Josh McDaniels Goes Job Hunting
We’ve hit that time of year before free agency where I can start hitting on things that the playoffs prevented me from getting to when they happened. BACKLOG TIME! Lets start with the coaching search and the hilarious fate of Josh McDaniels.
I love that nobody hired Josh McDaniels. Fuck that guy. He got the Denver job and alienated everyone, crashing and burning and bringing Tebow Mania into our lives for a first round pick. Then he weaseled his way back to daddy Bill and did his bidding long enough to finally rebuild some of his reputation. Thanks to Brady’s late career brilliance continuing, McDaniels was once again seen as a coaching prospect. I’m okay with second chances. He wasn’t ready for the big time in Denver. Maybe he’ll be better this time. At least we can laugh at him if he torpedoes the Colts.
Then he left the Colts at the altar so he could go back to daddy Bill again. The sniveling weasel rejected the Colts after part of his staff had already been hired (this is the part of the story that really rubbed me the wrong way), just to spend a couple more seasons under Belichick’s whip, taking credit for Brady. He won another ring in the process but does anybody really give Josh McDaniels credit for that offense? Brady gets the credit. This season I saw a ton of Patriots fans actually bitching about McDaniels’ play calling. He seemed unable to adjust to the lack of talent.
Josh McDaniels doesn’t deserve another head coaching job after how he acted with the Colts. Took him all that time to rebuild his image and he does that? I hope McDaniels toils under Bill for eternity and the offense gets worse and worse as Brady ages, leaves, and dies. Then when Bill retires, Josh gets the job and fails in a matter of two seasons, then is never seen again.
So let’s talk about who did get hired! Some of these I’ve already touched on, but consider this the consolidation post and feel free to offer your own thoughts on each in the comments.
-Ron Rivera, Redskins
This is a good move. Hiring Jack Del Rio on defense was also a good move. Giving Rivera plenty of sway and control in the organization is a good move. Firing Bruce Allen is a great move. In a vacuum I love this move for the Skins. The problem is, it isn’t the vacuum you want. This vacuum is Dan Snyder, and like the most powerful industrial vacuums on earth, he suuuuuuuucks. I expect this relationship to look good for two seasons as the team rebuilds into a playoff contender. Then things start to get really Snyder’d and Rivera spends another season or two as a dead eye’d husk of himself wishing to die. Did you not watch Jay Gruden’s tenure? Or any other coach he’s hired? Dan Snyder is human prostate cancer.
-Matt Rhule, Panthers
I love this hire. I wish the Giants had signed him but there was no way the Giants were going to go all-in like the Panthers did. The Panthers have fully and deeply committed to NEW PANTHERS, DIRECTED BY MATT RHULE. They signed him with total control and gave him the time to build his program. I don’t know if Matt Rhule is going to be a great coach, but I can’t help but love that the Panthers appear willing to commit to giving this experiment a shot. Time will tell, but as of now, I love this move. Worst case he ends up Chip Kelly and gives us hilarity instead.
-Mike McCarthy, Cowboys
Whatever. I think this is a lateral move. He’ll be fine but not inspiring. By most reports Fat Mike gave up giving a shit by the end of his Green Bay tenure so he might just be in it to get mad stacks for taking Jerry’s hand up his butt.
-Kevin Stefanski, Browns
This one surprised me. I don’t know much about Stefanski and how Vikings fans viewed him (can a Vikings fan offer some clarity there?) but after their last coaching hire was an unproven new HC and that ended in total disaster, I expected the Browns to play it safe and hire a retread. I actually thought this was the spot for McDaniels to land, which would have either been McDaniels’ redemption arc or another chapter in and Browns/McDaniels hilarity sagas. Stefanski is an unknown to me. He got Kirk to look good, so that’s something. He learned under Zimmer, which is great. Maybe this will work. He has to be better than Freddie Kitchens. They also hired Bill Callahan as O-line coach, a good hire and one sorely needed.
-Joe Judge, Giants
I mean who? Nobody knew who this dude was before this hire except especially in-tune Pats fans. A special teams coordinator? Where did this come from? So far what Judge has done to endear himself has been talk assertively in cliches at his first press conference and hire plenty of experience to work under him. Seriously you should have seen how Giants fans were salivating over his press conference. He said nothing of value, just typical “WE ARE GONNA PLAY HARD AND STUFF AND TAKE RESPONSIBILITY” coach speak but because he said it with AUTHORITY in his voice everyone got wet. I wasn’t impressed. I’m also not impressed by his hires. Jason Garrett as OC seems…acceptable at best? I don’t remember his offense being special in Dallas despite years of talent. He brings experience to the staff but I worry he might overtake Judge. Then again, Judge TALKS WITH AUTHORITY so maybe he’ll be fine. Patrick Graham, the new DC, has nothing on his resume of much value. We also hired Freddie Kitchens to be TE coach. MEME TEAM. Judge is such an unknown that he could be anything. I don’t have high hopes. Gettleman is already on the hot seat which means if we have another disaster year the whole thing could be in disarray again. I am dead inside.
