FondestMemory
02/20/07, 10:06 AM
of the seven new coaches going into next season, who initially seems like the one who will be most successful? least successful? granted, there's still the draft and free agency, but as of now, who's more likely to do what?
here's mine, in order of most successful to least:
1. mike tomlin - steelers
he's taking over a damn good team. they ended the season 6-2 and have every starter under contract from last season. he still has a great defense and coordinator, and the offense isn't changing. last year's 2-6 start was a fluke.
2. wade phillips - cowboys
he gets a lot of shit as a head coach, but his stint in buffalo wasn't horrible. he knows defense and has a lot of tools to work with. the biggest question mark is how successful his offense will be under a first time playcaller and a qb who clearly needs a lot of work. i think phillips is coming into this job with a lot to prove, and it's not a bad team he's taking over to do that with.
3. norv turner - chargers
he's only this high due to the talent on this team. norv's failed in two stints as a head coach. even if you want to discount his brief stint with the raiders, he proved he can't really cut it in washington. he is a great offensive playcaller, but lacks the fire and motivational tools to get teams to pour their heart out for him. he very well may end up with the best record of the new coaches, but i'm convinced that by the time he's done with this team their record won't be nearly as good as it should be.
4. ken whisenhunt - cardinals
i'd like to put him higher up on the list just because i think he's going to be a great head coach and he's put together a great staff, but the talent and ownership won't allow me to do that. i think they'll be fine on offense. they're two or three pieces on the line away from being extremely balanced and dangerous. sadly, two or three pieces of a five piece unit isn't fixable overnight. the defense also leaves a lot of questions, but is closer to being fixed than the o-line. the biggest question mark though is whether or not ownership will get out of the way for the first time ever and allow this team to succeed. if this were a long term question and not just next season, i'd have whisenhunt tied for first with tomlin.
5. bobby petrino - falcons
i wasn't a big fan of this hire at all. i didn't understand a passing oriented college coach taking over a team that's near playoff caliber with michael vick as qb. but vick is under more pressure now than ever, he knows if he doesn't finally step up and perform consistently, that it'll be him on his way out this time and not the coach. he also has a history of designing an offense to get the most out of a mobile left hander after stefan lefors at louisville. not to mention he has a great defensive coordinator who is on the verge of being one of the most sought after assistants.
6. lane kiffin - raiders
big doubts about this guy. seems too timid and almost like a deer in headlights. how he'll get a hardnose team like the raiders to follow him remains to be seen. the only reason he's not last on this list is because of the quality defense he has going for him. that's a playoff quality defense. that works in his favor since he's an offensive mind and can concentrate on putting an offense that can actually score touchdowns on the field. getting some consistency out of a quarterback and the o-line will turn this team quickly from laughing stock to legit.
7. cam cameron - dolphins
poor guy's taking over the worst situation by far. the strongest point of this team is their defensive front seven, but they're getting old. there are a shit ton of free agents that need signed. the running game has a solid feature back, but he needs a complement. the secondary is god awful. and that's not even getting to the cluster fuck of a situation quarterback turned into for them. saban somehow left this team far worse off than he inherited it, and poor cam is the guy stuck trying to clean it up. i don't see it ending well for him.
here's mine, in order of most successful to least:
1. mike tomlin - steelers
he's taking over a damn good team. they ended the season 6-2 and have every starter under contract from last season. he still has a great defense and coordinator, and the offense isn't changing. last year's 2-6 start was a fluke.
2. wade phillips - cowboys
he gets a lot of shit as a head coach, but his stint in buffalo wasn't horrible. he knows defense and has a lot of tools to work with. the biggest question mark is how successful his offense will be under a first time playcaller and a qb who clearly needs a lot of work. i think phillips is coming into this job with a lot to prove, and it's not a bad team he's taking over to do that with.
3. norv turner - chargers
he's only this high due to the talent on this team. norv's failed in two stints as a head coach. even if you want to discount his brief stint with the raiders, he proved he can't really cut it in washington. he is a great offensive playcaller, but lacks the fire and motivational tools to get teams to pour their heart out for him. he very well may end up with the best record of the new coaches, but i'm convinced that by the time he's done with this team their record won't be nearly as good as it should be.
4. ken whisenhunt - cardinals
i'd like to put him higher up on the list just because i think he's going to be a great head coach and he's put together a great staff, but the talent and ownership won't allow me to do that. i think they'll be fine on offense. they're two or three pieces on the line away from being extremely balanced and dangerous. sadly, two or three pieces of a five piece unit isn't fixable overnight. the defense also leaves a lot of questions, but is closer to being fixed than the o-line. the biggest question mark though is whether or not ownership will get out of the way for the first time ever and allow this team to succeed. if this were a long term question and not just next season, i'd have whisenhunt tied for first with tomlin.
5. bobby petrino - falcons
i wasn't a big fan of this hire at all. i didn't understand a passing oriented college coach taking over a team that's near playoff caliber with michael vick as qb. but vick is under more pressure now than ever, he knows if he doesn't finally step up and perform consistently, that it'll be him on his way out this time and not the coach. he also has a history of designing an offense to get the most out of a mobile left hander after stefan lefors at louisville. not to mention he has a great defensive coordinator who is on the verge of being one of the most sought after assistants.
6. lane kiffin - raiders
big doubts about this guy. seems too timid and almost like a deer in headlights. how he'll get a hardnose team like the raiders to follow him remains to be seen. the only reason he's not last on this list is because of the quality defense he has going for him. that's a playoff quality defense. that works in his favor since he's an offensive mind and can concentrate on putting an offense that can actually score touchdowns on the field. getting some consistency out of a quarterback and the o-line will turn this team quickly from laughing stock to legit.
7. cam cameron - dolphins
poor guy's taking over the worst situation by far. the strongest point of this team is their defensive front seven, but they're getting old. there are a shit ton of free agents that need signed. the running game has a solid feature back, but he needs a complement. the secondary is god awful. and that's not even getting to the cluster fuck of a situation quarterback turned into for them. saban somehow left this team far worse off than he inherited it, and poor cam is the guy stuck trying to clean it up. i don't see it ending well for him.