Pros: McCarthy has the most NFL experience of these candidates and it’s not close. After six seasons as an offensive coordinator with the Saints and 49ers, he landed in Green Bay and spent 13 years as the head coach of the Packers, posted a respectable 125-77-2 record and won a Super Bowl. Since getting fired, McCarthy has apparently been spending his time self-scouting and studying up on the latest trends and analytics. If that’s true, he may have legitimately improved as a coach.
Cons: Considering the talent McCarthy had to work with, Green Bay fell short of its potential during the McCarthy era. Most notably he had Aaron Rodgers – and when Aaron Rodgers was peaking (roughly from 2009-2016) nobody has ever played quarterback at a higher level. Hard as it is to believe, having won just one ring in that time is a bit of an indictment of McCarthy, whose fallout with Rodgers may have played a huge role in his exit. Managing difficult personalities like Rodgers is part of the job though, and it sounds like McCarthy couldn’t handle it. More importantly, McCarthy’s conservative tendencies and stale play-calling eventually ruined what was once a tremendous passing offense.
Robert Saleh will be a hot name this offseason. Here’s why he shouldn’t be.
Black Monday has taken its toll on the NFL coaching landscape, and the dust hadn’t even settled yet before rumors linking candidates to jobs started flying. The Redskins didn’t waste any time and have reportedly picked Ron Rivera as their next coach.
Things are moving fast! It’s time to get some takes off.
It’s always hard to judge these candidates, especially if they’ve never held NFL coaching jobs before. But that won’t stop me from doing so anyway. Here are four popular coaching candidates that I’d stay away from if I were hiring a new coach this offseason.
1. Matt Rhule, Baylor head coach
Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
I’m not going to lie: I didn’t know much about Rhule’s coaching philosophy before his name started popping up in these coaching searches, which forced me to do some research. And this quote, in particular, raised some major red flags:
“Run pass option has been my deal with the devil,” he said, via Football Scoop. “We won a couple games, but it wasn’t played the way I wanted it to be played. I want the game to look a certain way, with a certain brand. Run pass option has been a bridge for me a way to win. We want to be tough. We believe in full gear, weightlifting, the Oklahoma drill. All the people tell us to be careful about doing, I believe that’s exactly what we need to do.”
Now, Rhule does deserve some credit for being willing to adjust and employing more spread concepts but ignoring the benefits of this schematic shift and wanting to get back to his own “brand” of football because that’s how he thinks the sport should be played is. well, troubling. That’s not how great coaches think.
He’s been successful everywhere he’s been — most recently at Baylor, where he inherited a program in shambles — but building up a mid-level college football team doesn’t necessarily require the same skill-set as building up an NFL team. Maybe Rhule turns out to be Jim Harbaugh, who shared a similar offensive philosophy, but we saw how quickly things went south after the 49ers started losing talent.
2. Robert Saleh, 49ers defensive coordinator
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The track record for defensive coaches from the Pete Carroll tree is not very good. Dan Quinn is the closest thing we have to a success story, and it was the Falcons offense that drove his most successful teams. That doesn’t bode well for Saleh.
Based on his three years in San Francisco, Saleh appears to be a non-factor as a coach. He won’t actively hurt your team; but he won’t make it any better, either. When the 49ers defense lacked talent, it ranked in the bottom third of the league. In 2019, the roster is loaded and Saleh has turned in good results. But he won’t be bringing all that talent along with him to his new coaching job, so it’d be foolish to expect him to replicate those results.
Saleh gives me some serious Gus Bradley vibes. Bradley worked under Carroll in Seattle and was seen as a motivator. The Jaguars hired him to recreate Seattle’s defense and build a similar culture in Jacksonville. The result was one of the worst coaching jobs in NFL history. Will another team make the same mistake?
3. Mike McCarthy, former Packers head coach
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The NFL Network recently did a feature on McCarthy, who has apparently spent this sabbatical studying new offensive schemes and diving headfirst into analytics.
