Fantasy Football 2018 - NFL Coaching Changes + Free Agency Wishing Well

Summary

Fantasy Footballers Podcast Summary
Episode: Fantasy Football 2018 - NFL Coaching Changes + Free Agency Wishing Well
Release Date: February 20, 2018

---

Introduction

The Fantasy Footballers Podcast kicks off the episode with hosts Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike Wright diving straight into their main topics after a brief promotional segment. The trio sets the stage for an engaging discussion on NFL coaching changes and their fantasy football implications for the upcoming season.

---

Wishing Well Segment

Andy Holloway introduces the Wishing Well segment, where each host shares their dream scenarios for the NFL free agency period.

• Mike Wright [04:53]:
  “I want Carlos Hyde to replace Frank Gore yet again and end up in Indianapolis. Just because the narrative of Carlos Hyde replacing Frank Gore on a second team is one of those things that just... I find it appealing.”
  Timestamp: 04:53

  Wright believes that Hyde's acquisition would significantly boost fantasy football values due to his versatile three-down skill set.

• Jason Moore [05:52]:
  “I want Trey Burton to replace Gronk. When Gronk retires here and becomes the starting tight end...”
  Timestamp: 05:52

  Moore expresses a desire to see Trey Burton take over as the primary tight end, enhancing the fantasy value in Chicago.

• Andy Holloway [06:18]:
  “A sign Todd Gurley and a sign Lev Bell jersey.”
  Timestamp: 02:56

  Holloway promotes the podcast’s giveaway, encouraging listeners to participate for a chance to win signed memorabilia.

News and Notes

The hosts transition into current NFL news, highlighting significant updates that impact fantasy footballers.

• Larry Fitzgerald’s Contract Extension:

  Andy Holloway [09:02]:
  “Larry Fitzgerald has told the Cardinals coach Steve Wilkes he will return for a 15th season in 2018 with the Cardinals.”
  Timestamp: 09:02

  “Larry Fitzgerald is going to be a great value yet again. Year after year, we've had entire episodes dedicated to the undervalued guys...”
  Jason Moore [10:01]

  Fitzgerald’s commitment ensures continued reliability and high fantasy value for Cardinals’ receivers.

• A.J. McCarron’s Free Agency:

  Andy Holloway [11:03]:
  “A.J. McCarron, he will be a free agent.”
  Timestamp: 11:03

  The potential landing spot for McCarron is the Cleveland Browns, where he is expected to compete for the starting quarterback position.

• Eddie Lacy’s Release:

  Jason Moore [12:53]:
  “Eddie Lacy's career, fantasy-wise is gone. He won't ever be relevant again.”
  Timestamp: 12:53

  The Bears’ decision not to re-sign Lacy underscores the volatility of running back positions in fantasy leagues.

• Camara’s Injury Status:

  Jason Moore [14:03]:
  “The case for Camara is not out and I expect that it will be out soon before the season.”
  Timestamp: 14:03

  Andy’s article on Camara’s injury provides insights into player availability and future fantasy implications.

Coaching Carousel: Reflections and 2018 Changes

Andy Holloway reflects on the previous year's coaching changes, noting that most new head coaches led their teams to improved records. This sets the stage for analyzing the 2018 offseason coaching moves.

• Improved Team Performances:

  “Last year, all but one of the six new head coaches improved their teams’ records.”
  Timestamp: 16:15

  Highlights include Sean McVay with the Rams, Doug Marrone with the Dolphins, Sean McDermott with the Bills, and others, illustrating the positive impact of coaching changes.

Team-by-Team Coaching Analysis

Arizona Cardinals

• New Head Coach: Steve Wilkes

  Andy Holloway [19:59]:
  “Steve Wilkes is the new head coach of the Arizona Cardinals.”
  Timestamp: 19:59

  Hiring a defensive-minded coach emphasizes maintaining their strong defense, though concerns arise about offensive performance without a seasoned quarterback.

• Impact on Key Players:

  Jason Moore [22:01]:
  “I think we'll see that the same workload but 16 rushing touchdowns. Can he come anywhere close to that?”
  Timestamp: 22:01

  David Johnson’s role remains pivotal, though Wright anticipates a decrease in rushing touchdowns.

Chicago Bears

• New Offensive Coordinator: Matt Nagy

  Jason Moore [27:54]:
  “I like this a lot for the Chicago Bears.”
  Timestamp: 27:54

  Nagy, from the Andy Reid coaching tree, is expected to revitalize the Bears’ offense, providing Trey Burton with expanded opportunities.

• Defensive Coach: Matt Patricia

  Mike Wright [31:29]:
  “I think Matt Patricia has earned his way to be a head coach.”
  Timestamp: 31:29

  Patricia’s defensive expertise aims to bolster the Bears’ overall performance, indirectly benefiting offensive players by creating better field positions.

New York Giants

• New Head Coach: Pat Shurmur

  Mike Wright [35:48]:
  “I like the Pat Shurmur hire.”
  Timestamp: 35:48

  Shurmur brings innovative offensive play-calling to the Giants, potentially enhancing the performance of key fantasy players like Odell Beckham.

• New Offensive Coordinator: Mike Shula

  Jason Moore [36:35]:
  “I love the hire of Mike Shula.”
  Timestamp: 36:35

  Despite concerns about Shula’s past performance, Moore is optimistic about his ability to design effective plays under Shurmur’s leadership.

Oakland Raiders

• New Head Coach: Jon Gruden

  Mike Wright [39:38]:
  “It's difficult when there are every year new minds entering the football space...”
  Timestamp: 39:38

  Gruden’s return is met with mixed reactions. While his legacy is respected, Wright questions the effectiveness of his offensive strategies based on past performance.

• Offensive Coordinator: Greg Olson

  Jason Moore [41:42]:
  “Greg Olson is not a good offensive coordinator.”
  Timestamp: 41:42

  Olson's track record raises concerns about the Raiders' offensive potential, potentially limiting Derek Carr's fantasy value.

