Are Defense/HC A Dying Breed?

[DeAnna]

Seems like every team now wants to hire an offensive-minded head coach.

Doesn't bode well for the likes of Lovie Smith or Ray Horton.

Discuss

 

[HoodieBets]

Seems like every team now wants to hire an offensive-minded head coach.

Doesn't bode well for the likes of Lovie Smith or Ray Horton.

Discuss

Well it just speaks more to the times in the NFL now you cant win with a bad offense even if you have a top 5 defense. This is the patriots model, they have had one of the worst ranked defenses in football the past 5 years but they also have one of the best offenses in the league and just keep on winning and making the playoffs.

 

[MigratingOsprey]

which is funny because belichick is a defensive minded coach

looking at the remaining teams in the playoffs you have the patriots (belichick), broncos (fox), falcons (smith), seattle (carroll) with head coaches with a defensive background - you have SF (harbaugh), GB (mccarthy), houston (kubiak) with offensive backgrounds and then baltimore (harbaugh) with a ST background that has coached both sides in his career, but has put in more work with the defense

i think there is a good mix of defensive & offensive backgrounds in the HC position .... i think you are seeing more teams try to find lighting in the bottle by hiring the "offensive genius" or stake to someone with a pedigree for working with a QB ..... doesn't guarantee success though

 

[HoodieBets]

which is funny because belichick is a defensive minded coach

looking at the remaining teams in the playoffs you have the patriots (belichick), broncos (fox), falcons (smith), seattle (carroll) with head coaches with a defensive background - you have SF (harbaugh), GB (mccarthy), houston (kubiak) with offensive backgrounds and then baltimore (harbaugh) with a ST background that has coached both sides in his career, but has put in more work with the defense

i think there is a good mix of defensive & offensive backgrounds in the HC position .... i think you are seeing more teams try to find lighting in the bottle by hiring the "offensive genius" or stake to someone with a pedigree for working with a QB ..... doesn't guarantee success though

The teams you listed that have defensive minded head coaches are all in the top 10 in the league in points scored this year.

 

[earthsci]

• Mike Smith
• Ron Rivera
• Marvin Lewis
• John Fox
• Jim Schwartz
• Chuck Pagano
• Bill Belichick
• Rex Ryan
• Dennis Allen
• Mike Tomlin
• Pete Carroll
• Jeff Fisher
• Greg Schiano

So...no, I wouldn't say that they are a dying breed.

 

[earthsci]

The teams you listed that have defensive minded head coaches are all in the top 10 in the league in points scored this year.

That just makes them smart Defensive minded coaches. They are still Defensive minded.

:edit: ...or should I say Defensive minded as they come up. The best defense is a good offense. I'm sure that there are a lot of defensive coaches that wish that they could call a few plays on offense, whether it be to put up more points, keep his D off of the field or give his D more field to their backs.

 

[Mulli]

We are all going to die sometime.

 

[kerouac9]

I think it's because the teams with HC vacancies all (with the exception of San Diego) are looking for a solution at the QB position, and offensively in general for some teams. If you need a solution at QB, and effective, experienced offensive assistant coaches are at a premium (honestly, Mike Miller was the best guy we could find for three years as offensive coordinator?!), then you're going to have to take a coordinator and make him HC and hope that he can be an administrator.

 

[HoodieBets]

• Mike Smith
• Ron Rivera
• Marvin Lewis
• John Fox
• Jim Schwartz
• Chuck Pagano
• Bill Belichick
• Rex Ryan
• Dennis Allen
• Mike Tomlin
• Pete Carroll
• Jeff Fisher
• Greg Schiano

So...no, I wouldn't say that they are a dying breed.

4 of those coaches are still in the playoffs and all 4 have top 10 offenses and in the pats case a horrible defense the past 5 years. Jim Schawartz and Marvin Lewis also had offenses in the top half of the league while their defenses in detriots case was very bad.

 

[Mulli]

4 of those coaches are still in the playoffs and all 4 have top 10 offenses and in the pats case a horrible defense the past 5 years. Jim Schawartz and Marvin Lewis also had offenses in the top half of the league while their defenses in detriots case was very bad.

Pats D underrated

 

[HoodieBets]

That just makes them smart Defensive minded coaches. They are still Defensive minded.

:edit: ...or should I say Defensive minded as they come up. The best defense is a good offense. I'm sure that there are a lot of defensive coaches that wish that they could call a few plays on offense, whether it be to put up more points, keep his D off of the field or give his D more field to their backs.

