Hue Jackson To the Raiders: Grading the NFL Head Coaching Hires This Season
With the Oakland Raiders (finally) announcing that Hue Jackson will be their next head coach, every head coaching vacancy in the NFL has been filled. Some teams went after the bigger name guys. Others went through the entire interview process and got the position because they wowed in the interview.
Either way, every team that made a coaching change is now full of optimism. They believe that they have found the man that will take them to the promised land.
All told there were seven head coaches fired this year, either during the regular season or after the season. Seven new hires for teams that truly believe that they have found the answer to all of their problems.
So which franchise made the most out of their new hire?
Which team dropped the ball with their choice for head coach?
Here are grades for every team that hired a new head coach this season. As a qualifier, the grade is based on the coach's pedigree. Obviously we can't grade these guys on their skills as a head coach because we haven't seen them with their new team and in some cases it is going to take some time to see results.
That said, let's get into the grades for these seven teams and their head coaches.
Minnesota Vikings Hire Leslie Frazier On January 3, 2011
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For Leslie Frazier it was just a matter of time before he became a head coach. Everyone around the league loved him as a defensive coordinator. He had the know-how to lead an NFL team, he was just waiting for his opportunity to show it.
Former Vikings coach Brad Childress has long been the subject of ridicule and hatred from the fan base and then the team. Even after the team made their run to the NFC Championship last year, Childress never seemed like he had control of things.
This year when the Vikings started 3-7 the chatter and speculation was too great to ignore. The team didn’t like Childress and he didn’t seem interested in being there anymore. He was fired after a 31-3 loss to the Packers.
Frazier guided this team, which was decimated by injuries and poor performances, to a 3-3 record over the last six games. While things weren’t always pretty, the team responded around him. His next task will be to find a quarterback, possibly in the Draft.
Grade: A-
Dallas Cowboys Hire Jason Garrett On January 6, 2011
2 of 7
For a long time Jerry Jones wanted to give the head coaching position to Jason Garrett. Jones was enamored with Garrett as a coach that he made him the highest paid coordinator in the NFL at nearly $3 million in 2008.
After the Cowboys started the season 1-7 Jerry Jones had to make a change. This team was supposed to contend for a Super Bowl. Instead they were a disaster and there was no hope left. Wade Phillips was fired after an embarrassing 45-7 loss to Green Bay on November 7.
Jones named Garrett the interim head coach and the team really rallied around Garrett. He led the team to a 5-3 finish and there was an intensity that seemed to be missing under Phillips.
Knowing the respect and admiration that Jones had for Garrett, plus the fact that the team responded under his leadership, it’s no surprise that he got the head coaching job. He will have to fix some things defensively and on the offensive line before this team is a real Super Bowl threat, but they look like they have the right man for the job.
Grade: A
San Francisco 49ers Hire Jim Harbaugh On January 7, 2011
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San Francisco was the consensus pick to win the NFC West in 2010. They finished the 2009 season strong and the division was so weak that it looked like the 49ers were going to roll through the division. Instead they stumbled out of the gate and were never able to recover. As a result, Mike Singletary was fired before the final game of the season against Arizona.
Everyone knew the guy that San Francisco was after, Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh. However, this franchise over the course of the last decade has been notoriously cheap and unwilling to do what it take to get their guy.
It didn’t help matters that Harbaugh was the hottest coaching prospect on the market. He had anyone and everyone with a vacancy knocking on his door. It looked like Miami was going to hire him, despite the fact that they didn’t fire their current head coach.
But after a long process and deliberation, the 49ers were able to land their guy. Jim Harbaugh has a lot of pressure on him because of the job he did at Stanford. His first order of business will be to find a quarterback, something this franchise hasn’t had since Jeff Garcia left in 2004.
At least the future is a little more optimistic in San Francisco. For the first time in very long time the 49ers were able to target a guy and they did what they had to do in order to get him.
Grade: A-
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Carolina Panthers Hire Ron Rivera On January 11, 2011
4 of 7
Before the NFL season started the Carolina Panthers were a bit of a chic pick to make a run to the playoffs. Peter King from Sports Illustrated picked the Panthers to win 10 games, make the playoffs and John Fox as coach of the year.
Unfortunately things didn’t quite work out that way for them this year. They finished with the worst record in football (2-14) and Andrew Luck, the best quarterback prospect in years, decided to stay in school.
The team hired San Diego Chargers defensive coordinator Ron Rivera to turn the franchise around. He has gone through a number of head coaching interviews in previous years before getting this job.
He brings a very tough defensive philosophy with him. He will need to rebuild the defense, particularly the defensive line (Auburn’s Nick Fairley could be a good start). They need to find a quarterback to lead them into the future. Rivera has the pedigree, it’s just a matter of being able to bring his philosophy to life in Carolina.
Grade: B+
Cleveland Browns Hire Pat Shurmur On January 13, 2011
5 of 7
Eric Mangini looked like he had job security in mid-October. The team was only 3-5 but they had just come off back to back victories over New Orleans and New England. They were playing hard and looked like they were improving. A 2-6 finish to the year, including four straight losses at the end, sealed his fate.
Mike Holmgren had the task of finding a new head coach and it was widely known that he was going to bring in someone from his very large coaching tree. He ended up hiring Pat Shurmur, who spent the previous two years as the St Louis Rams offensive coordinator.
Shurmur is not a well known guy but he was able to get Sam Bradford to play at a high level all season long. The Rams quarterback threw for over 3500 yards with a bad receiving group. The Browns needed to hire someone who can groom a young quarterback and Shurmur at least has the pedigree.
The Browns have a few nice parts on offense and defense. They do have to find a quarterback, whether it’s Colt McCoy or someone else, but they seem to be heading in the right direction.
Grade: C+
Denver Broncos Hire John Fox On January 13, 2011
6 of 7
There is a lot of venom being spewed by the Denver Broncos fans after it was announced that John Fox was hired as their head coach. For whatever reason he is definitely not a popular choice among the fans and it doesn’t really make sense to me.
In his nine years with Carolina, Fox led the team to the playoffs three times. They made it two NFC Championship games and one Super Bowl in 2003. He has been a good coach and has gotten the most out of the talent on his teams.
In 2010 everything fell apart for Fox and the team. His contract wasn’t renewed and he was hired by Denver. He is exactly what this team needs. He has a very good background as a head coach. He has won big with out having the most talented players. He motivates his players as well as anyone.
To the Broncos fans who have been calling this hire awful or franchise killing, give it time. He won’t win with this roster in 2011, but they will look a lot better than they did in 2010 because of him.
Grade: B+
Oakland Raiders Hire Hue Jackson On January 18, 2011
7 of 7
The Oakland Raiders finally made official the worst kept secret in all of football when they hired Hue Jackson to be their next head coach. Former head coach Tom Cable’s contract option was not picked up and the only name that was talked about was Jackson.
Al Davis loves offensive minded football. He wants his team to revolve around the offense and the defense will take care of itself. So it was only natural that he would want to hire a guy like Hue Jackson.
Jackson led the Raiders offensive turnaround in 2010. In 2009, the year before he was brought in, the Raiders ranked 31st in the league in total offense. In 2010, Jackson’s first year as Raiders offensive coordinator, they ranked 10th in the league.
The first order of business should be to get Nnamdi Asomugha resigned. But the Raiders made big strides in 2010 and actually played respectable football. They went undefeated in the AFC West. A little more luck in the future and the Raiders can get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2002.
Grade: B
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