Sumlin has had swiss cheese defenses everywhere he has gone. Had them at UH, has them at A&M. It was shocking to me this year to see U of H have a defense capable of creating a critical stop and creating turnovers. That never happened under Sumlin and I feel sorry for any A&M fan that expects that to change. Until he can show me that he can clamp down on a semi-decent offense he'll never be NFL coaching material. It's not so much that we need a new head coach as much as it is we need a new culture of accountability. I think the players play just hard enough to keep Kubiak employed but not hard enough to win a Super Bowl. Kubes has got to go, if he doesn't I'm definitely going to be checked out of this team next season. I know what I'm getting with him. Tired of giving Bob my money and having him metaphorically spit in my face by keeping that joke of a HC employed.
I see. Still doesn't intrigue me. There are no obvious candidates for me. Any names stick out below? Spoiler Coordinators Nathaniel Hackett(Bills) Mike Pettine(Bills) Danny Crossman(Bills) Anthony Weaver(Bills DL) Donnie Henderson(Bills DBs) Mike Sherman(Dolphins) Kevin Coyle(Dolphins) Darren Rizzi(Dolphins) Josh McDaniels(Patriots) Matt Patricia(Patriots) Scott O'Brien(Patriots) Pepper Johnson(Patriots LBers) Marty Mornhinweg(Jets) Dennis Thurman(Jets) Ben Kotwica(Jets) Brian VanGorder(Jets LBers) Jim Caldwell(Ravens) Dean Pees(Ravens) Jerry Rosburg(Ravens) Steve Spagnulo(Ravens defensive assistant) Jay Gruden(Bengals) Mike Zimmer(Bengals) Darrin Simmons(Bengals) Hue Jackson(Bengals RBs) Norv Turner(Browns) Ray Horton(Browns) Chris Tabor(Browns) Jon Embree(Browns TEs) Todd Haley(Steelers) Dick LeBeau(Steelers) Danny Smith(Steelers) Rick Dennison(Texans) Wade Phillips(Texans) Joe Marciano(Texans) Karl Dorrell(Texans QBs) Bill Kollar(Texans DL) Reggie Herring(Texans LBers) Pep Hamilton(Colts) Greg Manusky(Colts) Tom McMahon(Colts) Clyde Christensen(Colts QBs) Jedd Fisch(Jaguars) Bob Babich(Jaguars) Mike Mallory(Jaguars) Dowell Loggains(Titans) Jerry Gray(Titans) Nate Kaczor(Titans) Dave Ragone(Titans QBs) Sylvester Croom(Titans RBs) Bruce Matthews(Titans OL) Gregg Williams(Titans defensive assistant) Steve Hoffman(Titans ST assistant) Adam Gase(Broncos) Jack Del Rio(Broncos) Jeff Rodgers(Broncos) Gregg Knapp(Broncos QBs) Eric Studesville(Broncos RBs) Alex Gibbs(Broncos OL) Richard Smith(Broncos LBers) Doug Pederson(Chiefs) Bob Sutton(Chiefs) Dave Toub(Chiefs) Gary Gibbs(Chiefs LBers) Greg Olson(Raiders) Jason Tarver(Raiders) Bobby April(Raiders) Al Saunders(Raiders offensive assistant) Tony Sparano(Raiders OL) Ken Whisenhunt(Chargers) John Pagano(Chargers) Kevin Spencer(Chargers) Bill Callahan(Cowboys) Monte Kiffin(Cowboys) Rich Bisaccia(Cowboys) Derek Dooley(Cowboys WRs) Rod Marinelli(Cowboys DL) Kevin Gilbride(Giants) Perry Fewell(Giants) Tom Quinn(Giants) Larry Izzo(Giants ST assistant) Pat Shurmur(Eagles) Billy Davis(Eagles) Dave Fipp(Eagles) Duce Staley(Eagles RBs) Kyle Shanahan(Redskins) Jim Haslett(Redskins) Keith Burns(Redskins) Raheem Morris(Redskins DBs) Aaron Kromer(Bears) Mel Tucker(Bears) Joe DeCamillis(Bears) Jon Hoke(Bears DBs) Scott Linehan(Lions) Gunther Cunningham(Lions) John Bonamego(Lions) Jim Washburn(Lions defensive assistant) Tom Clements(Packers) Dom Capers(Packers) Shawn Slocum(Packers) Mike Trgovac(Packers DL) Bill Musgrave(Vikings) Alan Williams(Vikings) Mike Priefer(Vikings) Mike Singletary(Vikings LBers) Dirk Koetter(Falcons) Mike Nolan(Falcons) Keith Armstrong(Falcons) Terry Robiskie(Falcons WRs) Mike Shula(Panthers) Sean McDermott(Panthers) Richard Rodgers(Panthers) Ken Dorsey(Panthers QBs) Bruce DeHaven(Panthers ST assistant) Pete Carmichael(Saints) Rob Ryan(Saints) Greg McMahon(Saints) Stan Kwan(Saints ST assistant) Mike Sullivan(Bucs) Bill Sheridan(Bucs) Dave Wannstedt(Bucs) Harold Goodwin(Cardinals) Todd Bowles(Cardinals) Amos Jones(Cardinals) Greg Roman(49ers) Vic Fangio(49ers) Brad Seely(49ers) Paul Wulff(49ers offensive assistant) Eric Mangini(49ers offensive assistant) Brian Schottenheimer(Rams) Tim Walton(Rams) John Fassel(Rams) Frank Bush(Rams LBers) Chuck Cecil(Rams Secondary) Darrell Bevell(Seahawks) Dan Quinn(Seahawks) Brian Schneider(Seahawks) Tom Cable(Seahawks OL) Possible fired Head Coaches (Obviously things would have to head south for guys like Schwartz, Rivera, and maybe Munchak.) Mike Smith Ron Rivera Jason Garrett Joe Philbin Jim Schwartz Leslie Frazier Tom Coughlin Dennis Allen Greg Schiano Mike Munchak Retreads Lovie Smith Jon Gruden Bill Cowher Tony Dungy Romeo Crennel I'll get back on guys at the college level.
