One of my favorite exercises is to speculate on future head coaching openings and imagine a short list for candidates on teams like the N.Y. Giants, Arizona, Indianapolis, and Cleveland.
However, any new head coach is going to need new coordinators to go with him. With that in mind, I wanted to take a look around the league at some possible candidates for OC jobs, be it on new staffs or existing ones.
Blasts from the past
Now healthier, could Gary Kubiak take an OC job?
(4) Chan Gailey, former OC, N.Y. Jets
The veteran Chan Gailey (whose real name is “Thomas Chandler Gailey,” Wikipedia just taught me) had an up-and-down run with Todd Bowles‘ N.Y. Jets’ staff. The first season looked great, but it all imploded in year two. As a result, Gailey parted ways with the team, which appeared to be a mutual decision.
While Gailey says he’s retired, he’s not ancient at 65 years old. He has a wealth of experience as an OC and a head coach (at Georgia Tech, and two stints in the NFL) that would make him an easy man to trust with an offense.
(3) Marc Trestman, former OC, Baltimore
In my opinion, the mad genius Marc Trestman gets an unfair wrap in NFL circles. His struggles as the head coach of the Chicago Bears were more the fault of Mel Tucker’s eroding defense than Trestman’s passing game. His follow up stint as an OC in Baltimore didn’t go well either, but it’s not like Joe Flacco has been lighting up the league ever since he left.
Right now, Trestman has returned home to the CFL where he’s the head coach of the Toronto Argonauts. In truth, that may be the better position for him and his skill set. However, if Trestman (still only 61) wanted another shot at the NFL, he could have value as an OC or especially as a QB coach.
(2) Norv Turner, former OC, Minnesota
The respected offensive coordinator left Mike Zimmer’s staff abruptly in the middle of last season, which either came as a result of friction or Turner losing his drive for the position.
But if the 65-year-old Norv Turner does still have the eye of the tiger and wants to be an offensive coordinator again, he’s worthy of that role. His offenses have skewed a little too conservative, but he has such a wealth of experience (including 137 games as a head coach) that he’d be a fine pick for a young defensive-minded head coach who wants to hand over the offense to a seasoned pro.
(1) Gary Kubiak, former head coach, Denver
Gary Kubiak retired from Denver due to health concerns but has reportedly expressed an openness to return to the sidelines in a reduced role like an offensive coordinator job. If that’s true, he immediately vaults to the top of this section — and every section.
Unlike the other coaches mentioned in this section, there’s no concern that the game has “passed him by.” Kubiak is one of the greatest offensive coordinators of all time and continues to be on the top of his game. It’s amazing that his/Shanahan’s system has worked so well since the 90s without much of a hitch, managing to balance a running game and efficient passing game better than anyone else in the league. For the sake of Kubiak’s health and stress, I hope he stays off in the sunset. But if he (still only 56) feels fit enough for the job, he’d be an excellent hire for any team.
May be on the market soon
(3) Rob Chudzinski, OC, Indianapolis
Colts’ fans on Reddit have been really critical of Rob Chudzinski lately; I don’t watch every snap, so I’ll defer to them on that front. However, on face value and results alone, Chudzinski has been a fine and experienced coordinator.
Last season, Chud helped Andrew Luck achieve one of his most efficient seasons, with a career-high 63.5% completion percentage (a lower career high than you’d think, huh?). This season, he’s helped Jacoby Brissett transition into the offense on a week’s notice and hold his own.
The Colts will most likely shake up their coaching staff in some fashion or another this offseason. Depending on what Andrew Luck wants, there’s a chance that they’ll retain Rob Chudzinski regardless. But if he becomes a “free agent,” I believe he’s worthy of an OC role again in 2018.
(2) Ben McAdoo, head coach, N.Y. Giants
Promoting Ben McAdoo from OC to head coach? Perhaps not the best idea. He’s really struggled in that role, with the passing offense somehow taking a noted nosedive since.
