Extra Points: Rating the NFL coaching candidates

Ronnie49Lott · 2013-12-31T19:22:09-08:00

1. - Greg Roman, 49ers offensive coordinator - Roman should be generating far more buzz. He has juggled completely different quarterbacks and offenses under Jim Harbaugh in San Francisco, succeeding with both Alex Smith and Colin Kaepernick. The Niners are 36-11-1 since Harbaugh and Roman arrived from Stanford. 2. - Ken Whisenhunt, Chargers offensive coordinator - The former Cardinals head coach had a big hand in Philip Rivers' resurgence in San Diego and the Chargers' march toward the playoffs this season. With Kurt Warner, Whisenhunt was able to make two playoff appearances and a run to Super Bowl XLIII in the desert. Give him a competent QB and he will produce at a high level. 3. - Jay Gruden, Bengals offensive coordinator - Most of the innovation in offensive football is going on outside the NFL in places like college, the Arena Football League and Canada. Jay Gruden, the younger brother of Jon, spent over 10 years in the AFL and was a part of six ArenaBowl champions while devising ways to create space and teaching QBs about decision-making and the importance of accuracy. He arrived in Cincinnati at the same time as Andy Dalton and the Bengals have made the postseason three consecutive times for the first time in franchise history. 4. - Mike Zimmer, Bengals defensive coordinator - Zimmer has spent the previous 14 years as a defensive coordinator in Dallas, Atlanta and Cincinnati, putting together some impressive units along the way. Universally regarded as head-coaching material, Zimmer is hurt by just how quickly the NFL has morphed into an offensive league and the fact that most franchises looking for new coaches want offensive-minded guys. 5. - Darrell Bevell, Seahawks offensive coordinator - Bevell's first job as an offensive coordinator in the NFL came in Minnesota as Brad Childress' yes man, hardly a resume builder. But, he's turned it around in the Emerald City by building the Seattle offense around the unique skills of Russell Wilson, who is 15-1 at home as the starter in his first two NFL seasons. 6. - Jack Del Rio, Broncos defensive coordinator - Del Rio won 68 games during eight-plus years in Jacksonville, including two playoff appearances, a resume only bolstered by that franchise's drastic decline since he left. Denver is obviously about offense but Del Rio has done a nice job cobbling together a unit besieged by injuries. If the Broncos are able to complete a Super Bowl run without Von Miller, that would be another feather in Del Rio's cap. 7. - Vic Fangio, 49ers defensive coordinator - Fangio spent 25 years in the NFL before jumping to Stanford with Harbaugh in 2010 and then following him back to the league with the Niners. The veteran coach took over a nondescript group and has turned San Fran into a top five defense in all three of his years in the Bay Area. He's also hurt, however, by the bias toward defensive guys and the fact he's never been a head coach at any level despite being 55. 8. - Lovie Smith, ex-Chicago Bears coach 9. - Adam Gase, Broncos offensive coordinator 10. - Todd Bowles, Cardinals defensive coordinator 11. - Dan Quinn, Seahawks defensive coordinator 12. - Josh McDaniels, Patriots offensive coordinator 13. - Harold Goodwin, Cardinals offensive coordinator THE COLLEGE GUYS: 1. - David Shaw, Stanford 2. - Bill O'Brien, Penn State- Texans 3. - James Franklin, Vanderbilt 4. - Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M 5. - Art Briles, Baylor http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2013/12/31/extra-points-rating-nfl-coaching-candidates/

Jan 1, 2014 at 9:20 AM

communist
Veteran
Posts: 12,475

del rio over lovie smith???

whisenhunt over jay gruden and zimmer??? after Warner had left the organization, ken sucked big time.

Roman is too high, though the author is not completely off the mark. overall our offense was very good in the first two years, especially last year when kaep and co. had to bail-out the crappy defense.

[ Edited by communist on Jan 1, 2014 at 9:23 AM ]

Jan 1, 2014 at 10:01 AM

pelos21
Veteran
Posts: 7,750

Originally posted by communist:
del rio over lovie smith???

whisenhunt over jay gruden and zimmer??? after Warner had left the organization, ken sucked big time.

Roman is too high, though the author is not completely off the mark. overall our offense was very good in the first two years, especially last year when kaep and co. had to bail-out the crappy defense.

You've lost all credibility with that post. Thanks for playing

Jan 1, 2014 at 10:18 AM

LifelongNiner
Veteran
Posts: 24,588

Originally posted by pelos21:

Originally posted by communist:
del rio over lovie smith???

whisenhunt over jay gruden and zimmer??? after Warner had left the organization, ken sucked big time.

Roman is too high, though the author is not completely off the mark. overall our offense was very good in the first two years, especially last year when kaep and co. had to bail-out the crappy defense.

You've lost all credibility with that post. Thanks for playing

I think the poster means towards the end of last season when many guys on defense were hurt and they were giving up a lot of points. The offense was putting up 30 + each game it seemed.

On another note, does anyone think Houston jumped the gun with the Bill O'Brien hire? The Texans arguably have a team that can compete for a Super Bowl now and there are some pretty impressive candidates out there. I definitely would've talked to the Seahawks OC, Roman, David Shaw, and Jay Gruden before making a decision. I suppose they already knew who they wanted.

Jan 1, 2014 at 10:27 AM

NeonNiner
Member
Posts: 2,694

Originally posted by pelos21:
Originally posted by communist:
del rio over lovie smith???

whisenhunt over jay gruden and zimmer??? after Warner had left the organization, ken sucked big time.

Roman is too high, though the author is not completely off the mark. overall our offense was very good in the first two years, especially last year when kaep and co. had to bail-out the crappy defense.

You've lost all credibility with that post. Thanks for playing

Uh, did you watch the playoffs last year? The defense WAS s**tty. Secondary was burnt toast and pass rush was MIA with Justin and Aldon playing through their injuries. Let's not forget their embarrassing and cringe worthy performance in the Super Bowl - not even the biggest Niner homer will tell you they played well.

Jan 1, 2014 at 10:35 AM

socal9er42
Veteran
Posts: 4,621

Too many of the names being thrown around are, at least to me, life-long coordinators (Offense or Defense). They excel at that level, but don't have that spark that it takes to succeed at HC. I still like the old school step ladder for a successful head coach. Start out as an assistant at a College (preferably in a major conference) and work your way up to being a coordinator, then go to the Pros and do the same thing (work your way up). You then take a Head Coach position in College and succeed.

After that, you become Pro HC. It exposes you to everything you need.

It seems to me that there are several that get rushed too fast or are just not really HC material. If they had been given the opportunity of being a HC at College, their shortcomings probably would have been revealed (

Mike Singletary)

Retread Coordinators who never succeed as HC (

Norv Turner, and the rest) - GREAT Coordinators, but just not HC.