The Ringer - Everything You Need to Know About the 2018-19 NFL Coaching Carousel2019-01-10T20:33:52-05:00http://www.theringer.com/rss/stream/179263262019-01-10T20:33:52-05:002019-01-10T20:33:52-05:00The Bengals Took the “Next Sean McVay” Thing a Little Too Seriously
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<p>Cincinnati will reportedly name Rams quarterbacks coach Zac Taylor its next head coach. His experience as a coordinator is slight but, crucially, he does know Sean McVay.</p> <p id="8qKDF7">The NFL coaching carousel has officially jumped the shark. After the Packers hired <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2019/1/7/18173004/green-bay-packers-matt-lafleur-aaron-rodgers">former Rams offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur</a> and the Cardinals pointed out the Sean McVay–<a href="https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2019/1/8/18174371/cardinals-hiring-kliff-kingsbury-head-coach">Kliff Kingsbury</a> connection in <a href="https://twitter.com/BonaguraESPN/status/1082760386024157185">their press release</a>, the Bengals are reportedly planning to hire McVay’s quarterbacks coach to be their next head coach:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Bengals would like to hire Rams’ QB coach Zac Taylor after Los Angeles’ season ends, league sources tell <a href="https://twitter.com/mortreport?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@mortreport</a> and me. It looks like it is Taylor’s job to lose. He is the preferred choice.</p>— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) <a href="https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1083508912903671809?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2019</a>
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<p id="WuPIhD">Though nothing can be confirmed until the Rams are no longer in the playoffs, multiple reports are pointing to Zac Taylor becoming the next head coach of the Bengals this offseason. He’ll be the third hire this year who has a connection to the Rams head coach. Welcome to the offseason of <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2019/1/9/18175415/coaching-carousel-kliff-kingsbury-matt-lafleur-bruce-arians">The Next Sean McVay</a>. </p>
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<p id="hfsZ5S">Taylor’s expected hiring is particularly emblematic of this offseason’s hiring craze. Along with the <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2019/1/9/18175659/freddie-kitchens-baker-mayfield-cleveland-browns-head-coach">Browns’ hire of Freddie Kitchens</a> and the <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2019/1/9/18176291/adam-gase-new-york-jets-head-coach-sam-darnold">Jets’ hire of Adam Gase</a>, teams are looking for younger and more offensively-minded coaches. It’s like a bank run, but for fresh faces who know when to deploy <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2018/10/30/18040534/jet-sweep-motion-play-rams-chiefs-offenses">a jet sweep</a>.</p>
<p id="yeDAYN">Taylor is only 35 years old, which is just four years older than the Bengals’ current quarterback, Andy Dalton. McVay, who is just 32, has shown that millennials can be fine head football coaches, but where McVay was an offensive coordinator for three seasons before getting the Rams job, Taylor has spent this season as the Rams quarterback coach. Before that he was the team’s assistant wide receivers coach. Not even the actual wide receivers coach—the <em>assistant</em> wide receivers coach.</p>
<p id="3CrGsq">Previously, Taylor was the offensive coordinator at the University of Cincinnati in 2016, but the team struggled while he was there. The Bearcats scored at least 30 points per game in each of head coach Tommy Tuberville’s first three seasons, but in 2016, Tuberville’s fourth season, Taylor came aboard and the team sank to 19.3 points per game (123rd out of 128 FBS-level programs). The team averaged 537.8 yards per game in the season before Taylor’s arrival, and 374.1 with him.</p>
<p id="4TjWoL">Before <em>that</em>, in 2015, Taylor was the interim offensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins for five games. The Dolphins averaged just 17 points per game in that stretch, but it’s also hard to put any credit or blame on a guy who was stuck with the interim label. </p>
<p id="gFoOZI">How the hell did Taylor leverage such a lackluster résumé into the Bengals head-coaching job? The answer lies in his references. The Bengals are no doubt hoping that two seasons under McVay have helped Taylor and that he can bring a progressive offensive vision to a team that desperately needs a shake-up. Cincinnati spent the past 16 years with Marvin Lewis at head coach, and while he compiled a respectable record (131-122-3) for a franchise that had been among the worst in all of sports before his arrival, a team with A.J. Green, Joe Mixon, Tyler Boyd, and Andy Dalton could use an offensive makeover. The only question is whether a coach so green and unproven will be the right person to do it. At any rate, the one thing that can definitely be said about this hire is that Taylor has more promise <a href="http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000001006997/article/hue-jackson-set-to-interview-for-bengals-coaching-job">than Hue Jackson</a>.</p>
<p class="c-end-para" id="jtNVjX">With the Bengals settling on Taylor, the Dolphins have the only head-coaching vacancy remaining. As of press time, the Rams ball boy was getting phone calls. </p>
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https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2019/1/10/18177788/cincinnati-bengals-zac-taylor-head-coach-hire-rams-sean-mcvayRiley McAtee2019-01-10T20:02:32-05:002019-01-10T20:02:32-05:00Let Kliff Kingsbury Draft Kyler Murray and Turn Arizona Into an Air Raid Fever Dream
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<p>Should the Cardinals trade Josh Rosen and target the Heisman winner from Oklahoma? Well, do they want to transform from the worst team in the NFL to the best team in the Big 12?</p> <p id="KXRUb4">If you would have asked me last week whether Kliff Kingsbury should consider taking Kyler Murray with the first overall pick in this year’s NFL draft, I would have asked for some of your drugs. Kingsbury accepted a job as USC’s new offensive coordinator in December, while Murray seemed set to play for the Oakland A’s organization after being taken with the team’s first-round MLB draft pick in June.</p>