Tennessee Titans

• New Head Coach: Mike Vrabel

  Mike Wright [45:49]:
  “I am excited for Matt LaFleur.”
  Timestamp: 45:49

  Vrabel’s hiring is complemented by offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur, expected to enhance the Titans’ offensive strategies and elevate players like Matt Ryan and Corey Davis.

• Offensive Coordinator: Matt LaFleur

  Jason Moore [48:11]:
  “I can't imagine it's going to be much worse than it was last year in Tennessee.”
  Timestamp: 48:11

  LaFleur’s experience under Sean McVay is seen as a boon for the Titans, promising improved offensive play-calling and increased fantasy opportunities.

Cleveland Browns

• New Head Coach: Pat Shurmur

  Jason Moore [56:37]:
  “I think John DeFilippo is a great football mind and he's going to succeed.”
  Timestamp: 56:37

  Shurmur’s strategy focuses on optimizing quarterback play, which could significantly impact players like Josh Gordon and Corey Coleman.

Seattle Seahawks

• New Offensive Coordinator: Brian Schottenheimer

  Jason Moore [58:38]:
  “No, I do not think he’s going to be the man to make Russell Wilson all that he can be.”
  Timestamp: 58:38

  Schottenheimer’s appointment is met with skepticism due to his limited success as an offensive coordinator, potentially hindering Russell Wilson’s fantasy production.

Pittsburgh Steelers

• New Offensive Coordinator: Randy Feeney

  Jason Moore [59:36]:
  “I think he's a much better play caller...”
  Timestamp: 59:36

  Feeney’s promotion aims to maintain the Steelers’ offensive consistency, ensuring continued performance from Ben Roethlisberger and other key players.

Offensive Coordinator Changes

The hosts delve deeper into various offensive coordinator hires, assessing their potential impact on team performance and fantasy football.

• Buffalo Bills:

  Mike Wright [50:20]:
  “This is one of those uninspiring hires.”
  Timestamp: 50:20

  Brian Daboll’s tenure is viewed as underwhelming, with little expected improvement in the Bills’ offensive output.

• Carolina Panthers:

  Jason Moore [51:39]:
  “I think he tailors his offense to his players.”
  Timestamp: 51:39

  Norv Turner’s hire is cautiously optimistic, with expectations of a tailored offense that leverages Cam Newton’s strengths.

• Minnesota Vikings:

  Jason Moore [56:37]:
  “John DeFilippo is a great football mind and he's going to succeed.”
  Timestamp: 56:37

  DeFilippo’s role is anticipated to sustain the Vikings’ offensive prowess, benefiting key fantasy assets like Adrian Peterson.

• New York Jets:

  Jason Moore [57:25]:
  “Jeremy Bates is the reason that Kirk Cousins will be coming to New York.”
  Timestamp: 57:25

  Bates’ tenure is uncertain, with potential moves hinging on quarterback performance and offensive strategy.

• Seattle Seahawks:

  Jason Moore [58:38]:
  “I don't think he’s going to be the man to make Russell Wilson all that he can be.”
  Timestamp: 58:38

  Continued doubts about Brian Schottenheimer’s ability to enhance the Seahawks' offense under Russell Wilson.

• Pittsburgh Steelers:

  Jason Moore [59:36]:
  “When you lose your offensive coordinator, a great offensive mind with Todd Haley, I don't think that's going to help your team.”
  Timestamp: 59:36

  Despite concerns, the Steelers’ promotion of Randy Feeney is seen as a move to stabilize the offensive strategy.

---

Conclusion

As the Fantasy Footballers wrap up the Coaching Carousel episode, the hosts reiterate their anticipation for the upcoming NFL season, emphasizing the significant impact that coaching changes can have on team performance and fantasy football outcomes. They encourage listeners to stay engaged with their community and participate in ongoing giveaways, while previewing upcoming episodes that will delve into dynasty league strategies.

---

Notable Quotes Recap:

• Mike Wright [05:28]:
  “That would be very fun.”

• Jason Moore [10:01]:
  “Larry Fitzgerald is going to be a great value yet again.”

• Jason Moore [41:42]:
  “Greg Olson is not a good offensive coordinator.”

• Jason Moore [56:37]:
  “I think John DeFilippo is a great football mind and he's going to succeed.”

---

This comprehensive summary encapsulates the key discussions, insights, and conclusions from the Fantasy Footballers episode, providing valuable information for both regular listeners and newcomers interested in the intricacies of NFL coaching changes and their fantasy football implications.

Transcript

[Mike Wright]

Foot Clan. The future is coming. Make it brighter with Squarespace, ladies and gentlemen. You know that if you have anything going on, if you have a blog, your work, if you're selling products, you need a website and Squarespace makes it as easy as possible. And I'm talking about nothing to install, patch or upgrade. Customize the look of a website. Head to squarespace.com for a free trial. When you're ready to launch, use offer code footballers to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

[Jason Moore]

Hey, this is David Johnson, running back of the Arizona Cardinals, and you're listening to the Fantasy Footballers Podcast. Welcome to the Fantasy Footballers Podcast coming to you from Draft.com Studios with your hosts, Andy Holloway, Jason Moore and Mike Wright.

[Andy Holloway]

So happy to be here, so happy, happy to be back once again.

[Mike Wright]

I'm not sure how authentic that was. Jason Moore, what's your read on the tone of that intro?

[Jason Moore]

You know, very authentic the tone of the intro. Strange cadence, not authentic. But I know him and I know he is in fact excited to be back on the air for what is one of my favorite shows every single season. One of the most important shows.

[Andy Holloway]

That's right. We are rating candy bars 1 through 10.

[Jason Moore]

Love them.

