Other Potential Head Coaches Miami Should Look At
41 replies
In no particular order:
Rob Chudzinski - Currently the Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator. Rob was a tight end at the University of Miami and was also the offensive coordinator at UM for Larry Coker back in the early 2000s. Rob doesn't have very many years of coordinator experience. He was in Cleveland for two years prior to this, and his most recent experience came as tight ends coach for Norv Turner in San Diego. He has a lot what he did at Miami in his Carolina offense, and he seems to use a good bit of Norv's offense as well. What I like about him is that he has done a great job with Cam Newton. He has him passing the ball effectively with half field reads, and he has incorporated Cam in the running game as well. This is the kind of forward thinking that I want in the Dolphins next head coach. I want a coach that will use a quarterbacks legs if that is a given strength of his game.
Pete Carmichael Jr - He is currently the offensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints. I think he has heavy input in the game plan and works closely with Drew Brees, but I do not believe he calls the play. That is neither here nor there though. He is part of an offensive system that probably passes the ball more than any other team in the league and is the best at utilizing what I call space players. Look at the drastic difference in the way New Orleans uses Darren Sproles and Miami uses Reggie Bush. Pete also has a back ground in Norv Turner's offense from his days with the San Diego Chargers. He is a bright young mind in the league and may be ready to get his own gig.
Marc Trestman - He's the odd ball name on the list and currently the head coach with the CFL's Montreal Alouettes. Marc is a very smart coach who has a wealth of coordinator experience in the NFL. He is seen as somewhat weird, but I wonder if that is more due to his intelligence than anything else. His background is a heavy passing version of the west coast offense, but he's been in the CFL for 3 years now. He won the Grey Cup last year and took Montreal to the Grey Cup in his first year. I am interested to see if he has picked up and will bring some of the spread ideas that are used in the CFL.
Scott Linehan - Former Dolphins offensive coordinator and Rams head coach, he is currently the offensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions. His roots are in the single back spread system that Dennis Erickson used to use at the University of Miami. Scott has had a lot of success as an offensive coordinator and didn't have a great deal of success as the Rams head coach. If you look closely at his tenure there though, he started off well with a 7-9 year, and then injuries derailed him. Also, Steve Spagnuolo is also struggling with St. Louis, so you get the idea that it may not just be the head coach that is the issue there. On this list, Scott may be the best at developing quarterbacks though. He had a strong reputation in college for it, and he has done a great job with Daunte Culpepper in Minnesota and with Matthew Stafford in Detroit. I'd be willing to see if he has picked up anything to improve himself as a head coach over the past three seasons with Jim Schwartz.
Chudzinski: I think many people look at Cam Newton and come away impressed. There's certainly a good reason to, but take a look at what he did with Derek Anderson and the Cleveland offense and you'll come away positively astonished. He didn't simply install an offense that had Anderson produce at a Pro Bowl level; although that's not a small feat by any means. He was also responsible for the only top 10 offense ranking the Browns held since 1987. I wouldn't really call Chudzinski a Turner guy (there's influences, of course) because he's one of the rare coordinators who can adapt on the fly and tune his offense to the available players instead of vice versa. If you want to give a young coaching mind a shot, he's as good as they come.
Linehan: I usually don't ignore possible candidates because their first HC gig didn't end well, but Linehan's stint in St. Louis was a real mess. Yes, they had injury issues, but much like Cam Cameron, Linehan lost the locker room, got distracted by pointless side shows and ended up being loathed by pretty much everyone involved. He got off to a not too shabby start, but quickly looked as lost out there as I've seen anyone since, well, Cameron.
We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it. The only reason for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely. All art is quite useless.
If we're looking at second chance guys, two names come immediately to mind:
Marty Mohrninwheg and Gregg Williams.
"schmolioot wrote:
Marty Mohrninwheg
The overtime coin toss gaffe will probably ensure that he stays a coordinator for life. With a steady supply of up and coming young minds and possible second chance candidates available every year, you don't really need to turn to a guy who failed once and managed one of the worst coaching mistakes to boot.
We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it. The only reason for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely. All art is quite useless.
"Vendigo wrote:
The overtime coin toss gaffe will probably ensure that he stays a coordinator for life. With a steady supply of up and coming young minds and possible second chance candidates available every year, you don't really need to turn to a guy who failed once and managed one of the worst coaching mistakes to boot.
Fair enough, but he has done a great job with the Eagles offense. And the coin toss thing is probably not a mistake you make twice.
What about Gregg Williams?
I wouldn't mine Carmichael Jr., just for irony's sake.
“Come on, shake your body baby, do that conga!”
IF Ireland stays and gets to pick the next HC, I would concentrate SOLELY on the Cowboys coaching staff for the PROBABLE replacement. After all, we seem to like all of their castoff players. Why should we expect HCing candidates to be any different.
