2016 NFL Offseason Thread

Joe K · Post by **Joe K** » Fri Jan 15, 2016 8:59 am

duff wrote:I understand people thinking taking assistants from the Belichick tree would be a good idea, but which one of his branches have done anything on their own?

Crennell? McDaniels? O'Brien? Mangini?

Am I missing anyone? I can only imagine the shit show Matt Patricia will be.

When you factor in Penn State and the Texans, O'Brien is probably the most impressive offshoot. Weis had 2 good years at ND before things got disastrous with him. Anyways, the Lions decided to stick with Caldwell so it's a moot point for now.

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Fri Jan 15, 2016 9:03 am

Is O'Brien really all that bad?

I mean, when Hoyer is the best option and he keeps getting hurt, making the playoffs - even by winning a historically bad division - seems like an accomplishment.

Granted, he looked terrified in the playoffs, but I'd say that the jury should still be out on him.

But the other guys? Great googly moogly.

BSF21 · Post by **BSF21** » Fri Jan 15, 2016 9:10 am

brian wrote:
sancarlos wrote:
brian wrote:Only job open (as of now)...
But, the ice is pretty thin in Detroit, right?
It's 50/50, yeah. The obvious choices to replace Caldwell if they go that way are McDaniels or Patricia. If Quinn (the new GM) is happy with either of those, then they might be content to wait until the Pats are eliminated.

Surely next year is his year, right Brian?

DSafetyGuy · Post by **DSafetyGuy** » Fri Jan 15, 2016 10:40 am

Pruitt wrote:Is O'Brien really all that bad?

I mean, when Hoyer is the best option and he keeps getting hurt, making the playoffs - even by winning a historically bad division - seems like an accomplishment.

Granted, he looked terrified in the playoffs, but I'd say that the jury should still be out on him.

But the other guys? Great googly moogly.

At the same time, O'Brien and the Texans traded for Mallett, who was a rookie at New England when O'Brien was their OC. That is a strike on him for QB/personnel evaluation to me. Yes, Mallett is a knucklehead, but an obviously talented one. That fact that O'Brien wanted to bring him in without being able to get to and develop him would be an issue for me.

Post by **brian** » Fri Jan 15, 2016 11:13 am

A few points based on previous posts.

1) I'm OK with the Lions keeping Caldwell. I'm not going to sing any hosannas to the guy but sometimes the devil you know is better than the one you don't. The players obviously love him and they did respond well in the second half of the season. I could get into a much longer rant about the 2014 and 2015 being essentially the same team, but I'll spare you that. This keeps the DC and OC staff intact unless Teryl Austin gets the Tennessee HC job, which looks unlikely at this point. Obviously this is a make or break season for Caldwell. First division title and home playoff game since 1995 or he gets the boot.

2) Too early to make a judgment on Belichick's coaching tree. As noted, O'Brien has been OK. Obviously Weis sucked, but McDaniels was dealt a somewhat raw deal in Denver. He's not the first head coach Kyle Orton has killed. And don't be so quick to dismiss Patricia's future. He's the guy I wanted if the Lions dumped Caldwell and he's still the most likely new HC in Detroit next year if Caldwell shits the bed. Patricia is literally a rocket scientist (aerospace engineering degree from RPI) and despite looking like a homeless person could be a great NFL head coach here soon.

BSF21 · Post by **BSF21** » Fri Jan 15, 2016 11:27 am

brian wrote:A few points based on previous posts.

1) I'm OK with the Lions keeping Caldwell. I'm not going to sing any hosannas to the guy but sometimes the devil you know is better than the one you don't. The players obviously love him and they did respond well in the second half of the season. I could get into a much longer rant about the 2014 and 2015 being essentially the same team, but I'll spare you that. This keeps the DC and OC staff intact unless Teryl Austin gets the Tennessee HC job, which looks unlikely at this point. Obviously this is a make or break season for Caldwell. First division title and home playoff game since 1995 or he gets the boot.

