Most and Least Desirable Head Coaching Vacancies

[People's Champ]

After Black Monday, we have 6 head coach openings in the NFL. Houston, Cleveland, Washington, Detroit, Minnesota and Tampa Bay. More may become available, what, with questions in Tennessee and Oakland about their Head coaches heading into next season. For now, let's focus on the ones available now. What would you consider to be most desirable? Least desirable?

Most desirable to me has to be the Lions opening. The Lions have so much talent on both sides of the ball. It really did seem like a change at head coach with a new, fresh mindset could help get this team over. Yes Stafford struggled with turnovers late in the season, But I still believe Stafford can be a top 10 QB, along with arguably the best WR in the NFL, a RB (Bush) who showed he still can be a key weapon on offense. They have a team ready to win now. And ownership has shown they will give you time to really put your stamp on this team. Of the options out this has to be the best.

As far as least desirable, it has to go to my Redskins. Where to begin. The defense had their struggles. They need to be rebuilt. RG3 has to be a concern, both on and off the field. My joy with having him as QB as waned a lot this season. And a lot if it has to do with off the field. Whether it's requesting that his bad plays not be shown when watching film (rumored) or not taking responsibility for his poor play contributing to the failures of the offense, it just wasn't a good year for him. Now it may be that he's a young QB who hasn't had to deal with the pressure and losing ever like he did this season. But that has to be a concern. Along with the fact that he may not be the same since that injury. The style he likes to play lends himself to injury.

And of course, the biggest problem with the Redskins job is, of course, Dan Snyder. I love a owner who says money is no object when it comes to spending for his team. But as we have seem time and time again, he just doesn't know when to stay out the way. Or he does and just doesn't care. His insistence on being buddy buddy with his star players or coaches, and getting involved in everything related to drafting, signing free agents etc.is a problem. I get it, it's his money, he can do as he wishes. But as someone who doesn't seem to understand how to build a winning franchise, it would be best to see him step out of the way. Let that guy, uh, yeah, Bruce Allen, who he hired as GM, actually do the job of GM and decide whether we should give all our draft picks til 2065 to move up and draft a QB. Or whether signing a troublesome D lineman to a huge contract is something that works for the team. Point is, there is so many issues in D.C from ownership on down that this has to be least desirable.

I went off on that last one, as I have many issues with my team. But I'll open it to you guys. What head coaching vacancies would you consider the best, worst?

 

[Megatron]

A few of the jobs have been filled since this has been made, but I'd agree that the Lions have the best job available. Got a talented QB already there (even though he definitely needs some coaching done) got Megatron/Bush/Bell combo (with hopefully another receiver added in the draft) and some nice defensive pieces in the front seven. Additionally, the Fords are one of the most patient ownerships in the NFL. Schwartz got 5 years with only 1 playoff appearance, aside from interim coaches, very few have gotten less than 3 years (and after three they were usually quite awful). Let's not forget Millen somehow got 8 years. So a few playoff appearances early on could buy a coach a lot of time.

As far as the worst, I'd probably say Cleveland. After firing Chud after only one season, I don't think there's going to be many guys lining up to take that job when they know they have a short leash. It's very likely they're going to get a QB early on in the draft, and they do have an extra pick, but if I'm a HC with options I can't say I'd want to risk myself only getting one year to work there. Shurmur only got two if I remember correctly. They have some nice talents but it's probably at least another offseason before they are a real threat (barring one of these QBs being super great, which isn't completely out of play).

 

[Akhilleus]

For most desirable my first thought was the Lions, but I'm going to go with a less popular option and say the Houston Texans. The reason to that is because most of what the Lions have is already there, and yes you can say that's what makes it the most desirable, but to me it also means less when and if you turn it around. The Lions finished 7-9 after looking like they were going to win the entire NFC North just a few weeks before collapsing.