[Andy Holloway]

This is the coaching. Sorry, no, that is not correct. We have yet to make that podcast, but it's coming. This is the coaching episode. We're going to cover all of the off season coaching changes, including offensive coordinators, and we're going to do a little bit of reflecting on the fantasy implications of what the changes did last year. We'll look at the new year and how it might impact the players on your fantasy roster, the players you draft and what you can expect and what these guys, Jason Moore and Mike the Fantasy Hitman, right, are expecting to happen. I mean, we have some big time hires this offseason, including the return of Jon Gruden to the NFL and what that might mean. And I know these guys have some strong opinions. I do as well. And I am very, very excited to talk about them on today's show. If you want to follow the show and everything that's going on. We are a year round fantasy football podcast and you can find us on Twitter heffballers, our community where you can join leagues with hardcore fantasy football players that listen to this show. You can go to jointhefoot.com and find those the Foot Clan leagues as well as an extra episode every week and a bunch of other perks and then you can always subscribe on itunes. Leave us a review. We appreciate everybody that's done that this last week. And if you want a chance to win a signed Todd Gurley or Lev Bell jersey, we are giving one away. Well, we're giving both. We're giving both away. Not to the same person, but we're given.

[Mike Wright]

And maybe you're really lucky.

[Andy Holloway]

You could be the luckiest alive. But foot clangiveaway.com youm can go. You can enter. It's free to enter. And we're gonna give that away at the end of March will be the official. We'll mail it out to you. So a sign Todd Gurley and a sign Lev Bell jersey. Also, a little bit of a teaser before I get into the quick question in the coaching news. A little bit of a teaser. We're going to talk a little bit of Dynasty on the next show.

[Jason Moore]

Ooh.

[Andy Holloway]

Specifically, how to start a dynasty league. It's one of our most frequently asked questions. Brooks. Last week, he came in.

[Mike Wright]

Brooks has been demanding on hand, on knees, just begging.

[Jason Moore]

Crawled in.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, please.

[Jason Moore]

We set up a little doggy door. And he came in.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

And he said, guys, the people are demanding a segment for how to start a dynasty league. How to get involved.

[Andy Holloway]

So we said, all right.

[Mike Wright]

A doggy door.

[Jason Moore]

Well, technically, I guess it's a human door.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

Because it's just much smaller.

[Andy Holloway]

That's how we stay on top of our employees from the moment they walk in. We make them walk through tiny doors like Willy Wonka to keep their ego in check. It's very, you know, Brooks and his ego, he can get out of hand. It's ridiculous. It's a protection against himself. His silence just affirms it right now.

[Jason Moore]

If you're a new listener and you don't know, Brooks is the, I would say, the least egotistical person I've ever.

[Andy Holloway]

Met outside of maybe Paul Giamatti.

[Jason Moore]

Right.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, who is so incredibly modest.

[Jason Moore]

Never seen both in the same place before, so have not yet confirmed that they are not the same.

[Andy Holloway]

Hey, we have a new segment for the quick question today, so let's hop in.

[Jason Moore]

The wishing well.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, let's toss a coin into the wishing well. What do you most want to see happen in free agency? What is your dream scenario? Toss the coin in, Mike, because this.

[Mike Wright]

Is the wishing well. I feel like I am allowed to be a little bit biased here in a situation that I think helps out fantasy football as a whole. But my Dynasty team may see a benefit from said wish, and that's. I want Carlos Hyde to replace Frank Gore yet again and end up in Indianapolis, just because the narrative of Carlos Hyde replacing Frank Gore on a second team is one of those things that just. I find it appealing.

[Andy Holloway]

That would be very fun.

[Mike Wright]

And Carlos Hyde is exactly the kind of running back that would have massive fantasy value if he goes in with his three down skill set. I know the Marlon Mack truthers out there are very upset with what I have just said.

[Jason Moore]

I'm very upset.

[Mike Wright]

But I think Carlos Hyde would succeed in a major way for fantasy teams if that were to happen.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, Jason, grab your coin.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, well, I, you know, I was gonna. I was gonna throw Isaiah Crowell onto the Patriots, but with this wishing well idea, the one that I actually want to see, like, you know, a little bit more selfishly because I have been a big believer in the backup capabilities of Trey Burton. Or as Mike calls him, Trey Boo Boo.

[Mike Wright]

Oh. Have you accepted?

[Jason Moore]

I have not fully accepted, but I know it's happening.

[Andy Holloway]

To be clear, as Mike calls him Trey Boo Boo.

[Jason Moore]

Yes. All right, so. But I want Trey Burton, not my best. Replace Gronk. You know, when Gronk retires here and become the starting tight end, you're putting chills into the. I still do not believe Gronk retires.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, of course. At all. Yeah, I don't believe that either.

[Jason Moore]

There are just so many retire people coming out saying, hey, whatever. It's true. The. What was it, the wwe?

[Andy Holloway]

He's been thinking about it a long.

[Jason Moore]

Time, was saying they. They're gonna offer him a contract if he retires.

[Andy Holloway]

So you were gonna go with Isaiah Corral to the Patriots? It's funny, because I was actually going to tease Carlos Hyde to the Patriots, but the only. The only reason we're doing any of that is because the Patriots had literally the number one rushing offensive line last year according to Football Outsiders. You saw what Dion Lewis did in it, what Rex Burkhead did in it, and I didn't want to. Really, I didn't even want to. I didn't want to pick somebody to go there because the truth is, Dion Lewis going back there is probably the best thing for them. And I also, I. The truth is, the wishing well has Kirk Cousins face emblazoned on it because I'd really love to see him go to Arizona, but I've come to accept the fact I doubt that's going to happen. So I'm gonna go with a strange one. Maybe you wouldn't have expected it, but Sammy Watkins to San Francisco. Okay. To team up with Jimmy G. And no, not just because I would get to call It. Sam Francisco.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, my goodness.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, Mike moved.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, my goodness. I'm going to weep.

[Andy Holloway]

But listen, Sammy Watkins, the dad joke.

[Mike Wright]

To end all dad jokes to silence.

[Andy Holloway]

The dad joke crowd, which is tough to do.

