Tag: head coaches

Arthur Smith vs. Dan Campbell: Who would you rather have?

Whether you’re a drill sergeant, players’ coach or wonderkid, the most important thing is to be authentic. 

Successful NFL head coaches can come in many different forms. Whether you’re a drill sergeant, a players’ coach, or a hotshot wonderkid, the most important thing is to be authentic.

The Atlanta Falcons and Detroit Lions each hired new head coaches during the offseason, and while both have had some success, they couldn’t be further apart in terms of their personalities. The Falcons brought in highly touted Titans offensive coordinator Arthur Smith to help fix their broken offense and maximize the late career of quarterback Matt Ryan.

Meanwhile, the Lions took a different approach — since Matthew Stafford had already requested a trade — and went for Saints assistant head coach Dan Campbell, an out-of-the-box hire to help turn around a losing culture.

With Atlanta set to host Detroit at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Week 16, we thought it would be a good time to compare the two first-year head coaches and have fans vote on which is having the better season.

Where Steve Sarkisian lands on ESPN’s ranking of head coaches as players

ESPN ranked all head coaches in the FBS based on their playing careers, and Sarkisian landed within the top five.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian was quite the athlete in the 1990’s before he became one of the top play callers in college football.

ESPN recently ranked all 130 FBS head coaches based on their playing careers (link requires subscription). The ranking put an emphasis on which players made meaningful contributions in college, regardless of level. Those who were multiyear starters or award recipients of FBS teams get more credit, as do those who played professionally.

With that in mind, Sarkisian landed at No. 5 overall. Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh, Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald, Tennessee’s Josh Heupel, and Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy were the only current head coaches listed ahead of him.

Sarkisian first starred at quarterback for El Camino College, setting national junior college records in both completion percentage (72.4) and pass efficiency (203.8 rating). He then transferred to BYU and earned WAC offensive player of the year honors as a senior in 1996, when he led the nation in pass efficiency (173.56) and broke Steve Young’s career completion percentage record (65.2). He won the Sammy Baugh Trophy and then played three seasons in the CFL, starting for Saskatchewan in 1999.

It’s obviously not a must to have been a former player in order to be a successful collegiate coach, but it certainly provides unparalleled experience. In Sarkisian’s case, it was likely a key contributor to him becoming an offensive guru and elite quarterback developer.

Solich retires to focus on health

Notre Dame fans will immediately think back to one game upon hearing his name.

Frank Solich has decided to retire as Ohio University’s football coach in order to focus on his health.

At 76, Solich is leaving the job as the winningest coach in the history of the Mid-American Conference as he led the Bobcats to a 115-82 mark over 16 seasons.  In that time Ohio finished with a winning record 12 times, appeared in 11 bowl games, and won four MAC East Division titles.

Many remember Solich for his time as Nebraska’s head coach as he took over for the legendary Tom Osborne in 1998.  Solich led the Cornhuskers to three final top-10 rankings in six seasons but was fired after a 2003 season in which they went 9-3.

For Notre Dame fans visiting Fighting Irish Wire, Solich was Nebraska’s head coach the last two times the traditional powerhouses met as he beat the Irish in both 2000 and 2001.

Personally, I am surprised I made it over 130 words about Frank Solich without mentioning Bob Davie playing for overtime in that 2000 heartbreaker.

All the best to Solich in his retirement.

Related:

Notre Dame’s 13 winningest head football coaches of all-time

College Football News ranks SEC head coaches: Where’s Kirby Smart?

College Football News ranked the top SEC head coaches. Where is Georgia football’s Kirby Smart?

Pete Fiutak of College Football News recently released a list ranking the SEC head coaches heading into the 2020 season.

Checking in at No. 3 on the list is Georgia’s Kirby Smart, who trails only Nick Saban (1) and Ed Orgeron (2).

At No. 4 is Dan Mullen and at No. 5 is Gus Malzahn.

As much as I’d love for Smart to be in that No. 2 spot, I do not disagree with Fiutak here.

Smart’s time will come, and within the next five years he may very well occupy that No. 1 spot.

For now, he’s sitting at No. 3 on Fiutak’s list, likely right on the verge of taking over that No. 2 ranking. As long as he keeps winning the SEC East, beating rivals and putting his team in striking distance for the College Football Playoff…he’ll be considered a top-five coach in America.

