Baylor coach to Panthers

[Guest]

The other thing that just blows my mind is Rhule had a choice between Daniel Jones or Cam Newton coming off injury and the #7 pick. 

[Guest]

Would love to see Garrett take the G-Men job.  The NFC Least would definitely get spicy!

[Guest]

@Wetlander said:

@JimmyinSD said:

@StickyBun said:
I think the only real worry with Stefanski is Cleveland. 

any interview should create worry.   I think he is HC material and I really dont want to lose him.   He seems like the kind of guy that can attract quality assistants and is confident enough in himself to let them do what they do best.   IMO Zimmers biggest issue is he hasnt really learned to trust many around him to do what they can to improve the team while freeing him up to improve himself as a HC instead of a DC. 

Stefanski will only get better with more time,  but I still dont want to see the organization lose him.

Uh, what makes you say that?  Zimmer takes it upon himself to be the defensive play caller on game days, but is that any different than a Sean McVay with the Rams?  Doug Pederson calls his own plays, Andy Reid calls his own plays, Belicheck call the defensive plays (although their is some mystery to it this season), etc.  It's not uncommon for HCs to be more involved on one side of the ball than the other depending on how they came up through the coaching ranks.  This isn't unique to Zimmer.

You're also overlooking the fact that Zimmer has consistently brought in experienced coaches on the offensive side of the ball (Norv, Sparano, Shurmur, Kubiak) because he trusts them to develop his vision for the type of offense he wants (balanced offense with a strong running game and play-action).

like you say,  he trusts them to do it his way... not to do it the way that might be best for the situation.    his in game decisions are suspect quite often and his focus on the D takes away from the input he should be having on the O,  or at least the focus on the O so he is giving informed input.   just as when he should be working up adjustments for the D that he is calling,  he is trying to (or should be watching the O)  as far as coaches that call their own plays...  all but mcvay, have SB rings as HCs,  i am sure i could bury you in numbers of HCs that failed in trying to be a coordinator and HC because it was to much of a task to do either one right.

i think we saw last year how much trust Zimmer has in letting OCs run the offense the way they see fit.  There are plenty of times where we have seen Zimmers ultra conservative finger prints on situations that havent turned out the best.   I know they won this week and now he is beyond reproach with some,  but I am not sold on Zimmers greatness in terms of being a HC that is a great leader of men.   He seems to be to much of a micro manager IMO.  I think he brings in guys like Kubiak because Zimmer doesnt even trust Zimmer and he wants a peer sounding board, but that doesnt mean he always follows their advice.   I just dont trust his way is necessarily the best way for the future of this team.

I want to see a DC that focuses on the D solely for 3 hours every game,  and an OC that does the same on the O,   and a HC that uses their experience to see the little things and jumps back and forth between the coordinators offering insight and then focusing on the parts of the game that only a HC really can control like challenges,  down and distance decisions etc... or maybe sensing fakes on special teams and stopping them... that kind of shit.   I just think he would be a better HC if he wasnt so focued on the D,  and was more trusting in letting an O open it up when they have a team on the ropes instead of reacting to what the opposing teams score is telling them to do.

[Guest]

Stefanski has been here since 2006. Are we sure we're not actually seeing the fingerprints of Brad Childress' Kick Ass Offense? 

In seriousness, Stefanski was brought in under Childress and worked he with Darrell Bevell for 6 years. He got 3 years with Bill Musgrave, 2.5 with Norv, 1.5 with Shurmur, and the partial one with DeFillippo. We're talking 10+ years of some heavy West Coast Offense influence (and 2.5 years of useless foreign language training). 

In the Andy Reid football family tree Pat Shurmur and Brad Childress are relatives; Stefanski is ultimately a part of the Childress coaching tree. After 6 years of learning under Bevell/Childress and 3 with Musgrave, we bring in Stefanski's football "uncle" who runs the same offense that Stefanski grew his career around learning here. We went 13-3 and our passing game took a step it hadn't been able to take (without Brett Favre) year in and out. 

The point is setting up context to judge our offensive philosophies over a multiyear window -  Today, is our offense closer to resembling it's evolution through the best of the Shurmur years or closer to resembling a Brad Childress attack that swapped Adrian for Dalvin?

[Guest]

7 years, between $50-60 million.