"ATLFINFAN wrote:
IF Ireland stays and gets to pick the next HC, I would concentrate SOLELY on the Cowboys coaching staff for the PROBABLE replacement. After all, we seem to like all of their castoff players. Why should we expect HCing candidates to be any different.
Hudson Houck, Miami Dolphins 2012 head coach. :pity:

Probably doesn't have enough experience to be HC yet, but Greg Roman has done a helluva job as Harbaugh's OC in San Francisco.
And, yes, he was with Luck at Stanford the last two years.
"Making people on the Internet feel better about their own lives since 2004"
"ATLFINFAN wrote:
IF Ireland stays and gets to pick the next HC, I would concentrate SOLELY on the Cowboys coaching staff for the PROBABLE replacement. After all, we seem to like all of their castoff players. Why should we expect HCing candidates to be any different.
Rob Ryan. Not only is he a current Cowboys assistant. He was also a ball boy with Jeff for the 1985 Bears.
"HugeFinFan wrote:
Hudson Houck, Miami Dolphins 2012 head coach. :pity:
your blue smiley isn't strong enough if it comes to be......what about the paper bag with eye holes ......:bag:
As we've found out, the coordinator gig is a lot different than being a head coach. The head coach needs to set the tone for the team - a coordinator does not have to do that. We can talk about what the coordinators have done technically and with different players, but the most important attribute of a head coach is leadership and ability to deal with the different personalities on the team and coaching staff. We have very little idea as to how any of these guys would handle the head coach role - obviously there are guys out there who can do it (Mike Tomlin to name one), so if they do go the coordinator/assistant route, the GM hopefully will do a good job of evaluating those "head coach" skills.
I'm more intrigued with the guys that have been head coaches before - am concerned about the hunger that Cowher or Gruden would have for the job given that they've won Super Bowls and have been removed from the game for awhile. If Andy Reid gets cut loose by the Eagles, that is a guy I'd love to see be the next coach of the Dolphins.
"KB21 wrote:
Rob Ryan. Not only is he a current Cowboys assistant. He was also a ball boy with Jeff for the 1985 Bears.
DING DING DING............WE HAVE A WINNER. Talk about a rivalry with the JETS.....
And for the record, KB. I was/ am not making light of your ORIGINAL POST. It's a good post and thread, but I wouldnt be surprised AT ALL if what I said becomes reality, and YOUR choice of RR is a possibility.............oh CRAP.
"ncdolfan wrote:
As we've found out, the coordinator gig is a lot different than being a head coach. The head coach needs to set the tone for the team - a coordinator does not have to do that. We can talk about what the coordinators have done technically and with different players, but the most important attribute of a head coach is leadership and ability to deal with the different personalities on the team and coaching staff. We have very little idea as to how any of these guys would handle the head coach role - obviously there are guys out there who can do it (Mike Tomlin to name one), so if they do go the coordinator/assistant route, the GM hopefully will do a good job of evaluating those "head coach" skills.
I'm more intrigued with the guys that have been head coaches before - am concerned about the hunger that Cowher or Gruden would have for the job given that they've won Super Bowls and have been removed from the game for awhile. If Andy Reid gets cut loose by the Eagles, that is a guy I'd love to see be the next coach of the Dolphins.
I can guarantee you that Jon Gruden has the hunger for the job. Bill Cowher, I question his hunger. He's been out for a while now, and unlike Jon Gruden, I haven't read or heard any reports of Cowher spending his down time like Gruden has.
"KB21 wrote:
I can guarantee you that Jon Gruden has the hunger for the job. Bill Cowher, I question his hunger. He's been out for a while now, and unlike Jon Gruden, I haven't read or heard any reports of Cowher spending his down time like Gruden has.
I think KB's right on this, I read alot of the same things when it was rumored Gruden might maybe take the UM job, and one of the reasons I hoped so was I saw both how into the college game he was and the hours he was still putting into film study, he got the Arena team in the area to give him an office with all the video equipment to break down film and then he went to town on college offenses. I do think though you need a good GM to back him up. I'll be curious if he says anything on MNF like he did week 1.
"gunsmithx wrote:
I think KB's right on this, I read alot of the same things when it was rumored Gruden might maybe take the UM job, and one of the reasons I hoped so was I saw both how into the college game he was and the hours he was still putting into film study, he got the Arena team in the area to give him an office with all the video equipment to break down film and then he went to town on college offenses. I do think though you need a good GM to back him up. I'll be curious if he says anything on MNF like he did week 1.
You know, I think Jon realizes that he is an NFL guy, but I love that he is in touch with the college game. If you look at the history of the league, most of the great innovations that have happened were brought to the NFL from the college game. The "Air Coryell" offense was a college offense. The "Fairbanks/Bullough" 3-4 defense was a college defense. Heck, the forward pass was first used in the college game.
