The only dangerous assignment in the football media cycle is to arrange the draft selection immediately. There are many that we do not know, and many that even the people who know these people do not know. Did we think, for example, that out of all the new appointments that were out of season, Kevin Stefanski would take the best to take a virtual out of season and use a series of trivia matches and group therapy sessions to enlarge a star-studded roster Zoom?
Did we think Joe Judge would appear as the darling of the class rather than be seen as a consolation prize after not getting Matt Rhule? Did we think Mike McCarthy, a coach who won a Super Bowl, would be the best of all the new appointments?
The point is, just like the concept, there are many immediate thoughts based on who we are told and who we observe to be ready. But you are never ready to be a head coach in the NFL. In this position, the depth of your personality and preparation is exposed unlike any position in the sport. So let’s turn it around, but let’s also show our work in an effort to be transparent.
Kim Klement / USA TODAY Sports (Saleh); Christopher Hanewinckel / USA TODAY Sports (Smith); Kirby Lee / USA TODAY Sports (Culley)
New York Jets: Robert Saleh
I’ve said it before, but I believe Saleh brings all the good energy of the Rex Ryan era without the side effects. In essence, the green tea version of Ryan. This is the emotional component of it. Yes, Saleh had an excellent defense plan and a complementary offense in San Francisco, but he also had to wrestle the defense of giant personalities. You do not simply get someone like Richard Sherman on board without having a strong, required knowledge of your plan and where it is headed. His slogan ‘All Gas, No Brakes’ was the motivating underpinning of the 49ers series that reached the Super Bowl.
The other cut of the A degree is the fact that he manages to peel Mike LaFleur off Shanahan, who has held on tight to both of his leading attacking assistants. Introducing the system to Sam Darnold, or using it to lure Deshaun Watson out of Houston, is a big part of this comparison.
DEGREE: A
Los Angeles Chargers: Brandon Staley
I think it’s OK to like a rent, but also not like the circumstances under which it took place. As my colleague Jenny Vrentas pointed to last week’s issue The Podcast of the Weak Side, so many of the reasons LA was considered a leading destination was this off-season because of things set up by ousted head coach Anthony Lynn (including Lynn’s own hand in Justin Herbert’s progress).
That said, I wrote in early December that Staley was the next Sean McVay, just on the defensive side of the ball. He was a former attacking player who devoured the most effective defensive plan in football and calibrated it to a historic Rams unit that transported the team in 2020. Staley is the kind of buy-low-buy-early suggestion that we mimic more ownership groups. Like McVay and the Rams, the Chargers had to choose to pin Staley now or get into a much longer line next year.
DEGREE: A-
Atlanta Valke: Arthur Smith
Smith is going to bring Atlanta back to its most successful offensive system in the Matt Ryan era. The former attacking coordinator of the Titans has perfected the wide zone system that Kyle Shanahan repopulated in the NFL. If Atlanta were to rebuild, Smith probably would not be the kind of organizational catalyst for the task of trading Ryan and Julio Jones, for example, and reaping the available capital. He is in the perfect position to immediately deploy attacking skills and get the Hawks in a place where they can compete in a division that Drew Brees (probably) lost.
Before the news of a Deshaun Watson trade, I would put Smith in the pole position as coach of the year’s frontrunner, given the ceiling of the roster and how quickly he could reverse the offense.
Grade: B +
Jacksonville Jaguars: Urban Meyer
This rental brings complicated feelings. Meyer has been flirting with the best NFL posts for years and finally decides to jump in with his head once he is assured of a big headroom and the greatest forward since Andrew Luck. On the one hand, it makes a lot of sense. Meyer’s last team, Ohio State, functioned seamlessly (on the field) after his retirement. He has the ability to promote and develop good staff, but an obvious blind side when it comes to the actions of those staff members off the field – an important critique that should not simply be left out of the way. I think programs should lean more collegially anyway. It makes sense to have a team that can develop young players faster, and thus be less dependent on complicated long-term veteran contracts.