<p id="PcHG1N">But a lot has changed in one week! Now this pairing maybe, possibly could happen. Kingsbury—one of my favorite college football coaches ever—has stunningly been given the opportunity to coach an NFL team. Not just any NFL team: the Arizona Cardinals, who have the first pick in April’s draft. And Murray—one of my favorite college football players ever—is reportedly considering <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2019/1/10/18176559/kyler-murray-nfl-draft-decision-report">forgoing his baseball career</a> a few weeks after winning the Heisman Trophy.</p>
<p id="aZCcla">Kliff and Kyler is no longer the stuff of my dreams. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, a union between the two could happen:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cardinals?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cardinals</a> might be open to Draft Kyler Murray 1st overall and trade away 2018, 10th overall pick QB Josh Rosen, per <a href="https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AdamSchefter</a> <a href="https://t.co/N0JO8XUvYv">pic.twitter.com/N0JO8XUvYv</a></p>— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) <a href="https://twitter.com/NFL_DovKleiman/status/1083362944115707905?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2019</a>
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<p id="MmQ3lQ">Multiple NFL executives believe Murray is a first-round quarterback talent:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Texted several nfl execs just now on Kyler. Everyone responded 1st round. <br><br>I asked at WR? All said QB. No brainer for Murray</p>— John Middlekauff (@JohnMiddlekauff) <a href="https://twitter.com/JohnMiddlekauff/status/1083204063678746624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2019</a>
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<p id="qZMJJ9">And the cherry on top: When then–Texas Tech coach Kingsbury was asked about then-Oklahoma quarterback Murray in October, he unambiguously endorsed Murray as being worthy of the no. 1 NFL draft pick: </p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Kliff Kingsbury back on October 28, 2018:<br><br>"Kyler is a freak.....I would take him with the first pick of the draft if I could."<br><br> <br>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/EricKellyTV?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EricKellyTV</a>) <a href="https://t.co/N9m99DkTNr">pic.twitter.com/N9m99DkTNr</a></p>— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) <a href="https://twitter.com/SInow/status/1083205578724438016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2019</a>
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<p id="cqYPO2">“I would take him with the first pick of the draft if I could” is a pretty harmless thing for a college football coach to say about an opposing player, especially if that player is supposed to pursue a career in professional baseball. It’s like a couple discussing free passes to hook up with the celebrities they have crushes on. “Sure, honey … if you and Emma Stone are ever in a room together … well, I’m sure you guys would really hit it off, and I’m sure she’d love to hear you talk about why your boss is an asshole for about 45 minutes. Just make sure to tell me about it the next day.” (Note: I guarantee “Kliff Kingsbury” has been the answer to the hall-pass question for at least 10 couples in Lubbock, Texas.) It’s speculative fantasy: Nothing here will ever come to fruition.</p>
<p id="aKkR8j">Except now Kingsbury is an NFL head coach, and his team has the first pick in the draft, and Murray is attracting buzz as a potential first-round talent. Choosing football is suddenly <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2018/12/19/18147692/kyler-murray-heisman-nfl-draft-oakland-athletics">more financially appealing</a> than sticking with baseball, and it seems like Murray is leaning toward declaring for the draft. That’s right: Emma Stone is at happy hour, and she actually thinks it’s cute how mad you get when ranting about your stupid boss. </p>
<p id="h3PP9c">Will Kingsbury take the dive and commit to turning the Cardinals into a Big 12 team—just months after being fired by an actual Big 12 team? It’d be a huge risk, but hey, everybody here has taken a bunch of risks already. Let’s go all in.</p>
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<p id="bY2kyn">I didn’t expect Kingsbury to be an NFL head coach because, well, I don’t think he expected to be an NFL head coach. After he was fired by Texas Tech, I wrote a post with the headline “<a href="https://www.theringer.com/2018/11/28/18116472/kliff-kingsbury-offensive-coordinator-interest-job-openings">Kliff Kingsbury Just Started His Offseason As ‘The Bachelor,’ Offensive Coordinator Edition</a>,” since I presumed that he’d have a lot of suitors who’d want him to become their offensive coordinator. I did not expect anybody to offer him a head-coaching job because he had just prominently failed to put together anything resembling a competent defense. Over his six-season tenure, his Red Raiders never ranked better than 86th in scoring defense, and he finished with a 35-40 record overall. This may explain why Kingsbury took that job as the offensive coordinator at USC—he didn’t foresee any gettable head-coaching jobs coming open, and preferred the lower stakes and chiller atmosphere of a college OC job to NFL OC jobs with comparable salaries. </p>
<p id="mn7WyQ">But then it became clear that pro teams wanted him to be a <em>head</em> coach, and, well, that changed things entirely. Kingsbury quickly backtracked on USC, leading to an awkward divorce in which the Trojans reportedly <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/usc-denies-jets-cardinals-permission-interview-kliff-kingsbury/story?id=60180735">refused to let him interview with pro teams</a> and Kingsbury promptly resigned. (The collateral damage: Any high schoolers who committed to USC during the month or so that Kingsbury worked there and signed national letters of intent have to stay at the school, because the NLI is the <a href="https://www.si.com/college-football/2015/02/09/national-letter-intent-punt-pass-pork">worst contract in sports</a>.) </p>
<p id="UhoelQ">And I like the premise of NFL head coach Kliff Kingsbury. Offense was never a problem for Kingsbury’s teams; he was responsible for the top offense in college football twice, once as Texas A&M’s offensive coordinator (in 2012) and once at Texas Tech (2015). He’s also proved exceptional at quarterback development, having worked with three of the league’s 32 starters: Patrick Mahomes II, Case Keenum, and Baker Mayfield. (Yes, I give Kingsbury credit for spotting Mayfield as a recruit with zero major FBS scholarship offers, even if Mayfield soured on Kingsbury after just one year and went on to become a legend at Oklahoma.)</p>