However, I think Jon knows that he wouldn't have liked coaching in college. I think he would have loved it for just the coaching aspect. What he wouldn't like is all the alumni events he would have to attend in an attempt to smooze some big money donors. To me, that would be taking time away from his film study.
If you want to point to a reason why a lot of college coaches do not have success in the NFL, I think you can point to that. In college, you don't necessiarly have to burn the midnight oil, and you have many other PR responsibilities as a head coach. In the NFL, it is a grind. I think only a few college guys understand the grind that the NFL is. Jimmy Johnson did. Steve Spurrier didn't.
I really have to wonder why no one other than maybe ck/Boomer have named any coaches from the Packers franchise. A winning club, if there ever was one, yet no one thinks they have HC possibilities?
Just saying our one truly great HC came from a winning franchise directly to us without any down time. Not suggesting we steal MM but there are others on his staff who I feel deserve a look see!

This is the only thing I’ve learned: There’s only us. There’s no them. Despots and authoritarians need to make a “them” to have a straw man whom you are against. If you need to make an enemy of “them,” you’ve lost the spirit of us. - Ken Burns of PBS

Former NFL scout Dave Razzano offered a list of candidates. The big quote: "Too often owners go for the sexy pick and end up wasting millions in the process." Sounds like our Mr. Hollywood!
Given Ross propensity for star power and names....
I really cant imagine him not doing what it takes to sign Jon Gruden. Given Gruden openly want this job...I think its pretty much a given at this point.
"The more difficult the victory, the greater the happiness in winning"
Pele
The only guy Razzano listed that interests me is Bobby April. He's a lot more well-rounded and grounded in every aspect of the game than people think. He also is, to my knowledge, very diligent in expanding his knowledge of all areas of coaching, very thorough. He's coach Tight Ends, Defensive Line, Secondary, Kicking and Special Teams.
You combine a guy with his diligence and cerebral approach to the game, with a guy that gets his players to play inspired football for him (e.g. Razzano's note about how his players would run through a wall for him)...I think you have something.
Twitter: @ckparrot
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"gafinfan wrote:
I really have to wonder why no one other than maybe ck/Boomer have named any coaches from the Packers franchise. A winning club, if there ever was one, yet no one thinks they have HC possibilities?
Just saying our one truly great HC came from a winning franchise directly to us without any down time. Not suggesting we steal MM but there are others on his staff who I feel deserve a look see!
Well, just because they are coming from a winning franchise doesn't mean they will make good head coaches. See the New England Patriots and Charlie Weiss, Romeo Crennel, Josh McDaniels, and Eric Mangini for evidence of that. Whem Mike McCarthy got hired in Green Bay, many wondered what they were thinking. He had just finished having the 30th ranked offense as the offensive coordinator with the 49ers. Obviously, Ted Thompson saw something in his interview with him that convinced him he could do that job. Patience was a virtue here though. After 2009, many Packers fans were ready to replace McCarthy.
John Schnieder is the first guy to venture from that front office. He is Seattle's GM in title only as Pete Carroll has final say on personnel decisions. However, the early signs aren't good out there, but there may be philosophical differences between he and Carroll.
"vt_dolfan wrote:
Given Ross propensity for star power and names....
I really cant imagine him not doing what it takes to sign Jon Gruden. Given Gruden openly want this job...I think its pretty much a given at this point.
Just ask yourself why someone would openly lobby for a coaching job...
“Come on, shake your body baby, do that conga!”
How are the "early signs not good" in Seattle?
They won their division last year and then beat the Saints in the wildcard round, put up a good fight in the divisional round. Yeah they're 2-3 right now but so are the Jets and nobody's giving up on them yet. They just beat the Giants. They BARELY lost to Atlanta, another franchise that is thought well of despite their having the same record as the Seahawks.
I don't think that's being fair on Schneider.
Twitter: @ckparrot
3 Yards Per Carry Podcast - Featuring Boomer, Section126, and ckparrothead
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"ckparrothead wrote:
How are the "early signs not good" in Seattle?
They won their division last year and then beat the Saints in the wildcard round, put up a good fight in the divisional round. Yeah they're 2-3 right now but so are the Jets and nobody's giving up on them yet. They just beat the Giants. They BARELY lost to Atlanta, another franchise that is thought well of despite their having the same record as the Seahawks.
I don't think that's being fair on Schneider.
Seattle is a bad football team who only won their division because of how weak it is.
Mike Zimmer, it seems like his players want to play very hard for him, even though he is a hard ass..I really don't believe in marvin lewis to motivate a team so I feel like this inspired bengal play comes mostly from Zimmer.
