THE RIGHT MAN FOR THE JOB? - Grading the NFL Coaching Carousel

THE RIGHT MAN FOR THE JOB? - Grading the NFL Coaching Carousel

The offseason isn’t even here yet for everyone, but some teams have been making some key personnel changes. There were five coaching openings on teams that didn’t make the postseason. Four out of the five have already made their decision on their new replacement coaches. Every team feels as though the changes they made are for the best, but for public opinion, is that the same case? We will review these changes and then the potential best fit for the last opening spot over the next few days.

Washington Redskins- Ron Rivera

We will start with the first hiring of the early offseason. Redskins let Jay Gruden go early on in the year and feel it was time for a change. Their decision for change was to go with a well-known coach with a background in winning and being a great developer of men, Ron “Riverboat” Rivera. He was the former coach of the Panthers. He had winning seasons for the first couple of years including a Super Bowl berth in 2015. They might have been smacked in that game, but that was more due to a defense that was playing as well as any in history. Rivera was fired not too long after Gruden during this regular season because of another losing skid in the second half of the season. Unfortunately for him, his star quarterback, Cam Newton, was playing hurt towards the end of the 2018 season and only played in two games this past season before basically being shut down all year. In most people’s opinion, Rivera will do wonders for a team that needs to get a philosophical change in terms of team culture and defensive scheme. While he does that, he will also be able to groom Haskins with the help of a good quarterback coach to a valued and star quarterback. Only time will tell whether this will work, but in my opinion, they need to at least give him two to three years to see how this works out. Haskins needs time to develop, the defense needs to get the right fits for it in place, and the culture needs to start believing they are winner again after such mediocrity with Jay Gruden the last few years. 

Current state: C-

At Hire: B+

Potential: A

Dallas Cowboys- Mike McCarthy

Mostly everyone in the country other than Jerry Jones liked Jason Garrett. For the last few years, people have either been just ok or hated the way he has coached a very talented Dallas Cowboys team. In his nine seasons as head coach, he went 8-8 four times and only won only two playoff games in that span. When you have a team that includes a hall of fame tight end, multiple stars on the offense and the defense and one young RB that lead the league in rushing twice in four years, you want more success from your team. Finally, they parted ways with Garrett and have hired someone most people feel like is an upgrade, but only marginally. Jones went out and hired Mike McCarthy, formerly the Green Bay Packers long-time head coach. McCarthy has been known for having great discipline and a pedigree of winning. He was with the Packers for 12 years and lead them to nine straight playoff appearances. One of the appearances includes a Super Bowl to start off the 2010’s while about three more went as far as the conference championship round. He was a constant force in the NFC for many years recording over 120 wins which is one of the top five over that span. He was fired from the Packers though because his last two years with the Packers seen the once-promising team, miss the playoffs twice in back to back seasons. People were saying the offense was predictable and stagnant under his watch and it relied too heavily on Aaron Rodgers to make something happen. After his firing, he didn’t get upset but decided that the media and the public might have been right. He took a year off from coaching to watch film and learn more from his past mistakes. He watched more innovative football to try and keep up with the times so he can once again coach a team and adapt to the new offensive football landscape with the RPO’s and zone reads that have become more popular today. Armed with his new knowledge and his updated schemes and philosophies, Jerry Jones thought this would be a good fit for the Cowboys. Now you have a team that is as talented as any in the league with a coach that is disciplined and knows what it takes to win at the highest level. This should be a match made in heaven. Some people are still doubter that McCarthy has changed his ways but for me, I say the NFC East needs to watch out for a Cowboys team that not only can have good talented guys but can play like a good team that works hard as well.

Current State: C+

At Hire:  B

Potential: A

Carolina Panthers- Matt Rhule

In any job when there is new management, unless the people that were there before are exceptionally good at their jobs, they get fired or are on notice to watch out. Ron Rivera showed that he might not have been the best man for this particular job anymore, so he was fired midway through this last season. In the offseason, there were many speculations going on about who should get the job and many thoughts that new owner David Tepper would get his guy he personally liked the best. In the end, we found that out very quickly when they announced they would be hiring Baylor head coach Matt Rhule as the new head coach for the Carolina Panthers. This will be his first head coaching position at the NFL level, but his collegiate level is well known and highly respected. He was the head coach at Temple and Baylor. When at Temple, he led them to great success including a win over Penn State, something that hadn’t been done since 1941. While doing this he led them to a 10-2 record and a berth in the conference championship game. He followed that performance up with another conference championship berth and a win, something that hadn’t been done since 1967. After his time at Temple, he was hired at Baylor as the new head coach after the Art Briles scandal. He had to rebuild the culture and image of that program. His first year didn’t end well, but he rebounded with a win in the Texas Bowl the next year to finish from 1-11 to 7-6. This year he had great success and led his team to an 11-2 record. Unfortunately, he dropped the last two games of the year, one to Oklahoma before they went to the CFB playoffs. The second was against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. Ultimately, Rhule has shown to be a guy that can build up a great culture and a winning pedigree collegiately and as a former assistant to Tom Coughlin’s New York Giants in 2012, he knows what it takes to win at the NFL level. This hiring was a good choice and what I like most about it is the contract length they issued to him. He was a given a 7 year-62 million-dollar contract to coach them. This type of signing will give him job security and the time to build up a winning record and get his time of guys in the built to see what he can do and produce from a team of his choosing. 

Current state: C+

At Hire: B

Potential: A-

New York Giants- Joe Judge

In the media capital of the world, the New York Giants have a solid core on offense, and a defense that has some pieces in place to grow. They thought that Pat Shurmur could have been the guy to make this grow, but he failed and was handed his papers this offseason. Now the Giants are in the market for a new head coach and particularly someone that can develop the young offensive core and grow the defense into a force. Their decision led them to, Joe Judge. This choice was one of the weirdest in all the hires this early offseason. Joe Judge is a former wide receiver and special teams’ coaches for the Patriots. Yes, he has learned something from one of the best coaches in the NFL, but does he qualify to get a head coaching position. Before his time with the Patriots, Joe Judge was a special team coordinator for Alabama for three years. Then he went on to work with the Pats from 2012 to 2019. He held the positions of special assistant and coordinator while also working as the wide receivers’ coach. Other than that, there isn’t much to back up the Giants decision. Hopefully, they don’t regret their decision because they decided to pick fast since they didn’t get who they really wanted in Matt Rhule.  In my opinion, they will be looking for another coach in two years and then they will need a coach that can truly grow a culture and has a background in developing a team to new levels. Whether it be a Marvin Lewis type or an Andy Reid type of guy. This will be the most interesting hire to watch of all the current ones to date. 

Current state: C

At Hire: C+

Potential: B+

-By: Darren Braxton

Writer/Interviewer