Rank The New Head Coaches

[PuppyPuncher]

How do you rank the new head coaches that were hired this offseason?

My rankings look like:

1. Baltimore- John Harbaugh. Ravens bias, but I really like the coaching staff he put together and his overall excitement when it comes to football.

2. Miami- Tony Sparano. I don't think Dallas's offensive line is as great as pro bowl votes indicate. I always read that he was a very good motivator too.

HUGE GAP

3. Atlanta- Mike Smith. That Patriots game should have been enough to keep him off any coach's radar. He could pull it off with an instant impact draft pick like Glenn Dorsey and make me look like an idiot but I just don't quiver lips.

4. Washington- Jim Zorn. He's on the hot seat after one year.

[Matt McGuire]

1. Sparano
2. Smith
3. Harabaugh
4. Zorn

[PuppyPuncher]

1. Sparano
2. Smith
3. Harabaugh
4. Zorn

I picked up that you generally like Smith, care to explain?

[Matt McGuire]

I think Smith is a very smart football coach and a very good motivator.

I think he has much more expierience than Harabaugh and is exactly what Atlanta needs. It wasn't a big name signing, but a solid one nonetheless. I believe in building teams through the defense, and Smith will make that the #1 priority in Atlanta and they will start winning football games.

I think Smith is automatically the #2 head coach in the NFC South.

[Blazedestin]

1. Smith - I like his defensive mindset, and I think he's the coach who will help fix the Vick/Petrino debacles.
2. Sparano - We probably won't see it with the Dolphins, but I think he'll eventually be able to make a competitive football team. Given the 2007 Dolphins, he'll be given at least three seasons to turn the team around.
3. Zorn - He's good with QB's, and should help Jason Campbell's development drastically. Look what he did with Matt Hasselbeck, who was a backup QB and a 6th round draft pick.
4. Harbaugh - Not so much that he's bad, but he has limited experience coordinating and unlike Zorn, his specialties are in slightly less important positions on the field (Special teams and defensive backs). He does however, inherit a team with all the core defensive components in place and a good special teams unit.

[PuppyPuncher]

I think Smith is a very smart football coach and a very good motivator.

I think he has much more expierience than Harabaugh and is exactly what Atlanta needs. It wasn't a big name signing, but a solid one nonetheless. I believe in building teams through the defense, and Smith will make that the #1 priority in Atlanta and they will start winning football games.

I think Smith is automatically the #2 head coach in the NFC South.

Oh wow, I'm assuming that you have Jon Gruden first (I agree), but John Fox is way better than Mike Smith will ever be. He got to 7-9 on a roster that was lacking talent last year.

I would have preferred to see Rex Ryan as their head coach but I understand that they are heavily invested in a 4-3 and that his players-coach attitude might have ended his tenure with Atlanta rather quickly.

But I think the "Let's let Tom Brady get tired from standing in the pocket all day" gameplan speaks volumes about what kind of coach I expect him to be. Also, his offensive is going to be run by Mike Mularkey.

[PuppyPuncher]

3. Zorn - He's good with QB's, and should help Jason Campbell's development drastically. Look what he did with Matt Hasselbeck, who was a backup QB and a 6th round draft pick.
4. Harbaugh - Not so much that he's bad, but he has limited experience coordinating and unlike Zorn, his specialties are in slightly less important positions on the field (Special teams and defensive backs). He does however, inherit a team with all the core defensive components in place and a good special teams unit.

-I think he's actually going to hurt Jason Campbell's development because now Jason has to learn another offense. That's like 3 in 4 years I believe. I'm not expecting anything out of their offense at all considering their OC hardly wants to be there.

- If you ask John Harbaugh he will tell you that coaching special teams means he was able to deal with players on both offense and defense. This hiring is like the Ravens in general, not very exciting but it gets the job done.

[PuppyPuncher]

Wait a minute, that whole "Mike Smith has more experience" bothered me all day. Being a head coach is a whole different ball game. This is why I heart Harbaugh:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/f...,628062.column