Still, better than McDaniels. Fuck that guy.
Falcons to the Super Bowl
Joke of the day right here! I’m just kidding. Well, only partially. I mean, I am a Saints fan.
Dugout, I like you.
Max, I hope you’re franchise implodes and McDaniel’s becomes you’re next coach.
1 Thing I have noticed with this hiring cycle is a lack of thumbs being hired.
What does Jimmy Haslam’s jar say?
Looks like “Farts I made 2019”
I love the Macadonts throwback in the Giants one, haha. What’s on the Brown’s desk, I can’t make that out.
I don’t know if calling Garrett to McCarthy a lateral move is giving Garrett credit or disrespecting McCarthy
I assumed he meant it was a lateral move for McCarthy. McCarthy deserves to be disrespected. The only thing separating him from Hue Jackson was Aaron Rodgers.
I have a theory on McDaniels:
I think what Bill and Kraft told him was that they would draft Baker Mayfield, and then he could spend a season or two under Brady and then take over. Then in 5 years or so, Josh gets to take over with his now settled in QB plugging away.
Of course, that all fell apart when the Browns drafted him #1, but at the time of McDaniels signing, I don’t think people had Mayfield at #1, and the Pats were looking to trade up for him.
I doubt that. Even if Mayfield wasn’t slotted to be the #1 pick, but there were so many qb-needy (Bills, Broncos, Jets, Giants, Cardinals and the Browns twice) teams ahead of them that they would have realistically needed to trade into the top 10 to get him.
Bill is smart enough to know that making a trade to get into that position would generate a lot of headlines and potentially malign Brady, who was playing well at that time.
Maybe it’s just the football heads I follow regularly, but I was 100% sure Mayfield was going to the Browns, and most people I follow seemed to back that up. I think that there’s always a little pre draft mystery that’s conjured up by the NFL and ESPN to make things seem more interesting than they are. More people will watch if they aren’t sure where Baker is going than if its been super obvious for 2 months.
If McDaniels really wants to follow in Belichick’s footsteps, when Bill retires and McDaniels inherits the job, he should immediately resign at his introductory press conference.
And then sign with the Jets
I can only speak for my Giants fan friends and myself. For us, it wasn’t that Joe Judge spoke with uh-thori-taaaay. It’s that he sounded COMPETENT. Do you remember McPoop in his 5x-too-big suit mumbling like a drunk hobo and shaming his wife and kids for 25 minutes? Then when it was Pat Shurmur’s turn he spun around in circles sucking his thumb and looking at all the pretty lights like Buster Bluth.
For the first time since Coughlin, a no-nonsense guy was able to talk COMPETENTLY, without garbage pouring out. Does it help that he spoke with authority? It doesn’t hurt, Shurmur was far too meek. But I don’t think it’s fair to generalize that Giants fans were oblivious to what he said and only focusing on the authori-TAY in his voice. He may be the next coming of McPoopy and accomplish jack squat, but unlike Greaser and Shurms, I wasn’t filled with existential dread and crippling anxiety over the words coming out of his moouuuuuuuuth.
Here’s hoping your assessment is dead wrong! *raises glass* *glass spontaneously shatters* *swears*
I also liked the focus on fans and hiring coaches who could teach players and use them to the best of their ability. Not trying to put a square peg in a round hole sounds simple, but you need someone who will actually follow through.
However I was also disappointed by hiring Jason Garrett as the OC and am worried about the power dynamic there as Jason is coming off from running the Cowboys for so long.
Agreed, and while it’s way too early to make any lasting JUDGE-ments, Joe’s philosophical gameplan seems like the best chance of success we’ve had since Coughlin was physically beating people over the head with a time clock.
I’m not worried about Garrett, he’s used to being a mere figure head with no real power. 😉 Plus, Judge seems straightforward enough to cut through any bull@&$ if a power struggle arose.
In 2016, the entire Browns front office wanted Sean McDermott but were vetoed by Jimmy Haslam in favor of Hue Jackson.
In 2019, the entire Browns front office wanted Kevin Stefanski but were vetoed by John Dorsey and Jimmy Haslam in favor of Freddie Kitchens.
I don’t know if Stefanski will be good or not, but at least the people whose jobs are to scout player and coaching talent are getting listened to now. If Jimmy Truckstop had forced his choice on the team again they probably would have ended up with McDaniels.
I guess you and I were typing our comments at the same time.
There were plenty of rumors and blurbs about how McDaniels’ interview with the Browns went, but one consistent point seemed to be that he went in telling the team that they needed a complete organizational housecleaning, including the guy that was interviewing him, Paul DePodesta. Just so we’re clear, here’s three major things about Paul DePodesta people refuse to pay any attention to:
-He wanted to hire Sean McDermott in 2016. The Browns hired Hue Jackson.
