For those who watched the Tampa Bay Buccaneers win Super Bowl XXXVII in 2003, it’s hard to believe it’s been nearly a decade since Jon Gruden coached in the NFL.
Thankfully, “Chucky” makes his return to the sidelines on Sept. 10 with the Oakland Raiders, sure to provide fans with plenty of epic scowls and seemingly non-sensical play calls.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6ZHzxibUko
And while Gruden may be the highest-profile coach with a new gig this season, he’s far from the only one who’ll make a splash.
In the second of Sportsnet’s week-long preview of the 2018 NFL season, our panel looks at five coaches — including the incomparable Gruden — in new roles who will likely shape the course of the new campaign.
Today’s panel includes Donnovan Bennett, Steven Loung, Mike Johnston, Geoff Lowe and Emily Sadler.
Bennett: Pat Shurmur, Head Coach, New York Giants
Pat Shurmur takes over a situation in New York with minimal expectations and high talent. This is the exact opposite situation from when he was the head man with the Cleveland Browns in 2011-12. No matter what he does he’ll be better received by players, media and fans than his predecessor in New York, Ben McAdoo.
It’s hard to believe a team with this much talent won just three games last season. The Giants were aggressive in going after the guy they wanted to rectify the situation. Shurmur was named head coach on Jan. 22. General manager Dave Gettleman and Shurmur have spoken at length about wanting to change the culture around the team. Since he’s been hired, the Giants drafted the most talented offensive player in the draft in Saquon Barkley and locked up their best offensive player in Odell Beckham Jr.
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Shurmur is known for his offensive play design and largely got the job because he turned the Vikings offence around last season with major injuries in their offensive backfield throughout the season. Now with superior skill-position offensive talent, a two-time Super Bowl MVP quarterback in Eli Manning and a defence that should return to its elite form from two years ago after an injury-riddled 2017, Shurmur could go from sought-after co-ordinator to coach of the year.
Johnston: Matt Nagy, Head Coach, Chicago Bears
There is a sense of optimism in Chicago for the first time in years and much of that has to do with a changing of the guard on the Bears bench. Out is John Fox, an old, defensive-minded coach and in is Matt Nagy, a young, offensive-minded coach.
Andy Reid is the only head coach Nagy has served under in his NFL career and his influence is apparent. Nagy loves spreading the ball around in his offences, just as he did as OC in Kansas City the past two seasons and he’ll aim to do that with a burgeoning Bears squad.
He also shares some traits with Eagles head coach Doug Pederson, a creative offensive mind whom he also knows from his time with the Eagles and Chiefs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yr8zo6ZBQDs
Early on, he’s shown that he’s going to do things his way even it his way is slightly unconventional. For example, he sat his starters in Week 3 of the pre-season, when starters typically get the most playing time.
A former standout QB at the University of Delaware and arena league professional, Nagy won’t have trouble earning the respect of his players because he too has experienced the daily grind of pro football. This is a promising hiring to say the least.
Loung: Frank Reich, Head Coach, Indianapolis Colts
Seven years after being fired by the Colts when he was the team’s wide receivers coach, Frank Reich returns as the club’s new head coach. While the rebuilding Colts aren’t expected to make much noise in 2018, Reich will make an impact, mainly because he’ll have to.
Indy was embarrassingly spurned by New England Patriots assistant Josh McDaniels for its vacant coaching gig after firing Chuck Pagano, and went with then-Philadelphia Eagles offensive co-ordinator Reich as its second choice.
Now the pressure is on Reich to make good on Colts GM Chris Ballard’s faith in him. He does not necessarily need to immediately make the playoffs, but must prove the Colts are back on track. Reich can do that, and he’s got the key tool to help him accomplish this: Andrew Luck.
It’s still unknown what version of Luck the Colts are getting after a year off recovering from shoulder surgery, but if he’s anything close to what he used to be, Reich’s first year at the helm will be that much easier. He’s proven during his stints as offensive co-ordinator with the Eagles and, previously, the San Diego Chargers, that he knows how to get the most out of talented gunslingers like Carson Wentz and Philip Rivers.
The Reich-Luck combination could be just what each other needed.
Lowe: John DeFilippo, Offensive Co-ordinator, Minnesota Vikings
With the aforementioned Shurmur making the move to the Big Apple, the man tasked with coaching the Vikings’ new Kirk Cousins-led offence is fresh off coaching a backup quarterback to a Super Bowl MVP performance.
Before taking over as OC in Minnesota, DeFilippo was quarterbacks coach behind offensive co-ordinator Frank Reich (now, as mentioned above, in Indianapolis) and head coach Doug Pederson with the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. Of course, DeFilippo helped the Eagles overcome the loss of Wentz with the transformation of Nick Foles, who went on a tear in the post-season this past winter.
Now DeFilippo has the opportunity to propel Cousins and a Vikes offence stocked with talent to the next level. But the expectations will be high — Cousins must perform well to justify his fully guaranteed $84-million contract, and anything less than a return to the NFC title game will be viewed as a disappointment in Minny.
https://twitter.com/AndyCarlsonShow/status/1017551682052423686
Should DeFilippo answer the call, however, look for his name to be top of many teams’ lists for vacant head coaching jobs next January.
Sadler: Jon Gruden, Head Coach, Oakland Raiders
“Anything goes on any given Sunday … especially on Monday night.”
I’ll tell you what … we’re going to miss Jon Gruden’s, um, Gruden-isms during Monday Night Football but something tells us we’ll be hearing plenty from the sidelines as he begins his second stint with the Oakland Raiders.
It hasn’t been the smoothest of starts for Gruden, what with the ongoing Khalil Mack holdout situation and several questions hovering over how effective his group of receivers will be, but growing pains are to be expected when you’ve got a guy who’s been out of coaching for a decade.
Much has been made of Gruden’s demanding coaching style, and we’ll be watching closely to see if he can push quarterback Derek Carr to the next level as the Raiders attempt to shed their reputation as annual underachievers. This should be a fun ride.
