Thank goodness we don’t have a long list to rank this year. In a minute, we’ll be breaking down the best and worst hires of the 2022–23 coaching cycle, but let’s take one moment to reflect on a few aspects of the cycle this year that I found overwhelmingly encouraging.
• Teams took their time: This year, two clubs, the Colts and the Cardinals, waited until after the Super Bowl to pry away head coaching candidates and got two of the best in the cycle. The illusion that a team has to make a rash decision to get the “best” candidates was always hogwash, and reflective of a herd mentality among professionals who should know better. I reached out to one person highly plugged into the coaching search world a few weeks back to make sure I wasn’t off base. It didn’t just feel like this year took forever; it actually did.
• Teams broadened their scope: I heard from one coaching representative that a team reached out cold because it didn’t know a coach and thought it should learn more. That’s great. In the midst of this chaos, there were people hoping to learn. Seeing some overlooked coaching lifers such as Don Martindale (59) and Lou Anarumo (56) went deep into the process with various teams was, to me, a signal of owners trying to break free of the Let’s Hire Popular Guy X formula.
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• Owners emptied their pockets: I wrote this when Sean Payton was hired, but I enjoy the fact that owners, who sort of, kind of, worked the coaching salary ceiling back down after the Matt Rhule contract in Carolina, saw it expand again. DeMeco Ryans got a six-year deal. Payton is getting north of $15 million. This is a big deal, as I noted, because teams can hide behind the salary cap whenever they don’t want to pay someone. Coaching, like facilities, is one way to show your fan base you actually care.
So, let’s stop jabbering. The season has been over for, like, three days, and I haven’t power-ranked anything yet. I’m getting jittery.
1. Shane Steichen: Indianapolis Colts
Surprised? Don’t be. Each year, we recommend a clear-and-obvious-top candidate. In 2021, that was Nathaniel Hackett, who I’ll own, even if I think he got hosed in Denver. The year before that? Brian Daboll (even if it took some time for teams to catch on). This year, our top candidate was Steichen. We profiled him in December and dived deeply into what makes him successful. When I look at good head coaching candidates, it comes down to three A’s:
- Adaptability in scheme
- Access to other good coaches
- Attitude in front of a team and in front of a camera
Steichen has built offenses for Philip Rivers, Justin Herbert and Jalen Hurts. All different quarterbacks. All good quarterbacks. A quarterback has never not developed when working for Steichen. He has a relationship with Gus Bradley and will get to keep a solid defensive coordinator with head coaching experience. And, that Eagles staff is L-O-A-D-E-D with future head coaches. Anyone he’s able to pry loose will be a bonus.
2. DeMeco Ryans: Houston Texans
Ryans was the top candidate on a lot of teams’ boards, and knocked his offensive coordinator hire out of the park, as well, bringing along Bobby Slowik from San Francisco. Like Steichen, he’s going to have the presence as well as the association with coaches who run a great scheme. The 49ers’ pipeline is strong and has already birthed the likes of Mike McDaniel in Miami.
Ryans’s ties to the organization are also a huge bonus. Right now, the Texans, after being run for a time by a former character coach, are completely and totally without an identity. After a teardown, they are thin on star power and have one of the worst rosters, top to bottom, in the NFL. Ryans will fill that gap and will be an immediate draw for free agents, especially on the defensive side of the ball. His presence alone could help Houston weather the remainder of this post–Deshaun Watson rebuild.
3(T). Frank Reich: Carolina Panthers
Matt Rhule didn’t flame out with the Panthers spectacularly; he was just not the right fit for the job. It’s not as if the Panthers were the Jaguars of 2021, but owner David Tepper still approached the hire that way. Reich is a steady hand, and he’s going to run a professional shop. Coaches love coaching with him. Players love playing for him. He’ll be able to steer the Panthers if they draft a rookie quarterback or, more than likely, fight for scraps in the veteran market this year.
One reason why Reich was almost tied for second on this list: The Ejiro Evero hire was a complete and total home run. Evero was the best defensive coordinator in football last season, and the Broncos put themselves in a position where they had to let him go. One team’s loss is another team’s gain, and I could see a Reich offense combined with a top-five defense making some legitimate noise in a barren NFC South.
3(T). Jonathan Gannon: Arizona Cardinals
I think judging Gannon by the way his defense played in the Super Bowl against the Chiefs is a little silly. Gannon fared well in his interview with Houston last year, and the Cardinals will benefit from a change in attitude at the head coaching position. While his offensive coordinator hire will be critical, his defense was versatile in 2022, and he may be the coach who can get the most out of all the equity the franchise poured into its defense over the past few years.
The Cardinals job was always going to be among the toughest no matter who took it. The team will start the year without Kyler Murray, and any coach is going to have to navigate the talent drain that occurred over the final years of the previous general manager’s term.
5. Sean Payton: Denver Broncos
O.K. Breathe, people. Here’s a chance for you to screenshot this now and send it to Old Takes Exposed. I’ll give it a minute. I think Payton is great. I just don’t think this is the setup for him. This job is going to be hard. If he doesn’t max out Russell Wilson this year, he’s back in a veteran quarterback pool that may end up less appetizing than the one we’re currently sifting through. Payton also didn’t get to keep Evero, who, again, makes this job seriously appetizing under different circumstances.
Payton’s defense isn’t going to be as good as the one he had in New Orleans. His suite of offensive skill-position players in Denver is going to be worse. The offensive lines will be somewhat comparable. I’m not saying he’s going to be bad, but by the time the Broncos dig out of the draft-capital-spending spree it took to acquire both Payton and Wilson, who knows what they’re going to look like? Plus, they’re in an ultra-competitive division with elite QB play everywhere. If this is Mike McCarthy Part II at best, was it worth it?