I hear that. The devil you know idea was exactly what I was screaming when everyone in this city was calling for them to fire Pagono. Show me someone better and I'll get on board but the whole coach carousel that happens these days is the reason that a lot of basement teams stay basement teams.

However I'd put Pagono in the midrange of current coaches in the league, and Caldwell easily in the bottom 25%. Good luck with it.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Fri Jan 15, 2016 1:42 pm

brian wrote:2) Too early to make a judgment on Belichick's coaching tree. As noted, O'Brien has been OK. Obviously Weis sucked, but McDaniels was dealt a somewhat raw deal in Denver. He's not the first head coach Kyle Orton has killed.

So, you don't blame McDaniels, because Orton? Did you forget that it was McDaniels who ran off Cutler and traded him for Orton+? And, it was McDaniels who insisted on drafting Tebow? Excusing McDaniels because he had shit quarterbacks is kind of like the little boy who shot his parents then begged for mercy from the judge because he was an orphan.

Rush2112 · Post by **Rush2112** » Fri Jan 15, 2016 1:52 pm

sancarlos wrote: So, you don't blame McDaniels, because Orton? Did you forget that it was McDaniels who ran off Cutler and traded him for Orton+? And, it was McDaniels who insisted on drafting Tebow? Excusing McDaniels because he had shit quarterbacks is kind of like the little boy who shot his parents then begged for mercy from the judge because he was an orphan.

I hear Denver fans always complaining about the "running off" of Cutler. Cutler isn't a great NFL QB. Wasn't then, isn't now.

That trade also netted DT and Decker, both very integral to the offensive explosion once Peyton got there, and I think Decker would have stayed if they hadn't been able to sign Sanders.

Plus with the wheeling and dealing the Pats got McCourty (and Aaron Hernandez)

Post by **brian** » Fri Jan 15, 2016 2:14 pm

Even St. Belichick (or St. Shanahan in your case, SCK) flamed out in his first head coaching job. It happens. I don't think you can dismiss McDaniels chances with a different team based on his time in Denver. I don't have a strong feeling one way or the other if he's going to be a good HC eventually, but I don't think you can eliminate the possibility.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Fri Jan 15, 2016 4:53 pm

I don't deny the possibility that McDaniels could have matured and could perhaps make a great coach somewhere next time around. Sure, it's possible. I get a little irrational about him because he behaved like such an asshole as Denver's head coach.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Fri Jan 15, 2016 4:58 pm

Rush2112 wrote:
sancarlos wrote: So, you don't blame McDaniels, because Orton? Did you forget that it was McDaniels who ran off Cutler and traded him for Orton+? And, it was McDaniels who insisted on drafting Tebow? Excusing McDaniels because he had shit quarterbacks is kind of like the little boy who shot his parents then begged for mercy from the judge because he was an orphan.

I hear Denver fans always complaining about the "running off" of Cutler. Cutler isn't a great NFL QB. Wasn't then, isn't now.

That trade also netted DT and Decker, both very integral to the offensive explosion once Peyton got there, and I think Decker would have stayed if they hadn't been able to sign Sanders.

Plus with the wheeling and dealing the Pats got McCourty (and Aaron Hernandez)

That's pretty much bullshit. They made further trades to end up getting Thomas and Decker. And, the Broncos would have been completely fucked for years at quarterback as a result of that trade, had Peyton not fallen into their laps.

Rush2112 · Post by **Rush2112** » Fri Jan 15, 2016 5:11 pm

sancarlos wrote: That's pretty much bullshit. They made further trades to end up getting Thomas and Decker. And, the Broncos would have been completely fucked for years at quarterback as a result of that trade, had Peyton not fallen into their laps.

They wouldn't have been able to make those trades without the benefit of that extra #1 from Chicago, the additional picks they picked up also helped build the D that everyone here has a hard on about. Oh, and there were some QBs available in 2011 and 2012.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Fri Jan 15, 2016 5:11 pm

So Chip Kelly to the 49ers. If history is any indication, Chip will be gunning for Baalke's job next January.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Fri Jan 15, 2016 5:17 pm

degenerasian wrote:So Chip Kelly to the 49ers. If history is any indication, Chip will be gunning for Baalke's job next January.