But if you’re looking simply at Ben McAdoo the offensive coordinator, there’s a lot of positives there. Prior to his promotion, he helped Eli Manning rebound from an awful 2013 (18 TD, 27 int) with two of his best years in 2014-15 (averaging 32.5 TDs, 14 interceptions.) Obviously, Odell Beckham Jr. helped quite a bit in that regard, but McAdoo’s slant-heavy offense spiked his efficiency as well.
(1) Hue Jackson, head coach, Cleveland
Hue Jackson seems like a difficult, even arrogant personality (I personally didn’t like him based on Hard Knocks) but he’s been a successful offensive coordinator in the past, most recently in Cincinnati with Andy Dalton.
Like McAdoo, Hue Jackson’s struggled as a head coach, but it’s hard to blame him too much considering the talent level in Cleveland right now. You can debate whether or not he deserves to stay there, but there’s no debate that he’d be an experienced and competent OC if he transitions to that role somewhere else next season.
Potential beta coordinators
Before we begin, let me explain this concept of “alpha” and “beta” coordinators. When an NFL team has a defensive-minded head coach, they’ll often hand over the entire offense to an experienced offensive coordinator and give him ownership of that unit. Todd Haley in PIT, Mike McCoy in DEN, etc — these are examples of “alpha” coordinators.
On the other hand, there are some head coaches with offensive experience who call their own plays. They don’t need an offensive coordinator in the traditional sense, so they’re hiring a lieutenant who can help them in a secondary and complementary role — a “beta” coordinator. Here would be some picks for that.
(7) Eric Studesville, RB coach, Denver
Eric Studesville is perhaps the highest-profile RB assistant right now and respected enough to have gotten interim head coaching jobs in the past. It’d be unusual for a team to hire a RB coach as an “offensive coordinator” (even in name) but it’s not unprecedented. Chip Kelly did that with Curtis Modkins last season in San Francisco.
(6) Karl Dorrell, WR coach, N.Y. Jets
A former head coach at UCLA, Karl Dorrell’s been an experienced assistant since, many of those years in the Shanahan/Kubiak system. Given that, I thought there was an outside chance that he’d be hired as Kyle Shanahan’s “offensive coordinator,” but Shanahan went in a different direction. However, Dorrell (or Dallas WR coach Derek Dooley) can serve well as a lieutenant, given their experience as head coaches in college before.
(5) Bobby Engram, WR coach, Baltimore
Bobby Engram’s best known for being a stud WR at Penn State and a solid pro in the NFL, but he’s currently a bright young assistant on the Ravens’ staff.
Traditionally, the ascension plan for coaches is: be a QB, become a QB coach, become an OC, then a head coach from there. However, there’s a little groundswell of former receiving coaches doing well in the league right now: Todd Haley, Sean McVay (TEs, really), Kyle Shanahan, etc.
(4) Joe Philbin, assistant head coach, Indianapolis
Perhaps Joe Philbin didn’t have the personality to be a head coach in today’s NFL, but he’s a very respected and well-liked assistant; Aaron Rodgers raved about him in Green Bay. His expertise is more about offensive lines than playcalling, so I don’t know if a traditional OC role would suit him well. But for a young head coach who calls plays himself, having an advisor and lieutenant like Joe Philbin may be a smart way to go.
(3) Mike Munchak, OL coach, Pittsburgh
(2) Bill Callahan, OL/AHC coach, Washington
I’m linking Mike Munchak and Bill Callahan together because they fit similar profiles. Like Joe Philbin, they’re former head coaches whose specialty is actually the offensive line and running game. I have them both a tier higher than Philbin because these two are arguably the top OL coaches in the NFL. Adding them to your staff is an immediate boon to your team.
That said, I’m not sure they really need to move on to a “OC” role because they’re well compensated and respected on their current staffs. If you’re just going to make them a glorified OL coach, it’s basically what they’re doing now.
(1) Aaron Kromer, OL coach, L.A. Rams
Another OL coach? Seriously? Sorry, but it makes sense. Aaron Kromer is a great offensive line coach in his own right, dating back to New Orleans, Buffalo, and now helping to coalesce this awful Rams’ line into one of the best in the league.
