When it comes to head coaches
Jaire Alexander Jersey , NFL teams have a type. Nearly every head coaching hire these days comes from one of two buckets: retread former head coaches and
up-and-coming offensive minds, usually from pedigree programs and prestige
systems (see: LaFleur, Matt). In other words, it’s the guys who work or worked
on offense for Andy Reid, Bill Belichick, Mike Shanahan, etc, and the guys who
consistently lost to Andy Reid, Bill Belichick, Mike Shanahan, etc. There will
be the aberration from time to time. Brian Flores in Miami. Vic Fangio in
Denver. And thousands of words have been written with thousands more tweeted
about finding the next Sean McVay. These are jokes, considered pejorative for
teams foolish enough to believe they can catch lightning in a bottle with a
respected coach’s protege. But the joke is on them. Recent NFL history shows
that while teams generally aren’t very good at finding coaching talent, when
they hire first-time coaches with an offensive background in these prestige
systems—the trendy hire—they’re successful. Other types of hires have had a much
worse hit rate. Seven new coaches found homes before the 2018 season. Easily the
best two fall into the above category: Frank Reich and Matt Nagy, with Reich not
even coming in first on the Colts’ preferred coaching list. The other five guys:
Pat Shurmur (retread), Steve Wilks (defense), Matt Patricia (defense), Mike
Vrabel (defense), and Jon Gruden (retread) combined for zero playoff
appearances, with Wilks losing his job after just one season. Patricia may have
been close as well. Reich came from the Doug Pederson’s staff, and he in turn
came from the Andy Reid staff. Nagy came from Andy Reid’s staff. You know, the
same Andy Reid preparing to host the AFC Championship Game as the favorite.
That’s not a coincidence.The year before looks very similar
Kingsley Keke Green Bay Packers Jersey , except with more offensive coaches. At this point, it’s pretty clear the two best hires were Kyle Shanahan and Sean
McVay, each from the Mike Shanahan tree. McVay is playing Sunday, while Shanahan
took Matt Ryan to the Super Bowl as OC before finding a way to make something
called a Nick Mullens look like an NFL quarterback.The 49ers haven’t had success
as a team yet but almost no one blames that on Shanahan. His ability to maximize
talent already shines through. Also hired in that cycle: Anthony Lynn (offense,
non-pedigree), Vance Joseph (defense), Sean McDermott (defense), Doug Marrone
(retread). Someone will have to explain to me as if I’m five years old why the
2016-17 Bills deserved to have two coaches become head coaches. Lynn, while
technically an offensive coach, did not come with the kind of background and
pedigree normally seen for unproven offensive coaches. Though Lynn appears to be
a quality coach for the Chargers, imagine the Chargers with McVay and all the
offensive weapons the other LA has at its disposal. So far, in two seasons the
hires that have really taken off all come from offensive backgrounds and four of
the five come from pedigree programs. A case could be made guys like McDermott
and Marrone are doing a solid job given the circumstances, but they’re hardly
changing the league. Meanwhile, McVay, Nagy, Shanahan, and Reich have re-written
the rules of modern NFL offense. Things get weird in 2016 because two offensive
coordinators were promoted to head coaching jobs, neither of whom were prepared
or qualified for them. Ben McAdoo does come from that Mike McCarthy pedigree
program with the Bill Walsh coaching tree roots. Technically he ought to count.
Dirk Koetter on the other hand, does not fit the bill. In fact, the Falcons
offense took off when Kyle Shanahan replaced him in Atlanta (with the help of
LaFleur). The coaches who worked from this cycle are obvious: Doug Pederson won
a Super Bowl within two years, and ... that’s probably the full list. Adam Gase
took the Miami job and while he was a young
Kingsley Keke Jersey 2019 , “sexy” hire, he doesn’t have true pedigree in a prestige system. He did coach Peyton Manning to some tremendous success in
Denver, but that was for John Fox, not Gary Kubiak (who comes from the Shanahan
tree). We know what a shit show Hue Jackson (retread) was, and Mike Mularkey
(retread) had some limited success before being fired after the 2017 season.
