NFL's Black Monday 2014

[Kingdom]

Or hire me, cause I made the jets special teams fucking awesome.

[Hammer]

Good D and special teams.

i know the reason they were actually 9-7 schmuckleberry. still, he had to score points somehow, and he did it with almost as make shift an offense as the jets have.

[Kingdom]

I don't think anything is as bad as the Jets offense. Maybe the Titans. Or the Lindley Cardinals.

[Bizkit]

I don't want anything to do with Doug Marrone. The guy went 25-25 in College, and is 15-17 in the NFL. I will hate Woody Johnson even more if this is who he brings in to be the coach. 9-7 is impressive for the Bills who hadn't been above .500 since 2004, but this coach is just the epitome of average. We'll never see 10-6 or above again with him, and we'll never get a top 5 prospect again either. It's 6-10 to 9-7 every year.

[Kingdom]

10-6 almost got you to the super bowl

[Kingdom]

Tom Gamble released by Philadelphia Eagles - ESPN

[Mach]

we should get that guy

[schisno]

Head Coaching Search Spotlight:
Atlanta Falcons

Atlanta has the best job opening in the NFL. They have the talent at quarterback and receiver to put up points on the scoreboard and they play in the worst division of the league. A division that allowed Tampa Bay to linger for a playoff spot for the majority of the season, unfortunately for Mike Smith and the Falcons they couldn’t win the big game that would propel them back into the post season.

Rumblings out of Atlanta had Thomas Dimitroff and Arthur Blank disagreeing with Mike Smith and defensive coordinator Mike Nolan on how the team should build their defense. The coaches wanted to build their defense from the inside out, looing for run stuffing lineman like Tyson Jackson and Paul Solial. Both were brought in to stuff the run and turn offenses one dimensional, it makes sense with a team like the Panthers in the same division, but you have to still contend with one of the elite signal callers in Drew Brees in New Orleans and the Tower of Power duo of Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson at receiver in Tampa Bay. Both those offenses and the majority of the league need to have a consistent pass rush on their quarterbacks for a defense to be successful.

For being a solid defensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens, Mike Smith could never build a defense that came close to rivaling anything found in the state of Maryland. There were questions regarding Mike Smith’s use of his personnel, especially when he was keeping his young pass rushers like Jonathan Massaquoi off the field for the likes of Kroy Biermann. It was this archaic decision making that led to Smith’s downfall and it seems like he wasn’t safe even if the Falcons were to have gotten into the playoffs because Arthur Blank already hired a firm to help find a new coach a week before the final game.

Week seventeen has come and gone and now Thomas Dimitroff stands as the smoke clears and casualties are dragged away. It’s expected that Josh McDaniels will get a long hard look because of the Patriots connection in the Falcons front office, but the smart move might be to bring in a defensive genius like Rex Ryan who given the opportunity of working in the confines of the NFC South could win multiple division titles, something he couldn’t do in the AFC East because of Bill Belichick and the dearth of talent on the Jets roster.


Atlanta's Two Choices

Rex Ryan got more out of his players then any coach possibly could in New York and could quickly turn around the Falcons. This would be the perfect opportunity for Rex as Matt Ryan is entering his prime and give Ryan something he’s never had, an actual upper tier quarterback. The defense is hardly bare with a promising young corner in Desmond Trufant. Atlanta would simply have to draft a couple pass rushers and could wreck some havoc in a weak NFC South.

If Blank and Dimitroff want to forgo a retread and try another first time head coach, they need to strongly consider the Seattle Seahawks Dan Quinn who has a resume of guiding top defenses at his most recent stops including the University of Florida. There isn’t a hotter name than the Seahawks defensive coordinator and would enter a better situation than his predecessor Gus Bradley in Jacksonville. When the pieces are in place on the offensive side of the ball it makes it that much easier to turn around a moribund defense and coach up the players that will help lead it to becoming a top fifteen defense. Atlanta’s defense is putrid. They are 32nd against the pass, and 32nd ranked defense overall. Even their run stopping has been bad, even though the had a line designed to stop the opponents rushing attack they only ranked 21st against the run, allowing 122 yards to opposing running backs. A far cry than what Dan Quinn is working with in Seattle, but you can be sure he can’t do any worse over the course of one offseason if he was to be hired.

Atlanta needs to forget about hiring an offensive coordinator as the next Head Coach and continue down the defensive guru route. San Francisco and Atlanta more than likely have their pick of coaches and should consider Rex Ryan or Dan Quinn and forget the rest.

[schisno]

Head Coach Search Spotlight:
Buffalo Bills

Going home again to somewhere safe and comfortable sounds like a great idea, but there’s long stretches of road that remind you nothing is the same as it was ten or twenty years ago. Rumors of Bill Polian returning to Buffalo swirled like a cold western New York wind and sounded like it was picking up steam after the howling from a team who just lost it’s starting quarterback to retirement and head coach who left town without a word. Doug Marrone got the money, hey, you know he got away.

The winds of change were picking up for the Bills, yet it was coming in with a retro feel to it with Bill Polian’s name being bantered around. With Frank Reich as a hot commodity as a coaching candidate, the perfect storm was brewing. That was until Polian announced he wasn’t joining the Bills citing that it was a different job now that the Bills are without its quarterback and coach, and that Buffalo would need a longer commitment than Polian was ready to agree to.