<p id="bfCquO">Defense was always the hang-up, as Texas Tech had a bottom-five scoring defense in three straight years, from 2014 to 2016. Part of the explanation is that few talented defensive recruits signed up to be coached by Kingsbury. What could Kingsbury offer them, other than a chance to get embarrassed defensively while failing to receive the quality coaching necessary to emerge as a prospect for the next level? (Lubbock is also far from many things.) </p>
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<p id="q2FJmv">The good news for the Cardinals is that Kingsbury no longer has to pitch defenders on playing for him. He can draft them, or else pay them, legally, with real American currency. Last offseason I laid out the case for why <a href="https://www.theringer.com/2018/8/14/17685080/air-raid-offense-mike-leach-lincoln-riley">an Air Raid coach could be successful in the NFL</a>. The Air Raid was designed to to help programs like Texas Tech compete despite having inferior talent. The problem was those programs’ defenses rarely held up. In the pros, an Air Raid head coach could commit an outsize proportion of his team’s draft capital and salary cap space to bringing in defensive star power. You would have a talent advantage on one side of the ball, and a schematic advantage on the other. That’s a recipe to win a lot of games. </p>
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<p id="R979QO">I didn’t expect Murray to be a top NFL draft pick because, well, I don’t believe he expected to be a top NFL draft pick. Even when <a href="https://www.theringer.com/2018/12/6/18129080/heisman-trophy-race-kyler-murray-tua-tagovailoa">writing about Murray as a Heisman Trophy candidate</a> in December, I operated under the presumption that we were seeing the last of him as a football player, and that he’d soon follow through on his commitment to play baseball. It made sense: MLB money is guaranteed, and the injury risks are lower.</p>
<p id="mCYAim">Of course, there was always one scenario in which the football money would be more appealing: if Murray had a chance to become a first-round draft pick. First-rounders secure higher guarantees than Murray’s baseball deal ($4.77 million) includes, and if a player gets a second contract as an NFL starting quarterback, the money is <em>enormous</em>. </p>
<p id="6gdNJo">I just didn’t consider it likely that Murray would be hyped as such a high pick. That was not a knock on him, but rather on the way that NFL teams have long evaluated quarterback talent. Murray is 5-foot-10, played in an Air Raid college offense, and has a game predicated on his speed. All of those qualities have scared teams away from drafting quarterback prospects in the past. It’s even scared them away from QBs who, like Murray, dominated in college and took home the Heisman.</p>
<div class="c-float-right"><aside id="Sz8muw"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"Kyler Murray May Have Just Electrified a Boring NFL Draft","url":"https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2019/1/10/18176559/kyler-murray-nfl-draft-decision-report"},{"title":"The Completely Logical, Financially Prudent Argument for Kyler Murray Choosing the NFL","url":"https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2018/12/19/18147692/kyler-murray-heisman-nfl-draft-oakland-athletics"}]}'></div></aside></div>
<p id="uJFqvv">But pro teams seem to have realized that a quarterback’s diminutive height is a problem only if it also corresponds with a lack of arm strength—which, I promise, is not a problem with Kyler. Thanks to Mayfield, Mahomes, and Jared Goff, the myth that Air Raid quarterbacks can’t succeed in the NFL has also been killed over the past two seasons. And a quarterback being able to move well isn’t a downside—it’s a boon.</p>
<p id="f9EQuP">I think Murray would be an exceptional NFL quarterback. I think he’d have the best chance to realize his potential under Kingsbury, who is well versed in the offensive concepts that helped Murray become a Heisman winner at Oklahoma. And I think that a team willing to make a choice as unorthodox as Kingsbury for head coach would be willing to make a choice as unorthodox as Murray for its franchise player. A Kingsbury-and-Kyler pairing is suddenly a real possibility. </p>
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<p id="U2Re0U">There are a few hitches here. First and foremost, the Cardinals selected a quarterback, Josh Rosen, 10th overall in last year’s NFL draft. Secondly, I just advised the Cardinals to devote their resources to bringing in top-tier defensive talent. How could I possibly endorse Arizona passing up Nick Bosa, Ed Oliver, and Quinnen Williams, among others, in favor of a quarterback—especially when it already has a young, promising one?</p>
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<p id="AiyqNb">The answer goes back to what Schefter discussed in the above clip. The Cardinals should try to trade Rosen in exchange for draft picks. Rosen had a disappointing rookie season, but showed enough promise that he’d likely be able to entice other franchises (is that the Giants’ music?) to give up a war chest of assets to get him. And in the long term, the Cardinals would be better off building around the QB Kingsbury wants rather than committing to the QB who was already there when the coach arrived. Use that newly acquired draft capital to stock up on defense, except for that first pick. Use that on the superstar who can make Kingsbury’s offense fly.</p>
<p class="c-end-para" id="dwS1MM">I’m being irrational here, but this entire thing is irrational. I’m as big a supporter of Kingsbury and Murray as you’ll find, yet even I am stunned by the fact that Kingsbury is now an NFL head coach and Murray might be an NFL team’s franchise quarterback. Both of these men literally just<em> signed contracts</em> for other jobs. Given the recent developments, though, I can’t shake the idea that these two college football heroes will multiply each other’s powers if they unite. All I want is for the Cardinals to figure out the details and make this college football fantasy happen.</p>
https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2019/1/10/18177705/kliff-kingsbury-kyler-murray-arizona-cardinals-draft-pickRodger Sherman2019-01-10T14:31:00-05:002019-01-10T14:31:00-05:00New Head Coaches Plus Divisional Round Preview
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<p>Kliff Kingsbury, Matt LaFleur, Vic Fangio, Adam Gase, Freddie Kitchens, and Bruce Arians all have new coaching jobs in the NFL</p> <div id="SQCUI4"><iframe src="https://open.spotify.com/embed-podcast/episode/72vr3XsniL1ooH9wi6w3Vy" style="width: 100%; height: 200px; border: 0 none;" scrolling="no"></iframe></div>
<p id="VNORfb"><a href="https://art19.com/shows/the-ringer-nfl-show/episodes/52fbf97a-4fee-469d-b7de-ba7fd7f94d15">Kliff Kingsbury, Matt LaFleur, Vic Fangio, Adam Gase, Freddie Kitchens, and Bruce Arians</a> all have new coaching jobs in the NFL (0:30), plus a closer look at the divisional round games (30:30).</p>