Yeah, I’m not buying the “changed man” routine. McCarthy was one of the more conservative coaches in the league during his time in Green Bay and his offense hadn’t evolved since the mid-2000s. It’s easy to talk about how you’re going to be bold, but in the heat of the moment, people typically revert back to what makes them most comfortable. For McCarthy, that’s calling a million slant-flat route combinations per game and punting on every fourth-and-short.
While I do think McCarthy is capable of taking a good roster and turning it into a playoff team, that’s not necessarily what those ready-to-win teams are looking for. They want a coach who can get them over the hump and into Super Bowl contention. I don’t think McCarthy is that guy.
4. Greg Roman, Ravens offensive coordinator
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I know, I know. The Ravens have the league’s best offense. It’s also fun as hell to watch. But I just don’t know how efficient Roman’s run-first approach is when you don’t have one of the best offensive lines in football and/or Lamar Jackson orchestrating things from behind center.
This is the first season of Roman’s career as a play-caller that he’ll finish with a top-10 scoring offense. After a good start in San Francisco, his offenses declined every season from 2012 to 2014 when he was fired. He coached the Bills offense to a good finish in 2015, but he was fired in September the following season and the offense didn’t regress under Anthony Lynn. While those Bills and 49ers teams could always run the ball, Roman’s passing game left a lot to be desired. And if you don’t have Lamar running behind an elite offensive line, can you really rely on a running game to carry your offense? Not in this economy.
If Roman was willing to take John Harbaugh’s aggressive, analytics-based philosophies with him to his new team, I’d be much more optimistic, but we don’t know if that’s the case. And I don’t know if this Lamar-centric scheme is enough to get me excited about Roman’s prospects as a head coach.
The New York Giants have fired head coach Pat Shurmur, so here’s a look at 15 candidates who could replace him.
As many things change, so many stay the same — especially in East Rutherford, where the New York Giants have fired head coach Pat Shurmur and are once again on the prowl for a replacement.
The Giants now need to hire their fifth head coach since 2015 and since they got a late start, there’s a lot of ground to make up.
Here’s a look at 15 potential head coaching candidates.
Editor’s note: Having gone over several of these names previously, there’s no real reason to completely rehash everything just for the sake of doing it, so we’re going to blockquote out previous analysis and commentary, and add to it if needed.
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Matt Rhule
Rhule is drawing interest from the Carolina Panthers and others, but rumors suggest he’s looking for a place where he can control personnel or he’s not leaving college. Are the Giants that team? Ehh…
Rhule has had success just about everywhere he has gone, and his time at Baylor has been no exception. With the school dealing with some very serious issues, he’s brought it back from the ashes. Not only that, Rhule has a familiarity with the Giants and team ownership, having served as their assistant offensive line coach in 2012. He’s generated head coaching interest in recent years and very nearly landed the Jets job prior to the hiring of Adam Gase.
Forgetting about his desire to control personnel, Rhule has no NFL head coaching experience to speak of, which is something the Giants may look to avoid this time around.
Washington will likely hire a coach and name a new general manager over the next few days, so we offered our predictions on who they name.
The Washington Redskins got the job done on Sunday.
Of course, that ‘job’ was losing to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 17, ensuring that they finish the 2019 season with three wins, 13 losses, and the No. 2 draft pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Now that the regular season is over, the real fun and games can begin.
Over the next several weeks, or possibly the next several days, Dan Snyder and the Redskins will make a few decisions that potentially change the future outlook of the team, and could get them back onto a winning path in Washington.
Obviously, we can’t predict the future, but let’s break down what we feel is likely to happen with the Redskins over the next few days.
Redskins Name Marvin Lewis as Head Coach
His name was the most recent to pop up on the Redskins’ coaching wish list, and that could end up being the biggest indicator that he will be the next in line in Washington.
Lewis may not be the biggest name that the Redskins could hire, but he is a source of stability, and whether Washington fans will admit it or not, he possesses a load of experience in the NFL and has found ways to get the job done in the regular season. His 0-7 playoff record in 16 years with the Cincinnati Bengals is definitely troubling, but a perfect coaching hire might not exist for Washington. Eric Bienemy and Mike McCarthy are likely to take better jobs, and Ron Rivera might weigh his options for longer than the Redskins want to wait.
