First up let's look at Bill O'Brien, whose firing came pretty quickly after being handed the GM title. He was fired with a winning record albeit it not that dramatically over .500. At 52-48 for his career with a 2-4 playoff record he becomes the latest in a long line of former Patriots assistants that didn't cut it as a head coach. Which is ironic Romeo Crennel another former Patriots coordinator turned head coach who didn't make it will now step into the interim role for this year. He becomes the oldest head coach in NFL history. O'Brien I feel just simply took on too much, he was a solid head coach before taking on the GM duties. Then the franchise refused to give him time for his moves to pan out even if on the surface they were hard to understand. Shipping out Hopkins, and importing Tunsil, Cooks, Johnson, and Stills on offense. They gave him a shortened offseason, and 4 games to get things right which is rough for any coach. I think the franchise believed hewas overwhelmed because the news he was fired came out roughly a day after O'Brien announced he may take on offensive play calling once again. The franchise new no man who could handle the role of general manager, head coach, and offensive play caller. So what's the future hold for this team, O'Brien, and Crennel?
First of all Bill O'Brien is a respected offensive mind who likely can and will find a role on a staff somewhere likely as a coordinator if he so chooses. However O'Brien strikes me to be in a similar situation to Adam Gase, who found another job after being fired in Miami, some teams might still believe paired with the right GM he could be a successful head coach. I see one of two scenarios playing out. Either O'Brien holds out for another head coaching opportunity in the NFL, and winds up sitting out a year as a result of not finding the right job, or he signs on as an assistant coach with one of two franchises. Either the Patriots bring him back as an assistant in one roe or another perhaps as an eventual replacement for Josh McDaniels if he ever actually accepts another head coaching job, the other team, Detroit is the other franchise I could see making this move. Bringing O'Brien in as assistant head coach with a focus on offense. Darrell Bevell hasn't done a bad job but Detroit has no coaches that hold the assistant head coach title, and bringing in a guy who has been a head coach at the college or NFL level since 2012 would be an asset to Matt Patricia a first time head coach who has had his struggles in Detroit and desperately needs to turn this season around in a division that features Green Bay, Chicago, who have both won 4 games so far this season while the Lions sit 1-3.
As for the Texans and Romeo Crennell long term? First off I think it's a foregone conclusion that Crennell likely will not be receiving legitimate consideration to keep this position going into 2021. Crennell is 73 years old, in his 50th, yes 50th year of coaching. He has been in some form of coaching since 1970. Crennell has experience as both a full time head coach, and an interim head coach but still holds just a 30-55 record as a head coach. While I truly believe by the end of the year he will have improved that win total by quite a few, I still don't see a scenario where they hire him full time. This is also a guy who twice was removed as defensive coordinator in his stretch with the Texans to help younger candidates move up. So maybe there is a scenario where Crennell sticks as an assistant head coach to a younger coach out there but ultimately I think this may mark the end of Crennell's 7 year run with Houston.
As for who Houston looks into:
How about these names;
Eric Bienemy Chiefs O.C.- former running backs coach, who has helped Patrick Mahomes to insane heights in KC. He could bring a run centric focus to a team that needs to take some pressure off of Watson so he can go back to his dominant ways in 2021 and beyond.
Dark Horse Candidate would be Josh McDaniels Patriots O.C.- McDaniels could see this as the perfect chance to run his own team again. He already has a starting qb, he has several weapons on offense he just needs to make a culture change, and get on the same page with former coworker Jack Esterby who will likely serve as GM in 2021 unless they decide to hire outside the building, perhaps they finally nab that GM candidate they wanted all along Nic Caserio from New England.
Greg Roman Ravens O.C.- Roman has found success with Alex Smith, Colin Kaepernick, Tyrod Taylor, and Lamar Jackson. All of these QBs have something in common, they're mobile and Roman was able to use this mobility to incorporate the read option, r.p.o.'s, and other designed qb runs to keep the defense on its toes. Watson may be the most complete qb he has had at his disposal without having to develop them further. I believe Roman would be a great coach for Watson and could be their top target.
An interesting theory could be pairing a defensive coach with a strong coordinator. Perhaps you target Robert Saleh defensive coordinator for San Francisco a guy who has started to ascend the NFL ranks since his time in Seattle. He is regarded as a great defensive mind who can put players in a position to succeed. I could see him tapping Rich Scangarello, Mike McDaniel, or Mike LaFluer all former coworkers with San Francisco.