[Mike Wright]

I'm getting sweaty.

[Andy Holloway]

Sammy Watkins, the deep threat, the partner in crime for Jimmy G. For many years in San Francisco, didn't have a high volume role. Mike still shaking his head.

[Mike Wright]

It was unbelievable. That is unbelievable. That not only is the joke incredible, but you kept that under wraps. I mean, that would have just bubbled out of me.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, you would have just been saying it earlier.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, well, based on that, we may never go back to the wishing well, but there you go. Let's jump into the news.

[Jason Moore]

News and notes from around the league.

[Andy Holloway]

See, when you, when you say something like that around Jason, who's actually been in the comedy world with what the Groundlings and in college, he does. He doesn't even hear it. Something that bad. It just goes through.

[Jason Moore]

I enjoy Mike's reaction far more than the joke itself.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, guys, big news.

[Mike Wright]

Larry. Oh, Larry, Larry, Larry, Larry.

[Andy Holloway]

Larry Fitzgerald has told the Cardinals coach Steve Wilkes he will return for a 15th season in 2018 with the Cardinals. This is very exciting news. And as unabashed Cardinal fans, I wanted to express myself in the form of a Spanish radio call. Well, it's our show. Gabriel Trujillo.

[Jason Moore]

This is how I would be an announcer.

[Andy Holloway]

That is right. One more year of that.

[Mike Wright]

That was essentially my reaction when I got the alert that he was coming back.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. The fantasy implications here are that Larry Fitzgerald is going to be a great value yet again. Exactly. Year after year, we've had entire episodes dedicated to the undervalued guys who in.

[Andy Holloway]

The market receiver position now always finishing in the top 10 and being disrespectful.

[Jason Moore]

Right. Whenever you can be consecutively disrespected draft wise, over and over and over, you know, the Frank Gore effect. It's. Keep doing it. Keep drafting that guy who gets disrespected. And the truth is Larry Fitzgerald's coming back because he is very close to being the number two all time in receiving yards and decently close in number two for receptions, which he needs. 93 more receptions to take over the number two spot from Tony Gonzalez, which stands to reason that he's going to try to do that.

[Andy Holloway]

109 in 2015, 107 receptions in 2016. 109 last year.

[Jason Moore]

Right. So 94 plus in 2018 for sure. They will force feed him the ball as long as he stays healthy. To get that record.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, let's talk about A.J. mcCarron. He won his grievance against the Bengals. He will be a free agent.

[Mike Wright]

Unbelievable. To and also just be reminded there was a botched trade in the middle of the season between the Bengals and the Browns where the whispers in the bushes said or had the Browns sending a second and a third round pick to the Bengals for McCarron who is now a free agents.

[Andy Holloway]

It's yeah. Embarrassing for the Bengals not to be able to finish that trade up and get compensation. But A.J. mcCarron, he's the front runner to me to land on the Cleveland Browns with Hugh Jackson.

[Mike Wright]

He'll be a starter at the beginning of next year. Yeah, I believe.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. So that was big time news.

[Mike Wright]

I don't know that he's any good, but I think he will be a starter.

[Andy Holloway]

You know, he's the comparison I keep hearing is the Mike Glennon comparison even in money that he'll receive. The kind of deal that Mike Glennon got last year to come in and theoretically be the starter in Chicago before they drafted somebody. I don't think that the. The Browns are going to bring McCarron in and say you have our future.

[Mike Wright]

Right.

[Andy Holloway]

But competition, opportunity for them to bring McCarron in and compete. I mean what else do you do if you're McCarron?

[Mike Wright]

I can't imagine you go sign with the Cleveland Browns and not because just of the shambles that the franchise is in, but they have the number one and number four pick overall in the NFL draft. You think they're not going to take a quarterback? So I'm not.

[Andy Holloway]

Do you like him more for like the jets or the Bills?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, that works as a stopgap quarterback. I'm just saying if I'm AJ McCarron, I'm not going somewhere where I know I'm going to be immediately replaced.

[Jason Moore]

Planted. Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

So money talks, baby.

[Mike Wright]

Of course. And maybe that's his only option, maybe that's the only contract he receives. But I would expect if multiple teams are interested that McCarran will end up somewhere else.

[Andy Holloway]

The Seahawks do not plan to resign free agent Eddie Lacy.

[Jason Moore]

What?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

This is crazy.

[Andy Holloway]

Disappointed, Jason?

[Jason Moore]

No, I mean, you know, I'm worth. Overall, it is worth notating, you know, in your own brain. Couple years ago, Eddie Lacy was as hot a first round Dynasty pick as possible. He was coming off back to back.

[Andy Holloway]

We're reflecting then. Is that what we're doing?

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. I mean my. You know.

[Andy Holloway]

And now. Now what, Jason?

[Jason Moore]

You draft Eddie Lacy and Dynasty He's a great rookie. His sophomore season, just as good. You're talking double digit touchdowns. He's 24 years old. Cursory tale and then it's over. Eddie Lacy's career, fantasy wise is gone. You won't. He won't ever be relevant again. And this happens with running backs in a way that it does not happen with wide receivers. Barring injury.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, the Eagles plan to pick up Nelson Aguilar's fifth year option. This just makes sense. Right towards the. Heading out the door, we'll probably see Jeffrey Aguilar. Oh, Matt Collins.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. Return of the Mac for sure.

[Andy Holloway]

Nice return of the Mac.

[Jason Moore]

All right, last piece of news here. Update on Andy's article. The case for Camara not out. It is currently not out and I expect that it will be out soon before the season.

[Mike Wright]

I have seen.

[Jason Moore]

September 1st is my current.

[Mike Wright]

I have seen the rough draft.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, and by rough draft, can you.

[Andy Holloway]

Pass that along please?

[Mike Wright]

Rough draft, I mean that there has been one of those word webs created and it's just a big cloud in the middle says Camara and then there's like an arrow that points. It says touchdown heart.

