Jalen Hurts, NFL Players Who Will Benefit Most from Coaching Changes Next Season
The NFL coaching carousel is going full speed right now. Not only are five head coaching jobs still vacant, but a multitude of offensive and defensive coordinator positions are up for grabs as well.
The results of this hiring cycle could have a significant impact on a slew of star players for the 2024 season and beyond.
Players can see their production wax and wane based on the system they are in. The right coaching staff and system can take a previously mediocre team and turn it into an elite one, while poor hires could submarine a club's chances of contending.
With that in mind, the following five players stand to benefit the most from coaching changes ahead of the 2024 NFL season.
QB Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles
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It's arguable that no player stands to benefit more from a coaching change this offseason than Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. While head coach Nick Sirianni remains in his post despite a dismal end to the team's 2023 season, the Eagles are moving on from beleaguered offensive coordinator Brian Johnson.
Derrick Gunn and Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Johnson has been dismissed. McLane mentioned current Indianapolis Colts offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter as a potential replacement, although he said Cooter "won't be among the top candidates."
Hurts was notably affected by league rivals plundering Sirianni's staff last year. The signal-caller was producing like a league MVP and took his team to a Super Bowl in 2022 under offensive coordinator Shane Steichen, but he struggled with inconsistency and failed to even make the Pro Bowl with Johnson in that same role.
Hurts averaged nearly 20 fewer passing yards and 15 fewer rushing yards per game this season compared to last. His completion rate dipped over a full percentage point, and his interceptions skyrocketed from a mere six in 2022 to 15 in 2023. Most alarmingly, Hurts went from posting a 14-1 record as a starter in 2022 to 11-6 after he lost six of his last seven starts before his squad was embarrassed in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs.
Getting a new offensive coordinator in place should help Hurts return to MVP form. The 25-year-old possesses the talent to be one of the league's best at his position, but he clearly needs the right scheme in place to get back to that level.
WR Drake London, TE Kyle Pitts and RB Bijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons
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The Atlanta Falcons put a merciful end to the Arthur Smith era after three consecutive 7-10 seasons and zero playoff berths. They continually underperformed under him, especially on the offensive side that Smith was brought in to improve after his stint with the Tennessee Titans.
While Atlanta has yet to name a replacement for Smith—ownership has brought in big names like Bill Belichick and John Harbaugh for interviews but doesn't appear to be rushing the process—just about anyone could do a better job maximizing the abilities of wide receiver Drake London, tight end Kyle Pitts and running back Bijan Robinson.
The Falcons have spent top-eight picks on Robinson, London and Pitts in each of the last three drafts. Despite those hefty investments, they have one Pro Bowl appearance between them and haven't exactly put up numbers commensurate with their lofty draft positions.
While Pitts looked to be on his way to becoming a star after a 68-catch, 1,026-yard rookie campaign, he's barely broken 1,000 receiving yards combined over the last two years. He also has just six total touchdown receptions in three seasons.
London has disappointed as well despite being the first receiver off the board in a loaded 2021 class. He's yet to breech the 1,000-yard mark in either of his two NFL campaigns and had only two touchdowns on 69 catches this past season.
Robinson looked like a generational prospect and a can't-miss pick in this past draft, but he saw only 214 carries in his first season, taking them for 976 yards and four touchdowns. While he did contribute often as a pass-catcher, his 487 yards and four scores on 58 receptions also left something to be desired.
Atlanta's lack of a franchise quarterback deserves some of the blame for London, Pitts and Robinson not taking off as expected. Marcus Mariota, Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke have all disappointed over the last two seasons, but the sheer amount of talent surrounding these quarterbacks should have elevated them above the level they produced at.
It will be up to the next head coach and offensive coordinator to install a system that unlocks Atlanta's dangerous weapons, one that nearly any passer should be able excel in. Even if it takes another year or two to find a quarterback to build around for the foreseeable future, the Falcons should be much more formidable with the right coach in place for 2024.
WR Terry McLaurin, Washington Commanders
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The Washington Commanders are entering a new era with hope for the future. Led by a new ownership group helmed by Josh Harris, the franchise has a long road back to contention, and no pending decision will be more important than finding a replacement for former head coach Ron Rivera.