Orgeron or Smart at No. 2 was likely a somewhat difficult decision. Fiutak went with Coach O since he accomplished something Kirby hasn’t yet, a national championship.

I’ve heard it all – “Anyone could win with that roster.”

Sure, Smart probably would have won it with that roster LSU had last year. But, at the end of the day, he didn’t have that roster. No other way around it.

Also, how can you not love Coach O?

As for Saban, there’s no arguing that one.

NFL coaches to join conference call to discuss COVID-19 protocols for season

All 32 NFL coaches are expected to join a conference call Monday afternoon to discuss COVID-19 protocols for a safe start to the season.

NFL training camps around the country are slated to begin in just a little over three weeks, yet with the rise of COVID-19 cases nationally, the start of the 2020 season seems more and more in jeopardy.

Conference calls with owners, player representatives and the NFL Players’ Association have happened recently and now it’s the coaches’ turn to learn the details of the protocols required for a safe reopening this summer.

All 32 NFL head coaches will be participating in a conference call Monday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. PT, according to ESPN’s Dianna Russini, who was the first to tweet the news.

The NFL has already canceled a number of events in light of the coronavirus pandemic, including the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, enshrinement ceremony and the supplemental draft.

The players’ union and the league still have to come to terms on the number of games to be played in the preseason, with recent reports indicating the exhibition scheduled could be cut in half.

This story is continuing to develop.

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A look at the diversity within the Seahawks and Cardinals organizations

A look at the diversity within the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals organizations, analyzing the coaches, general managers and players.

Recently NFL commissioner Roger Goodell made a statement condemning racism and the systemic oppression of Black people, which many thought was too little, too late. While the commissioner wants people to believe the NFL is quite diverse, studies show otherwise. Below is a comparison of the diversity that exists in the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals organizations, which we decided to run in honor of Juneteenth.

Juneteenth is a holiday celebrated on June 19 throughout the United States as the day the last remaining slaves, located in Texas, were actually emancipated. Many companies are now allowing employees the day off to honor the holiday. Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill recently announced that Juneteenth would be a permanent paid team holiday for Arizona, in order for the franchise to “reflect on the history of civil rights in the United States and how we can all work together for a much better future.” The Seahawks will be observing the day off as well.

Second of all, I will analyze the diversity of the Cardinals and Seahawks starting from 2013 when the NFL first started publishing the NFL Diversity and Inclusion Report. The three categories we will look at will be: Players, General Managers, and Head Coaches.

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Falcons listed at No. 20 in ESPN’s continuity rankings

After a second-half turnaround in 2019, the Atlanta Falcons kept their coaching staff mostly intact. In terms of the roster, though, the team’s front office has made several moves on both sides of the ball.

After a second-half turnaround in 2019, the Atlanta Falcons kept their coaching staff mostly intact. In terms of the roster, though, the team’s front office has made several moves on both sides of the ball.

ESPN has tried to quantify the continuity of each NFL team by figuring out the percentage of snaps likely to be played by returning players as opposed to rookies for free agents.

According to the feature, the Falcons have 72.3 percent of their 2019 snaps returning, which ties them at No. 20 with the New York Jets. Atlanta has 17 combined starters coming back on offense, defense and special teams in 2020.

ESPN’s Vaughn McClure discusses Atlanta’s cohesion below:

Ryan and Koetter working in unison for the second consecutive year will be key, especially as they work out the kinks from Koetter’s return to the Falcons last season. There is cohesion, in a sense, on defense. New defensive coordinator Raheem Morris has been a member of Quinn’s staff from the beginning and was a big part of the turnaround last season after being switched from receivers coach to working with the defensive backs. Now it’s about accelerating the growth of a handful of youngsters who missed on-field instruction during the virtual offseason.

Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff and head coach Dan Quinn are both likely fighting for their jobs this season after two 7-9 finishes.

As we examined last week, though, Atlanta’s continuity in its coaching staff could pay off after a shortened preseason.

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NFL coaches could begin to return to team facilities soon as next week

NFL coaches could begin to return to team facilities as soon as next week amidst the coronavirus pandemic that is sweeping the nation.