[Jason Moore]

That's where we are all around.

[Andy Holloway]

That's where the article is when it comes out. It's going to be great. You remember that.

[Mike Wright]

I can't wait.

[Andy Holloway]

Remember that predictions article.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. September is going to be a great month. Coaching carousel.

[Mike Wright]

Man. What goes up must come down.

[Andy Holloway]

Mike, I.

[Mike Wright]

There is a.

[Andy Holloway]

There's a thin something about that drop I really just loved.

[Mike Wright]

There's a. There's a. There's a musical reference in there that I'm sure you two don't know. But that's all right.

[Andy Holloway]

Probably the case. I still enjoyed it very much. All right, let's look back. Let's look back a little bit at the coaching changes that took place last year and their result. Brief reflection and then we'll move to what took place this last offseason. I thought it was real. A couple things were pretty interesting. One I looked back at, you know, Brooks put these six coaches that took over last year. Sean McVay, Doug Marone, Sean McDermott, Anthony Lynn Vance, Joseph Kyle Shanahan as head coaches. Head coaches. Those are the six new head coaches last year. All but one improved on the previous coaches season and some by a lot obviously. Sean McVay, Doug Marone. Playoff teams after 3 and 13 and 4 and 12 years with Gus Bradley and Jeff Fisher. You did see improvement with Sean McDermott obviously. The bills made the playoffs replacing Rex Ryan. And Anthony Lynn and then you even had a big improvement for the Chargers, something we expected to see a bounce back after Mike McCoy and Kyle Shanahan.

[Jason Moore]

I believe you mean Jimmy Garoppolo from.

[Andy Holloway]

2 and 14 under Chip Kelly to 6 and 10. Now Gary Kubiak was 9 and 7 last year and Vance Joseph took over and went 5 and 11. And so he was the what the cheese that stood alone among that group. But I bring this up because coaching changes make a difference in the NFL. The head coach position, obviously it makes a huge impact. You see long term sustainable success from teams that can find a solution there. So that's what happened last year at the head coaching position and at the offensive coordinator position. Do you guys want to run back through these a little bit?

[Jason Moore]

Sure. Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

I mean we bring up the Kyle Shanahan, Steve Sarkeesian one all the time. So why don't put some numbers to that?

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, so you know, Kyle Shanahan left the great 2016 Atlanta offense and it wasn't just Kyle Shanahan. They also lost their quarterback, Coach LaFleur. And all of a sudden they went from, you know, eighth in yards to 15th in yards. They went from, you mean second in yards or.

[Mike Wright]

Yes, first in points, second in yards, down to 15th in points, eighth in yards.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I mean it was, it was a. We all saw a regression coming because of kind of the outlier nature of 2016. But it was.

[Mike Wright]

They went self imposed regression though.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, exactly.

[Mike Wright]

By bringing in Sarkeesian.

[Jason Moore]

They did. And you see that with several offensive coordinators this past year now sometimes like you know, the Kyle Shanahan effect when he goes to San Francisco, the team gets better. This is what we're going to take a look at today is which one is which changes that are being made. Do we expect to be positive and going to affect the offenses and the weapons of the fantasy output for the better? And which teams do we think maybe did not get the right guy or are, you know, purposely sometimes what's. It's the clearest picture to say. Okay, they have replaced their coaching regime. Look at Arizona for example. They have replaced an offensive minded coach with a defensive minded coach who comes in with a solid defense and he goes out and hires a don't screw it up offensive coordinator versus he hired.

[Mike Wright]

A coordinator who couldn't even make it through last year.

[Andy Holloway]

Jason will call him a middle of the pass type of guy.

[Jason Moore]

A middle of the pass type of guy.

[Mike Wright]

How about Mike McCoy?

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, so. And we'll talk specifically about each one of these but that's an example of where you can take a look and say this is not a team trying to, you know, have the number one offense. They're not trying. I mean everyone's trying to do better every play. But they want to succeed with defensive minded football. And we'll take a look change by change to tell you which teams are going to improve.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, you saw Nathaniel Hackett, monstrous improvement last year on the offensive side in Jacksonville. It's one part coach, it's one part personnel, it's one part organizational signings and things like that. Let's go ahead and let's just jump into the 2018 changes. By the way, last. I'm sorry, this year there have only been nine out of 32 teams that did not have a change at at least the head coach, offensive coordinator or defensive coordinator position. Just nine of 32 teams.

[Mike Wright]

That's a tough life.

[Andy Holloway]

It is. So you expect to bounce around and some of these guys that we'll talk about, like Greg Olson have bounced around a little bit. So I'm so curious to hear what you guys have to say about these changes and what you expect them to do to these offensive, you know, these fantasy pieces. So let's start in Arizona. Steve Wilkes is the new head coach of the Arizona Cardinals. Now Bruce Arians for many years, innovative offensive mind, willing to throw the ball down the field.

[Jason Moore]

No risk it. No biscuit. He would say.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Regardless of whether it was Carson Palmer or Drew Stanton. It didn't. What were you going to add another name?

[Mike Wright]

I was going to put in Ryan Lindley.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. So what does this mean? You bring in Steve Wilkes last year the defensive coordinator of the Carolina Panthers. Great defensive coordinator by the numbers last year. Third against the pass in terms of, I'm sorry, against the rush, against the run. I apologize against the run in terms of yards given up. But he's a defensive minded coach as you said. So you expect Arizona, their talent right now is on the defensive side of.

[Mike Wright]

The ball for a team, for the franchise of the Cardinals. This was I thought a good hire. They don't have a quarterback on the roster. What you do have is a top rated defense for the past few years. Keep that going with the defensive coach. That's why the hiring of Mike McCoy is so dissatisfying that they're going to have to, they're likely going to groom a rookie or maybe one of these older stopgap quarterbacks. But regardless of that, there will be a rookie that has to get groomed for Arizona. And Mike McCoy, he had success when he had a Hall of Fame quarterback. We've seen hall of Fame quarterbacks make a lot of poor coaches look great.