That choice will kick off a rebuild centered around the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 draft. With as many as three quarterbacks—USC's Caleb Williams, UNC's Drake Maye and LSU's Jayden Daniels—vying for top-five selections, Washington has a real opportunity to remake itself after going nearly two decades without a playoff win and more than three without a Super Bowl win.
While there have been rumblings that the Commanders could completely start over—ESPN's Jeremy Fowler said the franchise might "strip things down to the studs" under a new regime—they shouldn't have much interest in dealing away Terry McLaurin. The star wideout has been one of the few consistent contributors for the offense and still has plenty left in the tank as he prepares for his sixth NFL season.
McLaurin has managed to thrive in the nation's capital despite a revolving door of quarterbacks. He just had his fourth consecutive 1,000-yard season while catching passes from Sam Howell, the latest of the 10 different signal-callers the team has started since selecting McLaurin in the third round of the 2019 draft.
Even if the Commanders push that number to 11 in 2024, McLaurin should remain a focal point of the offense and bounce back after a relatively down season. Although he hit four figures in receiving yardage, he posted the lowest yards per game and yards per reception marks of his career and publicly vented frustration with the offense during an ugly eight-game losing skid.
If Washington takes a quarterback at No. 2, McLaurin will get a chance to play with an elite passer—likely the best signal-caller he's been paired up with in his career—in a new system that could maximize his strengths. That could vault him into the upper echelon of NFL receivers.
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QB Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers
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No rookie had a more disappointing 2023 season than Bryce Young. Not only did his Carolina Panthers finish with the league's worst record, but the issue was compounded by the franchise's decision to cough up a 2024 first-round pick to acquire the Alabama quarterback atop last year's draft.
Young tallied a pedestrian 2,877 passing yards and 11 touchdown passes, stats that look even worse when compared to the 4,108 yards and 23 scores that No. 2 pick C.J. Stroud posted while taking his Houston Texans to the playoffs. Young's marks are closer to the 2,218 yards and 12 touchdowns that No. 135 pick Aidan O'Connell had in just 11 games (10 starts) with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Young's struggles led to the in-season dismissal of Panthers head coach Frank Reich, who lasted only 11 games overseeing what would finish as the league's worst offense in terms of both yardage and scoring this season. It also contributed to the dismissal of Scott Fitterer, the general manager who had been with the team since 2021.
It's now time to start from scratch with a new head coach, something newly installed general manager Dan Morgan will be tasked with right out of the gate. Whomever he hires to take over will have their work cut out trying to get the most out of this roster following a 2-15 campaign, but it'll be tough to fare worse than their predecessor.
The Panthers have a long road ahead, but Young should benefit heavily from a coaching change and could avoid the bust label with a bounce-back sophomore season.
QB Will Levis, Tennessee Titans
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The Tennessee Titans are reportedly hiring Brian Callahan as their new head coach less than two weeks after axing Mike Vrabel, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. One of the main appeals of the former Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator is his proven track record of getting the most out of his quarterbacks, which he'll look to continue with Will Levis.
Levis was a polarizing pick near the top of the 2022 draft's second round. While he possessed the size and arm strength to be an elite NFL quarterback, he had spotty production during his two seasons starting at Kentucky. That up-and-down play continued once Levis got his opportunity to start under Vrabel midway through the 2023 campaign.
While Levis flashed his potential after taking over for veteran Ryan Tannehill—including a four-touchdown, zero-interception debut and a 327-yard outburst in a clutch win over the Miami Dolphins—he was relatively underwhelming overall. Levis finished the year with a 58.4 completion rate, 1,808 passing yards and eight touchdowns against four interceptions and 28 sacks.
Callahan had things easy with a No. 1 overall pick in Joe Burrow at the helm for most of his half-decade tenure in Cincinnati, but he proved his chops when the superstar signal-caller went down for the year this past November. The team remained competitive despite thrusting undrafted free agent Jake Browning—who had zero meaningful NFL experience and bounced around practice squads for the first four years of his career—into the spotlight.
Browning finished the campaign with a winning 4-3 record while completing an impressive 70.4 percent of his throws for 1,936 yards and 12 touchdowns against seven interceptions and 24 sacks. It was the latest success story for a coach who has also helped Matthew Stafford and Derek Carr have some of the finest seasons of their lengthy NFL careers in his previous stops as a quarterbacks coach.
Callahan's ability to consistently get elite production from a litany of passers is a rare talent, one that should go a long way toward fostering Levis' development into a franchise quarterback.
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