Before the playoffs are complete and an American football team is crowned world champion, we need to let the bad teams get their stuff together. The NFL ‘head coaching carousel’ is the annual dramatic head coach hiring process which allows failing franchises to begin anew. Ideally, hiring a new coach turns your franchise around. Recently hired Dan Quinn led the Washington Commanders to a surprise NFC Championship appearance through savvy play calling, personnel decisions and providing an environment for quarterback Jayden Daniels to thrive.
Conversely, teams can completely screw the hiring process up. There have been many notably bad coaching hires over the years. Of the many I could name, my favorite was Urban Meyer coaching the Jacksonville Jaguars. The once highly touted college football coach took a stab at the NFL level operation, only to be fired after kicking his kicker and really enjoying his time with younger women in an Ohio State bar. Yikes.
No matter what happens, the coaching carousel either rewrites the destiny of an ailing football team or furthers their misery. Let’s see if I can predict and grade this year’s carousel outcomes.
Chicago Bears – Ben Johnson
Ben Johnson, the highly coveted former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator, lands with last year’s highly touted QB prospect Caleb Williams. Of any hiring scenario, this was the match made in heaven. The heavily talented Bears roster severely underperformed last year compared to the electric offense of their rival, the Detroit Lions. Ben Johnson will ideally utilize Caleb Williams in tandem with D.J. Moore, Keenan Allen, DeAndre Swift and a stout defense to finally make some noise in a hypercompetitive AFC North. If Caleb Williams capitalizes on his flashes, I feel this is a home run. Grade: A+
New York Jets – Aaron Glenn
Opposite Ben Johnson was Detroit Lions’ defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn. Glenn is a former first round pick by the New York Jets and played eight seasons there. He more recently was a well-liked leader of a resilient Detroit defense. Like the Bears, the Jets have talent. Young core players like Garret Wilson, Sauce Gardner and Breece Hall will be cornerstones of the team. The defense is solid, and if Glenn can oust RFK Jr. as quarterback, ignore owner Woody Johnson and reinvigorate a franchise eaten alive by the media, this can go really well. The Jets need a normal person in charge, and Aaron Glenn is normal and good at football. Someone who can show some charisma to the unforgiving New York press doesn’t hurt either. Grade: A
New England Patriots – Mike Vrabel
The Patriots hyped up their post-Belichick era hire Jerod Mayo so much only to fire him ASAP for Mike Vrabel. The former Patriots linebacker led the Tennessee Titans to a successful stretch during his tenure as Titans Head Coach. In terms of talent, I couldn’t name five players on the Patriots for a million dollars. Luckily for Vrabel, the only one I know is Drake Maye, who is a freakier Ryan Tannehill. Vrabel has his work cut out for him, but he’s done this before. It’ll take time, but a veteran coaching hire was safe for the Patriots. Grade: A-
Jacksonville Jaguars – Liam Coen
Liam Coen’s hiring in Jacksonville was unconventionally funny. Coen backed out of the job after being informed he’d share an office with Jaguars General Manager Trent Baalke. Trent Baalke, who used to be the General Manager for my team the 49ers, is an affront to the sport. Baalke has this ability to leech around far longer than he needs to, sucking the life force out of a roster through bad drafting and expensive contracts like an NFL vampire. When the Jags learned Coen took himself out of the candidacy, the Jaguars fired Baalke. Coen then took the job, and will ideally revitalize a stagnant Treavor Lawerence with rookie phenomenon Brian Thomas Jr.. It feels like Jacksonville settled for the best option after Baalke scared Ben Johnson away, but overall this hire is fine. Grade: B-
Las Vegas Raiders: Pete Carroll
So, Belichick is too old and senile to coach in the NFL, but Pete Carroll is a responsible choice? The 73-year-old coaching legend is faced with a garbage Raiders roster with holes at every position other than Maxx Crosby. Similarly to the Patriots, a veteran hire makes sense to revitalize the roster. But if Mike Vrabel is a veteran coach, then Pete Caroll is a veteran coach who qualifies for a NFL pension. Sure, the resume is great, but is this sustainable? Ideally, by the time Caroll is an octogenarian, the Raiders are Super Bowl champions. Grade: C