Lots of news stories here speculating about how they'll get along. Prickly power-hungry GM who favors power running game with huge road grader linemen vs. prickly power-hungry coach who favors hurry-up offense with light agile linemen. Somebody's going to have to give ground, here. And, who is going to run the defense? That is a big question, yet to be answered.

Rams Fanny · Post by **Rams Fanny** » Fri Jan 15, 2016 5:23 pm

brian wrote:Even St. Belichick (or St. Shanahan in your case, SCK) flamed out in his first head coaching job. It happens. I don't think you can dismiss McDaniels chances with a different team based on his time in Denver. I don't have a strong feeling one way or the other if he's going to be a good HC eventually, but I don't think you can eliminate the possibility.

You can if you look at the fact he took the OC job in St Louis and led a team that had just missed the playoffs the previous year and helped lead them to a 2-14 record. Defense, injuries, blah, blah but that offense visably regressed and went 1-9 in games Bradford started. He has looked very pedestrian as a coach when a first ballot HOFer hasn't been at QB.

rass · Post by **rass** » Sat Jan 16, 2016 6:08 pm

Mularkey gets/keeps the Titans job.

Brontoburglar · Post by **Brontoburglar** » Sat Jan 16, 2016 8:57 pm

rass wrote:Mularkey gets/keeps the Titans job.

Weird timing sneaking that in just before halftime.

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Sun Jan 17, 2016 8:25 am

Titans have replaced the Jaguars as the most irrelevant team in the NFL.

Hiring Mularkey is like telling your fans that you just didn't have the energy to conduct a coaching search.

Mike Mularkey has an 18-39 record as a head coach with three teams, including 2-7 as the Titans interim coach.

Deadspin's headline says it all:

Titans Hire Ah Who Gives A Shit As Head Coach

Post by **brian** » Thu Jan 21, 2016 12:41 pm

Lions Twitter has already moved on from wondering if Megatron is coming back or not to debating his 2021 Hall of Fame Class credentials. Looks like he gone.

Post by **brian** » Thu Jan 28, 2016 6:00 pm

The Las Vegas Raiders?

Yeah, I wouldn't hold my breath, but probably smart of Davis to try and pit San Diego against someone else since LA can't be used as a bargaining chip any longer.

howard · Post by **howard** » Thu Jan 28, 2016 6:03 pm

I'll pay attention to the presidential election bullshit. I will not pay attention to Raiders relocation rumours.

Rams Fanny · Post by **Rams Fanny** » Thu Jan 28, 2016 6:11 pm

brian wrote:The Las Vegas Raiders?

Yeah, I wouldn't hold my breath, but probably smart of Davis to try and pit San Diego against someone else since LA can't be used as a bargaining chip any longer.

If a $1B ownership group, $500M expansion fee, and guaranteed 3/4 sellouts through season tickets isn't enough to get us an immediate NHL franchise then the NFL will not be here anytime soon. San Antonio will have a team in the Super Bowl before we get a sniff of a franchise.

Post by **brian** » Thu Jan 28, 2016 6:19 pm

Rams Fanny wrote:
brian wrote:The Las Vegas Raiders?

Yeah, I wouldn't hold my breath, but probably smart of Davis to try and pit San Diego against someone else since LA can't be used as a bargaining chip any longer.
If a $1B ownership group, $500M expansion fee, and guaranteed 3/4 sellouts through season tickets isn't enough to get us an immediate NHL franchise then the NFL will not be here anytime soon. San Antonio will have a team in the Super Bowl before we get a sniff of a franchise.

The NFL is a no-brainer in Las Vegas. I have no doubt that a 75,000 seat NFL stadium on UNLV's campus would sell out for years instantly. What I NEVER see happening is the NFL signing off on a team in Las Vegas. So it's essentially moot.