That statement has no backing with belichick and the pats.

 

[Gaddabout]

NFL owners (and some GMs) don't seem to ever trust the wisdom and experience inside their own buildings. Instead, they chase trends instead of setting their own.

The Bears, for example, seem to be chasing the Packers. I don't know why. The Packers aren't a system as much as they are fueled by a single great player. That's almost impossible to copy. It also violates the Bears' identity, which I think is also usually a bad idea.

That said, kudos to the Browns for having the guts to hire Chudzinski. No idea if he was a good hire, but it's at least justifiable and they're doing their own thing.

 

[earthsci]

4 of those coaches are still in the playoffs and all 4 have top 10 offenses and in the pats case a horrible defense the past 5 years. Jim Schawartz and Marvin Lewis also had offenses in the top half of the league while their defenses in detriots case was very bad.

You aren't making a very good argument. You are just showing me that Defensive minded coaches aren't a dying breed and the good ones adjust and win.

 

[HoodieBets]

Pats D underrated

Yeah they really sneak up on you when they play that confusion package where it looks like nobody knows who to cover downfield. Its a great gameplan. Belichick is a defensive genius.

 

[earthsci]

That statement has no backing with belichick and the pats.

You're right I guess. No one wants DCs for HC anymore.

The OP did state "Seems like every team now wants to hire an offensive-minded head coach."

 

[HoodieBets]

You aren't making a very good argument. You are just showing me that Defensive minded coaches aren't a dying breed and the good ones adjust and win.

My arguement is they are winning with offense not defense so wouldnt new coaches being hired be hired with an offensive background since all the top teams in the league are there because of offense and not defense? The dying breed means there are not many new coaches hired that dont have an offensive background. Nobody is going to hire Ray Horton and say this guy is really gonna give us a top 10 offense.

 

[earthsci]

The dying breed means there are not many new coaches hired that dont have an offensive background. Nobody is going to hire Ray Horton and say this guy is really gonna give us a top 10 offense.

Ron Rivera, John Fox, Jim Schwartz, Chuck Pagano, Dennis Allen, Pete Carroll, Jeff Fisher & Greg Schiano are all recent hires. I agree that a coach needs to have a good plan for the offense if he wants to get hired but it is silly to think that all of the sudden teams are going to stop hiring DCs as HC.

 

[Mulli]

Yeah they really sneak up on you when they play that confusion package where it looks like nobody knows who to cover downfield. Its a great gameplan. Belichick is a defensive genius.

 

[HoodieBets]

Ron Rivera, John Fox, Jim Schwartz, Chuck Pagano, Dennis Allen, Pete Carroll, Jeff Fisher & Greg Schiano are all recent hires. I agree that a coach needs to have a good plan for the offense if he wants to get hired but it is silly to think that all of the sudden teams are going to stop hiring DCs as HC.

Do you think it is more important to have a top 10 offense or top 10 defense? Those coaches also have great coordinators and are smart to get out of their way to call a game.

 

[Mulli]

Slow news day fill up time on talk radio topic.

 

[HoodieBets]

It was a joke at how bad their pass coverage is but it wasnt a good one I'm sorry its friday afternoon and I got nothing

 

[Mulli]

It was a joke at how bad their pass coverage is but it wasnt a good one I'm sorry its friday afternoon and I got nothing

All good. It was decent.

 

[JeffGollin]

We are all going to die sometime.

Thanks for sharing that.

Pro football has always been about herd instincts and follow the leader, with trends tending to emerge and disappear in cycles.

Today, it's jet-sweeps, zone reads, 6 plays a minute and QB's who can move. A few years earlier, it was multiple receivers and split linemen (& the Wildcat).Several years earlier, it was a ground & pound defensive mentality (so you could win 6-3 in the wintertime up north).

Whatever goes around comes around. (Bring back the single wing)!

 

[DeAnna]

Ron Rivera, John Fox, Jim Schwartz, Chuck Pagano, Dennis Allen, Pete Carroll, Jeff Fisher & Greg Schiano are all recent hires. I agree that a coach needs to have a good plan for the offense if he wants to get hired but it is silly to think that all of the sudden teams are going to stop hiring DCs as HC.

As evidenced by Bidwill who asked Ray Horton to upgrade his offensive staff with a proven OC.

 

[earthsci]

Do you think it is more important to have a top 10 offense or top 10 defense? Those coaches also have great coordinators and are smart to get out of their way to call a game.

I would definitely lean towards the offense.