I usually do this during the bye week, but I’ve been busy and distracted and tired and lazy and a little sick, so I am late. Hell, its now Wednesday, so I am late even for being late.
I do this series in six parts each offseason. I make some evaluations on the status of things, present scenarios and possible moves, and in the end, do a full mock.
Part 1: The Coaching Staff
Part 2: Managing the Cap
Part 3: Assessing the Roster, including pending free agents
Part 4: External Free Agents
Part 5: The Draft
Part 6: Full Mock Offseason, where I make changes, cut and sign players, and then run a mock draft simulation.
So, without further ado, part 1.
#Please Note: I am not considering any coaches that are currently employed in a parallel position unless they are on the Raiders.
#Part 1- The Coaching Staff In my mind, there are only four realistic scenarios here.
We retain Mike and DQ
We fire Mike and make DQ head coach
We keep Mike and DQ takes a job elsewhere
Dan and Mike are both gone.
Outside of those 4 scenarios, nothing major changes. Our OC position is not particularly relevant with Mike making the play calls, and I can’t foresee an scenario where Mike is required to fire a new playcaller while staying the HC.
So, without further ado:
Mike and DQ both stay In this scenario, we probably need to replace some assistants, but nothing that needs to be addressed here.
New Head Coach Dan Quinn
So, under this scenario, we need an OC and a DC. The DC makes the most sense to promote internally, either Joe Whitt or Aden Durde. If we look externally, we could do a former Quinn assistant like Marquand Manuel (Currently Jets Safety coach), Tosh Lupoi (current DC at Oregon), or Jerome Henderson (current Giants DB Coach). Other external options include Chris Hewitt (Ravens PCG/Secondary), Dave Borgonzi (Bears LB coach), Jim Leonard (Former Wisconsin DB), and Todd Wash (Panthers DL).
For offensive coordinator, the promotion of Brian Schottenheimer is possible, but in the event that the Joneses want a complete fresh start on offense, we need to look outside. Some interesting options include: Klint Kubiak (49ers Passing game coordinator), Zac Robinson (Rams PGC), Jeff Stoutland (Eagles OL/RGC), Scott Turner (Raiders PGC/Interim OC?), Justin Outten (Titans RB/RGC), Keith Carter (Jets OL/RGC), Darrell Bevell (Dolphins QB coach/PGC) or Joe Brady (Bills QB Coach).
Vacant DC
A lot of the same names as before, honestly. The only name I would add would be Jerry Montgomery, currently the Packers DL coach and Run Game Coordinator, a former McCarthy assistant in Green Bay.
Start from Scratch
Might be Jerry cleans house, might be DQ gets poached and Mike gets fired. Either way, we start from scratch with no returning coaches, meaning we need to pick a whole new Big 3. There are three categories to look at here: first time coaches, second chance coaches, and raiding college football.
First time options:
Anthony Weaver is currently the Ravens Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Line. He is a former second round pick at defensive end who played in Baltimore and Houston, and has been coaching since 2010. He started out in the college ranks, but quickly moved to the NFL where he coached under guys like Mike Pettine, Rex Ryan, Romeo Crennel, and Mike Vrabel before becoming the DC in Houston after Bill O’Brien was fired. He has been in Baltimore since 2021.
Frank Smith is currently the Offensive Coordinator for the Dolphins. His background is coaching Offensive Line, with some additional time spent as a Tight Ends coach. He has been coaching for 20 seasons, with the last 14 in the NFL. He came into the league under Sean Payton and Aaron Kromer in New Orleans, and has also coached under Brandon Staley, John Fox, Adam Gase and Jon Gruden before joining Mike McDaniel in Miami.
Brian Callahan is currently the offensive coordinator for the Bengals. His first coaching job was Quality Control in Denver under Josh McDaniels, but he was retained under John Fox and Gary Kubiak. He also coached QBs in Oakland and Detroit under John Fox and Jim Caldwell before being hired to Cincinnati. Also, he’s Bill Callahan’s kid.
Bobby Slowik is currently the Offensive Coordinator of the Texans. He was a defensive assistant on the famed Mike Shanahan staff in Washington. After that, he left coaching for a few years to work as a PFF analyst. When Kyle Shanahan was hired in Santa Clara, he brought Bobby in as a defensive quality control coach, eventually moving him to the offensive side of the ball. He topped out as the Passing Game Coordinator for the 49ers before moving to Houston this year with DeMeco Ryans.