<p id="JBtLCl"><strong>Subscribe:</strong> <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com/?id=&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fitunes.apple.com%2Fus%2Fpodcast%2Fthe-ringer-nfl-show%2Fid1109282822%3Fmt%3D2">Apple Podcasts</a> / <a href="https://art19.com/shows/the-ringer-nfl-show">Art19</a> / <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-ringer/ringer-nfl-show">Stitcher</a> / <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/ringernflshow">RSS</a></p>
https://www.theringer.com/2019/1/10/18177279/new-head-coaches-plus-divisional-round-previewRobert MaysKevin Clark2019-01-09T21:18:40-05:002019-01-09T21:18:40-05:00Adam Gase Will Finally Get His Young Stud QB in Sam Darnold
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<p>The Jets will reportedly hire the former Dolphins coach, who will be tasked with developing their quarterback of the future. After coaching the likes of Peyton Manning, Jay Cutler, and Ryan Tannehill, Gase will be forced to adapt to a passer roughly half his age.</p> <aside id="OkPIA3"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"Everything You Need to Know About the 2018-19 NFL Coaching Carousel","url":"https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2018/12/30/18162285/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-2018-nfl-coaching-carousel"}]}'></div></aside><p id="VbSJYx">Everyone wants the next Sean McVay, and now the Jets got the guy who was <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2018/12/31/18162711/adam-gase-miami-dolphins-fired-ryan-tannehill">Sean McVay before Sean McVay was <em>Sean McVay</em></a>. The Jets have hired former Dolphins head coach Adam Gase, according to multiple reports, and poached the former division rival to groom their quarterback of the future, Sam Darnold. </p>
<p id="YFObvx">Offensive head coaches are all the rage in the NFL, but for the Jets, it’s long overdue. Gase is the first head coach the Jets have hired from the offensive side of the ball since Rich Kotite in 1995, and, as ESPN’s <a href="https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1083167505579941888">Adam Schefter</a> pointed out, he is the first Jets head coach who has previous NFL head coaching experience since Bill Parcells. The direction wasn’t the question as much as <em>which</em> coach the Jets would choose. Earlier on Wednesday, reports came out that former Packers coach Mike McCarthy was considering only the Jets as his next gig (or, perhaps, that the Jets were the only team left considering him). New York’s other candidates were former Bucs offensive coordinator Todd Monken and Baylor head coach Matt Rhule. Rhule <a href="https://twitter.com/MMehtaNYDN/status/1083161188559609856">reportedly</a> told the Jets he would decline if the team wanted general manager Mike Maccagnan to have control over coach staffing decisions. It’s unclear whether Gase faced similar restrictions as Baylor’s Rhule, but Jeff Darlington <a href="https://twitter.com/JeffDarlington/status/1083172004507856898">reported</a> that Miami’s 2018 offensive coordinator, Dowell Loggains, will be Gase’s top assistant.</p>
<aside id="Z5Zq6E"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"The NFL Coaching Carousel Has a Type","url":"https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2019/1/9/18175415/coaching-carousel-kliff-kingsbury-matt-lafleur-bruce-arians"}]}'></div></aside><p id="0VXBzB">Gase has worked with about as eclectic a group of quarterbacks as you can find: Tim Tebow, Peyton Manning, Jay Cutler, and Ryan Tannehill. In Gase’s first year as a coordinator at any level, he orchestrated Denver’s record-breaking offense in 2013, when Manning set the NFL record for passing touchdowns and passing yards. Gase was Denver’s quarterbacks coach when Tebow won a playoff game. (That was the canary in the coal mine for us living in a simulation.) Manning once called Gase “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/02/sports/football/an-unconventional-path-to-scripting-the-broncos-offense.html">the smartest guy I know</a>.” </p>
<p id="WqsnnZ">According to ESPN’s Jeff Darlington, Manning may have made a deciding phone call with Jets CEO Christopher Johnson last night.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">It was an exhaustive process that included countless discussions, but I’m told Jets CEO Christopher Johnson took a phone call on Tuesday night from an especially impressive reference who advocated for Adam Gase:<br><br>Peyton Manning.</p>— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) <a href="https://twitter.com/JeffDarlington/status/1083170973673840640?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2019</a>
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<p id="sGtnw3">Gase’s pedigree made him one of the most sought-after offensive coaches in the league when he took the Miami job in 2016, but Gase’s 23-25 tenure in Miami was tough to read. On the one hand, he failed to live up to his highly regarded status, ran consistently mediocre-to-abysmal offenses, and won 13 games in his last two years. On the other hand, Miami might have the single worst roster in the league next year, and Gase’s coaching may have masked one of the worst teams in football. </p>
<p id="KifqxT">The Jets are banking on the latter and hoping Gase’s experience will provide the right atmosphere for Darnold, whose development seemed to be hampered while playing the 2018 season under Todd Bowles. Yet Darnold is the first truly young quarterback prospect Gase will get to groom, aside from Tebow. How Gase, 40, adapts to a quarterback half his age may define his tenure.</p>
<p id="3A47QI">The move leaves Cincinnati and Miami as the only two head coach openings in the league. Five black head coaches were fired either during or after the 2018 season—Hue Jackson, Vance Joseph, Todd Bowles, Steve Wilks, and Marvin Lewis—and no black head coaches have been hired thus far this cycle.</p>
<p class="c-end-para" id="mUctax">If Gase turns Darnold into an upper-echelon quarterback for the Jets, he’ll be hailed as a hero in New York. Whether he can remains to be seen, but the Jets finally hired a coach to help their offense get off the ground.</p>
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https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2019/1/9/18176291/adam-gase-new-york-jets-head-coach-sam-darnoldDanny Heifetz2019-01-09T14:53:53-05:002019-01-09T14:53:53-05:00The Vic Fangio Hiring Shows the Broncos Don’t Give a Damn About Your Offensive Wunderkind
