NFL coaching carousel is moving very slowly | PFT on Yahoo Sports
Mike Florio and Peter King discuss how NFL teams are not in a hurry to fill their head coaching vacancy. Prefering to take their time, and make sure they are hiring the right person for the job.
Video Transcript
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MIKE FLORIO: Time now for "PFT on Yahoo Sports." Peter King, Mike Florio, the big stories in the NFL. And with four teams still left, twice as many, as of this recording, still looking for head coaches. Eight vacancies already. There could be a ninth in New Orleans, the way that Gayle Benson, the owner of the team, talked about the possibility Sean Payton won't be back.
Peter, what are the names out there that are creating the most buzz? I think the lack-- and you mentioned this last week, of a superstar coach is one of the reasons why this is taking as long as it has. But where are the names-- who are the names that we should be paying the most attention to as presumably, this process at some point slows down and jobs get filled?
PETER KING: There aren't any. I mean, that's the truth. I mean, everybody said boy, I'll tell you, Dan Quinn, Brian Flores, they're the hot names. Teams have had two weeks to hire Brian Flores and no one has. Teams have had a week to hire Dan Quinn, no one has.
So there are not the names that everybody always thinks are really popular at this time of year. Case in point, Jim Harbaugh. Where is the race to sign Jim Harbaugh for $11 million a year? There isn't one. And I'm not saying that some team will not eventually sign any of those coaches to be their head coach.
All I'm saying is that there is sanity this year in head coaching searches, and that sanity means, take your time. I thought John Mara put it perfectly for the Giants a week or so ago, when he said in essence, we've made mistakes by rushing. And we are not going to rush.
Having said that, I think somebody's going to hire Brian Daboll, Mike, because they watched the game on Sunday. And they think that Brian Daboll can magically transform their quarterback into Josh Allen. And that's what happens at this time of year.
You watch the playoffs and you get excited about a team. And you say, well, that coach must be great. And look, don't get me wrong. I think Brian Daboll is really good. But that is, to me, the inherent problem with what happens every January. You look for the hot guy.
MIKE FLORIO: Yeah. And I think the fact that there isn't that one guy that everyone has to have has allowed the teams to be more deliberate. It's forced them to go more slowly. There isn't that sense we have to go get this guy before someone else does. Like oh, OK. Well, you hired Dan Quinn.
Oh well, we'll move on to one of our other alternatives, even though he was somebody we were seriously considering. So I agree with you. There really isn't that one must-have name. It's going to come down to fit with a general manager, and two of the eight teams still don't have a general manager in the Bears and the Vikings.
So they're not even poised yet to hire a coach. You're right about Daboll, how can you not watch what the Bills did in the postseason? I know it was a little sketchy at times in the regular season. And there was a moment after the Bills lost to the Patriots on that Monday night, that windy Monday night, when Sean McDermott was asked, is Brian Daboll doing enough to get the most out of the offense?
And Sean McDermott didn't say yes, in response. And in a situation like that, anything other than yes is no. And it may be concerned about Daboll's future there. But they woke it up down the stretch. They were great in the postseason. And I think he makes a ton of sense for the Giants. There's a little steam pointing it in that direction.
But Peter, I agree with you. Everyone is looking for their guy. Not a guy that's a quick fix, not a guy that's going to be a short-term, we're going to be doing this again in two or three years. But they're looking for their guy that could be the answer, as Tony Dungy has suggested for 15 years. Wouldn't it be great?
Now, we know that's not going to happen because of the turnover that we see, and teams when they're bad, they just feel compelled to change coaches at some point. But ideally, at least they're approaching it. I get the impression they're all approaching it as we don't want to be doing this again in two or three years.
PETER KING: But everybody always does that. And I think that is why there's hope this year that the searches might actually be being done correctly. And Mike, let me make one other point about this. When I go back and look at the last 63 hires, the amazing thing to me is-- because I did that last week, and 61 of them had been made basically by this time on the calendar.
And now you've had zero made. And so the one point about it is, there are so many two- and three-year guys. That's why it's vitally important, take your time, even if everybody else seems to be sprinting out of the starting gate.
MIKE FLORIO: But the bottom line is this, no matter whether they take their time, or don't, the NFL is the ultimate zero-sum game. There must be a bad team for every good team. And the bad teams get quickly frustrated, and owners feel like they have to do something to turn it around.
And that's what results in six, seven, eight or maybe more vacancies every single year. That's it for now. Thanks as always for some of your time. He's Peter King, I'm Mike Florio. We'll see you again down the road.
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