Thread: the Head Coach candidates thread

hopefully, as denver fans, this is a discussion we won't be having any time soon. . . sadly, though, i'm not holding my breath-- and moreso, it's just a topic that i find interesting. . . coaching matters in the NFL-- a lot. . . here are some of my top candidates for the next couple of hiring cycles. . .


eric bienemy; i'm honestly not sure why he didn't get hired this year, and that in and of itself begs the question-- is he brian shaw, or is he just a victim of institutionalized racism? i have heard some whispers that he was a serious "party guy" at CU, and i would definitely spare no expense to do a super deep dive on character. . . but given the results achieved (under less than ideal circumstances) by pederson and nagy, plus the emphasis on offensive minds, IMO this guy belongs at the top of the list. . .

matt eberflus; yes, offensive mids are hot-- but that talent pool is also starting to get pretty tapped. . . and guys like sean mcdermott and brian flores are doing fine. . . eberflus got to learn from monte kiffin, and he is getting fantastic results this year in indy, without any overwhelming talents, and he did a great job developing LBs when he was a position coach in dallas. . .

kellen moore; he's raw, but promising offensive talent gets snapped up in today's NFL. . . dude has actually called plays at the NFL level, unlike the zach taylors of the world. . . he does have some pricey talent to work with (though this year's line is a shell of past iterations), but there's no doubt he's made the most of it. . . plus, former NFL backup QBs tend to make strong coaches-- kubes, doug pederson, frank reich, etc. . . they tend to be smart, low ego guys. . .

mike lafleur; he's basically the next zach taylor-- he's been with kyle shanahan since 2014, but i don't think he's the playcaller. . . his brother matt didn't have a ton of experience either, but he's thriving in green bay. . . given the demand for coaches on that side of the ball, i can see someone potentially rolling the dice. . .

the college coaches; kingsbury is getting some positive results, and rhule looks good out of the gate. . . as teams continue to mine for offensive talent, more of them are likely to look to the college ranks. . . i don't know shit about college other than people would love to make a run at lincoln riley, so here's where you folks pick me up and fill out this section. . .



more names to watch; greg roman, brian daboll, keith butler, robert saleh, steve bellichick, chuck pagano. . .

I think EB missed out on a HC job because KC went so deep in the PO’s.

Has EB ever called plays?

I think the smart organizations are figuring out that just hiring the hot coordinator from the team with recent success is a flawed model.

Eric Bieniemy will not be a successful head coach. He's not a good play caller. He's not a good leader. He has benefited from being in close proximity to Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes. But once the national media anoints a guy, then suddenly he's looked at differently in the marketplace.

Which is another reason I'm souring on Elway. I absolutely do not trust him to think out of the box or make an innovative, forward-thinking hire. We like old school guys around here.

Originally Posted by Buff

I think the smart organizations are figuring out that just hiring the hot coordinator from the team with recent success is a flawed model.

Eric Bieniemy will not be a successful head coach. He's not a good play caller. He's not a good leader. He has benefited from being in close proximity to Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes. But once the national media anoints a guy, then suddenly he's looked at differently in the marketplace.

Which is another reason I'm souring on Elway. I absolutely do not trust him to think out of the box or make an innovative, forward-thinking hire. We like old school guys around here.

How do you know Bieniemy isn't a good leader or potentially good head coach?

Originally Posted by BroncoWave

How do you know Bieniemy isn't a good leader or potentially good head coach?

Because he's a University of Colorado guy, and he came back to be offensive coordinator a few years back and it was a trainwreck of epic proportions. He was totally ineffective as a playcaller. His leadership style is to yell and scream and MF his players. It wasn't just mediocre - it was like we can't get him out of town fast enough bad.

I think there's a reason so many teams have passed on him. And he's totally unproven outside of the Reid system. I think he's like Hue Jackson/Rex Ryan bad, personally.

Originally Posted by Buff

Because he's a University of Colorado guy, and he came back to be offensive coordinator a few years back and it was a trainwreck of epic proportions. He was totally ineffective as a playcaller. His leadership style is to yell and scream and MF his players. It wasn't just mediocre - it was like we can't get him out of town fast enough bad.

I think there's a reason so many teams have passed on him. And he's totally unproven outside of the Reid system. I think he's like Hue Jackson/Rex Ryan bad, personally.

Fair enough. Wasn't really aware of his pre-KC story.

The hardass coach does seem to be a bit of a dinosaur these days. Judge in NY kinda fits that mold and I don't see it ending well for him there.

When it comes to more "outside the box" type hires, I'm always surprised more special teams coordinators don't get more of a look for head coaching jobs. (John Harbaugh being a notable success story there)

Of all the different assistant coaches, their job probably profiles most similarly to what a head coach has to do. They are coaching pretty much every player on the team (other than the QB really), and they have to coach principles on both sides of the ball such as blocking, ball security, tackling, and rushing the punter/kicker.

I'd love to see a team just find the team that consistently has the best special teams and just hire their guy to be the head coach.

Originally Posted by BroncoWave

When it comes to more "outside the box" type hires, I'm always surprised more special teams coordinators don't get more of a look for head coaching jobs. (John Harbaugh being a notable success story there)

Of all the different assistant coaches, their job probably profiles most similarly to what a head coach has to do. They are coaching pretty much every player on the team (other than the QB really), and they have to coach principles on both sides of the ball such as blocking, ball security, tackling, and rushing the punter/kicker.

I'd love to see a team just find the team that consistently has the best special teams and just hire their guy to be the head coach.

that guy is dave toub. . . we interviewed him along with VJ and mini-shanny. . .

Originally Posted by dogfish

that guy is dave toub. . . we interviewed him along with VJ and mini-shanny. . .

Yeah I remember his name surfacing for jobs. I wonder if he just doesn't interview well or something.

The untested Coordinators scare me.

See McD and VJ

Originally Posted by Shazam!

The untested Coordinators scare me.

See McD and VJ

By the same token, the guys like Fangio who were coordinators for decades and could never get a head coaching job in that timespan are also concerning. Any hire is going to come with some sort of risk.

So we have concluded that hiring an inexperienced coach is a crapshoot?

Nice work, boys! Take the rest of the day off!!

Is Kellen Moore really going to get head coach looks?

Originally Posted by BroncoWave

When it comes to more "outside the box" type hires, I'm always surprised more special teams coordinators don't get more of a look for head coaching jobs. (John Harbaugh being a notable success story there)

Of all the different assistant coaches, their job probably profiles most similarly to what a head coach has to do. They are coaching pretty much every player on the team (other than the QB really), and they have to coach principles on both sides of the ball such as blocking, ball security, tackling, and rushing the punter/kicker.

I'd love to see a team just find the team that consistently has the best special teams and just hire their guy to be the head coach.

Joe Judge not looking so hot at the moment. I realize he’s five games in and his best player is out for the year, but John Harbaugh was just a special coach. Hard to duplicate that. How Ozzie Newsome saw that is what makes Ozzie Newsome the personnel genius he is.

I think it’s kind of like quarterbacks. You have to shoot your shot with these guys and hope. If it doesn’t work, do it again.