Some have mentioned Wade Phillip's another 73 year old former head coach. However Phillips has an 82-64 record in the regular season, his issue has been in the playoffs. 1-5 overall record isn't inspiring, however Phillips is the anti O'Brien. He is a player's coach who let's his players have input, guys like JJ Watt loved him in his first stint in Houston. Phillips served as defensive coordinator for Houston from 2011-2013. The 2013 season saw Gary Kubiak the head coach of the Texans, collapse mid game which resulted in Phillips serving as the interim coach in his absence, a month later Kubiak was fired, and Phillips took over once again. Phillips has served as interim head coach 3 separate times, with New Orleans, Atlanta, and Houston. He also served as a head coach for three franchises, all of which he managed at least one winning season with, all of which resulted in playoff trips. Not too shabby. Maybe Phillips could be paired with an up and coming offensive mind who could eventually replace Phillips long term.
Whoever the Texans choose they likely will be paying close attention to their coach/GM pairing after O'Brien and Easterby stopped seeing eye to eye.
In Atlanta they fired GM Thomas Dimitrof, Head Coach Dan Quinn, and Special Teams Coordinator Ben Kotwica. In their places defensive coordinator and former head coach Raheem Morris was promoted to interim head coach, while Jeff Ulbrich longtime linebacker coach, and part time play caller in 2020 will now take on defensive coordinator duties, Ben Parmalee a guy who has held multiple roles with the team most recently RB coach was promoted to special teams Coordinator, while Will Harriger moves from offensive assistant to RB coach. I like these moves for several reasons. My main reasoning is these don't feel like moves made that are bound to be temporary. In fact I think some if not all of these guys depending how the remaining 11 games go could actually cement their job status for 2021 in Atlanta.
First of all Raheem Morris being named interim head coach is significant for two reasons. The first reason being his experience as a former head coach in Tampa. His star rose and fell in Tampa tremendously fast but this is considering he was hired as the youngest head coach in history at just 33 years old. He had joined the Bucs just 7 years earlier fresh out of college coaching with just 4 years of experience. He held a different title from 2002, to 2009 each time receiving a promotion with only 2006, a year as defensive coordinator at Kansas not coming with the Bucs. He lasted just 2 years as head coach, from 2009 to 2011. He went on to serve as DB coach for Washington for 3 seasons before landing in Atlanta under Quinn. He was lured in by being named assistant head coach right away also serving as a DB coach in 2015, before coaching WR's from 2016-2018, in 2019 he took over as secondary coach when Marquand Manuel was promoted to coordinator before replacing him as coordinator in 2020. He has now been with Atlanta for 6 seasons all but one serving as assistant head coach, he has worked on both sides of the ball building a rapport with all the players which will aid his transition. Most importantly following last season other teams began to turn their attention to him as a head coaching candidate once again. Which brings me to my second reason why this move makes sense. If you look at the landscape of hot coaching candidates Morris may have fallen outside the top 5 names this year but chances are he would still receive interest. So the Falcons essentially give themselves first crack at finding out if Morris can lead a team this time around after he amassed another 11 years of experience in various roles. He gets 11 games to prove he deserves the job, which if he does could prompt the team to hire him before the end of the season. Due to Raheem Morris being of African American descent the Falcons can hire him immediately without having to interview any other candidates because he meets the minority coaching candidate rules. Giving him another leg up on other coaching options on staff.
As for Jeff Ulbrich taking Morris's spot as coordinator, Ulbrich and Morris have worked closely together for 6 seasons both being hired in 2015. Ulbrich will essentially be Morris's right hand man being that he now holds defensive coordinator and assistant head coach titles. However Ulbrich is a perfect candidate to move into a coordinator role. He began his coaching career the year after retiring as an inside linebacker for the 49ers by immediately accepting an assistant special teams coordinator role with Seattle. He held that role for 2 years before taking a dual role as LB coach and special teams coach with UCLA from 2012-2014, in 2015 he took the LB coach job with Atlanta and in 2019 got his first taste of playcalling after Marquand Manuel was dismissed. All of this helped prepare him for his latest role as coordinator. A role I believe he will flourish in and potentially lock down the position full time. He has helped develop arguably the best defensive player on this team in Deion Jones. So it's no stretch to see his influence.
