Now that we’re through the first month of the NFL season, it’s a good time to check in on how new head coaches have fared around the league.
Liam Coen has the Jaguars tied with the Colts atop the AFC South standings, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the coach in Jacksonville has finally unlocked Trevor Lawrence’s potential.
Saints coach Kellen Moore and Jets coach Aaron Glenn would rather have Coen’s quarterback issues than the uphill battle they have had to face with their respective teams. Both rookie head coaches are heading into October still searching for their first win.
Here are first-quarter report cards for the seven new head coaches in the NFL.
Pete Carroll, Las Vegas Raiders (1–3)
Best moment: Las Vegas is riding a three-game losing streak, but the vibes were at least good in Week 1 with a surprising win in New England.
It initially seemed that Carroll was going to allow offensive coordinator Chip Kelly to step on the gas after green-lighting a Geno Smith pass on third down that went for 36 yards to rookie Dont’e Thornton Jr. With the bold move, the Raiders were able to run out the clock and hand the Patriots a loss. But that might have been the last time Carroll made a bold decision for his team.
Then again, it’s difficult to manage games when Smith has a league-high seven interceptions. The Raiders just had four turnovers during their one-point loss against the Bears in Week 4.
Worst moment: Settling for a field goal with the Raiders down double digits in the fourth quarter against the Chargers in Week 2. What’s even worse was that the drive took 11 minutes off the clock. Clearly, Carroll’s team was having trouble moving the ball against one of the best defenses in the league and still didn’t attempt to maximize the rare red zone opportunity.
Carroll’s first four games with the Silver & Black have been filled with conservative moves, but none worse than this spiritless decision on Monday Night Football. There weren’t many positives in the first month of the season, but at least it seems that the team has a good pass rush and finally unlocked rookie running back Ashton Jeanty, who posted 138 rushing yards and three total touchdowns against Chicago.
Grade: D
Liam Coen, Jacksonville Jaguars (3–1)
Best moment: Surprisingly, it’s been the Jaguars’ defense that gets the bulk of the credit for their impressive 3–1 start. Jacksonville has a league-high 13 takeaways, which have led to 41 points.
Perhaps the biggest takeaway occurred when defensive tackle Arik Armstead strip-sacked 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy to ice the game for the Jaguars. But I’ll also highlight an impressive play-call from Coen in the Week 4 victory. Travis Etienne Jr., who’s having a bounce-back season under Coen, found space on the right side of the field and sprinted past the lane provided by his offensive line for a game-changing 48-yard touchdown run.
Worst moment: Coen has had a few awkward encounters to start his Jaguars’ stint, including a shouting match with 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, who accused the Jaguars of stealing signs. But Coen got the last laugh, handing the 49ers their first loss of the season.
Let’s go back to Week 2 in Cincinnati when Coen yelled at Lawrence for throwing a poor pass to Dyami Brown. I get the frustration because Lawrence is too seasoned and too talented to make mistakes like that, but Lawrence is in the middle of a critical drive that could have potentially put away the Bengals. Instead, Coen annoys his quarterback, gets him out his rhythm and the red zone drive ends due to a failed fourth down, opening the door for the Bengals to steal the victory.
The loss looks a lot worse now after the Bengals were crushed by the Vikings and Broncos the past two weeks. But the defense has come alive to help Jacksonville beat the Texans and 49ers, despite Coen and Lawrence still attempting to get on the same page. The Jaguars have generated at least three takeaways in every game this season.
Grade: B+
Aaron Glenn, New York Jets (0–4)
Best moment: Unfortunately for the Jets, they don’t have a best moment that resulted in a win. However, they nearly had one after Glenn showed off his dance moves after the improbable go-ahead touchdown in the final two minutes against the Buccaneers.
Defensive end Will McDonald IV blocked a field goal and recorded a 50-yard touchdown return to erase a 17-point deficit in the second half. However, Baker Mayfield produced a game-winning drive to hand the Jets one of their three heartbreaking losses in the first month of the season. Outside of the blowout against the Bills in Week 2, Glenn’s Jets only fell to the Buccaneers, Dolphins and Steelers by a combined 10 points. This young team needs to learn how to close games and not fall behind by double digits early.
Worst moment: Without question, it was the 30–10 home loss against the Bills in Week 2. Glenn didn’t have his team prepared for that one. To make matters worse, Justin Fields sustained a concussion, forcing him to miss the game against the Buccaneers. Losing more than a week of practice time likely hindered the development of this offense, as the unit appeared lost in Miami on Monday night before their late rally which fell short.
Glenn has something going with the trio of Fields, Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall, but his defense has been one of the worst units in the league. New York has allowed at least 27 points in every game this season.
Grade: D-
Ben Johnson, Chicago Bears (2–2)
Best moment: Johnson refused to flash a smile from the sideline, even though his offense had a near-perfect performance in the Week 3 31–14 victory over the Cowboys.