Post by **brian** » Thu Jan 28, 2016 6:23 pm

Las Vegas is always the highest rated TV market for NFL games amongst cities without an NFL team and it's seldom close. I quickly found one example from a random Detroit-Denver NBC game earlier in the season. The two top markets in the country were Denver and Detroit, of course. Third was Las Vegas.

howard · Post by **howard** » Thu Jan 28, 2016 6:30 pm

brian wrote:What I NEVER see happening is the NFL signing off on a team in Las Vegas.

I don't get the league's attitude on this. With all the billions of gambling dollars already at stake on games, is the physical location of a team in Vegas really going to materially* increase the risk of corruption of a game result? Or the perception thereof? Star players can run up gambling debts anywhere.

*materially compared to all the money to be harvested from Vegas.

Post by **brian** » Thu Jan 28, 2016 6:51 pm

It's definitely a perception issue and no league is more focused on perception and PR than the NFL. Usually to its detriment.

Vegas casinos usually are the front lines of sniffing out illegal activity and unusual betting activity since it's in their interest to have fair results of games. They were critical in exposing Tim Donaghy as well as point shaving at Northwestern, Boston College and Toledo. The idea that legal gambling leads to an increase in the potential for fixed results is kind of laughable.

howard · Post by **howard** » Thu Jan 28, 2016 8:15 pm

yeah, I guess I do get the league's attitude.

howard · Post by **howard** » Fri Jan 29, 2016 11:14 am

I read the story in the review-journal. Are they serious about the Tropicana/Koval location? Half a block from the strip, next to the MGM sounds like a terrible site.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Fri Jan 29, 2016 11:43 am

This is why I want hockey to get there first. Be near the strip so rather than being propped up solely by a local fanbase, its just another Vegas event tourists go to 41 times per year (plus the smaller local fanbase).

Post by **brian** » Sat Jan 30, 2016 11:08 am

howard wrote:I read the story in the review-journal. Are they serious about the Tropicana/Koval location? Half a block from the strip, next to the MGM sounds like a terrible site.

It is not a great location as it stands. With some additional infrastructure maybe not as bad as you think. It's right on the monorail line which needs to be enhanced if there's a 100000 seat stadium but there's already a plan for light rail on Maryland Parkway which if completed in 4 years would help a lot too.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Sat Jan 30, 2016 8:32 pm

A few days ago, the 49ers hired Brown's defensive coordinator Jim O'Neil to run their defense. When you can get a guy who coordinated for Cleveland, you've got to do it.

Local writers are underwhelmed.

Ann Killion of the SF Chronic wrote:...an experienced and respected defensive coordinator could counter all the skepticism about what Chip Kelly’s offenses do to his defenses.

Instead, the 49ers got Jim O’Neil, and if you said, “Who?” you’re not the only one. O’Neil, 37, spent the past seven years in the NFL, starting as a quality-control coach with the Jets in 2009, moving to assistant defensive backs coach, then linebackers coach with the Bills before becoming coordinator with the Browns.

Working under Mike Pettine, a former defensive coordinator, O’Neill was viewed as having little power. Kind of like an offensive coordinator under Kelly...

Post by **Sabo** » Sun Jan 31, 2016 5:12 pm

ESPN is reporting Calvin Johnson has told the team that 2015 was his last season in the NFL.

Post by **Sabo** » Sun Jan 31, 2016 5:21 pm

sancarlos wrote:A few days ago, the 49ers hired Brown's defensive coordinator Jim O'Neil to run their defense. When you can get a guy who coordinated for Cleveland, you've got to do it.

Local writers are underwhelmed.
Ann Killion of the SF Chronic wrote:...an experienced and respected defensive coordinator could counter all the skepticism about what Chip Kelly’s offenses do to his defenses.