Mike Kafka is currently the Offensive Coordinator of the Giants. He is a former journeyman quarterback, before moving to coaching. He did one year as a grad assistant at his alma mater of Northwestern, and then coached in Kansas City under Andy Reid for five years and rising to be the QB coach and passing game coordinator. He has been polishing turds for the last two seasons in the Meadowlands, and showed that he can do that with the best of them.
Brian Johnson is currently the Offensive Coordinator for the Eagles. He has been coaching since he graduated college, starting out as the QB coach in Utah and rising to be the OC before hooking up with Dan Mullens as Dak’s QB coach at Mississippi State. He also coached at Florida and Houston before moving to the NFL as the Eagles QB coach.
Ben Johnson is currently the Offensive Coordinator for the Lions. His background is as a Tight Ends coach, spending time with the Dolphins and Lions since 2012. He supplanted Anthony Lynn over the course of 2021 before replacing him completely in 2022.
Second Chance Coaches:
Raheem Morris is currently the Defensive Coordinator for the Rams. He has been coaching since 1998, doing everything from being an Ivy League position coach to being an NFL head coach, and literally everything in between. He has been a passing game coordinator, a defensive coordinator, a head coach, and an interim head coach. He has coached on both sides of the ball under Dan Quinn, Jon Gruden, the Shanahans, and Sean McVay. He was scapegoated as the HC for a rebuild in Tampa, overperformed, and deserves another chance.
I considered adding more in this category, but honestly, it would all feel forced.
College Coaches
Lincoln Riley, Deion Sanders and Jim Harbaugh are the hot names to move to the NFL, but I don’t think any of them are good fits. If we were going to add from the college ranks, here are the guys I would consider.
Mike Norvell is currently the head coach at Florida State. He was previously the head coach at Memphis, after spending a decade coaching offences around the country. He rebuilt Florida State from the wreckage of Jimbo and has turned them into the #4 team in the country.
Ryan Day is currently the Head Coach at an Ohio State University. He was previously the OC at Temple, Boston College and Ohio State, as well as the QB coach for the Eagles and 49ers.
So, what kind of staff could we build? The coordinators are nearly as important as the Head Coaches in a way. So, I’ll create some trios as examples. I will try to leverage existing connections as well as balance experiences to give us a solid staff.
Trio the first
Head Coach: Anthony Weaver
Offensive Coordinator: Jason Vrabel
Defensive Coordinator: Chris Hewitt
So, for our first option, we hire an experienced player/coach for his first tenure as the Top Dog. He brings with him the passing game coordinator for Baltimore as his defensive coordinator, meaning we can expet to run a defense with influences from Wink Martindale and Romeo Crennel. Schematically, look at Baltimore, New Tork, and Tennessee. With him, we bring over the current Green Bay Packers passing game coordinator to run the offense. Vrabel coached with Weaver in Buffalo in 2013 and brings with him an offensive mind influenced by Greg Roman, Jim Harbaugh, and the Shanahan Tree.
Trio the Second
Head Coach: Raheem Morris
Offensive Coordinator: Zac Robinson
Defensive Coordinator: Todd Wash
Here, we have a second chance head coach who has excelled in every area of the game, an offensive mind in the next line of wunderkinds, and a defensive coach whose first NFL job was alongside Morris and has coached under DQ, Gus Bradley, Doug Marrone, Dan Campbell and Steve Wilks. This should be a solid coaching trio that pairs experience with innovation.
Trio the Third
Head Coach: Mike Kafka
Offensive Coordinator: Mike Groh
Defensive Coordinator: George Edwards
In this scenario, we have a less experienced head coach than the other pairings, but we balance that with a pair of very experienced coordinators. Groh coaches with Kafka in New York, and Edwards was the DC while Kafka played in Minnesota. Together, they have over 50 seasons of coaching experience. Groh will be there to take some of the minutia of running an offense off Kafka’s plate, a role he also performed in Philadelphia under Doug Pederson. Edwards will be able run the defense as his own little fiefdom.