It wasn't exactly a happy New Year if you were Jim Caldwell, John Fox, Chuck Pagano, or Jack Del Rio, whose firings were all announced during the two day New Year span. I also suppose it was uncertain if you were Bruce Arians and Marvin Lewis, who appear to be retiring from head coaching positions for good. Now that the axe has finally been lifted, it's safe to say that the NFL will look very different next year, in more ways than one. This may very well be the best thing for all of these teams.
As the L.A. Rams and Buffalo Bills have proven, young blood at the head coaching position can be a shot in the arm for struggling teams. Sean McVay led the NFC West's punching bag from the doldrums of what was once the NFC's weakest division, to Super Bowl contention. The Rams have one of the best offenses in the league, led by a powerful running game and career-defining passing statistics set by one Jared Goff. As much as Jeff Fisher wants to take credit for that, it's obvious that McVay has done a lot more for the Rams than any other washed-up coach they've hired over the past 12 years.
Sean McDermott's debut as the Bills head coach may not have been as explosive, but he's done something no other head coach has: leading a team back to the playoffs for the first time in 17 years. The Bills may still prove to be a laughibly weak wild card team in the AFC East, but there's something different about this Bills squad this year. In years past, the Bills, when faced with adversity, would pack up their bags and call it quits. This is especially true when they lost at home to the Dolphins late last year (speaking of, why isn't Adam Gase on the chopping block?!). This year, however, they stuck to their guns, got a little help from the Cincinnati Bengals (or Baltimore Ravens, depending on how you look at things), and did the improbable.
All six of the NFL's departees were veteran coaches with impressive resumes, sure, but the NFL landscape is changing rapidly, and teams need to adapt. Just look at the playoff picture: eight new teams in the playoffs this year, four of which haven't been to the promised land for over ten years. Sure, these struggling squads have had a lot of help in the drafting department, but players are only as good as their coaches, in most cases at least.
Except, of course, if you're Jack Del Rio. Last year, the Raiders were Super Bowl contenders before Carr went down with an injury. Now? Mediocrity. Carr has fallen back to Earth, and Del Rio can't do anything to bring him back up...because he's not a good head coach. The same goes for Chuck Pagano, who made the AFC Championship back in 2014 on the shoulders of Andrew Luck. Even with a good amount of talented, yet aging, players, the Colts have become a laughingstock. If Pagano was as good a coach as people thought in 2014, wouldn't this team have at least finished at .500? These two cases are proof that high-end talent can make you look like Coach of the Year.
As much as I hate to say it, that's also true of Bruce Arians and Marvin Lewis. The Cardinals have Carson Palmer, Larry Fitzgerald, and a littany of solid running backs. The Bengals have Andy Dalton, AJ Green, and have had solid defenses in years past. Injuries and trades, however, have riddled both squads, and it was once the herd thinned that Arians and Lewis were exposed. Think about it: both teams went 13-3 in 2015, only to don cement shoes and sink to the bottom of the ocean for the next two years. The Cardinals offensive line crapped the bed, while the Bengals offense went from dilly-dilly to the pit of misery. The quality of play sank dramatically for both squads, and you can't blame that on one or two players alone.
That's not to say that all of these coaches deserve to be on the streets. Caldwell's firing is especially questionable: he's led the Lions to 3 winning seasons, after all. While their playoff performances have been equivalent to a toddler running headfirst into a door, the Lions have risen pretty far from the ashes of their 0-16 season back in 2008. That's not all Caldwell's doing, but to blame him for the Lions' bad luck is a bit unfair. Yeah, his 2009 Super Bowl appearance may have been him riding on Peyton Manning's shoulders, but that offensive line he had is, to this day, one of the best I can recall, and you have to give credit where it's due. Besides, the Lions got screwed over in the game against Atlanta, and also beat what's arguably the NFC's best team right now in their prime (the Vikings).
In any case, as I've stated many times already, young blood may be exactly what these teams need. Sean McVay, Sean McDermott...hell, even Kyle Shanahan...all of these head coaches have completely turned their teams around. This is something the Raiders have apparently failed to realize. Instead of hiring someone new, or even someone from out of house, the Raiders have decided to climb in the Delorian and travel back to 2001 to pick up Jon Gruden and make him head coach again. I love the Gruden brothers...but MAN is this a bad idea. If anything, Gruden should be a scout, not the head coach of a team so meh-worthy they're considering moving to Las Vegas. It's time for the Raiders, like every other team I've mentioned, to consider young coaches who can bring fresh ideas to the table.
Which brings us to the Chicago Bears, and John Fox. As much of a clueless redneck that Fox is, the Bears' plight is hardly his fault. His team is run by the McCaskey's after all, who can run an NFL team just as well as Fat Albert can run a marathon. The Bears defense has actually improved immensely under him, actually shutting out the very talented (except for Cleveland) AFC North this year. I just don't think the Bears have the tools necessary to improve, even without Fox, merely because of how the team is run. Questionable draft decisions, terrible stadium deals...the McCaskey's have committed every sin an NFL owner can. The Bears' future is bleak, even with a new head coach.
With so many young teams taking the league by storm, the best way for teams to compliment this evolution is with equally young head coaches. Just look at Mike Tomlin, who's led the Steelers to two Super Bowls in his tenure. He was the youngest head coach in the NFL when he was hired, and he's now one of the best head coaches in the league. Youth and enthusiasm may not always beat treachery and experience, but that doesn't mean one can't lead to the other.
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