Yes, the Cowboys’ defense is bad, but that game allowed Caleb Williams to find a rhythm in this new offense. He’s been playing at a faster pace this season without making reckless decisions. This unit does tend to get sloppy, especially in the ugly 25–24 victory in Las Vegas. However, there’s been plenty to like about Johnson’s offense and it’s a good sign that Williams managed to produce a game-winning drive in the final two minutes vs. the Raiders.
But what the Bears did to the Cowboys might have been a glimpse to what this new partnership between Johnson and Williams could do on a weekly basis in the near future. Williams had four touchdown passes, no turnovers and a passer rating of 142.6.
Worst moment: Johnson was embarrassed by his former team during the Bears’ 52–21 loss against the Lions in Week 2.
While the offense has improved, the defense has regressed under new defensive coordinator Dennis Allen. It’s clear that the Bears need to find players who better suit Allen’s scheme, as this unit was built for former coach Matt Eberflus, who’s now the defensive coordinator of the Cowboys after being fired in Chicago.
The Bears allowed 511 total yards and had no answers for how to contain an offense that Johnson helped build the past few seasons. Maybe eventually he’ll get the Bears’ offense on the same level as the Lions, but they still have a ways to go.
Grade: C
Kellen Moore, New Orleans Saints (0–4)
Best moment: It’s hard to find a positive moment for a team that’s winless and has lost back-to-back games by double digits. Maybe they should get pride points for only losing by 12 in Buffalo. The Saints did cover as a 16-point betting underdog.
And they only lost by one score to the Cardinals and 49ers in the first two weeks of the season. So the Saints aren’t doing so badly when it comes to moral victories, but even then it seemed their opponents just hit cruise control because there was no real threat of an upset loss.
Worst moment: The Saints aren’t doing as badly as the winless Titans, who have lost their past three games by 14 points or more. But it got really ugly for New Orleans during its embarrassing 31-point loss in Seattle in Week 3.
Again, this team is competing for Moore, but this roster doesn’t have much of a chance to produce multiple wins this season. The Saints need to blow up the roster before the Nov. 4 trade deadline and just be content that Moore has his team ready to compete. Real changes are needed, starting with pulling quarterback Spencer Rattler in favor of second-round rookie Tyler Shough.
This team needs to at least see what they have in Shough before they likely land a top-three pick in next year’s draft.
Grade: F
Brian Schottenheimer, Dallas Cowboys (1–2–1)
Best moment: The Cowboys did beat the Giants in Week 2, but Jerry Jones nearly threw a parade after the team finished with a 40–40 tie against the Packers in Week 4.
It probably meant a lot to the organization that Schottenheimer didn’t lose to Micah Parsons’s Packers. But for a stronger positive, Schottenheimer has brought out the best in Dak Prescott this season. Prescott had an impressive performance against Green Bay, playing a huge role in securing the tie.
Also, Schottenheimer deserves a ton of credit for quickly incorporating George Pickens into the offense. The Cowboys put up 40 points on a good Packers defense without CeeDee Lamb. That says plenty about what Schottenheimer has done for the offense.
Worst moment: The Cowboys weren’t competitive in their loss against the Bears. That one was over by the third quarter when Chicago jumped to a 31–14 advantage.
It was the one time this season that the Cowboys’ offense was contained. But it was one of four ugly defensive performances. The offense is good enough to keep the Cowboys in the race for a wild-card spot, but there will be no postseason unless Schottenheimer and Eberflus get drastic improvements from the defense during the final three months.
Grade: C
Mike Vrabel, New England Patriots (2–2)
Best moment: Last week, the Patriots crushed the Panthers, 42–13. Blowing out the Panthers doesn’t say much, but it at least signifies that New England’s rebuild is progressing much quicker than the one in Carolina.
Last year, the Patriots were as bad as the Saints and Titans are this year. They still don’t have the look of a playoff team, but they’re heading in the right direction under Vrabel. Drake Maye has struggled at times, but he continues to flash his high potential. Maye was flawless against Carolina and had a solid outing in the Week 2 victory over the Dolphins.
Worst moment: Vrabel’s Patriots might be a year away from making real noise because of the poor execution in the losses against the Steelers and Raiders.
These were two similar games for a young team that’s still learning about situational football and producing a clean operation. Maybe the Patriots can stack enough wins to take a wild-card spot because the AFC standings are top heavy. The seventh seed might just require nine wins this season. But the Patriots would have to grow up in a hurry because they tend to struggle in tight games.
Also, it’s a bit concerning that Vrabel hasn’t gotten more out of his defense, but the return of cornerback Christian Gonzalez made a difference against the Panthers last week.
Grade: C+
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Grading the NFL’s Seven New Head Coaches Through Week 4 .
