Ralph Vacchiano
NFC East Reporter
One quarter of the 32 NFL teams rode the coaching carousel this offseason, hoping that someone new could turn around the fortunes of their franchise. Five of the eight teams chose first-time head coaches. Three chose candidates with experience.
And it’ll probably be a few years before any of them know for sure whether they made the right choice.
Of course, judgments will be made much quicker than that in a league that has become about instant gratification more than ever before. So, while this list might look a bit different three years down the road, here are the five biggest winners and losers from the NFL’s 2024 head coach hiring cycle — at least so far:
WINNERS
Los Angeles Chargers: No franchise has wasted more talent over the past few years, thanks to the terrible stewardship of Brandon Staley. And to help fix that, they landed the man who was, arguably, the best available candidate — Jim Harbaugh, the white whale that the NFL has been chasing for years. He probably could have had his pick of jobs, but seemed to want only this one. He comes fresh off a national championship with the University of Michigan, and with memories of his stellar four years with the San Francisco 49ers from 2011-14 that included a 44-19-1 regular-season record, three straight trips to the NFC championship game and one Super Bowl appearance. He instantly legitimizes the Chargers and will surely, finally get the most out of franchise quarterback Justin Herbert.
Las Vegas Raiders: They had the money and the desire to make a big splash in the market and maybe throw some money Jim Harbaugh’s way. Instead, they did the sensible thing and listened to their players who loved playing for interim head coach Antonio Pierce. He didn’t work miracles there. He took over a 3-5 team and went 5-4 the rest of the way, but they played much better under his direction and believed they were headed toward better…
Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/biggest-winners-losers-from-nfls-head-coaching-hires
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Publish date : 2024-02-16 15:48:49
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