Next Head Coach

[hawkeyes]

Fisher HC and Del Rio DC ... get r' done

[unitaswestand]

Based on what Polian has done in the past, I would expect him to bring in a very experienced HC with NFL experience. I actually would see something like Brian Billick as Steve Spagnoulo as the DC.

If they get someone who hasn't been a HC, I would go for Mike Zimmer. As we pointed out, players love the guy and he gets good results with average talent. Great sign!!

I think the wildcard is Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz. Polian has always been a big fan, and Kirk does great things with very mediocre talent. He did well in Dallas too.

What I do wonder, also, is if Chris Polian is picking the next head coach, does he go for a more youthful HC.

The guys I would put I don't want to see is Greg Williams or Jeff Fisher.

[Superman]

Based on what Polian has done in the past, I would expect him to bring in a very experienced HC with NFL experience. I actually would see something like Brian Billick as Steve Spagnoulo as the DC.

If they get someone who hasn't been a HC, I would go for Mike Zimmer. As we pointed out, players love the guy and he gets good results with average talent. Great sign!!

I think the wildcard is Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz. Polian has always been a big fan, and Kirk does great things with very mediocre talent. He did well in Dallas too.

What I do wonder, also, is if Chris Polian is picking the next head coach, does he go for a more youthful HC.

The guys I would put I don't want to see is Greg Williams or Jeff Fisher.

Irsay picked Dungy, not Polian. And by extension, since Dungy picked Caldwell, Irsay is responsible for that one too. You could actually say Polian has never really gone and gotten the guy HE wanted.

[Corndog]

I can think of a few guys that, according to one source or another, look to be coordinators or head coaches in the near future.

One of the guys who stands out to me (and I've said it everywhere) is the Pats DL coach, Pepper Johnson. His players speak super highly of him, other coaches have mentioned that he has a great knowledge of the game, and he's developed some great talent there. He helped develop Vince Wilfork and Ty Warren both into All Pros (though, obviously, the talent had to be there) and is himself a former 2 time Pro Bowl linebacker, in case having a game that has played the game at a high level matters to the fans/players/staff/owner. In addition to that, he's had the advantage of spending a majority of his playing and coaching career with perhaps the best head coach of the last decade, Bill Belichick. Belichick has produced some solid coordinators in Romeo Crennel, Rob Ryan, and Jim Schwartz. While Belichick did pass over Johnson for the DC job, I'm not sure what to actually think of it. On the one hand, Belichick should know if he's ready. On the other hand, it's not like Belichick (who is essentially filling the position himself) needs to hand over defensive play calling.

Dave Toub, I think, is a more unknown guy getting talked up by a number of coaches. Andy Reid and Bobby April both have referred to him as one of the best coaches in the league, with Reid mentioning that he thinks he'll be a great head coach one day. The catch? He's a special teams coordinator with the Bears. On the one hand, he's a freaking special teams coordinator. On the other hand, he runs one of the best special teams in the league and has done so consistently. Not many special teams coaches are only qualified to coach special teams, as it is often a starting point for coordinators. Belichick was a special team coach early in his career, and John Harbaugh was the special teams coordinator in Philly prior to getting hired to head the Ravens (and Toub worked under him in Philly). I don't know all of the details or anything, but I think he's worth a look.

I'm less sure about this guy, because I've only heard one person refer to him as outstanding, but Curtis Johnson seems to be an interesting guy. He's currently the wide receivers coach for the Saints and has also coached the same position at Miami, developing such star receivers as Santana Moss, Andre Johnson, and Reggie Wayne. With the Saints, he's produced Colston and Co., although he's failed to develop Robert Meachem (though I personally don't think Meachem has an NFL skill set, but that's another story). I think he's done a great job developing receivers, but that doesn't mean he's a great offensive coordinator candidate. Regardless, I think he merits an interview.

There are a few others I can think of, but I don't want to flood the board.

This is more of what I am interested in, young coordinators that want to be promoted and look to have the knowledge and desire to be a head coach or just get promoted to DC. Alot of the top head coaches in the league were coordinators before their current job. I am not looking to hire coaches that got fired, because most of them aren't that good. I also don't want to bring back a coach that retired just for a name. Most of them weren't as great as we would like to remember, or don't want to coach for anything more than a paycheck. There is a reason they aren't in the league anymore.

[BIGugly]

Irsay picked Dungy, not Polian. And by extension, since Dungy picked Caldwell, Irsay is responsible for that one too. You could actually say Polian has never really gone and gotten the guy HE wanted.

This is correct.

[bap1331]

Tony Dungy or Cowherd.

I really think they are wasting their precious talent and time commentating.