2021 NFL Head Coaching Candidates

[jrry32]

2 minutes ago, Forge said:

Maybe, maybe not

I would bet against Saban ever going back to the NFL. He's a control freak who likes the power he has over the kids. Read about the way the Dolphins vets disrespected him. I don't see him ever wanting to be in a position where the players have more power than him again.

[.Buzz]

Just now, jrry32 said:

I would just rather have Ryan Day in your shoes, personally. I think his system translates well to the NFL, he's a bright offensive mind, and he has proven at OSU that he can lead a team. It's a safer transition. Obviously, I don't know what type of leader Day is, but he at least has coached in the NFL and knows what it's like. Urban is a boom/bust hire. It could go very well, or it could end up like Bobby Petrino.

Ryan Day is intriguing for me and another guy I could definitely get behind. I've stated I like the idea of a previous HC (whether college or NFL) as although they are different, I believe it's important to bring in someone who definitely knows how to build a program/organization with a vision and execute it. We've lacked that, as I said, since Coughlin. We've basically just thrown pieces together and hoped for the best.

Although I don't think he would, I still at least pause with the idea of Day due to the Fields connection. But I would think he'd realize as a prospect Lawrence is clear cut above him.

[Forge]

Just now, jrry32 said:

I would bet against Saban ever going back to the NFL. He's a control freak who likes the power he has over the kids. Read about the way the Dolphins vets disrespected him. I don't see him ever wanting to be in a position where the players have more power than him again.

Agreed. I also think that his wife is very prominent in alabama and plays a major role in what he will do. She's figured prominently in previous reporting about him potentially going anywhere

[.Buzz]

3 minutes ago, Xenos said:

The stress of the NFL isn’t any easier IMO. It’s just as hard and time consuming in different ways. I would also worry about his health after every loss.

I disagree. I never said the NFL wasn't stressful, but year round recruiting is without a doubt going to take a bigger toll on the psyche imo. Especially with the way Urban operates.

If he takes this job, the organization has talked to him about it and he realizes what it entails. I'm not worried about any of that in the short term. 5+ years down the road like his previous stops? Maybe. I'll worry about that then.

[Forge]

I'd be curious about the coaching staff that he can put together

[.Buzz]

Yeah...this sounds like pretty much a done deal. 

[jrry32]

18 minutes ago, .Buzz said:

I disagree. I never said the NFL wasn't stressful, but year round recruiting is without a doubt going to take a bigger toll on the psyche imo. Especially with the way Urban operates.

If he takes this job, the organization has talked to him about it and he realizes what it entails. I'm not worried about any of that in the short term. 5+ years down the road like his previous stops? Maybe. I'll worry about that then.

Xenos is right. It's a different kind of stress. Yes, you get some time off, but you also have to deal with parity. Urban's used to having a team that can steamroll 90% of its opponents. In the NFL, every team is talented enough to beat you. It's a grind when you have to bring your A game every week. And Urban has never dealt well with losing.

[Forge]

11 minutes ago, .Buzz said:

Yeah...this sounds like pretty much a done deal. 

That's what I'm feeling as well

[.Buzz]

8 minutes ago, jrry32 said:

Xenos is right. It's a different kind of stress. Yes, you get some time off, but you also have to deal with parity. Urban's used to having a team that can steamroll 90% of its opponents. In the NFL, every team is talented enough to beat you. It's a grind when you have to bring your A game every week. And Urban has never dealt well with losing.

Not likes he's winning championships year in and year out in college yet he's been coaching there for how many years?

Different type of stress/several low key months a year could do wonders. Who knows. But he also is good buddies with plenty of coaches across the league and I would imagine realizes that he can't pick and choose through top recruits. NFL is a whole different game though. 

Ultimately, none of us know how a guy transitions. But I don't think, just because Urban did what he had to do/became ridiculously good at what the college game entailed means he can't adapt. Ultimately anyone hired from the college game or coordinator like Daboll (who has never headed a program/proven he can run a locker room) is going to have a transition that brings much uncertainty.

[.Buzz]

Just now, Forge said:

That's what I'm feeling as well

Some legit people in JAX echoeong it. Multiple reports from guys like Rappaport saying he "expects" to get the gig.

Shad isn't turning Urban away if he wants it. I know that.

[jrry32]

3 minutes ago, .Buzz said:

Not likes he's winning championships year in and year out in college yet he's been coaching there for how many years?

Different type of stress/several low key months a year could do wonders. Who knows. But he also is good buddies with plenty of coaches across the league and I would imagine realizes that he can't pick and choose through top recruits. NFL is a whole different game though. 

