Which new NFL coach will be most successful?
The NFL offseason is about three weeks old and the first stage of the offseason is just about complete. After each season, the coaching carousel is always an interesting time for many NFL franchises. In the past few weeks, many new coaches have been hired to lead their respective teams to success in the coming future. However, the reality is that perhaps only one or two of the new head coaches will have success in their coaching career. In this article, I will talk about which new NFL head coach will have the most success in 2015.
Well first, let’s talk about who are the new head coaches in the AFC. Rex Ryan is making the switch from the New York Jets to the Buffalo Bills, and although he will be taking over one of the league’s best defenses, the fact of the matter is that Rex will be without a quarterback once again. Regardless of how good the defense is, if Rex doesn’t have a competent quarterback to work with, he won’t be winning a Super Bowl anytime soon.
The job Rex left behind was the job Todd Bowles took over last week. Bowles is without a doubt one of the best defensive minds in all of football and what he did with the Arizona Cardinals‘ injury-riddle defense in 2014 was nothing short of incredible. However, similar to Rex’s situation in Buffalo, the Jets have a solid defense, but they lack overall talent on offense.
The next coach is Jack Del Rio of the Oakland Raiders. Last year’s draft was most certainly a good one for the Raiders as they brought in franchise players like Khalil Mack, Derek Carr, Keith McGill, and T.J. Carrie. Oakland has a lot of money to spend this offseason and pairing that with their young pieces, and it’s easy to see why the Raiders could be a good team in the next few years. The Raiders look promising, but it is up to Del Rio and general manager Reggie McKenzie to keep building this team.
The Denver Broncos have yet to find their head coach, so let’s switch over to the NFC for a little bit. John Fox was hired the other day by the Chicago Bears, and although Fox is coming off a 46-18 campaign with the Broncos, it should be said that Peyton Manning was his quarterback for three out of the four seasons. Fox will be taking over a team that is in somewhat of turmoil considering how bad Marc Trestman was over the past two seasons. Chicago’s defense is a mess and people are calling for Jay Cutler’s head in Chicago. That being said, Fox will have his hands full with the Bears.
The Atlanta Falcons haven’t found their head coach yet, however, the San Francisco 49ers found their man and they didn’t have to go far to find him. Jim Tomsula has been the defensive line coach in San Francisco for the past seven seasons and although it was seen by many as an interesting hire considering his coaching background, the reality is that the locker absolutely loves Tomsula and he will be taking over a pretty talented roster.
Those are the newest head coaching hires and as of now, considering the Broncos and the Falcons haven’t found their guys yet, the head coach who will have the most success is Tomsula. Since 2009, Tomsula has coached all over the map. He started at Catawba College where he was a defensive linemen. He was the strength and conditioning coach at the college. From there, Tomsula’s next stop was the defensive line coach for a high school in Pittsburgh. After that, Tomsula would go on to be an assistant at Charleston Southern and then he would find his back at Catawba, this time however being the defensive line coach as well as the strength and conditioning coach.
The next eight years of his coaching career came in the NFL Europe. Tomsula would be the defensive line coach for the England Monarchs and the Scottish Claymores. Because of his success there, Tomsula would then become the defensive coordinator of the Berlin Thunder. After that, Tomsula would become the head coach for the Rhein Fire. After all of that work overseas, Tomsula became the defensive line coach in 2007 and he has had that job since.
Although Tomsula has little coaching experience, the truth is that he is taking over an extremely talented roster that still has one of the best defenses in all of football. The jury is still out on Colin Kaepernick, but this offense has some pieces to work with for 2015, and Carlos Hyde has the ability to be a dynamic running back in the future. With Jed York running the show, the 49ers will be aggressive and the franchise will do whatever it takes to get back to NFL prominence.
Tomsula by far was not the most popular hire, but the players love him and even more importantly, considering the problems between Jim Harbaugh and York, there seems to be a good relationship between the general manager and the new head coach. They will have their hands full in the NFC West, but given the talent on the roster, Tomsula is in the best position out of all the new head coaches to have the most success in 2015.
To converse with me more on this topic or the NFL in general, feel free to reach me by Twitter @RyanRattyNFL.