By Stephen Nover
I’ve never seen this many clueless head coaches in the NFL. I count 12 bad ones, which is nearly 40 percent.
Here is my list:
No. 12: Anthony Lynn (Chargers): The Chargers should have made the playoffs last season given the talent and quarterback they have. The Chargers don’t do the little things right and their special teams and kicking blunders have repeatedly cost them in the two seasons Lynn has been the coach.
No. 11: Mike Vrabel (Titans): This is just his first season so it might be premature to stick him on this list, but the Titans offense looks even worse than it was under Mike Mularkey, which is setting the bar at its lowest mark. Vrabel made the dumbest decision of the season going for two points this past Sunday against the Chargers instead of taking the game into overtime by kicking the extra point. Vrabel ignored game flow, personnel and play-calling in making his wrong decision. The Titans had the momentum. They were outplaying the Chargers. The Titans are not some offensive jaggernaut. They lack the personnel to have the odds in their favor when going for two points. Vrabel also made the wrong play-call by having Marcus Mariota throw from the one-yard line instead of giving the ball to bruising Derrick Henry.
No. 10: Jason Garrett (Cowboys): This guy does nothing but clap and cheerlead. The Cowboys have pretty women to do that. Garrett is fortunate to have outstanding defensive coaches. His clock management skills are awful.
No. 9: Mike McCarthy (Packers): Take away Aaron Rodgers and McCarthy is totally exposed. Rodgers has been propping up the Packers for years. When was the last time Green Bay ever played hard and won a game it wasn’t supposed to win?
No. 8: Doug Marrone (Jaguars): How can you lose three straight games by 13 or more points with that kind of defensive talent? Marrone may have lost the locker room by sticking with Blake Bortles.
No. 7: Pat Shurmur (Giants): I think it’s safe to say Shurmur falls under the category of a decent offensive coordinator who isn’t equipped to be a head coach. Some NFL team should hire a math whiz like Fezzik to make right decisions for them on when and when not to go for two points.
No. 6: Sean McDermott (Bills): I understand he’s a defensive guy. But starting Nathan Peterman last season and again this season is mind-boggling. It’s the equivalent of walking into a glass window not once but twice – and doing it without the excuse of being drunk. If you don’t know quarterbacks, you can’t be an NFL coach.
No. 5: Jon Gruden (Raiders): I’m embarrassed to admit I thought Gruden was a good hire. He’s been a disaster, more celebrity than sharp-minded coach. I thought he was up on things and could change with the times. Perhaps he still can coach, but he doesn’t know personnel. You can stockpile all the No. 1 picks you want, but it doesn’t do any good if you draft wrong players and chase good ones off your team.
No. 4: Dirk Koetter (Buccaneers): I’m not sure how this guy became a head coach in the first place. He was asked yesterday about Peyton Barber getting hurt this past Sunday and Barber’s status for this week’s game against the Bengals. Koetter wouldn’t comment saying, “We’ll be putting out an injury report on Wednesday.” This is freaking Peyton Barber. Yeah I’m sure the Bengals can’t sleep at night wondering if Barber or Ronald Jones is going to be Tampa Bay’s starting running back.
No. 3: Bill O’Brien (Texans): O’Brien is the opposite of Doug Pederson. He plays not to lose, which of course is a losing formula. All you need to know about the Texans – who have a strong defense, a superstar wide receiver and a promising quarterback – is they are 2-10 against the spread (ATS) in their last 12 games.
No. 2: Vance Joseph (Broncos): Joseph has greatly hastened the Broncos’ downhill slide. The Broncos are 6-15-2 ATS on his watch. The Broncos made a very bad hire here and they know it. I predict Joseph will be the first coach fired and it could happen by Monday if the Broncos get blown out by the Chiefs.
No. 1 Hue Jackson (Browns): Incriminating photos? How else can you explain the Browns keeping Jackson? The guy is the Charlie Brown of the NFL. Jackson is 3-36 as the Browns coach. His ATS mark is 13-26 for 33 percent. It is said good coaches win close games. The Browns are 2-10-1 in games within a three-point margin under Jackson.
On the handicapping front, I am 35-14 (71%) on my college football premium/free plays since September, 30-19-3 (61%) on my premium/free NFL plays and 6-2 so far this NBA season and have won my three baseball plays.