If Case is your QB next year, then Kubiak is your coach. And vice versa. If one is gone, that means so is the other. Food for thought for anyone looking to get rid of either.
Most head coaches specialize on one side of the ball and hire a coordinator to handle the other. The key is finding the right coordinator. If you're looking at Sumlin, the main things to look at are his offensive principles and how he manages a game and locker room. Like Kubiak (or Sean Payton, etc), I doubt he's tied to any particular defensive philsophy or system.
Skin color has nothing to do with it you racist piece of ****. I was making a comparison to another nfl coach and the tone and no nonsense speech patterns these guys use are crazy similar. Also both are relatively younger head coaches. Also coaching paths are identical (opposite). Tomlin was a TE who then went on to coach DBs, then a DC, and eventually a HC. Sumlin was a LB who became a WR coach and went on to become an OC and eventually a HC. So yea let's ignore all of that and instead focus on skin instead because skin is important
Ken Whisenhunt, a WINNER as Steelers OC and led Cardinals to 2 division titles and a Super Bowl!!! Never could fix QB issue but if you find him a good one, he WINS!!! Seems to have "fixed" Rivers. Lovie Smith also a winner and always had great defensed and STs which is something we really need. Pair that with good OC and the offensive weapons we have. Greg Roman, another offense genius/innovator. Made Alex Smith look great and has groomed Kap. Also coached Luck at Stanford which could help in our division for the years to come. He was with Texans since the begging of the franchise in 2002 as an assistant, stayed for a few seasons.
IF they determine Case the true QB of the future, I could see Sumlin happening. But right now I'd say it's 80% that Kubiak is back next year. But, Bob could make it a classy PR move and allow/push Gary to "step down" due to health reasons (kind of like the Rudy T situation a long time ago). Manziel leaves for the draft and suddenly Sumlin has what might be the most attractive NFL opportunity he'll ever see (a team a year removed from playoffs, his guy at QB, a city he's comfortable in). You'd have to get him a rock solid veteran DC though. If Lovie Smith doesn't get head coaching interest, he'd be an interesting pairing. Smith is from Texas. Sean Mcdermott is another interesting name on that list for HC candidate.
Damn, he could possibly have BOTH of his guys....in his city. I like Sumlin, but not sure how I feel about him as HC. Really bad defenses have followed him for his entire career. Yes, I know he could get a coordinator to handle all things defense, but I'm sure that's been true at UH and aTm as well. So why have the defenses at both of those stops been so horrible?
The failure rate on college coaches is too high to give one a team with a few fixes away from a Super Bowl-contending team.
I wasn't even thinking about drafting Manziel when I said "his guy", ha. That would be something...but I think I am sold on Case so I would like to get talent at another position there. And I think the difference in college vs pro is that in college, Sumlin has basically been the GM and the coach in that he is in charge of recruiting and obviously the on-field stuff. In the NFL, he would have a GM to prevent him from leaning too offense heavy in decision making (which I suspect has been his issue with defense in college, though he hasn't really been in one place long enough to tell). As long as he has a proven NFL DC, I wouldn't worry about it.
Him having a GM wouldn't be a "given". That wasn't the case when they hired Kubiak. Perhaps Sumlin wants to have the same, if not more, personnel control that Kubiak had... and if he doesn't get it, the job is not worth it. Texans have to find a middle ground... somewhere between the coach having most of the power (way it is now), and the GM having most of the power (see: The Cowboys).
A few fixes? We'll need, at a minimum, replacements, upgrades or depth at: Position (upgrade over or replacement for) RT (Newton) LG (Smith) RB2 (Tate) TE (Daniels may be cap casualty) DE (Antonio Smith is a FA) OLB (Reed) ILB (Mays, depth for injury) CB (maybe 2, Joseph and Mccain have been bad) S (Manning and Reed likely gone) That's at least 4-5 starting positions that need overhauls. I also think the college "failure" rate is overblown and probably not any higher than the failure rate for promoting a coordinator. Yes, there are probably 10 failures for every Jim Harbuagh and Pete Carroll...but being an NFL head coach has a high rate of failure to begin with. I think our existing balance is ok. Middle round drafting could certainly be better, but I think our biggest issue is gameplan and Kubiak's philosophy (not adjusting enough during games and creating a less predictable offense).
Tell it to McNair. If Keenum is "the guy", I doubt McNair jettisons the coach who made him in such a QB-driven league.
Also, no to Sumlin. He doesn't deserve credit for Keenum's development as a pro (like, at all). His pew pew offense might work in the pros, but I doubt it. And Jon Gruden is the biggest fraud in football. Double no to him. Although getting him out of the MNF booth would be a favor to the whole country.
I'm clamoring for Sumlin until he goes elsewhere, or the Texans find another coach that proves worth while. He runs a modern offense that I think can compete in the NFL, and I also believe that he is a motivator who will hold his players accountable. I'd even be on board with keeping Wade as the DC.
I say no to Sumlin (of course that's because I want to keep him at A&M). I think most are being too hard on his D. Sherman left him with offensive talent and nothing on D. He has been recruiting lights out on D and I think you will start seeing definite improvement next year. I like the idea of Luck as new GM. I think Smith can't draft worth a flip. There are just way too many holes on this team to just blame coaching. If we go for a college coach, I'd say Shaw or Strong. I think both will translate to the Pro's. I don't want one of the old retreads that have been out of coaching for a while. I think they would struggle if they came back.