[Andy Holloway]

He also had a pretty good year one year as the head coach under with Philip Rivers, another possible hall of Fame quarterback.

[Mike Wright]

And he has, he had. In 2011, he had the number one rushing offense at 31st in passing. So I mean he at least seems like he tries to use the weapons that he has available to him. But it doesn't inspire me to really like the Arizona offense. Larry's still going to be undervalued and David Johnson is David Johnson, but other than that.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, that's what people want to know. David Johnson. Are you going to see the same David Johnson workload wise? Because Bruce Arians was unabashed in his willingness to give the ball to David Johnson as much as possible.

[Mike Wright]

I think we will, I think we'll see that. That the same workload but 16 rushing touchdowns. Can he come anywhere close to that? It wouldn't shock me to see eight rushing touchdowns. But he's. David Johnson will still be safe because he's one of the best pass catching running backs in the league. But it's, it's a very disappointing hire for me.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I would agree with nearly all of that. I mean you saw no Sean Moreno with McVeigh get a large workload once and, and you do have McCoy. Yes, with McCoy. And so you do have a history of that. But you've got the Arizona Cardinals 2015. They were second in the league in points scored 2016. That's the great David Johnson year. They were sixth in points scored this past season, 25th. And that, you know, in the 20s, maybe the teens is kind of where, where this offensive coordinator likes to live. That's unless you've got Peyton Manning. So I do expect that there is going to be a little bit of hardship for David Johnson scoring as many touchdowns as he did in 2016. Before we get to the next team, definitely want to thank today's sponsor, Squarespace. Squarespace is, I mean I get asked all the time because of my background. We used to run a different tech company and people are always asking about tech and websites and how do you, where should I go? Who should I hire? Listen, Squarespace is where you should go and you can do it yourself. We have proven to ourselves that when we build things ourselves and we don't outsource to other people, we're able to have more control. And Squarespace has these beautiful templates. There's never any patching or upgrading or Installing of stuff. It's all easy, it's all mobile ready right out of the box. It's all designed by really professional designers. You've got your idea or you've got your thoughts or even just a blog or maybe you want to sell products. Whatever it is, you could do it on Squarespace. So you can head to squarespace.com for a free trial. And hey, when you're ready to launch, use the offer code footballers to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. That's squarespace.com offer code is Footballers.

[Andy Holloway]

Also, we've been getting that love on Twitter from some of the World of Warships fans out there and we want to thank them. We want to thank World of Warships for sponsoring the podcast. And if you are looking for more ways to engage in a little friendly competition, everybody's got a phone and you have to try captaining some of the greatest warships of World War II in world of Warships, the free to play historical online combat game from War Gaming look. Endless hours of strategy, tactical gameplay, pulse pounding naval combat. It's a balance, right between action and strategy. Kind of like sports. And I know we can all get excited about that. And right now you can download World of Warships for [e-mail] to begin your naval adventure. Make sure you enter the code Footballers18. All caps in all caps, none of them lowercase.

[Jason Moore]

Well, all caps.

[Mike Wright]

So you can be a captain.

[Andy Holloway]

That's right. So you can download and then you get some bonus stuff if you use that code courtesy of the fancy footballers, including a premium ship pile of in game currency. To start your adventure, download World of warships [e-mail] and start playing right now. All right, let's talk about Matt Nagy, because I can already. Look, I can already hear it. The Hype Train. Apologies to those of you driving. We tried to turn it down a little bit today. There is not a train barreling down on us.

[Jason Moore]

Turn it up.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, you actually did. And look, there's no train barreling down on you on the road. But the hype train is alive and active when it comes to Matt Nagy. And you're going to hear all of the comparisons because we saw last year the impact that one big change can make, not only on a team's record, going from four and 12 under Jeff Fisher to 11 and five under Sean McVay, but on a forlorn quarterback, a potential bust that was the label for Jared Goff. Now, you're not really, you don't really have that label under Mitch Trubisky, he didn't throw the ball enough to even to show you bus level performances, but he didn't have an amazing year. But this was an antiquated offense. And now you bring in Matt Nagy, the offensive coordinator for Kansas City, and you're going to hear the Goff to Trubisky comparisons. You're going to wonder what this means for Jordan Howard, Tariq Cohen, whomever they seem they find in free agency. I expect them to at least make one splash. Wide receiver signing. Mike, let's start with you, Matt Nagy. What's your excitement level?

[Jason Moore]

Love it.

[Mike Wright]

Hopefully Trubisky can show something in this upcoming year. But Matt Nagy, he's from the Andy Reid coaching tree. We've seen many success stories come from that coaching tree. And Nagy was actually allowed to call plays from under Andy Reid as the offensive coordinator. In his six games calling plays, the Chiefs averaged 27 points, 270 passing, 275 passing yards, 122 rushing yards. The game the previous six games before Nagy took over, they were averaging just 76 rushing yards a game. Nagy came in, things really came alive. That's when the Kareem Hunt owners became pleased again that they had held on to Kareem and he had that sensational playoff run. So I believe in Matt Nagy. I like this hire. Jordan Howard has been an absolute beast. And now if they can get a functioning offense that is not just Jordan Howard surrounding him and he has more of an opportunity to get some carries, to get some touchdowns. I like this a lot for the Chicago Bears.

[Andy Holloway]

I think a lot of. Sorry, Jason, I was just going to say Jordan Howard went from 252 carries in 2016 to 276 carries last year.

[Jason Moore]

Didn't feel like it.

[Andy Holloway]

That's a lot.

[Jason Moore]

Some of those touchdowns ran for 200 fewer yards. A little bit missing.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

I mean, when you have the coaching tree that Andy Reid has, you always respect someone coming from that. But then you have Andy Reid going out of his way to say that he believes that he is the most qualified head coaching candidate he has ever seen come from, from his house that says, you know, look, this guy.