NFL facilities around the country have begun to slowly open their doors, must it’s been mostly operational staff who have been allowed to return. A new report now indicates that head coaches could also be allowed back inside the buildings as soon as next week.

“The sources told Yahoo Sports that if coaches resume their in-house work next week, minicamps including players could be scheduled as early as June 15 or as late as June 27, depending on COVID-19 data and whether a handful of franchises get a “go ahead” signal from state governments to resume full operations,” writes Yahoo Sports columnist, Charles Robinson.

Robinson notes that California Governor Gavin Newsom’s actions could be the “key hurdle” to teams opening up around the nation.

“If California is open for [team] operations soon, minicamps can still happen in June – probably late June, I’d think – but maybe even mid-June,” Robinson continues, citing yet another league source.

But with COVID-19 cases around the country starting to climb once again, the NFL may be hesitant to resume full operations too quickly.

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Ranking SEC head coaches heading into 2020 CFB season

We ranked all the SEC head coaches, from Georgia football’s Kirby Smart, to Arkansas’ Sam Pittman, to Florida’s Dan Mullen.

The SEC is loaded with head coaching talent as we head into the 2020 college football season.

You have your usuals – Nick Saban, Kirby Smart, Gus Malzahn, Ed Orgeron, etc.

But then you have your familiar, or in some cases not-so-familiar, yet new faces: Lane Kiffin, Mike Leach, Sam Pittman, Eli Drinkwitz.

Ranking the SEC head coaches heading into the 2020 season is as hard as it’s ever been, and that’s because of all these new hirings. But it’s also because Jeremy Pruitt waited until October to start winning games in Tennessee last year. It’s because Ed Orgeron took a loaded roster and won a national title. Because Gus Malzahn and Auburn always have the talent but can’t seem to win the big ones. Or because, despite a 4-8 season, Will Muschamp was able to knock off Kirby Smart and Georgia.

Related: 2020 Georgia schedule with game-by-game score predictions

With all of this taken into consideration, here’s our SEC head coaching power rankings for the 2020 college football season:

14. Sam Pittman, Arkansas

I would have loved to get Pittman into a higher spot on this list, but what is there to go off of? His last head coaching job came in 1992 and 1993 when he led Hutchinson Community College to an 11–9–1 record over two seasons.

I am 100% rooting for Pittman to succeed in his first season as head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks. It won’t be easy, and this is a team that will likely finish with at least five losses for the first few years, but that’s not necessarily a terrible thing as long as they play hard.

Arkansas may not field the most talented teams in the SEC, but if there’s one thing I’m certain of it’s that the former UGA O-Line coach will make sure his guys fight harder than anybody.

13. Eli Drinkwitz, Missouri

Drinkwitz gets the No. 13 spot because of what he was able to do at App State last year. In his first season as a head coach, he led the Mountaineers to a 12-1 record and a Sun Belt championship.

But that’s not the SEC. It’s going to be a rocky road ahead for Drinkwitz, as Mizzou will definitely not be one of the more talented teams in the league for a few years.

12. Derek Mason, Vanderbilt

I often find myself rooting for Vanderbilt and Mason.

He took over at Vandy when James Franklin left for Penn State, and though it’s been tough at times, you get the feeling that Commodore fans actually look forward to their seasons.

11. Will Muschamp, South Carolina

If Muschamp had not beaten Georgia last year, he maybe would not even be on this list at all.

But he won and that probably saved his job. He coaches up a good defense, but South Carolina will need to crank up its recruiting efforts if it wants to start contending in the SEC East. Another season with no bowl game may put an end to Muschamp’s head coaching career with the Gamecocks.

10. Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss

Kiffin is a good football coach, there’s no denying that. No. 10 is pretty low for an offensive genius like him. But this conference is simply loaded.

Kiffin did a great job at Florida Atlantic, but I still need to see him win consistently at a Power 5 school.

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Tom Herman absent on list of top Power Five college football coaches

CBS Sports recently released their rankings for the top 25 Power Five college football coaches heading into the 2020 season.

Texas head coach Tom Herman was not included in the rankings of the top 25 Power Five college football coaches. Continue reading “Tom Herman absent on list of top Power Five college football coaches”