BM With former assistant special teams coordinator Ben Parmalee taking over as special teams coordinator he also gets his first chance at a coordinator role, but has prior experience that lends itself toward his success in his new role. Parmalee is a former NFL running back and special teams player himself. He played from 1992-2000 with the Dolphins and Jets. In 2002 he returned to the Dolphins as a tight end/special teams coach. Beginning his career in coaching he held that role for 3 seasons before moving on to Notre Dame in the same role where he stayed until 2009. He eventually accepted a role as tight end coach with the Chiefs where he would coach from 2010-2012. He finally coached his former position with Oakland in 2015 where he would stay until 2017, before signing with Atlanta, where they really tested his knowledge with several roles. He was hired to coach RB's in 2018, in 2019 he was moved to assistant special teams coordinator/offensive assistant. This move lasted just 8 weeks when a reshuffling of coaches led Parmalee back to RB coach a title he would hold this time for just 13 weeks before being promoted to special teams coordinator. As I just mentioned, Parmalee is prepared for this role he has played special teams, and has coached it in the NFL and college. This should be a smooth transition.
The last move was former offensive assistant Will Harriger moving to RB coach. This move I find interesting. Harriger is one of those guys who I feel could continue to ascend over the next 5-10 years eventually being recognized as a potential coordinator candidate. If you look closely at his background he has held some very diverse titles which only demonstrates his knowledge of the game. Harriger began his career in college serving several years as a graduate assistant, and linebacker coach. He had so many stops it's pointless to try and list them all here, however he served under Tommy Tubberville, and Will Muschamp in two stops. The first in a group of prominent coaches he served under. In 2012 he went to Florida serving under Muschamp for 3 years where he met Dan Quinn. In 2014 he was hired by Pete Carroll's Seahawks as an offensive assistant. He eventually added assistant qb coach to his duties. In 2019 he worked closely with Bob Sutton former Defensive Coordinator for the Chiefs who was hired as a senior consultant developing the Falcons game management strategies. He was named the game management coordinator in 2020, before his latest move to coach RB's. This is his 17th season in some form of coaching or assisting and has experience on offense and defense, and directly working with 3 positions. I could see him sticking as RB coach but I also see the team wanting to give him more duties so he can oversee a broader spectrum of influence on the offensive side. He could potentially add run game coordinator duties to his titles if he shows an ability to adapt to his new position.
The future of the Falcons franchise in terms of coaching I believe is very bright. The Falcons haven't mortgaged their future draft picks for current assets to build their roster like the Texans have. In fact they have simply drafted and developed quality players. Next offseason I could see them even adding a decent compensatory package from losing Austin Hooper, Vic Beasley, Desmond Trufant, Wes Schweitzer, De'Vondre Campbell, and Adrian Clayborn. They have two potential head coaching candidates on their roster one of which gets and 11 game audition for the job before anyone else gets to interview.
The other Dirk Koetter serves as the offensive coordinator after 4 years as the Buccaneers head coach. Koetter has one of the more interesting career paths I have ever seen in 7 years of researching and following NFL football. Koetter started his coaching career as a head coach of Highland High School for the 1983 and 1984 seasons. He somehow parlayed that into an offensive coordinator position with San Francisco State University which began a run of 14 years as an offensive coordinator at the college level with a total of 5 stops. He then was hired to turn around Boise State as their head coach. He had an impressive run going 6-5 his first year before posting back to back 10 win seasons, 1st place finishes, and wins in the Humanitarian Bowl. In 2001 he decided he would move on to a head coaching role with Arizona State where he would stay from 2001-2006 but never see the same success he did in Boise. He compiled a 40-34 record with 4 bowl game appearances. He was relieved of his duties in November 2006, which began his career in the NFL. After serving as offensive play caller at Arizona State he developed a reputation for testing defenses deep with a vertical passing attack. This helped land the offensive coordinator position with Jacksonville in 2007. He would hold this role until 2011 when Jack Del Rio was fired. However Koetter still remained in high regard and landed on his feet once again as a coordinator this time with Atlanta. Where he would help Matt Ryan to the peak of his career in 2012. He immediately signed an extension with the Falcons, that ran through 2014. After becoming available he was hired by Falcons rival Tampa Bay as their coordinator under then coach Lovie Smith. When Smith was fired in 2016 It was believed the Buccaneers made this move to prevent themselves from losing Koetter to another team who may have viewed him as a head coaching candidate. Koetter took over as head coach posting a 9-7 record in 2016 before back to back years posting 5-11 records. He was let go after the 2018 season and resigned with....you guessed it the Falcons as their coordinator once again, and once again he finds himself in a position where he could potentially replace the coach that hired him. On a side note Koetter has been in the NFC South now for 10 years split between the Bucs and Falcons.
