Grading The New NFL Coaching Hires

Discussion in 'NFL General Discussion' started by markaz, Jan 25, 2015.

  1. markaz

    markaz Resident Cards Fan Staff Member

    With the Super Bowl still a few days away, (and really, how did the Packers blow that game?!) there are a few other storylines to keep the NFL fan occupied before the full bedlam takes hold of the airwaves. If you are not a fan of the New England Patriots or Seattle Seahawks, chances are that part of you are already wondering about the 2015 Draft, the divisions your team will get to face, and the roster modifications that are so urgently required to become a contender.

    Still, as a huge aspect of the league, the coaching carousel that takes place in January is still a very important turning point going forward. Whether it happened on Black Monday or as part of a systematic move that was almost inevitable, replacing coaches can still be a traumatic experience for a football team. Getting a new guy may inspire a new sense of confidence from the fan base and local media, but it also represents a dramatic shift in the team's goals and system, with instant success being far from guaranteed.

    While at the Super Bowl we will see the best coach of this generation and an up-and-comer who is pushing really close to the elite, seven other teams parted ways with their head coaches in the hopes of starting life anew. Six of these squads have already hired their replacements (the Atlanta Falcons still haven't named a new coach), leading to a wide discussion regarding their futures. Today we take a look at these old faces in new places, and assign a grade for each new position. [Click source link to see grades]

    Source: SportingCharts.com

    Do you agree? What's your take on the new hires?
     
  2. ICECOLD

    ICECOLD 1st Stringer

    From the interviews I've seen of SF players, it seems like a weight has been lifted off them with the coaching change. Hopefully that bodes well, and they play a lot looser next year
     
  3. markaz

    markaz Resident Cards Fan Staff Member

    Although division rivals, I am kind of anxious to see what Kaep does next year after spending the off-season with Kurt Warner.

    I don't get the B+ grade given to the Bills' hire of Rex Ryan. What exactly did he sell the Bills' ownership?
     
  4. Diesel44

    Diesel44 Serial Killer

    jay gruden is a total shirt coach.next year this time,we will be talking about a new redskins coach. 49ers move of hiring with in the staff will make that transition easy.
    i do not get why anybody would hire rex ryan and expect a lot from him.like i have said,he is like his daddy,all mouth and nothing to back it up!
     
  5. DawkinsINT

    DawkinsINT Tebow free since 9/5/2015.

    I'm curious how their dynamic will work as well. Totally different styles, but Kurt certainly should be able to teach him a lot about reading defenses. I have zero idea though about how receptive Kaep is to being coached up.
     
  6. Diesel44

    Diesel44 Serial Killer

    i do not think that any player coming into the nfl should ever accept the fact that he will not have to be open to coaching to some degree. most of the coaches at this level are there for a reason.i do not know for sure,but i have talked to players who went from high school to college to pros and they say the leap in coaching at every level is huge.they have all said that the speed from the college game to the pro game is unbelieveable.
     
  7. markaz

    markaz Resident Cards Fan Staff Member

    Exactly why I said anxious to see how he performs. If you ever see Kaep stay in the pocket, make the reads and then throw at the very last second before getting clocked, then you'll know he was very receptive.
     
  8. Diesel44

    Diesel44 Serial Killer

    rg3 is the same type of qb.he has been playing his own way so long,i doubt he'll ever change.i think the coach would be better to build an offense around the qb's talents instead of making the qb adjust to the coach's talents.
     
  9. TJ

    TJ Dez Caught It

    I believe Rex Ryan will take the Bills to the playoffs in his first year. Then it all will go to hell. Kind of like his tenure with the Jets.
     
  10. Buck Fenson

    Buck Fenson formerly Jake from State Farm

    most good coaches do that. not hard to comprehend. build your offense around your talent.
     
  11. markaz

    markaz Resident Cards Fan Staff Member

    Maybe he'll sign Mark Sanchez in free agency to ensure his offense reaches its goals.
     
  12. 86WARD

    86WARD -

    I would almost guarantee that signing...almost...
     
  13. Diesel44

    Diesel44 Serial Killer

    but gruden is not doing that.he seems to be more lost every day.he just hired a new dc that may just be worse than the previous one,jim haslett.finding somebody worse than him i thought was not possible,but damned it gruden did'nt find somebody worse.next season this time the skins will be looking for a new coach and coaching staff.
     
  14. Buck Fenson

    Buck Fenson formerly Jake from State Farm

    that is what I meant by good coaches do that. That dude you mentioned, your former DC, is the luckest guy in the world. He coached here for years and should have been fired several years earlier. True, he got us our first ever post season win, and got lucky with that one. If Hakim didn't drop the ball, two things would not have happened. We wouldn't have won and the iconic phrase was born. Iconic around here anyway. He and Rick Venture had something on Benson to keep their job that long. That Gruden will fail there. For some reason, it is hard to win in Washington. Hell, Gibbs was a failure there.
     
  15. markaz

    markaz Resident Cards Fan Staff Member

    I agree and disagree, but you bring up what I think is a huge point on why Gibbs "failed" the second time around. Gibbs was HC for the 'Skins 1981–1992 and during that span won two Super Bowls. He came back 2004–2007 and "failed". The question is why? and I think you couldn't have brought up a better example of what I believe changed his fortunes and the fortunes for the vast majority of NFL teams.

    There used to be what was called "Plan B" free agency where a team was allowed to protect (shield) 37 players on its roster from free agency. That started in 1976 and is the precursor of what we now call "restricted free agency" or the "franchise tag". Well of course the 37 best players on each team could not enter free agency. In 1992 Plan B was struck down in the courts and thus was born Unrestricted free agency. That's right....the same year that Gibbs won his last Super bowl. Unrestricted free agency was born in 1992 and changed the NFL forever. But what do I know....I'm just speculating.
     
  16. Buck Fenson

    Buck Fenson formerly Jake from State Farm

    but you hit the nail on the head. while free agency "helped" the players, it hurt the teams. most teams have a 3-5 year period to win the Super Bowl before having the salary cap forces them to break teams up.
     
  17. markaz

    markaz Resident Cards Fan Staff Member

    Exactly. The only teams that seem to persevere are those teams with better than average QB's. Looking at those franchises that have done pretty well and will probably do well past in that 3-5 year window have Brady, Manning, Brees, Rodgers, Luck, Roethlisberger, Romo and Wilson. Not debating who is "elite", just who have the potential to carry their team. Then who? Manning, JR.? Ryan? Rivers? After the first 8 the pack thins out quickly and those teams will always be trying just to be a Wild Card team.
     
  18. Buck Fenson

    Buck Fenson formerly Jake from State Farm

    you can only afford a couple of high priced players then the rest have to be journeymen or draft picks. Maybe you get lucky like Seattle and get a good qb in the draft and he comes out like gangbusters. Then after the rookie contract expires it is salary cap hell.
     
  19. Jihad Joe

    Jihad Joe Life to Infidels

    FA actually started the offseason after the Skins won the Super Bowl
     
  20. Walnuts

    Walnuts All-Pro

    Tomsula hiring + assistants rating:

    A bag full of sticks