bet the direction of your career? There are coordinators and coaches out there with better and more proven experiences in NFL talent development. The same can be said for CEOs and their history of responsibly allocating large amounts of space. Right now, Jacksonville is betting a lot on the Meyer brand.
GRADE: B
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Philadelphia Eagles: Nick Sirianni
Eagles, like Steelers, seem to have a role model for what they want in a head coach. While Pittsburgh likes defensive coordinators from the early to mid-1930s, the Eagles like untapped potential on offense, often hiring young coordinators or position coaches before they thrive on goods known as single-player games, like Andy Reid once. Sirianni has the added benefit of working with Frank Reich, who was an instrumental player in the Philadelphia Super Bowl and comes with a playing card on how to work with Carson Wentz. Sirianni appears to be gathering a solid coaching staff that includes critical linebacker offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland and the removal of Florida offensive coordinator Brian Johnson for the defensive coaches.
My lingering question here is whether Sirianni can properly navigate what could become a messy deconstruction of the list. The eagles will change fundamentally and, in the process, will lose much of the soul of the locker room. Can he grab the young core and galvanize them forward?
GRADE: B-
Detroit Lions: Dan Campbell
It was hard not to leave Campbell’s introductory press conference a little hotter than we came. However, the most interesting aspect of his coaching tenure so far seems to be his willingness to diversify his staff and provide high-quality jobs to the minority of candidates who were thought to either need “seasoning” or they were not considered ready for the role. Having Anthony Lynn as a full-time offensive coordinator is a victory, especially if they manage to develop a young QB starter. Having Aaron Glenn as defensive coordinator is a victory.
I guess the Lions are betting on Campbell’s ability to have a key Mike Vrabel presence on the team, while his coordinators do a lot of schematic weights. And while Vrabel is great, we’ll see what the Titans look like now that Smith is training in Atlanta. Will it be a lasting fad?
Campbell could have scared some fans of Wild West’s routine at the opening press conference, but if he is able to invest in the kind of players who buy this type of hokum, the Lions may be able to sculpt quickly. in an annoying roadblock division for NFC North’s blue blood. That’s a lot more we can say about Lions under Matt Patricia.
GRADE: C +
Houston Texans: David Culley
I think it’s important to separate employment from the situation right now, even if it’s hard to underestimate how much mess Texans are now. It works like a driver’s car that has not only a secondary set of brakes, but also a few additional steering wheels and gas pedals. The owner may run a franchise for which the players do not want to play, but that does not mean that the coach they hired was bad. Culley, 65, has been in the NFL since 1994. He has coached wide receptions primarily, but has interns as a Baltimore quarterback and game coordinator. Houston, after exhausting all his initial options, seemed to be at home with older coaches, with a lot of experience compared to a head coach for the first time. If you’re general manager Nick Caserio, you have to decide what kind of voice resonates the most with a clearly downcast locker room. He played a long-spoken tree lieutenant Andy Reid to make it happen.
I think Culley is a good coach. My problem is that Texans will probably file a number of projects if they change Watson. Will they receive contributions from Culley on how to spend that capital? Or does it just force him there to bear the brunt of the critics as they build the team they want to build behind the scenes, treating Watson and possibly JJ Watt in the process?
If the reported coaching structure comes together, involving Lovie Smith on defense and Josh McCown as an ascending type, coach waiting on offense, hiring is easier to digest in the long run, even if these types of discussions are not necessarily fair. at Culley.
GRADE: D +