Put Eric Schaffer in Charge of Football Operations
Bruce Allen was relieved of his duties regarding football operations over the weekend, which is the first and most necessary step towards ridding the Redskins of his fingerprints. With Allen taking a refocused role that has little to do with the on-field product, Washington will be looking for someone to take over player personnel and football ops, likely under the name of General Manager. A few big names like Urban Meyer and Lous Riddick have been floated, but it seems unlikely that such a big fish would take on the undesirable job of remaking the Redskins. Rather, we think that Eric Schaffer is the right man for the job.
Schaffer is already in the building, where he currently acts as the Senior Vice President of Football Operations. He has been with the team for 17 seasons and has recently taken on a bigger role in personnel decisions and contract negotiations. Schaffer is often credited with a lot of Washington’s draft success over the past couple of seasons, and he would likely be able to step into a bigger GM-type role seamlessly.
Fire Defensive Coordinator Greg Manusky
Manusky has coached his last game for the Redskins, that much has been made obviously clear. The Redskins gave up TK points again on Sunday against the Cowboys, which is the eighth time this season they’ve given up 30-plus.
Manusky was rumored to be close to an exit last season, but the team kept him on and actually allowed a decent amount of buzz to build before the season, with the Redskins defense looking like it might be pretty decent. That all came crashing down in the first few weeks of the year, and since then it’s been a race to the finish. There have not yet been many words on who the Redskins would look to replace Manusky at the DC position, but we know that Manusky is not long for the job.
According to Ian Rapoport at NFL Network, the team has met with McCarthy twice.
A few days ago, Adam Schefter at ESPN reported the Panthers have met with former Packers coach Mike McCarthy about their head coaching vacancy following Sunday’s loss to the Colts. It must be more than just a passing interest or due diligence.
According to Ian Rapoport at NFL Network, the team has met with McCarthy twice.
Key notes: — Mike McCarthy has met with the #Panthers twice, but CAR hopes to talk to Josh McDaniels and Matt Rhule, among others. — #Redskins may move quickly on coach & Bruce Allen is likely out or moved aside. — #Giants still need to decide on Pat Shurmur, but status in doubt https://t.co/ezCIKuKHMT
Other candidates who the Panthers want to talk with include Baylor’s Matt Rhule, who is poised to be the most sought-after college candidate this year.
Rapoport says another name on their list is Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. He has frequently been a head-coaching candidate over the years but he’s been hard to pry away from New England, as the Colts found out the hard way when McDaniels backed out of a deal to become their new coach.
Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman should also be a part of the search, too. Roman’s success with Lamar Jackson this year will make him a hot commodity, though.
This report suggests McCarthy might be the front-runner, though. For what it’s worth, he checks many of the boxes that team owner David Tepper mentioned when he discussed what he’s looking for in his next head coach. While he has a proven track record in the NFL, the question with McCarthy will be if he’s learned from the mistakes that cost him his coveted job in Green Bay.
Interim head coach Perry Fewell will also interview for the job. Given the way the last three games have gone though it’s difficult to see him landing it.
As for the man the franchise is trying to replace, the latest news indicates Ron Rivera will have plenty of choices for his next gig. The Redskins are reported to be interested, for one.
The Carolina Panthers have hit rock bottom. Sunday’s loss guaranteed they would finish in last place in the NFC South for the first time since 2016. It also dropped them to No. 26 in Touchdown Wire’s weekly power rankings. Here’s what they had to say about the coaching situation.
“The Panthers might be in the most disarray they’ve been in since coach George Seifert’s final year, a 1-15 season in 2001. Interim coach Perry Fewell hasn’t come close to winning a game since taking over when Ron Rivera was fired. It’s become obvious that Fewell will not get the permanent job.”
Indeed. As to who will get the job, we finally have some concrete reporting. Former Packers coach Mike McCarthy has been a rumored candidate for several weeks. Yesterday, Adam Schefter at ESPN reported the team interviewed him for the head coach opening Sunday.