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<p>Denver will reportedly bring on the Bears defensive coordinator, who looks nothing like the young offensive gurus getting snapped up this week</p> <p id="IQtDzW">The Broncos are the last team in the NFL that believes defense wins championships. Denver hired Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio to be its next head coach Wednesday, ESPN’s <a href="https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1083046454657191936">Adam Schefter and Dan Graziano</a> report. If we know one thing about Vic Fangio, it’s that he is not the next Sean McVay (though he <a href="https://twitter.com/jakeks19/status/1083050185243217921">does know McVay</a>, a requirement for being hired in 2019). In a hiring cycle that has focused on finding young, offensive-minded coaches, Fangio possesses neither of those qualities. It might be an excellent move anyway. </p>
<p id="eNxPSQ">Fangio, 60, has been an NFL defensive coordinator for 19 of the past 24 seasons. To put that in perspective, that’s more years than McVay, <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2019/1/7/18173004/green-bay-packers-matt-lafleur-aaron-rodgers">Packers coach Matt LaFleur</a>, and <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2019/1/8/18174371/cardinals-hiring-kliff-kingsbury-head-coach">Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury</a> have in the NFL, in any capacity, combined. Considering the Broncos’ other candidate was Steelers offensive line coach Mike Munchak, who has also been an NFL coach for more than two decades and was a head coach in Tennessee for three years, it’s clear that Broncos president of football operations John Elway was looking for an experienced coach to replace Vance Joseph, whom Elway hired after just one season as Dolphins defensive coordinator.</p>
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<p id="bLc9Ub">There are no questions about Fangio’s credentials. In Carolina, he coordinated a unit that finished second in points allowed in 1996, the team’s second year of existence. In his first year as 49ers defensive coordinator in 2011, the team had the same ranking. This year he orchestrated a Bears defense that was the league’s best <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2019/1/6/18171565/chicago-bears-exit-interview">by almost every metric</a> and became <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2019/1/4/18167696/bears-defensive-legacy-khalil-mack-eddie-jackson-vic-fangio">interwoven with the fabric of the Bears’ defensive legacy</a>. He is widely considered to be among the best defensive minds in the game. He certainly has the respect of his players in Chicago, and the team will have a tough time replacing him.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Bears CB Prince Amukamara on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Broncos?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Broncos</a> hiring Vic Fangio: "Oh, man, they’re going to get a leader and they’re going to get somebody who cares for them. They already have a history of having a great defense. All of that will be enhanced with Vic."</p>— Ryan O'Halloran (@ryanohalloran) <a href="https://twitter.com/ryanohalloran/status/1083052365505269760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2019</a>
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<p id="cXOcHa">But this will be Fangio’s first go as a head coach, which is entirely different than being a coordinator. It will be fascinating to watch what Fangio does with Von Miller and Bradley Chubb, who combined for 26.5 sacks and 122 quarterback pressures this season and were perhaps the best pass-rush duo in the NFL. Like any head coach’s, a major part of Fangio’s success will rest on whom he hires to run things on the other side of the ball. (Perhaps McVay’s greatest move as head coach was convincing defensive coordinator Wade Phillips to come to Los Angeles.) Fangio will need a solid offensive coordinator, but turning around Denver’s offense won’t be an easy task. Quarterback Case Keenum is entering a contract year, and 31-year-old receiver Emmanuel Sanders ruptured his Achilles in December.</p>
<p class="c-end-para" id="GX8POr">Elway actively avoids using the word “rebuild,” preferring “retool.” With Fangio, the Broncos are betting on a defensive head coach, but also on an experienced one. It might seem out of style in the NFL, but hiring one of the league’s most seasoned defensive minds to counter the wave of young blood on offense may seem prescient in the not-so-distant future.</p>
https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2019/1/9/18175796/vic-fangio-head-coach-defensive-coordinator-hire-denver-broncos-chicago-bearsDanny Heifetz2019-01-09T13:45:07-05:002019-01-09T13:45:07-05:00Freddie Kitchens, Baker Mayfield Whisperer, Is the New Browns Head Coach
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<p>After a half-season of spectacular success as offensive coordinator, Kitchens will lead the next era of Cleveland football. Suddenly, the future looks bright for the once-moribund franchise.</p> <p id="Uii0Tg">After a half-season of not being Hue Jackson, Freddie Kitchens has reportedly been hired by the Cleveland Browns as their next head coach, ESPN’s <a href="https://twitter.com/mortreport/status/1083044789673738247">Chris Mortensen</a> reported Wednesday. Interim head coach and defensive coordinator Gregg Williams has been fired, according to Cleveland.com’s <a href="https://twitter.com/MaryKayCabot/status/1083048495391670273">Mary Kay Cabot</a>.</p>
<p id="TNq2xp">Kitchens has completed his stunning rise from virtually unheard-of running backs coach in September to offensive coordinator in October to head coach in January. It was made possible when head coach Jackson and offensive coordinator Todd Haley <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2018/10/29/18039236/cleveland-browns-hue-jackson-todd-haley-fired">were fired in an apparent power-struggle-slash-blame-game</a> over who was doing more damage to first overall pick Baker Mayfield’s development. Williams was named interim head coach, while Kitchens became offensive coordinator. The results were instantaneous: The Browns finished 5-3 after starting 2-5-1. It’s hard to overstate the impact that Kitchens had on the offense, which went from one of the league’s worst groups to one of the best.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Under Todd Haley, the Browns ranked 29th in offensive DVOA. Under Freddie Kitchens, they ranked first. <br><br>THAT"s a resume bump.</p>— Doug Farrar (@NFL_DougFarrar) <a href="https://twitter.com/NFL_DougFarrar/status/1083053564006608896?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2019</a>
