Head Coach Preference - Round 2 (January 19, 2024)

[HardcoreHokie]

2021 NFL Coach of the Year Mike Vrabel

[TLGPanthersFan]

8 minutes ago, HardcoreHokie said:

2021 NFL Coach of the Year Mike Vrabel

[Evil Hurney]

Went Ben Johnson as my first choice. Almost went Slowik since the Shanahan tree has a high hit rate; Only one year of OC experience gives me pause with Slowik. 

For the second choice I went with Frank Smith (again). He checks a lot of boxes for me.

[Evil Hurney]

9 hours ago, Mage said:

Eh, I feel like Slowik is definitely a realistic candidate.  I'd argue Ben Johnson too, but the Commanders are certainly in the driver's seat.

 

9 hours ago, Bear Hands said:

I wouldn’t discount Slowik as unrealistic but can see him going back to Houston.

 

1 hour ago, Martin said:

I think Slowik is realistic. But we’ll see.

For me Slowik and Ben Johnson are more realistic this week than they were last week, but I still sense the team doesn't have a high chance at either (as explained in the OP). Also, if either is included in the second poll we don't get to see how people divide amongst the hard choices.

[Evil Hurney]

1 hour ago, Mr. Scot said:

No Dan Quinn?

He's in the 1st poll. I just don't see how he would get preference over the in-house candidate (Ejiro) in the 2nd poll ... especially after the previous retread coach flamed out in less than a year.

[Evil Hurney]

48 minutes ago, MillionDollarCam said:

Slowik.

I could see him struggling early, similarly to Zac Taylor, but I think he’d eventually become a very successful head coach because he’s shown a willingness to adapt and even change his philosophy.

For example, this year the Texans were second in the NFL in called plays that resulted in run-run-pass. However, this past week against the Browns, Slowik did not go run-run-pass a single time. The result was the Texans absolutely shredding the Browns.

I personally feel like that shows growth and in a short time period as well.

That’s one thing I really like about Slowik, the growth he’s shown and in a very short amount of time.

Zac Taylor is an interesting comp since he went from position coach to HC. He still had 2 years of prior OC experience on his resume before being hired though; Slowik only has this year which is what gives me pause.

Are there examples of a successful offensive minded head coach with only a single year as coordinator?

[Evil Hurney]

45 minutes ago, rayzor said:

hard for me to pick, but i'm leaning towards a defensive coach from this crop. unless we were to find a tough as nails offensive minded guy like dan campbell, i think the best chance for us getting our identity back is with one of the defensive coaches. 

i'm not crazy about getting a retread, but there are a couple i think would do really well.

i would not hate mike vrabel at all, but i don't see that happening.

i think my favorites (at the moment) are evero, morris, and macdonald. 

I also keep coming back to Macdonald since I feel he is one of the safest candidates. I never choose him though because it seems like Evero has a similar resume and they both have the same issue of "Who coaches the offense?"

[Jay Roosevelt]

Slowick FTW.

[rayzor]

7 minutes ago, Evil Hurney said:

I also keep coming back to Macdonald since I feel he is one of the safest candidates. I never choose him though because it seems like Evero has a similar resume and they both have the same issue of "Who coaches the offense?"

benefit of morris is that he has experience on offense as well. not that he'd call the offense, but he's got experience in all facets. and i don't lump him in with other retreads because 1) it's been over a decade since he was the bucs head coach and i don't count his stint as interim HC with the falcons. 2) he was only 33 when he started as HC there. very young and lots of room for growth, which i think he has done. 

one of the things we loved about wilks and why he would have been a much better option than what we had was the players really rallied around him and would fight for him in a way they would for few others. morris has that ability to get players motivated in the same way. i think it would be like getting a younger wilks. 

agree with you on macdonald and evero. pretty evenly matched and you still have the issue of who would coach the offense. it would be easier to get an idea with a couple others (including morris), but with these two you just don't know who it could be. they'd likely have to have a lot of help finding/recruiting someone to do it.

[4Corners]

Eagles OC - yikes. Don’t want this dude anywhere near the team. I know Eagles fans are irrational and stupid but I’m listening to them regarding this guy. Bad hire here. 

[MillionDollarCam]

47 minutes ago, Evil Hurney said:

Zac Taylor is an interesting comp since he went from position coach to HC. He still had 2 years of prior OC experience on his resume before being hired though; Slowik only has this year which is what gives me pause.

Are there examples of a successful offensive minded head coach with only a single year as coordinator?

McDaniel was OC for only one year in San Francisco and obviously he comes from the same coaching tree as Slowik.

[Ricky Spanish]

At this point the best thing for the team is to go with a former OC as our HC to help with Bryce's/whoever we draft in 2025's development.

My personal opinion is you pair young QBs with offensive minded HC's to help get them acclimated to the NFL. QB is the most important position on the team, and it is very bad for a QB's development to have them switching coordinators year over year. Having a HC with an offensive pedigree helps alleviate that issue, especially if they can call plays as well.

Once the young QB has been in the league a few years and shown some growth/success, you can re-evaluate the HC position and evaluate the rest of the team as a whole. Are things going well? Cool, keep pushing forward. Are we underachieving because the defense is tanking? Bring in a HC with a defensive pedigree to help right the ship and backfill the OC who runs a scheme the QB has had success with/is familiar with.

TL;DR

Offensive HC candidates are better for teams with young, unestablished QBs, Defensive HC candidates are better for teams with an established Vet QB.

[Mr. Scot]

1 hour ago, Evil Hurney said:

He's in the 1st poll. I just don't see how he would get preference over the in-house candidate (Ejiro) in the 2nd poll ... especially after the previous retread coach flamed out in less than a year.

I must have missed him.

[4Corners]

We want BIG Johnson (Lions) not little Johnson (eagles)