Instead, the 49ers got Jim O’Neil, and if you said, “Who?” you’re not the only one. O’Neil, 37, spent the past seven years in the NFL, starting as a quality-control coach with the Jets in 2009, moving to assistant defensive backs coach, then linebackers coach with the Bills before becoming coordinator with the Browns.

Working under Mike Pettine, a former defensive coordinator, O’Neill was viewed as having little power. Kind of like an offensive coordinator under Kelly...

Good luck with O'Neil. As much as everyone riffs about how QBs killed Cleveland's 2015 season, it really was the pathetic defense. Word around Cleveland is a lot of the Browns' defensive players thought his defense was too complicated for the benefit. (Insert "Browns defensive players are stupid" joke here.) And no one understands why Pettine and O'Neil moved Paul Kruger from the weakside LB spot in 2014 to the strongside LB spot in 2015. Kruger had 11 sacks and 53 tackles in 2014; last year, he had 2.5 sacks and 27 tackles.

So yeah, good luck with O'Neil. Your defense is going to suck next season.

DaveInSeattle · Post by **DaveInSeattle** » Sun Jan 31, 2016 7:49 pm

Sabo wrote:ESPN is reporting Calvin Johnson has told the team that 2015 was his last season in the NFL.

Someone check on Brian!

Post by **brian** » Sun Jan 31, 2016 11:49 pm

DaveInSeattle wrote:
Sabo wrote:ESPN is reporting Calvin Johnson has told the team that 2015 was his last season in the NFL.
Someone check on Brian!

If only I hadn't posted the same thing in this very thread three weeks ago!

Johnnie · Post by **Johnnie** » Mon Feb 01, 2016 4:46 am

Perception of things is quite the mother fucker when the NFL will defend Daily Fantasy Sports as not gambling, but yet shun any sort of permanent presence in Las Vegas because of gambling.

There must be a very large group of important people for which "squashing the perception of gambling" is more important than the alternative.

Shit, if the NBA (because Adam Silver previously endorsed the idea) and the NFL teamed up to be progressive on this issue wouldn't it be good for everyone? This makes no sense to me.

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Mon Feb 01, 2016 5:05 am

sancarlos wrote:A few days ago, the 49ers hired Brown's defensive coordinator Jim O'Neil to run their defense. When you can get a guy who coordinated for Cleveland, you've got to do it.

Local writers are underwhelmed.
Ann Killion of the SF Chronic wrote:...an experienced and respected defensive coordinator could counter all the skepticism about what Chip Kelly’s offenses do to his defenses.

Instead, the 49ers got Jim O’Neil, and if you said, “Who?” you’re not the only one. O’Neil, 37, spent the past seven years in the NFL, starting as a quality-control coach with the Jets in 2009, moving to assistant defensive backs coach, then linebackers coach with the Bills before becoming coordinator with the Browns.

Working under Mike Pettine, a former defensive coordinator, O’Neill was viewed as having little power. Kind of like an offensive coordinator under Kelly...

Holy crap, sounds like they aren't thrilled with Kelly... (from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat)

Offensive coordinator Curtis Modkins has coached in the NFL for only eight seasons. Last season, he coached running backs for the Detroit Lions who finished dead last in rushing. You can’t make this stuff up.

Kelly’s quarterbacks coach, Ryan Day, has never developed a quarterback. He is 36 years old and has coached QBs for just three years — two with Boston College and one with the Eagles in 2015, his first year in the NFL. He’s on Kelly’s staff because he played quarterback for Kelly at the University of New Hampshire. You really can’t make this stuff up.

Ryan · Post by **Ryan** » Mon Feb 01, 2016 9:09 am

brian wrote:
DaveInSeattle wrote:
Sabo wrote:ESPN is reporting Calvin Johnson has told the team that 2015 was his last season in the NFL.
Someone check on Brian!
If only I hadn't posted the same thing in this very thread three weeks ago!

He's acting normal

rass · Post by **rass** » Mon Feb 01, 2016 9:16 am

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Mon Feb 01, 2016 4:59 pm

If there's any justice, that should cause J-lo to put Ryan on his award list.