Ultimately, none of us know how a guy transitions. But I don't think, just because Urban did what he had to do/became ridiculously good at what the college game entailed means he can't adapt. Ultimately anyone hired from the college game or coordinator like Daboll (who has never headed a program/proven he can run a locker room) is going to have a transition that brings much uncertainty.

There's always uncertainty. But I like to take the right risks. With Lawrence being such a trump card, I'd rather go get a stellar offensive mind like Ryan Day, personally.

[.Buzz]

3 minutes ago, jrry32 said:

There's always uncertainty. But I like to take the right risks. With Lawrence being such a trump card, I'd rather go get a stellar offensive mind like Ryan Day, personally.

Like I said, I can understand the argument. All I'm saying is this team is starving for a vision/program builder and someone to turn this around. That's what Urban is known for (even if it has been at the college level). Say what you want about Urban the person, but he wins. We haven't won in two decades.

We'll see if it ends up working out, but I'm here for the chaos.

[-Hope-]

42 minutes ago, jrry32 said:

I would just rather have Ryan Day in your shoes, personally. I think his system translates well to the NFL, he's a bright offensive mind, and he has proven at OSU that he can lead a team. It's a safer transition. Obviously, I don't know what type of leader Day is, but he at least has coached in the NFL and knows what it's like. Urban is a boom/bust hire. It could go very well, or it could end up like Bobby Petrino.

agreed. i was just saying the other day that urban is going to go like carroll or like saban and it's hard to see much in-between. day is a really intriguing coach that i'd be very interested in. protege of two of the game's brightest offensive minds, and has already coached at the NFL level. honestly, i trust him more as an nfl-type leader than i do urban.

[Awsi Dooger]

On 11/18/2020 at 11:52 PM, Awsi Dooger said:

I keep thinking Urban Meyer knows he needs the fundamental advantage. Conventional wisdom assigns that to a blueblood college program, like the ones you mentioned. But it could also mean the Jets job, if they qualify for Trevor Lawrence, and Lawrence does declare. 

This is why I mentioned Urban Meyer immediately on page one and then again on page two. I've believed for two years that it was likely that Meyer would pursue the NFL job attached to Trevor Lawrence.

Urban Meyer is no fool. He knows he can build an NFL roster. But that means nothing without the elite quarterback. Pete Carroll got lucky and good via entering the league first, and then landing Russell Wilson. Meyer wants the Pete Carroll-NFL life of annually competitive. He doesn't want the uncertainty. That's why he smartly and quietly lingered on the sidelines while waiting to pounce on the job where he could immediately grab Trevor Lawrence.

Meyer was probably thrilled in recent weeks when that job turned into Jacksonville and not New York. He already knows the media and lifestyle in northern Florida, plus there will be greater benefit of a doubt and fewer tabloids.

Regardless, I'm convinced Meyer would have pursued the Jets job if Lawrence was headed there. I warned about this on Dolphins forums months ago. Many posters were dismissing the impact of Lawrence with the Jets, mocking the Jets as dysfunctional anyway. I warned that Trevor Lawrence was hardly a standalone. Once you qualify for him then you have your pick of head coaches, and it probably means Urban Meyer.

[.Buzz]

4 minutes ago, Awsi Dooger said:

This is why I mentioned Urban Meyer immediately on page one and then again on page two. I've believed for two years that it was likely that Meyer would pursue the NFL job attached to Trevor Lawrence.

Urban Meyer is no fool. He knows he can build an NFL roster. But that means nothing without the elite quarterback. Pete Carroll got lucky and good via entering the league first, and then landing Russell Wilson. Meyer wants the Pete Carroll-NFL life of annually competitive. He doesn't want the uncertainty. That's why he smartly and quietly lingered on the sidelines while waiting to pounce on the job where he could immediately grab Trevor Lawrence.

Meyer was probably thrilled in recent weeks when that job turned into Jacksonville and not New York. He already knows the media and lifestyle in northern Florida, plus there will be greater benefit of a doubt and fewer tabloids.

Regardless, I'm convinced Meyer would have pursued the Jets job if Lawrence was headed there. I warned about this on Dolphins forums months ago. Many posters were dismissing the impact of Lawrence with the Jets, mocking the Jets as dysfunctional anyway. I warned that Trevor Lawrence was hardly a standalone. Once you qualify for him then you have your pick of head coaches, and it probably means Urban Meyer.

This is the whole thing for me. If you are able to have/develop a young QB into a franchise level asset, that's the biggest hurdle down for a HC. There isn't a better guy to bet that on than Lawrence.

If we didn't have that in the bag (or an obvious top QB prospect on the way), I'd have much more hesitations. But him having basically the biggest thing coaches struggle with landing/acquiring in the bag once he signs and allowing him to focus on building it up around said asset...I believe he can definitely do that.