Buffalo in the long run is better off leaving the architect of their 90s Superbowl teams in the past, especially with how poor his performance was during the later part of his run with the Indianapolis Colts that ended with Curtis Painter leading to his and Frank Reich’s exit from the Colts.


The Comeback Kid

Frank Reich once led the Buffalo Bills in the biggest comeback in NFL history and with the state of the franchise the past fifteen seasons, he could very well do it again as the Head Coach. Reich was a steady hand and the definition of reliable and capable backup. As a coach he is noted as being smart, detailed, great communicator and a teacher. Former teammate Andre Reed mentioned that when he came into games he knew the offense better than Bills starting quarterback Jim Kelly. Clearly Frank Reich is going to be ready to be a head coach, whether it is this coming season or later, it’s only a matter of time. With Philip Rivers resurgence the past couple seasons there’s no doubt that Reich can help Buffalo’s quarterback woes. The only thing going against him is the fact that offensive coordinators becoming head coaches haven’t fared as well as their defensive counterparts. If there anyone that deserves a homecoming it’s Frank Reich and only makes sense for the man who brought them back from brink all those years ago do the same again as the man in charge and maybe he can right the wrongs of four Superbowl losses, and write the ending the blue collar city of Buffalo needs.


The Schwartz

Jim Schwartz can write a new chapter to his coaching career by taking over the Bills and try to capitalize on their second winning season in a decade, or he can have an up and down tenure like he did with the Lions. Experts will tell you that he couldn’t capitalize on the talent Detroit had collected since going 0-16 in 2008 and lacked the ability to keep his team disciplined, but if 2014 showed anything Ndamukong Suh is going to do what he wants, but his spat with Jim Harbaugh didn’t paint a picture of maturity or discipline either.

He is popular among his players, but there will be questions of being able to keep his players in line. Schwartz did manage to increase the Lions win totals during his first three seasons in charge, culminating in a trip to the playoffs. This time he won’t have an other world talent like Calvin Johnson to rely on, instead he will have one of the best front lines in the NFL and a solid special teams unit. There’s a need for continuity, but Jim Schwartz might still be trying to prove he won’t melt down again. He would be a solid choice to follow Doug Marrone because he won’t quit on his players, instead maybe just be a little too lenient.


Another Blast From The Past

There is going to be mention of the hot young offensive coordinators like Pep Hamilton, Josh McDaniels and Adam Gase, but Buffalo needs to bring in someone familiar with the franchise and with success as an offensive coordinator. Tom Clement checks off both boxes as a former coordinator under Mike Mularkey during the 2004 and 2005 seasons. It’s important to remember he was part of the staff that headed the last winning seasons since 2014.

Since that time he’s helped mentor a pair of great Packer quarterbacks. Clements was there when Farve had one of his best seasons in the green and yellow on a trip to the NFC Championship game. He can also be credited for helping groom Aaron Rodgers develop into one of the games best. It should be noted with help from Tom Clements, Matt Flynn had one of the best games a Packers QB has ever had throwing for 480 yards and 6 TDs. Buffalo will have at least two young quarterbacks on the roster next season with third year player EJ Manuel and whomever they draft in the 2015 draft, and Tom Clements has one of the best track records of potential head coaching candidates.

Buffalo doesn’t have far to go if they’re striving for another winning season. They’ll just have to find a capable quarterback in the draft or hope for EJ Manuel to take a big step forward next season. One step back to take several forward isn’t much to ask for the Buffalo faithful as they should be use to not making the playoffs. However with a stable ownership now in place and a coach that didn’t want to be in Buffalo gone, the Bills have every chance to get back on track for the long term.

[schisno]

Doug Marrone getting closer and closer to being the Jets coach.

Trent Kirchner and Ryan Pace both likely out of the Jets GM search, with Pace pulling himself from consideration. Most of the other GM choices have connections with Doug Marrone. Texan's Director of College Scouting Mike Maccagnan signed Marrone as a quarterback when both were in the World League of American Football. Bill Kuharich, who is current part of the Browns organization was with the Saints when Doug Marrone signed with them as a player and Philadelphia Director of Pro Personnel Rick Mueller worked with Marrone in the New Orleans organization.

Doug Marrone continues to be highly thought of within NFL circles which has led to numerous interviews being scheduled, but because he has spent time in the Jets organization and from the area, Marrone is the clear favorite to lead the Jets.

[Hammer]

yay fire rex, hire this goofball. oh well.

[HollywoodLeo]

Why are they hiring a HC before they even know who their GM is?

[schisno]

They haven't yet, rumours indicate the Jets will have a GM in place by the end of the week or earlier. Just Ryan Pace has pulled himself from consideration and Trent Kirchner is unlikely to be considered. The favorites right now are either Rick Mueller or Mike "General Agnan" Maccagnan. Many are guessing a Maccagnan-Marrone tandem for the Jets.

[Mach]

teams do that these days if the HC is going to have most of the say too. Think SEA did it that way too. For some teams, the GM really only runs the draft essentially and admin stuff whereas the HC has control over the final 53 and all that.

[schisno]

It's why you have Chip Kelly getting personnel decisions now, and Thomas Dimitroff at the whim of whoever gets hired as coach for the Atlanta Falcons.