[Mike Wright]

Roommates.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, yeah, exactly. I really like it. My biggest worry was the offensive coordinator higher, which is Mark Helfrich. He was the head coach for Oregon and had, you know, great offense there, but he has no NFL experience. You know, he was a Fox analyst in 2017. So he's kind of out of the coaching sphere for a year. But it's official that Matt Nagy is going to be calling the plays. So I actually like kind of this college schemer coming in, helping with game plans, helping assist, but then giving the play calling duties to the head coach who is an offensive minded guy. That's it reminds, you know, you again of that Los Angeles Rams situation we saw this last year. Very similar stuff happened. So I think that that will, that will help Helfrick, you know, ease into the NFL. I'm actually excited to see what the schemes will be. I don't think they're going to go, you know, spread, but it'll be a fun team. I Give this an 8 out of 10 on the coaching upgrade.

[Mike Wright]

Very nice.

[Andy Holloway]

An A out of 10.

[Jason Moore]

Yes. An A out of 10.

[Andy Holloway]

Matt Patricia, the new hire. Brooks Brooks Sprint in my show. Doc formerly known as Gimli.

[Jason Moore]

No, currently my ax right now it's like Gimlet.

[Andy Holloway]

Why?

[Jason Moore]

You know, as the hair grows back.

[Andy Holloway]

Out, it'll become Gimlitt disappointment that was. But Matt Patricia, I'll try to get behind this higher look, he's a defensive. He was the defensive coordinator for New England since 2012. Tons of great finishes in that span, especially when it comes to bend, don't break type of defense. Look, they had problems last year in terms of giving up yards but points fifth in the league on the defensive side. But we're not focused on the defensive side here. We're focused on how this will impact the Detroit Lions offensive pieces. And the truth is not that much. I don't think because you have Jim Bob Cooter that right now is going to stay in that role. The biggest problem that Detroit has is running the football and whether they can find somebody that can do that. And I don't think Matt Patricia is going to work himself into that equation other than personnel decisions. So they need a running back through free agency or the draft. But I don't think you're going to see a lot of different, anything different from Mr. Matthew Stafford.

[Mike Wright]

I agree. I think I like it. I think Matt Patricia has earned his way to be a head coach and if he can improve the defense for Detroit, I think that only helps the offense. Look what happened with Jacksonville this past year. Their defense became elite and then all of a sudden their offense is actually functional as a, as part of a byproduct of that. So I like the move for the Lions.

[Jason Moore]

It doesn't really touch fantasy much because it's more on the defense and there's very few you Know, over the last five years, very few situations where a new head coach comes in and keeps the offensive coordinator intact. So you can't really extrapolate too much out of the data. It hasn't always worked out well, but this is the same exact offense, same player, same personnel. I'm absolutely confident with Detroit going forward.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, Indianapolis. The Chuck Pagano era is over.

[Mike Wright]

Frank Reich, Josh McDaniel era is over.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, Frank Reich is taking over as the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts. He was the offensive coordinator for Philadelphia last season when they had obviously a banner year on offense. You know, Chuck Pagano represented everything that Jeff Fisher, John Fox, that type of coach represented, which was just not a lot of creativity you obviously had. You can't blame him for losing Andrew Luck. That makes you a much better looking coach when you have that kind of a quarterback. But what is your thought about Frank Reich, the hired Indianapolis, the impact on Luck Hilton and whether this offense can become what it used to be, which is something you enjoyed watching and you had plenty of fantasy points falling out of the sky from.

[Jason Moore]

I really like Reich quite a bit. Once again, he's expected to be the guy calling plays. Now, he did not call the plays last year in Philadelphia, so this will be his first time calling plays as an NFL head coach, you know, but he proved himself last year. If you look at his past, he's gone to a spot and you know, it's taken him two years to get his offense completely implemented. But each time that second year is great. So I don't know if they get off to a slow start this year, especially with Andrew Luck. How soon is he back? You know, I'm a little hesitant to just say, hey, this is great, but I do like Reich. I think long term it'll be great. And the truth is we said this a couple episodes ago, Frank Reich will be as good as Andrew Luck is healthy and I mean, it's just not fair. But it's true.

[Andy Holloway]

There's a lot of other needs there on that team and you're in a tough division too. I, you know, with Andrew Luck back, do you see them ahead of a desean Watson led Texans? Do you see them ahead of a defending, you know, champion Jacksonville Jaguars? Do you see them ahead of Tennessee with their coaching changes in the way that they played last year?

[Mike Wright]

No, that's where I, that's why I'm.

[Andy Holloway]

Kind of with Jason where between Andrew Luck coming back from the health instability on the offensive line, in the running back position on defense, it could be a tough Year record wise, I think for. Right.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, it certainly could.

[Jason Moore]

You have.

[Mike Wright]

See, I'm just okay with it. He's. He's kind of led some offenses. Middle of the pack. Aside from last year, which was a monster season, he did. He was the OC for the Chargers and saw Philip Rivers lead the league in completions and attempts in 2015. Granted, the team was 4 and 12 and frequently trailing, so I'm not going to overread into those statistics.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I just kind of like the guy as a. As a man. Seems very calm, cool, collected, even. Keel, you know, some great backstory on him, even going back to when he was a player. So I. Yeah, I think it'll be slow starting this year. I do. But long term, I think he could be a very good coach for Indianapolis.

[Andy Holloway]

All right. Pat Shermer, the new head coach of the New York Giants with new offensive coordinator Mike Shula of previous Carolina Panther fame, now fired. Long term. You know, offensive coordinator Mike Shula in Tampa. And then Carolina had the monster year in 2015 where they were number one in the league in points. But every other year for Mike Shula, his offenses were pretty much in the bottom half of the league. What do you think of these two hires? Pat Shermer obviously had the stint as a head coach in Cleveland. Didn't really have an opportunity after that, but. What do you think about this?

[Mike Wright]

I like the Pat Schumer.