Meyer has the ability to surround himself with innovators, and with the wide net that his brand can shed, it is more likely to attract the best schematic talent that will help Trevor Lawrence flourish.
The downside to this is that Jacksonville is taking the gamble at a turning point in franchise history. That, and the staff he now puts together, is not one to be overwhelmed from the bat. If you are Lawrence and have the choice, for example Darrell Bevel and Brian Daboll or Eric Bieniemy, who would you bet on in the direction of your career? There are coordinators and coaches with better and more proven records who develop NFL talent. The same can be said for general managers and their record of allocating large amounts of space responsibly. At the moment, Jacksonville gives a lot of confidence in the Meyer brand.
GRADE: B
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Philadelphia Eagles: Nick Sirianni
The Eagles, like the Steelers, apparently have a pattern for what they want in a head coach. While Pittsburgh likes defensive coordinators in their early to mid-thirties, the Eagles seem to have untapped potential on offense, and they often employ young coordinators or mailboxes before popping up in well-known merchandise as sole players, like Andy Reid. Sirianni has the benefit of working with Frank Reich, who was an instrument in the Philadelphia Super Bowl series and comes up with a playbook on how to work with the fighter Carson Wentz. It looks like Sirianni is putting together a solid coaching team that includes the critical retention of offensive coach Jeff Stoutland and the picking of Brian offensive coordinator Brian Johnson to coach quarterbacks.
My lingering question here is whether Sirianni can adequately navigate what could become a messy grid deconstruction. The Eagles are going to change fundamentally and in the process lose much of the soul of the locker room. Can he grab the young core and move them to move forward?
DEGREE: B-
Detroit Lions: Dan Campbell
It was hard not to be a little more excited about Campbell’s introductory press conference than we got into. The most exciting aspect of his coaching period so far seems to be a willingness to diversify his staff and provide high minorities. candidates who presumably need “seasonings” or are not deemed ready for the role. Anthony Lynn as a full-time offensive coordinator is a win, especially as they eventually develop a young starter at QB. Aaron Glenn as defensive coordinator is a win.
I assume the Lions bet on Campbell’s ability to have a Mike Vrabel-like presence on the team, while his coordinators do a lot schematically. And while Vrabel is great, we’ll see what the Titans look like now that Smith’s going to coach in Atlanta. Will it be a lasting fad?
Campbell may have deterred some fans with his Wild West routine during his opening press conference, but if he is able to invest in the kind of players who buy into the kind of hokum, the Lions can quickly cut themselves into something of an annoying divisions. roadblock for the NFC North’s blue blood. That’s much more than we can say about the Lions under Matt Patricia.
DEGREE: C +
Houston Texans: David Culley
I think it’s important to briefly separate the rent from the situation, even if it’s hard to underestimate how much broken mess the Texans are now. They work like a driver vehicle that not only has a secondary set of brakes, but also some extra steering wheels and petrol pedals. The owner may have a franchise that players do not want to play for, but that does not mean that the coach they hired was bad. Culley, 65, has been in the NFL since 1994. He coached mostly wide receivers, but was a quarterback and as Baltimore’s coordinator for the pass game. After exhausting all of his initial options, Houston looks like older coaches with a lot of experience versus a first-time head coach. If your general manager is Nick Caserio, you need to decide what kind of voice resonates most with a clearly reported locker room. He gambled on a gentle, long-time Andy Reid tree lieutenant to do so.
I think Culley is a good coach. My problem here is that the Texans are likely to pile up a bunch of drafts if they trade Watson. Will they take input from Culley on how they can spend that capital? Or are they just forcing him out there to get the criticism while building behind the scenes the team they actually want to build, and dealing with Watson and possibly JJ Watt in the process?
If the reported coaching structure that Lovie Smith involves on defense comes together and Josh McCown as a rising, coach waiting in attack, the hire is easier to digest in the long run, even if such discussions are not necessarily fair to Culley.
GRADE: D +