The reason that I have Aaron Kromer ranked higher than Mike Munchak/Bill Callahan is that I believe he’s slightly more “gettable.” Only 50, he still has some gas in the tank and upward mobility if he wants it. Kromer’s best role right now would be the same one he served in under Marc Trestman in Chicago; he’ll be the “offensive coordinator” who handles the line and running game, while the head coach handles the passing game.
Potential alpha coordinators
Remember, the “alpha” tag means these are candidates that I believe can handle an entire offense on their own.
(6) Wade Wilson, QB coach, Dallas
Wade Wilson/Deadpool will serve as the classic example of an experienced QB coach who would most naturally transition into an offensive coordinator role. He may have that opportunity in Dallas if Scott Linehan leaves.
Other QB coaches who would fit this bill include: Bill Musgrave (DEN), Randy Fichtner (PIT), Greg Olson (LAR), and even Joe Lombardi (NO) who’s rehabbed his reputation to some degree after a poor stint in Detroit.
(5) Ken Dorsey, QB coach, Carolina
I’m separating the 36-year-old Ken Dorsey from the veteran QB coach pack because I believe he has more upside potential than the typical old hat.
Best known as the skeletal QB at Miami (Fla.), Dorsey became a QB developer for the draft and ultimately got hired to be a QB coach for Carolina. He had an immediate and positive effect, helping fine-tune Cam Newton to MVP levels. Since then, the offensive staff (particularly Mike Shula) has been getting a lot of flak, which has dulled Dorsey’s star. However, between the two, I’d be more interested in hiring Dorsey than Shula right now.
(4) Alex Van Pelt, QB coach, Green Bay
The former quarterback has been around the block and served one (bad) year as an offensive coordinator for Buffalo back in the day. But since then, he’s found a home on Green Bay’s coaching staff, which has always been a breeding ground for offensive coordinators. Van Pelt has even starting to resemble Mike McCarthy physically. More than anything, AVP strikes me as a confident coach who would relish the chance to ascend the ladder.
(3) David Culley, QB coach, Buffalo
Speaking of coaches who want to ascend the ladder, we come to David Culley. Culley had been a respected member of Andy Reid‘s staff in Kansas City, even serving as his assistant head coach. However, Culley (even at age 62) wanted to chase his dreams of becoming a head coach, and thought he needed a QB or OC role to do that. With Matt Nagy the resident star on the rise in KC, he decided to move out on his own and move to Buffalo.
While Culley has never been an OC before, the interviews I’ve seen make him appear like an affable and quietly confident coach that could handle the responsibility. The fact that Andy Reid’s coaching tree is getting so much credit these days can’t hurt his chances of landing a gig.
(2) Greg Roman, TE coach, Baltimore
Are you shocked that Baltimore RB Alex Collins is among the league leaders with 5.6 yards per carry? You shouldn’t be. The Ravens had a bad running game until they hired guru Greg Roman to be their TE coach and running game specialist.
Roman’s personality strikes many as arrogant, but the man gets results. Dating back to Stanford, San Francisco, and recently Buffalo, he’s routinely racked up the best running games around. He’s very creative and innovative in his approach and packages as well. If there’s a true running game “mastermind” in the NFL, Roman would be the guy.
(1) John DeFilippo, QB coach, Philadelphia
Our last and final QB coach has separated himself and appears like a total slam dunk hire. The 39-year-old John DeFilippo has a great resume as a QB coach — he helped develop Derek Carr as a rookie in Oakland, and now helped do the same with Carson Wentz in Philadelphia. In between, he served one year as an OC on Mike Pettine’s Cleveland staff. The Browns cleaned house after, but that wasn’t DeFilippo’s fault at all; he joined a sinking ship.
In Philadelphia, he’s reestablished himself as a rising star. In fact, the Eagles blocked him from interviewing for OC posts last season. I’m not sure about the NFL rules and regulations in that regard, but I imagine the team is going to have a choice to make. They’re either going to have to promote DeFilippo to OC (over veteran Frank Reich) or lose him to another club.
