By: Brandon Carr
All of the NFL teams that were in need of a new head coach have found their guy. But how good exactly were these hirings?….
Mike McCarthy (Dallas Cowboys)
Background: Mike McCarthy was the head coach of the Green Bay Packers from 2006-2018. He won 6 division titles and Super Bowl 45 as the head coach of the Packers. McCarthy had been fired in the 2018-2019 season after he and the Packers had struggled that season when McCarthy as the head coach finished with a 4-7-1 record. He had been out of football during the 2019-2020 season until he was hired by the Dallas Cowboys.
Good Hire?: Mike McCarthy will have a lot of pressure heading into this situation. This Cowboys team has Super Bowl aspirations and the fans expect that from this team after they finally fired Jason Garrett. One of the biggest reasons why McCarthy was fired by the Packers was because of his offensive system being “stale.” Now McCarthy had stated in his introductory press conference that he had focused more on analytics in the offseason. This would mean that he has hopefully caught up to what the league has been doing with their offenses. Dak Prescott will improve under McCarthy as he has been known for working with quarterbacks over his coaching career. McCarthy has also been given the greenlight by Jerry Jones to hire his own staff which is a good thing for Dallas.
I think McCarthy isn’t a flashy hire like most Cowboys fans wanted with the likes of Lincoln Riley or Urban Meyer. However I think McCarthy is a better head coach than Jason Garrett and is overall a solid head coach. He can say that he has won a Super Bowl before which helps gain the trust of your players.
Grade: B+
Kevin Stefanski (Cleveland Browns)
Background: Kevin Stefanski had been the offensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings before getting hired by the Browns to be their head coach. He has been with the Vikings organization since 2006 working multiple different positions in the Vikings coaching staff. He was the quarterbacks coach, running backs coach, tight ends coach, assistant to the head coach, assistant quarterbacks coach, and offensive coordinator at one point before taking the Browns head coaching job. Stefanski was a first time offensive coordinator for the Vikings this season. The Vikings finished 16th in total offensive yards, 23rd in passing yards, and 6th in rushing yards.
Good Hire?: A lot of Vikings players have talked about how much of a great leader Stefanski is in meetings and in the locker room. This is great to hear from the players who are showing their trust and giving their praise for Stefanski. Although being in the NFL since 2006, Stefanski has only been with one team his entire career and has only been under 3 different head coaches in his time around the Vikings. He now goes to a team that just experienced major disappointment this past season and a team currently without a general manager. He will get the chance to work with a talented offense with guys like Baker Mayfield, Odell Beckham, Jarvis Landry, and Nick Chubb. With this roster, stepping into this team will expect high expectations.
I can buy into what the Vikings players said about Stefanski. Now can he bring this same leadership and communication skills to a team that is filled with personalities? He will need to in order to get this team on the right track. I don’t like how he has been an offensive coordinator for one season but I expect him to do better than Freddie Kitchens ever was.
Grade: B-
Ron Rivera (Washington Redskins)
Background: Ron Rivera had been the head coach of the Carolina Panthers from 2011-2019. He had won 3 division titles and reached one Super Bowl as the head coach of the Panthers. He had been fired by the Panthers this season after 2 disappointing seasons in a row. He was the first coach to be hired by a new team. With that, Rivera was given a 5 year contract by the Redskins to be their new head coach.
Good Hire?: Ron Rivera was given the keys to do what he wants as the head coach of the Washington Redskins. He has already started to form his new staff with the hiring of Scott Turner as his offensive coordinator and Jack Del Rio as his defensive coordinator. He has a young football team to work with that has a lot of talent.
I love Ron Rivera as a head coach. He is widely considered as a tough nose attitude coach who is hard on his players. He will bring an attitude to the locker room which what this Redskins team needs. He has had success in this league and will build a new culture in this Redskins organization. I love this hire for an up and coming Redskins team.
Grade: A
Matt Rhule (Carolina Panthers)
Background: Matt Rhule has been a coach in football since 1998. During that time he has been a coach for multiple college teams. Most notably, he has been the head coach of Temple and Baylor. He was the head coach of Temple from 2013-2016 where he finished with a 28-23 record. He then departed for Baylor where he would be the head coach from 2017-2019. He finished with a 19-20 record. When the Panthers head coaching job opened, he was the only interview for the Panthers and was given the job. He was given a 7 year deal worth 60 million dollars to be their next head coach.
Good Hire?: Matt Rhule is versatile as he has coached offense, defense, and special teams at one point in his coaching career. Rhule also has had a history of improving programs when he has taken the reigns as a head coach. He took Temple from a 2-10 record in 2013 to a 10-3 record in 2016. With Baylor he did the same thing. He took Baylor from a 1-11 record in 2017 to a 11-3 record in 2019. He now has the opportunity to try and do this with an NFL team.
Matt Rhule has a lot to prove. This is a brand new environment for him. He had been with an NFL team once and that was being the assistant offensive line coach of the New York Giants in 2012. Other than that, Rhule has had no other NFL experience. I believe that he has a very talented team to work with along with great ownership. This gives Rhule a good chance to be a successful head coach at the next level.
Grade: B
Joe Judge (New York Giants)
Background: Joe Judge previously had been on the New England Patriots coaching staff as their special teams coordinator from 2012-2019. This past season, he was also the Patriots wide receiver coach. Before the Patriots, Judge was the special teams coordinator for the Alabama Crimson Tide. Judge was hired by the New York Giants to become their new head coach. He was given a 5 year deal worth over 5 million dollars per season.
Good Hire?: Joe Judge has had the luxury of being coached under two of the best coaches to coach the game of football, Bill Belichick and Nick Saban. Both of these coaches have publicly stated how bright Judge is as a football mind. That is the type of praise you want from two of the best to ever do it in their respective areas. New England has been known to having one of the better special teams units in football over the years with Judge being their coordinator.
I think that this hire has a lot of potential to be a great hire considering who Judge has worked with in the past, however now he has to control an entire team. Giants ownership and upper management are not considered to be very good so that isn’t the best thing for a new head coach. I think Judge has a lot of talent to work with on this roster however, especially on the offensive side of the ball. He is coaching in one of the biggest sports markets in the world and will have to face pressure right out of the gate. Overall I think that this hire has potential to work but it could also flop due to Judge being just a special teams coordinator for most of his career mixed with bad upper management.
Grade: C+
These head coaches have a lot of expectations this upcoming season. Can they turn these franchises around? Only time will tell….
Brandon's Breakdowns 