NFL 2018: Ranking the 7 head coaching hires around the league

There were seven head coaching vacancies and all have been filled, at least unofficially. That means rankings are in order, because a few left us scratching our heads. Its the NFL 2018.

All of the coaching vacancies in the NFL have yet to be officially filled, but they all are essentially filled.

With Arizona, Tennessee, and the New York Giants settling on coaches this week, the NFL 2018 head coaching class is set. Once the Super Bowl is over (and the New England Patriots’ season with it), each spot will be official, with T’s crossed and I’s dotted.

Here are the new hires we have:

New York Giants – Pat Shurmur
Indianapolis Colts – Josh McDaniels (reportedly)
Detroit Lions – Matt Patricia (reportedly)
Tennessee Titans – Mike Vrabel
Chicago Bears – Matt Nagy
Arizona Cardinals – Steve Wilks
Oakland Raiders – Jon Gruden

Two brothers from New York, Dan Salem and Todd Salem, debate NFL 2018 in today’s NFL Sports Debate.

Those seven hires run the gamut of veteran experience, first-time opportunity, head-scratching, and obvious. Though we have no idea how each man’s term at their new spot will play out, we still have inklings of good and bad decisions. Rankings are in order! We rank these hires from worst to best.

Todd Salem:

7. Vrabel – Not only does he have no head coaching experience, but he barely has any coaching experience at all. The Titans moved on from Mike Mularkey because he was supposedly ruining Marcus Mariota, so the team brought in a defensive-minded coach with no experience to fix things?

6. Gruden – Oof. That contract. 10 years out of the league, and now a 10-year deal.

5. Patricia – He supposedly passed on the Giants job because he was afraid of being a first-time head coach in a major market (last paragraph of article). That…does not bode well. Look for his second chance to be more successful than this first one.

4 and 3. Wilks and Nagy – Give Nagy the edge because he at least appeared to be Chicago’s top choice, whereas the same doesn’t feel true of Wilks and Arizona.

2. Shurmur – Shurmur certainly was not New York’s top target this winter, but I love when a head coach is on his second try at the job. I assume every second-chance head man is Bill Belichick leaving the Browns. Coincidentally, Shurmur’s first stop was a failure with Cleveland as well.

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1. McDaniels – He is in the same boat as Shurmur except he was multiple teams’ top target this offseason, he wasn’t quite as bad as a first-time head coach, and he has a much longer track record of being a great coordinator. People are worried about his personality translating from assistant to in-charge, which submarined his time in Denver, but second chances are about adjustments, both on and off the field. I feel this 2018 coaching class is pretty weak, with a rather large gap between McDaniels at the top and everyone else.

Dan Salem:

7. Wilks – My sentiments throughout these rankings have a lot to do with my feelings toward the team itself, and that is truly the case here in Arizona. Replacing a coach who retires, rather than was fired, is a huge challenge. This hire has the benefit of flying under the radar, until the Cardinals are bad. That could happen very soon.

6. Nagy – I don’t like the state of the Chicago Bears and Nagy feels like a “thank you, now sit quietly” type of hire. He did nice things running the Chiefs offense, but it never got them over the hump. He has an up hill battle in Chicago.

5. Patricia – I don’t agree with the Lions hiring a defensive minded coach when their biggest strength is on offense. One form of logic would argue that this will improve their weakness, yet I’m of the mindset that you win with your strength, so bolster that. He did well in New England, but isn’t it Belichick’s defense? We will find out.

4. Shurmur – Now we’re talking. The Giants hired an offensive minded coach and their best weapons are on offense. Shurmur got more out of less in Minnesota, but he’s dealing with an “older” roster with his new team. I like his chances of squeezing one more good season out of Eli Manning.

3. Gruden – The Raiders needed a spark after falling on their face in 2017. Gruden will light the fire and perhaps re-ignite the dynamic offense that Oakland had back in 2016 with Derek Carr. 10 years doesn’t bother me, because anyone can be fired at any time. He takes a ton of pressure off Oakland’s star players, so this is win-win for the team.

2. Vrabel – I love that Tennessee is giving a rookie head coach a shot to inject fresh blood and enthusiasm into a team that overachieved this past season. He comes from winning pedigree and can make the Titans defense dynamic. Less is more with Marcus Mariota, making this a nice fit in my opinion.

Super Bowl 52: Tom Brady or Carson Wentz in 2018?

1. McDaniels – Pairing his offensive mind with Andrew Luck can be special…if Luck is healthy. I truly hope this happens, but either way he will spark the Colts in 2018. They lost a number of close football games, meaning a new voice with a purpose can be the difference they need.