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<p id="ZIaaWI">Mayfield’s numbers also sharply reversed under Kitchens.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Browns will name Freddie Kitchens their new head coach.<br><br>That could be good news for Baker Mayfield.<br><br>Mayfield posted better numbers across the board after Kitchens was promoted to offensive coordinator this past season. <a href="https://t.co/5OdJw9gI62">pic.twitter.com/5OdJw9gI62</a></p>— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNStatsInfo/status/1083063720945901573?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2019</a>
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<p id="Tay50U">It’s tempting to say that anybody would have been an improvement over Jackson and Haley, but that’s not true given the magnitude of the Browns’ turnaround. Kitchens changed the team’s <a href="https://twitter.com/SharpFootball/status/1083059388326338560">personnel usage</a>, made the offense less predictable, and instituted more quick throws to create and take advantage of open space on the field. What Kitchens did with the offense was special, and, in addition to the on-field performance, he and Mayfield seemed to enjoy working together.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">A match made in First Energy Stadium! The Baker Mayfield-Freddie Kitchens bromance continues. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Browns?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Browns</a> <a href="https://t.co/0X6TfV3jhE">pic.twitter.com/0X6TfV3jhE</a></p>— COACH (@thebillymanziel) <a href="https://twitter.com/thebillymanziel/status/1083051846942494722?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2019</a>
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<p id="gdR0Dp">“We have people that we believe in calling the plays now,” Mayfield <a href="http://www.espn.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/288511/freddie-kitchens-has-browns-baker-mayfield-believing-in-it">told reporters</a> in November about the offense’s turnaround.</p>
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<p id="44YouH">Hiring Kitchens is an unexpected route for the Browns, but so was drafting Mayfield no. 1 overall. Now the team is banking on the relationship between Mayfield and Kitchens flourishing. The only knock against this hiring is the thousands of “Baker-Kitchens” jokes we’re going to hear from announcers for the rest of their time together. (“Baker and Freddie Kitchens are COOKING, Jim!”)</p>
<p class="c-end-para" id="6fx69z">The Browns have been the league’s most abysmal team this century. Since being reincarnated as an expansion franchise 20 seasons ago, they’ve had nine general managers, 11 head coaches, 30 starting quarterbacks, and just one playoff appearance, in 2002. Yet Cleveland became one of the most desirable spots in the league after the deposed front-office combo of Sashi Brown and Paul DePodesta’s 76ers-inspired rebuild netted the team a stunning amount of young talent, including Mayfield, Nick Chubb, Myles Garrett, Denzel Ward, and Jabrill Peppers—not to mention perhaps the best interior offensive line group in the league and the fourth-most cap space in the NFL entering March. The Browns, yes, <em>the Browns</em>,<em> </em>have the brightest future in the NFL, and now they have a coach who has already shown fans the team’s potential.</p>
https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2019/1/9/18175659/freddie-kitchens-baker-mayfield-cleveland-browns-head-coachDanny Heifetz2019-01-09T12:02:23-05:002019-01-09T12:02:23-05:00The NFL Coaching Carousel Has a Type
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<p>From Kliff Kingsbury to Matt LaFleur, the head-coaching hires this offseason have been united by a common philosophy: Find the next Sean McVay. The approach isn’t surprising. The ubiquity of it is.</p> <p id="Q2yKRM">Anyone reading the tea leaves over the past few months should have been able to sense the direction this NFL coaching carousel was heading. A year after Sean McVay transformed the Rams from the most hapless offense in football into the highest-scoring team in the league, Matt Nagy lifted the Bears from a last-place finish to an NFC North title, Frank Reich led the Colts to an unlikely wild-card berth, and Andy Reid helped mold Patrick Mahomes II into a defense-destroying cyborg. All signs pointed to a flurry of hires designed to mirror the league’s most successful power structures. It was easy to predict that front offices would seek out offensive-minded head coaches who could double as play-callers. Still, I’m not sure anyone predicted that would bear out to <em>this</em> extent.</p>
<p id="WqhKUM">On Tuesday, the Cardinals announced they’d hired former Texas Tech head coach (and short-lived USC offensive coordinator) Kliff Kingsbury. To some college football fans, the move was mystifying. In six seasons with the Red Raiders, Kingsbury compiled a 35-40 record. He never finished a season with a scoring defense better than 88th nationally and never managed a conference record better than 4-5. Somehow, a guy who couldn’t assemble a legitimate college contender had stumbled into a top NFL job. And that hire came a day after the Packers announced they’d tabbed former Titans offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur as their next head coach.</p>
<p id="T3iMaY">Like Kingsbury, LaFleur’s résumé didn’t exactly make him an obvious target for this type of opportunity. The 2018 season marked his first as an NFL play-caller, and the Titans finished 22nd in offensive DVOA and 27th in points scored. LaFleur was brought in to pull quarterback Marcus Mariota out of a tailspin, but that didn’t happen. Mariota made 11 starts, and his production was only a slight improvement over his numbers from the previous two seasons under former coach Mike Mularkey. </p>
<div class="c-float-right"><aside id="CRNlW5"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"Kliff Kingsbury Is the Cardinals’ Great Offensive Hope. But Can He Fix Josh Rosen?","url":"https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2019/1/8/18174371/cardinals-hiring-kliff-kingsbury-head-coach"},{"title":"Matt LaFleur Will Be Judged Based on His Success With Aaron Rodgers","url":"https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2019/1/7/18173004/green-bay-packers-matt-lafleur-aaron-rodgers"},{"title":"Bruce Arians Is Back, and Now He’s Charged With Righting the Jameis Winston Ship","url":"https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2019/1/8/18174602/bruce-arians-hired-tampa-bay-buccaneers-jameis-winston"},{"title":"Legend of the Long Toss: Stories of Patrick Mahomes II’s Awe-Inspiring Passing","url":"https://www.theringer.com/nfl-playoffs/2019/1/9/18174749/patrick-mahomes-kansas-city-chiefs-nfl-best-passer"},{"title":"Philip Rivers Has Never Beaten Tom Brady—What Can Their History Tell Us About the Divisional Round?","url":"https://www.theringer.com/nfl-playoffs/2019/1/9/18174908/philip-rivers-tom-brady-chargers-patriots-divisional-round"}]}'></div></aside></div>