Based on our Twitter mentions, most fans would be… not thrilled if McCarthy is hired. That group should not panic too much as of yet. McCarthy has some Pittsburgh connections, which gives him a link with team owner David Tepper. However, right now his biggest advantage is availability. Because he’s out of the league McCarthy can interview, whereas candidates who are in the middle of a playoff run like Greg Roman cannot.
McCarthy had an impressive run of success with the Packers when Aaron Rodgers was at his peak (Monday night’s game indicates that’s definitely past). At one point, they made the playoffs eight years in a row, peaking with a Super Bowl win in the 2010 season.
Then again, when Rodgers was at his best it would have been hard for most NFL coaches not to do well. By the end of his time in Green Bay, McCarthy’s offensive concepts were coming under heavy criticism and Rodgers seemed tuned out.
Coaches can improve just like any player, though. If McCarthy has earnestly spent the last year self-scouting and trying to improve he might be much better. Whether it’s in Carolina or somewhere else, odds are McCarthy will get a chance to prove himself again.
The Panthers are reportedly interviewing former Green Bay head coach Mike McCarthy. They shouldn’t make that mistake.
The Carolina Panthers have reportedly interviewed former Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy for their open coaching spot, according to ESPN.
This would be a mistake.
Before I get into why, let’s give the man his due. McCarthy had success in Green Bay. He won a Super Bowl in 2010. The Packers were consistently competitive, if slightly underachieving, while he was the head coach there for 13 seasons.
He also had one of the most gifted quarterbacks to ever play the game on his roster, and continually under-achieved with a roster that was one of the strongest in the NFL.
His in-game management was a disaster. People called him conservative, but I wouldn’t even call him that — he just looked confused most of the time. I know how hectic a game sideline can be, how many moving parts there are, and I’m not asking every coach to be able to quickly run a down-and-distance win-probability analysis to make the right call every time.
(They probably should have someone on staff to do that, but still.)
With McCarthy, that wasn’t the issue. With McCarthy, he often seemed completely surprised by the situations as they presented themselves. I can’t recall the amount of times I saw Aaron Rodgers anxiously turn to the sideline with the Packers in a fourth-and-short situation, and the camera would cut to McCarthy, and he would look like I just asked him to translate a passage of particularly dense Greek.
McCarthy wasn’t weighing options. McCarthy was lost. Eventually, he’d sort of gather himself, and then send the field goal unit on the field as Rodgers would angrily storm off the field.
Again: That wasn’t something I saw once or twice. That happened all the time.
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images
Now McCarthy is doing a bit of a press tour, saying he’s changed. I think he knew the knocks on him, so he gave an interview to NFL.com in which he said he’s been studying all the other teams, including their use of analytics.
McCarthy wants people to believe he’s seen the light. He’s not the conservative fuddy duddy who held Rodgers back. He’s innovative. He uses the computers, now!
But … then he made clear in the interview that he’s never going to totally change his style. Plus, this is what he said regarding the use of analytics:
“We were definitely on the average side at best in my time in Green Bay there.”
Average? Come on.
This man is paying lip service. Forgive me for thinking this, but to me, this is someone who has no idea. He says he studied analytics, but offers no insight into what that means, or how he wants to apply it. He just says he studied “analytics.”
What did he glean from these studies of his? That teams should be going for it far more often fourth down? That play-action pass is still under-utilized? That teams should be throwing more than they ever have?
No. All he learned is that he can do analytics better.
Right.
Panthers, if you want an old school, conservative coach who has a pedigree, by all means, hire Mike McCarthy. But don’t buy this idea he’s selling that he’s embraced analytics or has some innovative vision for the Panthers.
Panthers interviewed former Packers’ HC Mike McCarthy for their head-coaching job after their game against the Colts on Sunday, per league sources. Panthers declined comment on the coaching search. – Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 23, 2019 …
Panthers interviewed former Packers’ HC Mike McCarthy for their head-coaching job after their game against the Colts on Sunday, per league sources. Panthers declined comment on the coaching search.
Former Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy wants to coach again in 2020, and his first interview of the new coaching cycle came Sunday.
