Pairing NFL Teams with New Head Coaches
NEW YORK GIANTS- MATT RHULE | HC | BAYLOR
Since last year, Baylor head coach Matt Rhule has been talked about as a future head coach in the NFL but has yet to make the jump from college. Rhule has coaching experience in the NFL dating back to 2012 with the New York Giants but has recently been one of college football’s best young coaches building successful programs with both Temple and Baylor. It’s no secret that the Giants is most likely one of the few teams that may interest Rhule if he does decide to transition to the NFL not only due to his ties to his time with the Giants but he is also a native of the New York area. If there is any young coach that deserves a shot at rebuilding the Giants back into a potential playoff team, it’s Matt Rhule.
CAROLINA PANTHERS- ERIC BIENIEMY | OC | CHIEFS
The Panthers made one of the more surprising changes this season by firing head coach Ron Rivera who is now the head coach of the Washington Redskins. With the Panthers in search of their next head coach, the first person they should consider is Kansas City Chief’s offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy. Bieniemy has been with head coach Andy Reid since he joined Kansas City and is now his right-hand man on offense after Doug Pederson and Matt Nagy departed to coach their own teams. Not only has Bieniemy been a part of one of the leagues most exciting offenses but he has had time to learn from one of the NFL’s best head coaches who has experience grooming future head coaches since his time in Philadelphia. Bringing in Eric Bieniemy would give the Panthers a young, offensive mind who should be able to utilize the teams offensive weapons like runningback Christian McCaffrey and wide receiver DJ Moore along with whoever they have at quarterback whether it be Cam Newton, Kyle Allen or someone else.
CLEVELAND BROWNS- MIKE MCCARTHY | FORMER HC
When the Cleveland Browns hired Freddie Kitchen last season it seemed apparent that the team wanted to keep their hire in house and go with someone that they thought would work well with rookie sensation quarterback Baker Mayfield. Boy were they wrong. Not only did the Browns miss the playoffs after building a roster with top talent but they finished the season with a losing record along with a disappointing season from their star quarterback. With the team parting ways with both Freddie Kitchens and general manager, John Dorsey, the Browns should look to bring in an experienced head coach who has experience running a team and dealing with top stars around him. Enter Mike McCarthy. McCarthy was the head coach of the Green Bay Packers was what seems like 10 years but during his time had success with leading the Packers to the Superbowl but also working with star talent throughout the roster including quarterback Aaron Rodgers and star defenders like Julius Peppers & Clay Matthews. While McCarthy may not be the young coach with a lot of promise and upside, his experience as a head coach and his success running one of the most historic franchises in all of sports should aid him in building a solid foundation in Cleveland.
DALLAS COWBOYS- URBAN MEYER | FORMER HC
In one of my previous articles I discussed Urban Meyer as a potential candidate for the Washington Redskins head coach vacancy but with Ron Rivera taking over in Washington, the path for Meyer to finally join the NFL should run through one city, Dallas. Now let’s get the main issue out of the way; Urban Meyer and owner Jerry Jones would probably not see eye to eye. History has shown that Jones is known to have too much decision-making power within the Dallas Cowboys organization and while he is the owner, it’s clear that he needs to step away and let the decisions be made by football minds. If Jerry Jones were to step away and let his next coach have more power over the team, Urban Meyer should be their top priority. The Dallas Cowboys are arguably the most popular sports franchise in America and Urban Meyer is arguably one of the most successful and recognizable coaches in all of American football. This just seems like a perfect match. Meyer also seems like the type of coach that would bring in some intriguing assistants that would certainly make the Cowboys must watch TV.