It sounds like they really wanted Chip Kelly and there was no plan b. Now they’re going to settle for another coach with no OC experience.
An internal promotion absolutely baffles me. You have to figure, at some point during the season, DeMeco recognized Slowick & Strausser were issues... so why didn't they internally move to JJ and/or Popovich? Or, perhaps more damning... those 2 were in the room but didn't have solutions? And now they do? There isn't a scenario I can think of where an internal promotion makes sense. This was a top-to-bottom failure; I refuse to believe it was the fault of Slowick and Strausser only, and sending them away solves everything. That entire side of the ball was an abject disaster: our star QB took a step back; the personnel was suspect; the playcalling was dreadful; the protection was abysmal... Honestly, I'd fire everyone, save maybe for the WR coach. Otherwise, I fail to see how *any* aspect of their offense got better under this coaching staff. And we're potentially on the verge of promoting two of them?
Maybe Jerrod Johnson will be good, who the hell knows. However his resume looks awful thin, and would be an in house promotion. He obviously wasn't "the" problem, but as part of the offensive coaching staff we was at least part of it. It feels alarmingly like he would be getting the job because DeMeco and Stroud like him not because he has something new an innovative scheme wise. The idea of handing the offense to another greenhorn coordinator is not one I like....at all.
I would prefer a "head coach" for the offense. But no playcalling experience doesn't really bother me because, honestly: these are smart people. They can scheme up exotic packages and designs. I mean, Ben Johnson came with no playcalling experience. They all start somewhere. But none of that matters if they don't fix the OL. If a young, smart but inexperienced playcaller comes with a seasoned OL coach who is aligned on - and understands - the offensive philosophy and can coach the line effectively in the preferred scheme... playcalling gets sooooooooooooooooooooooo much easier.
I'm starting to think Jerrod was the plan from the start and is who CJ wants. He has known and worked with CJ since he was 16. Jerrod's name came up immediately along with Kelly after Slowik was fired. Later we found out the interest in Kelly was not coming from the Texans, that is if Houston Strassmann's information is legit. I know Kelly now says he wants to stay but that could be him saving face because nobody wants him. It was odd that Kelly's name was linked to the Jaguars at the same time like a tactic of hire me or I go to a divisional rival. I'm okay with not getting Kelly, but I'm not sold on any continuation of last year's offense. Maybe I’d feel differently if we learned that Jerrod was privately voicing his disdain for what they were trying to execute last year.
A few thoughts on the whole OC situation 1. The whole idea that Chip Kelly was their only real focus and now they're scrambling and are going to settle seems ridiculous to me. Nothing about the way Caserio and Demeco handle business screams "naive" or "stupid" or "shortsighted" to me. Was he their top candidate? Maybe. But I'd be absolutely shocked if they had zeroed in on him from the beginning without also considering any other alternatives. I think what's more likely, from a fan POV, is that a lot of fans really wanted Chip (for legit reasons) so now that he's not going to be the guy, any other option is a disappointment for them. Just because it's not what you wanted doesn't mean it's a bad move for the team. 2. The idea that Johnson can't be a good OC because he was here with Slowik and if he'd make a good OC then surely he would've replaced Slowik mid-season. When's the last time a playoff team made a change at OC mid-season? I'm genuinely asking. I can't think of a single time. Just because he wasn't promoted mid-season, on a playoff team, doesn't mean he should automatically be disqualified from the OC gig now. And regarding the idea that anyone associated with Slowik shouldn't be considered... how many times do we see seemingly good OCs/Passing Game coordinators, on good staffs with other really bright minds, go somewhere new to assume OC or HC duties, and totally fall flat on their face? It happens all the time. Just because Johnson was on the same offensive staff Slowik doesn't mean he thinks the same way or even agreed with the way Slowik coached or called plays. These guys each have their own unique styles and flares that can be totally separate from their co-workers. Now, is Johnson my top candidate? No. But I'll give him a shot if he is the guy and I don't think it's totally fair to place Slowik's failures on Johnson's shoulders.
Bills fired Ken Dorsey mid season last year and replaced him with Joe Brady. Steelers fired Matt Canada last year after week 10. Both teams made the playoffs. And that’s just last year.
Maybe I should've thought longer about that lol. I still stand by my opinion that it shouldn't automatically disqualify Johnson, though I'll concede it certainly could be seen as a red flag.
That was my problem with the possibility of Jerrod taking over in the 24 season had the Falcons hired Slowik. Expecting Jerrod to run that scheme on his first go while having Offensive line coaches that aren't about the ZBS life would be another recipe for disaster, again. To quote Stoerner: 'This search has been a clusterf***' Maybe the plan is to hire Caley and go back to the Patriots way game plan offense where Popovich doesn't have to worry about his line blocking in space and making the run and pass look identical. The 2020 offense with this defense could do some things, 82% shotgun & under center every now and then. https://www.sharpfootballstats.com/snap-rates--shotgun-v-under-center--off-.html For comparison, Our Kubahan offense is 54% shotgun and 46 under center Stroud can learn Chinese backwards easily.
Caserio oversaw the hiring of Culley & Lovie. DeMeco is 0-1 in hiring offensive coordinators. I think I trust them. But, also… their track records aren’t great. Yeah, as others have pointed out - it is not uncommon for playoff teams to fire coaches and/or change playcalling duty. Happens often. McCarthy & Pederson are two recent examples, too. If something is broken, you fix it. They wasted a 6-2 start and one year of cheap CJ. It’s fairly indefensible if they knew Slowick and Strausser were the issue and they had a future OC they loved in-house. Johnson was in the room. If he had solutions, they should’ve been brought to Slowick and/or DeMeco’s attention. If Slowick was a dictator who dismissed his assisstants’ input, I’m back to not trusting Ryans because an OC with a struggling unit refusing input from his staff should’ve been fired 1 minute later. As I typed the above response, I’m grew more & more agitated. I don’t want anyone from this staff retained and certainly not promoted.
He nailed it with DeMeco - but, also… DeMeco sort of fell into his lap. Would Caserio have been able to lure Ryans to coach in NE? Maybe - but Houston & the McNairs, I’m guessing, were a really big help here. Caserio has hit some monumental grand slams so we tend to minimize his mistakes. But he has a lot and his record is fairly spotty. + I don’t think I’ll ever truly get over him wanting to hire McCown and only Flores’ lawsuit stopping him.
I’m not gonna blame BDN for Culley and Loviie. Sure the optics were bad in hiring and firing black coaches after a year but this organization had a poison cloud hanging over it. Stories have been confirmed both nationally and locally that NO ONE wanted the Texans HC job. Think Jags this year and multiply it by a hundred and set it on Radioactive waste dump from the Fallout series. You could give him an A for Lovie if you want based on his giving Easterby the boot, drafting Sting and getting us CJ via the final win. I’ll settle for a statue tbh. His Demeco hire was fantastic. And if you’re to believe the rumors it was between Demeco and Steichen who the jury is still out on. Sean Payton was never coming here bc he had his own toxic issues that I’m guessing the organization didn’t want to deal with.
The Jags just hired a highly-regarded, sought-after coordinator. Sorry; I’m not buying David Culley & Lovie Smith were the best they could do. I mean… why couldn’t he have hired DeMeco in ‘22? It’s not like he learned to coach that season. Lovie was the choice because Caserio was adamant about hiring McCown and it took a lawsuit for him to move off of it. The entire process that led to Lovie was fumbled so poorly.