According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, McCarthy interviewed with the Carolina Panthers following their loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.
McCarthy, who was fired by the Packers in December of last year, didn’t land a coaching job last offseason and has sat out the 2019 season, although he’s spent the year preparing to land a job for 2020.
The Panthers fired long-time coach Ron Rivera after a 5-7 start. Carolina started 4-2 but has since lost eight of the last nine games, including three straight games under interim coach Perry Fewell.
New coach Matt LaFleur and the Packers defeated Rivera and the Panthers on a goal-line stand on Nov. 10 at Lambeau Field.
The Panthers have question marks at quarterback moving forward, with Cam Newton’s future in Carolina still up in the air.
McCarthy went 125-77 over 13 seasons with the Packers. He won six division titles and went 10-8 in the postseason, including a win in Super Bowl XLV.
One important scheduling note: The Panthers will play at Lambeau Field again next season.
According to a report by Adam Schefter at ESPN, the Panthers interviewed former Packers coach Mike McCarthy for their head coach opening on Sunday after their loss to the Colts.
Panthers interviewed former Packers’ HC Mike McCarthy for their head-coaching job after their game against the Colts on Sunday, per league sources. Panthers declined comment on the coaching search.
According to a report by Adam Schefter at ESPN, the Panthers interviewed former Packers coach Mike McCarthy for their head coach opening on Sunday after their loss to the Colts.
McCarthy first came into the NFL as the wide receivers coach for the Steelers in 1992. He became the head coach for Green Bay in 2006 and lasted all the way until 2018, when he was fired at the end of the season.
McCarthy won a Super Bowl with Aaron Rodgers and compiled a 125-77-2 record during that 13-year run. He fell out of favor after two straight losing seasons, though and his offensive scheme came under heavy criticism before his exit.
Since he was let go, McCarthy has apparently been busy trying to improve his craft. He’s reported to have hired several assistants for a mock staff and has spent the last year self scouting and studying analytics.
McCarthy’s best hope of landing the job may be his Pittsburgh connections, which could give him an advantage over other candidates seeking to impress team owner David Tepper.
Jimmy Garoppolo showing critics that he can win a big game highlights Touchdown Wire’s list of nine things we learned from Week 14.
On paper, Sunday’s slate of games for Week 14 looked like the best of the season. In reality, that’s how it turned out.
The day was highlighted by San Francisco against New Orleans, Baltimore and Buffalo and New England against Kansas City. All three of those games had major playoff implications. All those games lived up to their hype and several other contests were surprisingly exciting.
Let’s take a look at nine things we learned from Sunday’s games of Week 14:
9. The Rams need to keep using Todd Gurley
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In a move that is likely a precursor of things to come, the Rams used more of running back Todd Gurley than they have most of the season in Sunday’s victory against Seattle. Gurley got 23 carries (second only to his season high of 25 carries against Chicago) and four receptions. His production wasn’t spectacular with 79 rushing yards and a touchdown and 34 receiving yards. In a well-planned move, the Rams had been limiting Gurley’s touches to protect his knee most of the season. But the plan all along was to unleash Gurley when it came to the drive for the postseason. That time is now. A relatively high dose of Gurley allows the Rams to effectively use play action to help Jared Goff and the passing game. With the Rams at 8-5 and fighting for a playoff spot, Gurley will likely get a similar number of touches the rest of the way.
In a move that is likely a precursor of things to come, the Rams used more of running back Todd Gurley than they have most of the season in Sunday’s victory against Seattle. Gurley got 23 carries (second only to his season high of 25 carries against Chicago) and four receptions. His production wasn’t spectacular with 79 rushing yards and a touchdown and 34 receiving yards. In a well-planned move, the Rams had been limiting Gurley’s touches to protect his knee most of the season. But the plan all along was to unleash Gurley when it came to the drive for the postseason. That time is now. A relatively high dose of Gurley allows the Rams to effectively use play action to help Jared Goff and the passing game. With the Rams at 8-5 and fighting for a playoff spot, Gurley will likely get a similar number of touches the rest of the way.