Other candidates include:
Eric Bienemy Chiefs O.C.- I think the Falcons will look to hire an offensive coach if they decide against hiring Morris. Bienemy is the hottest name on the market, he also is a former RB coach which means he is likely to focus on developing two things, an offensive line, and a run game, which are the two most important things to not only protect an aging yet still high level starting QB, but also protect a less than stellar defense in dramatic need of an overhaul.
Lincoln Riley head coach Oklahoma- Oklahoma has developed into a powerhouse under Riley. He has led them to three straight 12-2 records, and first place finishes with three bowl appearances all resulting in losses. Since Riley took over in 2017 he has had a steady stream of NFL ready talent drafted at all points in the draft. Look at this list:
2017:
2nd round 48th overall RB Joe Mixon
4th round 110th overall WR Deed Westbrook
4th round 114th overall RB Samaje Perinne
6th round 193rd overall LB Jordan Evans
2018:
1st overall QB Baker Mayfield
3rd round 83rd overall T Orlando Brown
3rd round 86th overall TE Mark Andrews
5th round 160th overall LB Ogbonnia Okoronkwo
2019:
1st overall QB Kyler Murray
25th overall WR Hollywood Brown
2nd round 38th overall OT Cody Ford
3rd round 97th overall OL Bobby Evan's
4th round 114th overall OL Dru Samia
4th round 123rd overall OL Ben Powers
5th round 170th overall K Austin Seibert
6th round 211th overall RB Rodney Anderson
2020:
17th overall WR Ceedee Lamb
23rd overall LB Kenneth Murray
2nd round 53rd overall QB Jalen Hurts
3rd round 82nd overall DL Neville Gallimore
If you want a true test of a proready college coach you look at their development at two position groups quarterback, and offensive linemen. In 4 years he has had two quarterbacks drafted first overall and a third drafted in the second round, he has had 5 offensive linemen drafted in 4 years all of them in rounds 2-4. He is a legit NFL coach once he gets to the next level, and I think Atlanta might be the right job for him.
As for Dan Quinn I fully expect him to land with one of two teams in a matter of time. Either Seattle under Pete Carroll again, or in Los Angeles with the Chargers and Gus Bradley as some sort of position coach or consultant. I don't expect him to receive immediate consideration for another head job in 2021 but if he isn't a coordinator or assistant head coach I would be surprised.
As for Thomas Dimitroff, he will land somewhere in 2021 without a doubt, the role remains to be seen but it wouldn't shock me to see some teams consider him for GM openings around the league. If nothing else he has worked with Bill Belicheck during his time with the Browns and Patriots. It wouldn't surprise me at all to see him return here. My dream scenario? I would like to see him join Philly's front office in the role Andrew Berry just vacated.
Ben Kotwica has coached under many guys still in the league so there is a possibility of him landing with any of those coaches, however I expect him to sit out until the offseason. Kotwica is a veteran of the Iraq war and started his coaching career at a military prep academy coaching defense. He has transitioned to special teams but could always try finding a different role. I wouldn't be shocked to see the Patriots give him a call as Belicheck loves his former armed forces coaches.
To Everyone's surprise Adam Gase is still employed by the Jets despite an 0-5 start to this season and a 7-9 finish last year. So far he stands at a 30-39 record as a head coach. I like Adam Gase but he is a much better QB coach and offensive coordinator than he is a head coach and I'm afraid that won't ever change. At 42 years old there is still a chance of him being a head coach after another successful run as a coordinator but it remains to be seen what path he takes or if the Jets fire him at all. There is something to be said for continuity for a young qb.
Doug Marrone of the Jaguars has had an up and down tenure but it's probably time for this partnership to come to an end. The Jags might see it fit to give him another year after the development of Gardner Minshew but I don't think they would be making the right choice at all.
Matt Patricia, the latest in the line of failed Belichek assistants. He holds a 10-25-1 record with 3 straight losing seasons. He has had very public spots with former players including former probowl CB Darius Slay. He came to this team already having a franchise quarterback, just needing a defense, and an offensive line. changed on either front it's time to move on. Update:GM Bob Quinn, and Matt Patricia were fired after the latest loss.
Vic Fangio of the Broncos might be the next in line to be let go after a 7-9 record last year, and a 1-3 record to start this year. I hope Elway decides against axing Fangio, because he has had to deal with immense injuries including his franchise qb missing several games this year, his top WR Sutton is on IR, LB Miller is on IR, etc etc.
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