<p id="0yQ3TV">Looking at Kingsbury and LaFleur, it’s easy to see that NFL decision-makers are developing a type. They want Sean McVay facsimiles, in virtually every way imaginable. In LaFleur’s case, the connection is easy to draw. He spent 2017 serving as McVay’s offensive coordinator with the Rams and before that worked with both McVay and Kyle Shanahan in Washington (and with Shanahan in Atlanta). Kingsbury’s ties to McVay are less direct, but the Cardinals felt they were worth mentioning all the same. Arizona’s <a href="https://www.azcardinals.com/news/cardinals-hire-kliff-kingsbury-as-head-coach">press release</a> noted that Kingsbury is a friend of McVay’s and entertained taking a job as a Rams consultant after being fired by Texas Tech in November. It’s probably no coincidence that beyond knowing the Los Angeles head coach personally, both Kingsbury and LaFleur give off decidedly McVayesque vibes. Gone are the days when NFL head-coaching vacancies were filled by gruff, grizzled football lifers. Now, teams seem to be looking for Ryan Gosling with a play sheet. Thick mustaches and chewing tobacco have given way to beard trimmers and hair pomade. And for coaches with defensive backgrounds, well, good luck even getting a phone call.</p>
<p id="22DAiu">It’s hard to blame anyone who’s skeptical of what the Cardinals and Packers are doing. Chicago defensive coordinator Vic Fangio just spent a season turning the Bears into a waking nightmare for opposing offenses, and he managed only a single head-coaching interview. (That interview led to a hiring, <a href="https://twitter.com/adamschefter/status/1083046454657191936">with the Broncos</a>.) Kingsbury couldn’t beat a bad Ole Miss team a few months ago, and he reportedly got double that number. Still, it’s understandable why NFL teams seem to be pivoting so hard toward this approach. Kingsbury’s record in Lubbock leaves plenty to be desired, but success in college football involves plenty of factors he’ll never have to deal with at the pro level. Recruiting isn’t an issue; he won’t have to compete against Texas, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma for talented players. If Kingsbury can establish a strong staff (one that should include an established offensive line coach and defensive coordinator) and focus his energy primarily on devising and running the offense, there’s a good chance the Cardinals will be fun as hell in 2019. Meanwhile, LaFleur spent much of this season with Mariota either banged up or on the sideline and with tight end Delanie Walker on injured reserve. Tennessee’s offense still showed flashes down the stretch, and it’s tough to blame Packers fans for getting excited about the prospect of what Aaron Rodgers can do in an offense born of the same DNA as the ones McVay and Shanahan have used to great success. </p>
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<p id="hnOWsu">At their core, both the Cardinals’ and Packers’ choices were about finding the right person to get everything they can from their quarterbacks. In Green Bay, that means trying to maximize the final seasons of Rodgers’s prime with a coach who can challenge him, both interpersonally and schematically. For Arizona, the goal was bringing in an offensive guru who can revive Josh Rosen’s career on the heels of a disastrous rookie season. Firing former coach Steve Wilks after a single year may have seemed like a panic move at first glance, but that isn’t necessarily true. After watching Rosen over the second half of the season, Arizona’s brass had to know that keeping Rosen within that infrastructure could have done irreparable damage to the organization’s most prized asset. As owners look around the league and see the same types of head coaches (McVay, Reid, Nagy, Reich, Shanahan, Sean Payton, and Doug Pederson among them) fielding potent offenses, their desire to create a similar structure makes sense. In some instances, that means trying to clone McVay. But not always. </p>
<p id="oYcdcB">In terms of aesthetics, Bruce Arians is about as far away from Sean McVay as you can get. Arians is 66. He never had a reputation as an offensive wunderkind, and his first job as an NFL coordinator came in 2001, when he was 49. I don’t think we’ll ever see McVay rocking a Kangol. Dig deeper, though, and it’s clear that the Buccaneers’ choice to hire Arians follows a blueprint not altogether different from the one used by the Packers and Cardinals. As Jameis Winston enters the fifth-year option of his rookie contract, Tampa Bay’s top priority as an organization is to do all it can to right the trajectory of the former no. 1 overall pick. Arians is a proven QB whisperer whose vertical scheme has consistently featured the deepest throws in the NFL. His system is designed to push the ball down the field while minimizing the risks involved with that style. Arians will also have no trouble tearing into Winston the first time his quarterback decides it’s OK to throw into triple coverage during a tie game in the second quarter. </p>
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<p id="YH8n07">The Browns’ organizational mind-set aligns with this trend too. Before heading to Cleveland to become the team’s running backs coach, Freddie Kitchens spent four years on Arians’s staff with the Cardinals. Kitchens is 44 and had never worked as an NFL coordinator until he was elevated to that role midway though this season after Todd Haley was fired in late October. Yet that lack of experience apparently isn’t going to stop the Browns from <a href="https://twitter.com/mortreport/status/1083044789673738247">making Kitchens their head coach</a>. Cleveland’s motivation for keeping Kitchens is straightforward: It’s seen what he can do with Baker Mayfield. Rather than risk making an outside hire who might not mesh with one of the league’s most promising young quarterbacks, the franchise will go with what it knows. </p>
<p id="Aq2wiX">Neither Kitchens nor Arians has the McVaylike mystique of Kingsbury or LaFleur, but both check many of the same boxes that the league wants in this moment. While it may seem shocking that established coordinators like Baltimore’s Wink Martindale can barely get a sniff in this market, the reality is the league was always moving this way. The surprise is how quickly this approach became ubiquitous.</p>
<p class="c-end-para" id="I90CUF">The NFL’s offensive revolution is the driving force behind the coaching carousel. Front offices are betting it all on keeping pace, and there’s no telling which unproven options will succeed or fail.</p>