Chip Kelly (retread), who probably deserves more credit than he gets for his
impact on current NFL offense, flamed out in San Francisco in even more
inglorious fashion than he did in Philly. Going back even further, not a single
coached hired in the 2015 cycle remains employed with that team, but Gary Kubiak
(Shanahan tree) won a Super Bowl with the Broncos while Rex Ryan (retread), Todd
Bowles (defense), John Fox (retread), Jim Tomsula (LOL), Jack Del Rio (retread),
never made significant progress with their teams and all got the axe. In fact,
only Bowles even made it to the 2018 season. One class is something to notice.
Two classes is interesting. Three is a trend. Four is a new normal. If teams
want upside, they have to have offense. It’s not a coincidence that four of the
top five offenses adjusted for schedule are playing this weekend and the fifth
lost to the Patriots. Even with what happened last year when some defenses rode
historic seasons to the playoffs, it was still a coach from a prestige tree
facing Belichick in the last game of the year.This is the swing the Packers
took. The jokes about the “next McVay” are tired, but they’re also not jokes.
Green Bay should be looking for the next McVay because that’s how teams have
found really good coaches lately. One could just as accurately saying they were
looking for the next Shanahan, the next Pederson, the next Nagy, or the next
Reich. The background Matt LaFleur brings is precisely the kind of background
coaches who have succeeded lately sported on their resume. And they’re similar
to the CV’s guys like Mike McCarthy
Color Rush Kingsley Keke Jersey , Mike Sherman and Mike Holmgren brought with them to 1265 Lombardi Ave. as well. Call it a reach. Call it a risk. But recent
NFL history says this is the best way to find the next “guy.” Call him the
“next” whoever you want, just so long as the team is winning. This wasn’t a lark
from Mark Murphy and Brian Gutekunst. It was good process. These are the types
of coaches who have found success in a league where teams are traditionally
terrible at judging coaching talent. LaFleur will have to sink or swim on his
own merits, but this was exactly the type of swing that the league’s trends
suggest the team should have taken.Thursday Night Football, Week 5: Colts try to
reinvigorate rivalry with Patriots Remember when an Indianapolis Colts-New
England Patriots game was must-see TV? The Peyton Manning-Tom Brady rivalry was
one of the best quarterback matchups in the NFL, and the teams seemingly played
every year. In fact, between Manning’s rookie year of 1998 and his final year in
Indy in 2011, only the 2002 season saw the two teams fail to play one another in
the regular season. There were also three playoff games in that span, two of
which were Patriots victories.Since Manning’s departure led to Andrew Luck’s
arrival, this is anything but a rivalry. Starting in Luck’s rookie year of 2012,
the teams have played five times, including twice in the postseason, and every
one of those games has been a Patriots win. To make matters worse, the Colts
have only kept one of those five games within twenty points!Can Luck and company
take advantage of a surprisingly slow 2-2 start to the season by Bill
Belichick’s team? Or will we see more of the same in terms of recent history
between these teams? Tune in tonight to find out.WHO?Indianapolis Colts (1-3)
vs. New England Patriots (2-2)WHERE?Gillette StadiumFoxboro, MAWHEN?Thursday,
October 8, 20188:20 PM Eastern TimeHOW?TV BroadcastsFOX & NFL
NetworkCommentators: Joe Buck, Troy AikmanOnline StreamingFOX Sports GoNFL
Network OnlineAmazon PrimeRadio BroadcastWestwood One SportsSirius 81/83, XM
225/226ANYTHING ELSE?OddsPatriots favored by 10.5 pointsOver/under total:
51.5Last meetingWeek 6 2015: Patriots 34, @Colts 27All-Time head-to-head
recordRegular season: Patriots lead 47-28-0Playoffs: Patriots lead 4-1Last
weekColts: lost vs. Texans 37-34 (OT)Patriots: won vs. Dolphins 38-7