The Texans on the other hand were an entirely different story. They were a team who had what I thought was a lot of talent, a team that had won the AFC South for two straight years and were easily considered a playoff caliber team. A team that simply crashed and burned, and never got out of the wreckage.

Look at Andy Reid and the Chiefs. Look at how much credit and praise Reid has gotten for what the Chiefs were able to do with this season. They went from worst to first. Now had Reid went to let's say Chicago instead of Kansas City, then surely it would have at least been slightly less impressive wouldn't one agree? Chicago has a very talented offense with players like Cutler, Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery, and Matt Forte. Along with what was left with their defense after Lovie left and Urlacher retired. They nearly won the division this year, in fact it came down to that last play at the end of the game where it was finally over for them. They were and still are in my mind a playoff caliber team that unfortunately has once again missed the playoffs. My point is had Reid taken over that team and did what he did, then it would have been much less impressive than what he has done with the Chiefs.

And that is why taking over a 2-14 team like the Texans is something that I would find much more desirable, because they are in that same situation as the Chiefs were in last year, with the same potential to turn it around and have that same "from worst to first" season. They have an all pro running back in Arian Foster, a top 5 WR in Andre Johnson, JJ Watt who is arguably the best defensive end in the league. A young stud in DeAndre Hopkins, and on top of that they have the first overall pick of the NFL Draft which they will likely use to draft Teddy Bridgewater, a Quarterback out of Louisville who while still mobile is a very accurate pocket passer. With all of that I can totally see the Texans having a similar year to the Chiefs in 2014. When the Texans do that and are serious contenders to win the AFC South towards the end of December of next year, it would be much more satisfying than say taking over a team that was already so close last year and still in everyone's minds for next year.

Now as far as the least desirable job, I would have to say the Cleveland Browns win that one. The Browns have had three head coaches in the last five years. Poor Rob Chudzinski only got to coach the 2013 season before he was fired. One season, that was all it took for the Browns to once again fire their head coach, and this is with an entirely different organization than the one before. While I would agree that the Browns have a potentially good defense, there is just so much for that team to fix that I cannot see them going anywhere for at least the next five years...and they would have to be a very good five years. They had a running back that they just drafted in the first round a couple years ago, but they traded him away. Maybe it was a good thing, maybe not. They do have a some first rounders to use this year, but if they don't use them right they could end up into busts just like Trent Richardson is starting to look like at this point. Josh Gordon is by far their best wideout, but even he isn't like a Megatron or a Julio Jones, and Joe Haden is really the only thing holding their defense together. With him the duct tape would fall off and the Browns would be a pile of melted ice cream all together.

There is just so much more work and rebuilding to do with the Browns than there is with the other teams, and add on the fact that they change coaches like underwear and it just makes coaching there a very unattractive concept.

 

[Akhilleus]

To add to what I said about the Cleveland Browns, I read a couple days ago that possible candidates for the job were actually calling former head coach Rob Chudzinski and asking him about what went down there.

Apparently a lot of people think that the whole front office is a little sketchy, and aren't exactly too settled on taking a job there.

I think they definitely have to be the "least" desirable opening available.

 

[Fire Marshall Bill]

I think a major factor is being missed here in terms of worst position available. You have to consider whatever coach is going to take the Minnesota job is not only walking into a very bad team with questions at the most important position. He's also going to have to deal with 2 years in the University of Minnesota stadium before his new one gets built. Things like that don't sound like much, but it's a very big deal to move a team around like that. Plus, the team he's taking over is used to playing in cozy, indoor conditions. Now they have to learn to run in Minnesota weather. All that spells for some very shaky ground in Viking country. Yes, I know the Browns are always terrible, but at least they had a defense this past year that was hanging with a lot of teams.

As for best, I think I might give Houston the slight edge over Detroit. Detroit no doubt has a lot of potential on both sides of the ball, but Houston simply had everything go bad at once. This is not a 2-14 team like their record says. They have a very good defense and every piece on offense they need minus the QB, which they will get in April.