https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2019/1/9/18175415/coaching-carousel-kliff-kingsbury-matt-lafleur-bruce-ariansRobert Mays2019-01-08T19:44:46-05:002019-01-08T19:44:46-05:00Bruce Arians Is Back, and Now He’s Charged With Righting the Jameis Winston Ship
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<p>After a one-year hiatus, the former Cardinals coach is returning to the NFL to try to sort out the Buccaneers’ offensive woes</p> <p id="XPClpz">Bruce Arians may not be a young, unproven offensive mind in the mold of the recently hired <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2019/1/7/18173004/green-bay-packers-matt-lafleur-aaron-rodgers">Matt LaFleur</a> or <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2019/1/8/18174371/cardinals-hiring-kliff-kingsbury-head-coach">Kliff Kingsbury</a>, but when the Buccaneers hired him as their new head coach on Tuesday, they gave him the same mission as those other guys: Fix the quarterback. Tampa Bay passer Jameis Winston had another up-and-down year in 2018, throwing for his highest average passing yards per game (272.0) but also putting up a sky-high interception rate (3.7 percent). After the team went 5-11 this season, the Bucs <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2018/12/30/18162199/dirk-koetter-fired-tampa-bay-buccaneers">fired head coach Dirk Koetter</a>, and now they’re looking to Arians to jump-start the franchise’s next chapter.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bucs?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Bucs</a> are signing Bruce Arians to a 4-year deal with a fifth-yaer option, source said. Among the coaches Arians hopes to finalize deals with: Harold Goodwin as Run Game Coordinator/OLine, Byron Leftwich as Pass Game Coordinator and Clyde Christianson as QB coach.</p>— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/1082764291579830273?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 8, 2019</a>
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<p id="1YzYAl">The 66-year-old Arians is coming off a one-year hiatus from football. He retired from the Cardinals after the 2017 season, citing <a href="https://cardswire.usatoday.com/2018/01/11/bruce-arians-retired-for-his-wife-his-health/">health problems</a> that were exacerbated by coaching. Before that retirement, Arians coached in Arizona from 2013 to 2017, during which he went 49-30-1 and fielded top-10 offenses (by both yards and points) in 2015 and 2016. That 2015 season was Arians’s crowning achievement, as the Cardinals went 13-3 and Carson Palmer played like an MVP candidate, throwing for 4,671 yards, 35 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. Palmer led the league in <a href="https://www.pro-football-reference.com/about/glossary.htm">adjusted net yards per attempt</a> (8.41) and recorded a career-high passer rating (104.6), and the Cardinals made it to all the way to the NFC championship game before getting blown out by the Panthers, 49-15.</p>
<p id="G3Qr1U">Arians, who <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2017/8/24/16193394/play-calling-strategy-bruce-arians-sean-mcvay">called his own plays in Arizona</a>, runs a complex and <a href="http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000626772/article/the-simple-wisdom-of-cardinals-coach-bruce-arians">aggressive offensive scheme</a>. He loves to push the ball downfield, and that edict should track well with his new QB:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Bruce Arians and the Bucs would be an interesting and exciting fit. Over the past seven seasons, the three greatest air yards/attempt for a team were: <br>1. 2015 Cardinals (coached by Arians): 10.49 AY/A<br>2. 2018 Bucs: 10.48 AY/A<br>3. 2014 Cardinals (coached by Arians): 10.39 AY/A</p>— Field Yates (@FieldYates) <a href="https://twitter.com/FieldYates/status/1081643846025560065?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 5, 2019</a>
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<p id="tzWLVu">The challenge will be encouraging those types of aggressive throws from Winston while also cutting down on the QB’s penchant for ugly turnovers—Winston has been intercepted on 3.0 percent of his passes in his four-year career, <a href="https://www.pro-football-reference.com/leaders/pass_int_perc_active.htm">tied for seventh highest among active players</a>. Finding that balance may prove difficult: Over Arians’s five seasons with the Cardinals, Arizona quarterbacks threw 82 interceptions, the <a href="https://www.pro-football-reference.com/play-index/tgl_finder.cgi?request=1&match=combined&year_min=2013&year_max=2017&game_type=R&game_num_min=0&game_num_max=99&week_num_min=0&week_num_max=99&temperature_gtlt=lt&c5val=1.0&order_by=pass_int">sixth most in the league in that span</a>. But he’ll also have a bevy of playmakers in Mike Evans, DeSean Jackson, Cameron Brate, and O.J. Howard that are fully capable of propelling this offense.</p>
<p id="ed5dM9">It also helps that Arians (sort of) has a history with Winston: Arians coached the QB at a football camp when Winston was just 12 years old. The two <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nfl/cardinals/2016/09/14/buccaneers-jameis-winston-loves-bruce-arians---and-vice-versa/90384782/">spoke about that connection</a> before a Cardinals-Bucs game in 2016, and Arians had glowing things to say about Winston:</p>
<blockquote><p id="ZCtMCu">Jaboo’s [Winston’s nickname] been a legend since he was in the ninth grade. … He was probably throwing 90 mile-an-hour fastballs back then in the ninth, 10th grade.</p></blockquote>
<p class="c-end-para" id="90SRzY">Winston’s development is officially on the clock. In December, the Bucs <a href="http://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/buccaneers-plan-to-stick-with-james-winston-in-2019-ryan-fitzpatrick-stats-information-news/qcpz1x40wx5v1w0fvj1vdt971">stated</a> that they were bringing Winston back for 2019—even after his poor performance and the fact that he was suspended for <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2018/6/29/17518964/jameis-winston-buccaneers-three-game-suspension">three games in 2018</a> after a female Uber driver said he’d groped her years before. Winston will play on his fifth-year option this season, so he could hit free agency at the end of 2019 if the Bucs don’t extend him before then. This will be a “prove it” year for Winston, when he could earn the role as the team’s passer of the future, or be released by year’s end. Either Arians will turn Winston into the quarterback the Bucs envisioned when they made him the no. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft, or Tuesday marks the beginning of the end of Winston’s tenure in Tampa Bay.</p>
https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2019/1/8/18174602/bruce-arians-hired-tampa-bay-buccaneers-jameis-winstonRiley McAtee