-He wanted to hire Stefanski last year. The Browns hired Freddie Kitchens.
-When Hue got fired, the majority of the Browns’ front office wanted Todd Haley to take over. DePodesta actually got his way for once and they went with Gregggggggggg Williams instead.
I don’t think Josh McDaniels is qualified to tell this guy that he needs to be fired.
When McDaniels ditched us I thought we had judged a bullet. I got told frequently at the time I was acting out the Fox and the Grapes.
Two years of Frank Reich later, I still feel that we did get the better guy in the end.
Get off the ledge Dave. When Garrett was just OC, 2 of the 3 years their offense was top 6 believe. The other year Romo was injured and I think still finished 13. I like the way Judge wants to go about things. Not being married to a specific system and adjusting to each team each week. I for one, fell in love with Judge in his press conference. I just get a much better vibe from him than I didn’t with McAdon’t and Vanilla Shurmur.
As a NOFX fan, the “Fat Mike” talk was definitely confusing for a moment.
Far be it from me to rain on a Giants fan’s parade of hating all things Patriots, but c’mon…
1. Adam Gase gets 2 head coaching jobs because he stood next to Peyton Manning for a couple years, but people are still like “McDaniels? Nah, he doesn’t have anything to do with the Patriots offense”. It’s almost as if they’d never watched, say, a Jason Garrett led offense and then compared them in terms of situational awareness and creativity in play calling.
2. McDaniels turned down the Colts job based largely on doubts about Luck’s health. A year later, Luck retired largely due to injuries. Maybe he wasn’t crazy to have concerns?
3. I agree with the crappy timing of him backing out of the Indy job, but that timing was created by the NFL’s stupid rule about not announcing hiring during the playoffs. If not for that, it’s resolved one way or another much sooner, so screw the NFL in that case.
yeah, mcD gets shit for backing off the colts hire, but they were almost certainly lying to him about luck’s injuries.
It’s less that he backed out and more how he backed out. He didn’t just abandon the Colts, they had hired coaches he wanted to be on staff when he did, and he abandoned them to uncertain fates. Those coaches deserved better and thankfully the Colts did right by them and kept them employed, but that of course limited who Frank Reich could hire. That’s what rubs me the wrong way. If he ultimately didn’t want the job he should have been less of a non committal flake about it but he screwed over other people than just Jim Irsay, who I don’t care what happens to
that’s a fair point. but IF the colts lied to him, and i think they did (obvs), then they should share the blame. what should he have done, stuck with a front office and owner who lied to him and a franchise QB whose arm could fall off brushing his teeth?
I think you have it backwards. Why on God’s green earth would a Giants fan hate all things Patriots? We got 2 rings off of them. Out here in New England, I’m all smiles when I meet Patriots fans, which is quite often (~ 1.5 hrs from Boston). They, on the other hand, generally seethe, shake a fist, and/or throw a hissy fit when I tell them I’m a Giants fan. My neighbor is a Patriots fan, and he and his extended family refused to watch any of their Super Bowls with me in the room. Ahhhh, man, I gotta go laugh for a few minutes while I picture his face. Bahahahaha, that’s the good stuff.
I guess I’m hopelessly naive, but I can’t understand why any team would even want to talk to McDaniels after what he did to the Colts.
the colts were almost certainly lying to him about luck’s injuries.
That’s not really the point here man
I also think Frank Reich was a better hire than McDaniels would have been, but that’s also not the point. The point is McDaniels actions and how he left the situation doesn’t reflect well on him as a person
McDaniels’ staff brought Spygate to Denver. The only good thing he’s done is shit the bed so badly Elway had to step in.
Vikings fan:
I really don’t know what Stefanski will do. The biggest take away from what I saw is how untested he is. There’s a QB School video talking about play design and highlighting how one of SF’s play designs used counter to get players open and as a counter he showed the Viking play design taking the counter in the wrong direction.
He’s got some good assistant coaches and that may be the biggest thing. He’s got to be better than Kitchens and the Brown’s team is loaded with talent. Stefanski is probably going to look better than he really is until he gets dunked on in the playoffs by the Titans or someone else.
Vikings fan here. Stefanski was, eh okay? His playcalling always seemed uninspired to me and he never really seemed to be able to adjust on the fly when the game wasn’t going as intended. I’m mostly pissed that we get into the playoffs and shit the bed (again) because the OC decided the interview was more important than his current job and left the team unprepared for the game ahead.
Is this something that happens to other teams, or just the Vikings? If it’s a fluky thing, I’m not going to call for a rule change, but if this is a common occurence, I’d like to see a freeze on coaching interviews until the whole season is done (so no other team needs to go through the heartbreak).
Amen, brother, amen. SKOL.
The Colts agreed to restructuring their front office and didn’t deliver, that’s why McDaniels backed out. It was brought up in the Ross Tucker podcast.
https://twitter.com/rosstuckernfl/status/1214713692350287873