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Power Ranking the NFL Head Coaching Hirings

There were seven head coaching vacancies around the NFL this month. Once the Super Bowl comes to a conclusion in early February, the last will be filled when the Atlanta Falcons officially hire Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn to be their new head man.

And while some coordinating jobs on these new staffs have yet to be decided (see San Francisco), we have a pretty good idea about how each organization performed when drawing a conclusion about their future staffs.

On that note, let’s go ahead and rank the seven teams that have “hired’ a new head coach with an in-depth explanation behind the rankings.

1. John Fox, Chicago Bears

Courtesy of USA Today: John Fox brings a ton of experience and success with him to Chicago

Courtesy of USA Today: John Fox brings a ton of experience and success with him to Chicago

Some will conclude that Fox’s success in four seasons with the Denver Broncos was mainly due to the presence of Peyton Manning at quarterback over the final three years of his tenure. While that’s a solid point, it’s important to note that Fox did coach a Tim Tebow-led team to the postseason one year prior to Manning’s arrival.

He’s also known as a great defensive mind, which came to the forefront during his tenure as the Carolina Panthers head coach before landing in Denver. In nine seasons as the Panthers head coach, his defenses ranked in the top 10 in both total yards and points against five times. Prior to that, he coordinated some stout defenses with the New York Giants.

Always willing to bring in some great football minds, Fox has also built a rather strong coaching staff in Chicago. Offensive coordinator Adam Gase joins him from Denver, while defensive coordinator Vic Fangio was brought on from the San Francisco 49ers.

Fox is 30 games over .500 and has led his teams to seven playoff appearances as well as two Super Bowls in 13 seasons as a head coach.

2. Todd Bowles, New York Jets

One of the best young defensive minds in the NFL, Bowles finally got his shot to be a head coach after serving 15 years in the league as an assistant. His professional career started with these very same Jets as the secondary coach in 2000. After stops with the Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins in a whole host of different roles, Bowles earned a defensive coordinating gig with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2012 prior to taking over the Cardinals unit in 2013.

Arizona finished in the top-seven of the NFL in scoring defense in both of Bowles two seasons as the team’s defensive coordinator. This past season was the most impressive. Without the likes of Darnell Dockett (injury) and Daryl Washington (suspension) for the season, Bowles led a blitz-heavy defensive scheme that confused opposing offenses on a consistent basis. With the personnel that the Jets currently have on defense, this is going to be a scary proposition for other AFC East teams in 2015.  Offensively, Bowles did a tremendous job bringing in underrated veteran coach Chan Gailey as the team’s coordinator.

3. Dan Quinn, Atlanta Falcons

While this won’t be official until after the Super Bowl, it’s rather obvious that Quinn will be the head coach of the Falcons next season. Questions will be brought up regarding just how much of the Seattle Seahawks success had to do with Quinn or the talent on its defense. And those questions are more than legitimate.

However, it’s important to note that Seattle’s defensive performance actually improved when Quinn replaced current Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley as the team’s defensive coordinator in 2013. Seattle finished No. 1 in both points and total yards against in each of the past two years. In fact, this past regular season saw the Legion of Boom allow 39 points in its final six games. I don’t care how much talent is on a defense, it takes some good coaching for that to happen.

As with every defensive-minded head coach, Quinn needed to find someone of quality to run his offense. That came in the form of Kyle Shanahan, who is widely respected as an offensive mind around the NFL. All said, this was a tremendous hire by Atlanta.

4. Jack Del Rio, Oakland Raiders

Courtesy of USA Today; Del Rio brings attitude and nastiness to the Raiders. That's good.

Courtesy of USA Today: Del Rio brings attitude and nastiness to the Raiders. That’s good.

Considering the names that were being mentioned as possibilities for the Raiders, this was a tremendous hire. Del Rio brings an up-and-down track record as a head coach with him to Oakland. He posted a 68-73 record in eight-plus seasons as the Jacksonville Jaguars head coach from 2003-2011. During that stretch, Jacksonville earned two playoff appearances and finished at or above .500 five times. This is the type of success that was nothing more than a pipe dream for the Raiders over the past decade.

As a former NFL linebacker and a defensive-minded head coach, that side of the ball has been historically good under Del Rio. Starting as the defensive coordinator of the Carolina Panthers in 2002 and culminating in a three-year stint with the Denver Broncos, Del Rio’s defenses have ranked in the top six in yards against six times and the top-10 in scoring five times. The previous success is most definitely here for Del Rio to help turn around a fledgling Raiders franchise.

Del Rio also brings an aura of cockiness and a certain level of nasty to a Raiders sideline that has been without it for a while. A change in culture is the first step in a long process of turning a franchise around. It appears that Oakland at least has that going for it.

