Fourteen NFL head coaches are either finishing their first or second year in the current position. Only one, Green Bay’s Matt LaFleur, is definitely postseason bound after Week 17 of the 2019 regular season. Ranking the jobs the 14 have done so far.
14. Pat Shurmur
Ben McAdoo was 13-15 in slightly less than two seasons as coach of the New York Giants. Pat Shurmur has followed and gone 9-22 heading into Week 17. He’s had a second overall pick (Saquon Barkley), a sixth overall pick (Daniel Jones) and two other first-rounders. The results do not breed confidence for Shurmur being around in 2020.
13. Zac Taylor
Zac Taylor has one win to show for his first season as coach of the Cincinnati Bengals. As much as people complained about Marvin Lewis, he never won less than four games in his 16 seasons with the Bengals. Taylor will get a second year and a first overall pick to use in the 2020 NFL Draft. Remember, Jonah Williams, Cincy’s first pick in 2019, has missed the entire season with a torn labrum.
12. Matt Patricia
Matt Patricia is 9-21-1 heading into the final week of the regular season. The Lions also are on an eight-game losing streak. Yes, the Lions lost Matt Stafford. And have been going with third-stringer David Blough since Thanksgiving. However, Patricia’s teams have shown an uncanny knack for blowing late leads. That has to reflect on the coaching staff. Seems like he will get a third year but without better results one has to wonder if the former Patriots assistant will see all of 2020.
11. Freddie Kitchens
Cleveland is such a tricky case. Controversy, unhappiness and huge expectations have dotted Freddie Kitchens’ first season. Would the Browns have been better off sticking with Gregg Williams? The temptation is to not give Kitchens another go-round and bring in a bigger name, hence the Urban Meyer buzz. The Browns need to focus more on play and less on headlines.
10. Adam Gase
The Jets need a victory at Buffalo to go 7-9. This was a team that was 1-7 and going nowhere. Adam Gase has gone 6-2 in his last eight games and you wouldn’t know it by the lack of appreciation for the former Miami Dolphins head coach. Joe Douglas was hired as GM after Gase came on board and that can’t be settling for a coach.
9. Brian Flores
Appreciate the job Brian Flores has done in Miami. The franchise was crumbling and a total joke when it started 0-7. There was all sorts of belief this team could go 0-16. Miami has split its last eight games and is rallying around the coach. This is a team that has Ryan Fitzpatrick at QB and has found a way to fix itself and be competitive.
8. Kliff Kingsbury
Kliff Kingsbury has done a decent job in his first season as Cardinals coach. The former head coach at Texas Tech was gifted Kyler Murray as the first overall pick in 2019. Thus far, there is some promise. And the win over Seattle shows major hope, especially when one factors in Brett Hundley had to close the game for an injured Murray. This is a situation that needs to be watched. Kingsbury still hasn’t coached a team to a better than .500 mark since 2015.
7. Vic Fangio
Vic Fangio has had Denver in a lot of games in his first season as head coach. The team has a good defense and appears to have found a quarterback in Drew Lock, through it has been only four starts. If the offense can ignite, the Broncos have a good shot at making major strides.
6. Jon Gruden
For a while it appeared as if Jon Gruden had turned the Raiders completely around. Then came a wicked four-game slide. The victory over the Bolts has Oakland in position to try and make the postseason. The second year in the second tenure of Gruden has shown potential, as well as dismal times.
5. Matt Nagy
The fickle ways of the NFL. Matt Nagy looked like a great get when the Bears won the NFC North in 2018. Then, this year came around and Mitchell Trubisky was inconsistent at best and then injured, and inconsistent again. The great first year won’t do Nagy any favors when it comes to the long run if he can’t fix things in 2020.
4. Frank Reich
Another coach who had a strong debut was Frank Reich in Indy. And then, Andrew Luck retired. Jacoby Brissett did well replacing him until injured. Brian Hoyer was unable to do much in Brissett’s stead. It is difficult to rank Reich harshly off the challenges he has faced in 2019. Give him a break and see what happens next year.
3. Mike Vrabel
Mike Vrabel is 17-14 in two seasons running the Titans. He made the bold decision to replace Marcus Mariota with Ryan Tannehill and it has paid off. Tennessee could gain a postseason slot with a victory Sunday over the Texans.
2. Bruce Arians
Hard to believe the Bucs can actually finish the season at .500 if they can beat the Falcons Sunday. All credit to Bruce Arians, who has done this through a solid defense and an offense that survives Jameis Winston’s erratic play. You can get 300-plus yards weekly and multiple interceptions. That is not easy to overcome. The Bucs have had one season over .500 since 2011. In five of those seasons, they have had 10 or more losses. Arians made a good move heading to the sidelines after a year in the booth.
1. Matt LaFleur
Aaron Rodgers is happy, having another great season. Matt LaFleur has turned things around big time in Green Bay. He’s done a superb job as a rookie head coach. The Packers have won the NFC North and are in position for a high playoff seed. Off 2019, this looks like a great hire.
