FanPost

Thoughts on List of 20 Head Coaching Candidates


The Fan List of Coaching Candidates


Unattainable Coaches
  • Jim Harbaugh - stated he's staying at Michigan
  • Sean Payton - stated he's only interested in Dallas or Miami, plus Indy would owe draft picks to the Saints to get him
  • Nick Saban - he likely rides off into the sunset at Alabama and he faired horrible in Miami
  • Lincoln Riley - likely staying at USC for a few more years
Top Attainable Coaches
  • Brian Flores - Was turning Miami around. Holds people accountable. Got a raw deal in Miami. Has worked with two of the top coaches in the NFL in Bill Belichick and Mike Tomlin. Getting that experience with the Pats and Steelers is good. My concern would be how well does he get along with the players?
  • Byron Leftwich - I think having a former NFL starting quarterback (Jags) helps with play calling. He's also worked with Bruce Arians both with the Cardinals and with the Bucs. And Arians has been good at holding players accountable. He used to have "THE LIST". Arians would write down whoever messed up in a game. He'd then take that video and at the next team meeting would show that flub up to the entire team. You don't want to make THE LIST and be embarrassed in front of the entire team? Don't flub up. Tom Brady also spoke extremely highly of Byron Leftwich. During their Super Bowl run, Brady and Leftwich designed most of the plays working together. Brady actually preferred Leftwich over Bruce Arians as far as play calling. If the Colts want a good offensive play caller, Byron is likely the guy to go after.
Second Level Young Attainable Coaches
  • Brian Callahan - He's the offensive coordinator for the Bengals and he worked with Peyton. But one thing that strikes me is he's a coach's son. This is a guy that's grown up his whole life around football. Coach's sons tend to do well as head coaches (EG - Kyle Shannahan).
  • DeMeco Ryans - I like that he was a player for a decade and that they laud his ability to lead. Being a good head coach is a lot about leadership. And the 49ers have one of the best defenses, not to mention he's gotten to coach alongside a great offensive mind in Kyle Shannahan. I also like the fact that he took his name out of the running when he thought he wasn't ready.
  • Ryan Day - Day is a very smart coach. And he's great at adjusting to how teams play in the second half. But who does he bring on as assistant coaches?
  • Shane Steichen - The Eagles do a good job of play calling and he actually calls the plays. Is he ready to be a head coach though?
Retread Attainable Coaches (I'm not hot on these coaches, but I could live with the selections.)
  • Jim Caldwell - Like him or not, he did incredible on his first year with the Colts. Started off 14-2. He also did well as the Ravens OC. And he didn't do bad with the Lions. Compare every Lions head coach record since Caldwell and they suck in comparison. Caldwell tends to get overlooked and might do better than many think. He improved on calling timeouts while coach of the Lions. He could likely return the Colts back to winning.
  • Bill O'Brien - Love him or hate him, he did improve the Texans year after year under his tenure, winning the AFC South a few times. And he did well at Penn State too. Not to mention he's coached with Belichick and Saban. But I wouldn't let O'Brien handle any GM duties. Leave that up to the front office.
Dark Horse Candidates Not on the List
  • Rich Bisaccia - He's currently the special teams coordinator for the Packers. He was the interim head coach for the Raiders after Gruden was fired and had a 7-5 record. His players loved him and begged to make him the Raiders head coach. That speaks volumes to me. He's also been the assistant head coach for quite a few teams.
  • Ken Dorsey - Dorsey is the current offensive coordinator for the Bills. He's also a former NFL quarterback. He's also trained NFL quarterbacks. Seattle tried to hire him as their OC. He's also the guy that slammed his Microsoft Surface tablet when the Bills lost the game by not getting up to the line of scrimmage quick enough. To me, that shows passion for the game. The Colts need a head coach with some passion. Not to mention he's a very good play caller and knows how to develop quarterbacks. And Sean McDermott is a coach that prepares for every scenario. That's a great coach to work under for any potential head coaching candidate.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Stampede Blue's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Stampede Blue's writers or editors.