Unfortunately, the high that came with hiring Del Rio as the team’s head coach was quickly muted when he brought long-time NFL assistant Bill Musgrave with him to Oakland. As someone that relies heavily on a strong rushing attack and has had his share of failures in the NFL, Musgrave wasn’t the best choice for that gig. This doesn’t even take into account the fact that he doesn’t have the personnel to utilize a run-heavy offensive attack. While that could change in the offseason, it’s still worrisome.

5. Rex Ryan, Buffalo Bills

On the surface, hiring Ryan to replace Doug Marrone made perfect sense. His central focus throughout the years has been on the defensive side of the ball, and the Bills possess one of the top overall defenses in the NFL. Combining the two could give Buffalo a championship-level unit.

After all, Ryan’s success speaks for itself.

In six seasons as the New York Jets head coach, Ryan’s defenses ranked in the top-10 in yards against five times (11th the other time). Prior to that, Ryan led a Baltimore Ravens defense to top-10 rankings in all four seasons he was their defensive coordinator.

While it’s hard to question Ryan’s success on defense, his offenses have been absolutely atrocious. The Jets ranked 26th in scoring and in the bottom 10 in yards in Ryan’s last four seasons as the team’s head coach. What doesn’t inspire confidence here is that Ryan brought in one of the worst offensive coordinators in the NFL in the form of Greg Roman, who struggled big time in play-calling with the San Francisco 49ers over the past two seasons. Usually when an offense finishes in the bottom eight of the NFL in scoring, the coordinator finds himself on the hot season, not acquiring the same job from another team. But that’s exactly what happened with Roman.

Unfortunately for Bills fans, Ryan also brought former Jets quarterback coach David Lee with him to Western New York. Speaking of not inspiring confidence, he was the individual in charge of helping Geno Smith “progress” as a quarterback the past two seasons.

In a vacuum, Ryan was a great hire. The issue with this is that a head coach is only as good as his coaching staff. Without anyone of real substance leading the offense, it’s hard to imagine the Bills taking that next step from nine wins to serious playoff contention.

6. Gary Kubiak, Denver Broncos

We will probably get called out for having this hire so low. But let us preface this by saying Kubiak is a darn good head coach and John Elway has been a darn good executive in the NFL. The two are friends, which also played a role in the hiring.

The bigger question here is how the entire John Fox situation came to a head. Indications are that Elway and Fox had a differing opinion on their offensive scheme. Elway even indicated that their philosophies didn’t mesh. It’s pure conjecture to indicate that this had to do with Fox going to a more run-orientated attack in the second half of the season, but conjecture is all we have to work with here.

If that is indeed the case, and based on Elway’s history of favoring the pass-heavy approach, Kubiak’s hiring made absolutely no sense.

Throughout his career as either a coordinator or a head coach, Kubiak-led offenses averaged the 16th-most pass attempts in the NFL. Comparatively, they averaged to rank inside the top nine in rush attempts. In fact, Kubiak’s offenses ranked inside the top 10 in rush attempts 11 times and just six times in pass attempts. That tells us a story that he likes to run the ball. Unless the two came to some sort of common ground here, there could be some issues between the friends moving forward. And in reality, that could impact the product we see on the field.

7.  Jim Tomsula, San Francisco 49ers

Courtesy of USA Today: Tomsula wasn't a bad choice, but the 49ers front office is a mess right now.

Courtesy of USA Today: Tomsula wasn’t a bad choice, but the 49ers front office is a mess right now.

This should probably be an incomplete more than anything else. The primary reason San Francisco ranks dead last here is not due to the hiring of Tomsula. That’s something this one scribe has been calling on for years now. Instead, it’s how CEO Jed York and the front office handled the entire Jim Harbaugh situation. You simply don’t “fire” a head coach that had led your team to the NFC Championship game three times and a Super Bowl appearance in four seasons. That’s not necessarily the recipe for success. And no matter what the internal strife might have been within the organization, York and company have to be held to account for not finding a way to make it work.

The other disturbing trend I am noticing in San Francisco is that the coaching staff is yet to really be filled out over a week after the team promoted Tomsula. A ton of qualified coordinators on both sides of the ball have found other jobs, while San Francisco has spent this week hiring former Oakland Raiders defensive coordinator Jason Tarver as its new linebackers coach.

As it relates to Tomsula, he’s going to be a darn good head coach in the NFL. He’s a widely respected coach around the league, has the respect of his players, and has worked his tail off to reach the pinnacle of his career. Again, Tomsula should succeed as the team’s head coach.

Photo: USA Today

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