NFL Teams Getting It Right and Wrong This Offseason
Who is making change for the better?
With the Super Bowl over, every team is already in the stage of making changes for the next year and beyond. Whether that’s a new head coach or coordinators, deciding to get rid of players under contract or otherwise, teams are showing what things they think need change going forward.
It’s important to note that it’s always tough to know what is going to work and what will not. I thought the Jaguars hire of Trent Baalke as GM would be lethal, but the franchise is clearly on the right track. Of course, he also hired Urban Meyer as the first head coach under his watch there, so it goes both ways.
That said, what are some teams making moves that look smart in February of 2023, and which ones look bad?
Baltimore Ravens. This is predicated on them keeping Lamar Jackson, of course, but getting rid of OC Greg Roman and replacing him with Todd Monken, the former Georgia OC, is a great change. It’s not a COMPLETE change as Georgia wasn’t running a crazy passing scheme, but it was quite creative and of course has just won two national championships. Roman’s offensive scheme is SO limited, and the team has drafted to align with that scheme, which is to me a backwards approach. Hopefully this also means they’ll draft some wide receivers and update their offense to match what other teams are doing.
Indianapolis Colts. Again, this is a low bar but at least the Colts hired a legit new head coach in Shane Steichen, who led the Eagles offense. There was a lot of suggestions they were interviewing all the right folks to make it look like a real search, but that they’d resort to keeping interim HC Jeff Saturday on because he’s friends with owner Jim Irsay. I honestly would love to see Saturday get a chance as an assistant coach somewhere if he’s serious about coaching, but he’s not ready for this jelly. Steichen may not be either, but he’s a good hire.
New York Jets. I think former OC Mike LaFleur probably was just a fall guy for a team without a quarterback, and we’ll get to him in a moment. But hiring Nate Hackett, who was outmatched as a HC but a good offensive mind. It’s clearly a play to lure Aaron Rodgers to solve their quarterback problem, which was also clearly what Denver tried to do, and I suspect it might be just as unsuccessful. But it’s also a sign that they’re committed to finding a better solution at quarterback than Zach Wilson who…just ain’t it. There are some decent QBs who will be available, and both Derek Carr and Jimmy Garoppolo would provide the kind of stability this team needs. (Side note: It’s long been noted how fond I am of Jimmy G. But man, I won’t be sorry to not consistently need to remind myself how to spell that last name.)
Carolina Panthers. Hiring Frank Reich is a great start, though it’s kind of annoying that they didn’t extend interim HC Steve Wilks (though as a 49er fan I’m glad he’s joined the team as their new defensive coordinator.) But focusing on offense is the way to go and the team needs true leadership there. He’s brought on an interesting mix of assistants as well, with Josh McCown as quarterbacks coach (who laughably was somehow a candidate for the Texans HC job a year ago), Duce Staley as Assistant Head Coach and Running Backs coach, as well as Ejiro Evero as Defensive Coordinator and Dom Capers as a defensive consultant. That’s a really, really strong team and they also added Jim Caldwell as an Offensive “Senior Assistant” which is a title that means almost nothing. What this all tells me is that Reich wants good, smart people around him and he doesn’t think he has all the answers. That’s always a good sign. Now, they need to solve for a quarterback.
Other moves I’ve liked so far include the Chargers swiping up OC Kellen Moore, who I’m not crazy about but will be a big upgrade in the development of Justin Herbert. I like the Patriots admitting defeat and hiring an actual OC in Bill O’Brien. And of course I like the Texans hiring DeMeco Ryans who will completely change the culture there and improve a defense, while hopefully leveraging all the draft capital the team has from the Deshaun Watson trade. I think it was smart for the Rams to sign Mike LaFleur as OC, as he’s part of the same system Sean McVay runs and should fit in seamlessly. The Vikings adding Brian Flores as Defensive Coordinator is a HUGE improvement for a team that thrived despite a really shaky defense.
What about teams that make me wonder what’s going on?
I’m not sure what the Raiders are thinking. Who are they targeting to replace Derek Carr? If it’s Aaron Rodgers, they must think they can win in the next year or two, and I don’t believe that. I love Jimmy G, but is he that much different than Carr? (Pundits were rating Carr above Jimmy just a year ago.) Worse, by waiving Carr they get zero compensation when someone else signs him off the street. Truly mismanaged by a team well seasoned in poor decision making.
The Cardinals just hired Jonathan Gannon as Head Coach, meaning the Eagles have now lost both coordinators. I know that Gannon got a LOT of blowback from Eagles fans, but given that they are not the most rational group of people, I won’t pretend to know if he’s good or not. But what I do know is that the entire franchise hinges upon the success of Kyler Murray, and I’m not sure how this helps. While Murray may only play a little next year due to tearing his ACL mid-season this year, it will be really important to build a squad he can work with, and I’m not sure how easy he is to work with.
Tampa Bay has now lost Tom Brady, and I just have zero idea what the plan is here. I think the plan is to … blow everything up and start over from scratch. No team can actually say that out loud, but if they start next season with Kyle Trask under center, then I hope they also trade away guys like Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and others. I doubt they will.
The Washington Commanders are a train wreck, and coach Ron Rivera is on his last year unless he can turn it around. And he’s doing so by … interviewing Greg Roman for OC? He also talked to 49ers Assistant HC Anthony Lynn who is a running game specialist. Rivera is proudly old school, and perhaps he thinks defense and running the ball can still win in 2023, but if he watched the Super Bowl, he could realize that even an elite defense like the Eagles couldn’t stop Kansas City. I don’t see this going well. On the flip side, they’re also interviewing with KC offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, which is great but if I were Bieniemy, I’d wonder why I was being included in a group with two other guys who believe in a completely different offensive scheme. What’s the plan here?
Where am I being too optimistic or pessimistic? Did I leave someone obvious out?