[Andy Holloway]

Is this more liking Pat Schumer or liking the fact that Ben McAdoo is not there and we get a refresh?

[Mike Wright]

Maybe that as well, but just. He was part of a very triumphant turnaround for the Minnesota Vikings. I mean, they were close to top 10 in both rushing and passing. An overall great team. He was the OC for Chip Kelly. I mean, I like the innovative play calling that I've seen so far for Pat Schumer. So getting Odell Beckham in there and adding some other talent at the wide receiver position, I think that it's. It's a pretty exciting hire, mostly because it's. You have an offensive mind heading up the New York Giants, so. I really like it.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I do, too. And I'm going to say something that I think will surprise a lot of people listening and you two sitting here as well. I love the hire of Mike Shula. The more that I looked into this. I love the hire of Mike Shula and here's why. I saw this study. I wish I remember where I saw it. I could give credit, but there was a study done on Mike Shula saying that they. Great play design, very poor play calling. And so they went and they looked at all of the first 15 plays of every game. Basically those scripted, you know, most teams come in, you script those first couple plays. And then after that, taking a look at how the, you know, the second half play calling and situational play calling and the difference between where he was a great play designer but a terrible situational play caller. Those are two completely different skill sets.

[Andy Holloway]

I agree.

[Jason Moore]

But with, I mean, he had to.

[Andy Holloway]

Shermer's calling plays. Exactly. Shermer's calling the plays.

[Jason Moore]

Calling the plays. You have an offensive minded coach who now gets an offensive designer for these plays. Previously for the Panthers, you had a defensive minded head coach and Mike Shula had to do kind of all the offense. And I don't think that's his gig. I, I would not like Mike Shula to be hired as an offensive coordinator who has to call the plays again. Okay, we saw that fizzle up, but I think this is a really smart hire by Pat Sherman. I'm excited to see what the Giants do.

[Andy Holloway]

Very interesting Giants fans listening right now. They are hooting and hollering. They're very excited about that. Take Jason Sweet. And when you say that, I'm going to say something that you guys aren't going to expect. Literally the entire gamut of the human language could come out of your mouth. So I was on pins and needles.

[Jason Moore]

Most parents just covered their children's ears, including your wife.

[Andy Holloway]

Your wife does that at home. Kids, I'm gonna tell you something that's gonna blow your mind.

[Jason Moore]

My wife doesn't listen to this show.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, all right. Let's get into a highly contested debate. Sweet or not, let's talk about Jon Gruden. Jack Del Rio, whom I still adore. He just wasn't good enough, Mike. He was no Monday Night Football broadcaster. And John Gruden has been hired as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders. Has not coached an NFL team since 2008 when I was in my 20s. And here we are. Long record for Jon Gruden in the NFL. And I think there are a lot of things we can talk about fundamentally as a fantasy owner, you're looking for the maturity and fantasy value of Derek Carr, whomever is the running back there, which we don't know if it's going to be Marshawn lynch, we don't know if it's going to be Jalen Richard or a rookie. And then you look at Amari Cooper, Michael Crabtree, things seem. Seem rumor mill to Be bending back towards Michael Crabtree, not leaving.

[Mike Wright]

I appreciate that, Gruden. Thank you.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, your Dynasty team appreciates that because Crabtree is better there than anywhere else. So what's your take? Give me the Jon Gruden take. Mike, just looking at you, it's like you had a bad piece of meat.

[Mike Wright]

It's just difficult when there are. Every year there are new minds entering the football space, people innovating. And the NFL just continues to cherish, cherish and treasure the days of old. When Jon Gruden won a Super bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he finished with a record of 57 and 55. So this is 55. Sorry, but it's. He didn't just go out on top with a man who has a career win percentage of.800.

[Andy Holloway]

He.

[Mike Wright]

And he won with defense. Right. His offenses in Tampa Bay were bleh. And you had one year where he had the number 10 offense. The other years, other six years, averaged out 21. That's not exciting for fantasy football. And the fact that he has brought in Greg Olson. How does Greg Olson keep getting a job?

[Jason Moore]

I genuinely believe that part of this has to be the success of hall of Fame tight end Greg Olson. And people think they're getting someone with great name recognition because Greg Olson is with an. Oh, Greg also on is bad. He has. He's already been the offensive coordinator for five different NFL teams. 15% of the league have had him as their offensive coordinator. And you want to know where he's been? Good. Nowhere. He has stunk. Three years ago, guess where he was the offensive coordinator. Oakland, with Derek Carr, granted his rookie year. But he was. We've already seen this. I mean, look.

[Andy Holloway]

Look at this. A couple of rotten tomatoes score on this.

[Jason Moore]

Rotten tomatoes scores 1% and I give it 1% because of hall of Fame tight end Greg Olson. Otherwise it would be a zero. When he was there three years ago, they finished 32nd, you know, in yards, 31st in points, 32nd in rushing attempts, 32nd in rushing yards, 32nd in rushing touchdowns. At least they were fourth in passing attempts, but you would never know that because they were 26th in passing yards. I mean, Greg Olson is not a good offensive coordinator. So I do worry here, because we. Look, we saw Gruden with Tampa not lead good offenses because he had a great defense, but with Rich Gannon and Oakland, he did have great offenses. I don't think.

[Andy Holloway]

You mean back when I graduated high school.

[Jason Moore]

I don't think Derek Carr, forgive me, Oakland fans, I don't think he's Rich Grant, Rich Gannon. I don't think. I think Carr might be more akin to, you know, the Red Rifle to an Andy Dalton level guy, despite the fact that he was Pro bowl this, this past season, which is mind blowing.

[Andy Holloway]

Which one?

[Jason Moore]

Derek Carr.

[Andy Holloway]

So this is why I think Kirk Cousins wants to go to the afc, by the way.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Because Derek Carr was a Pro Bowler. My Big Ben and Brady.

[Jason Moore]

I hope that the Oakland Raiders are great because I actually like Gruden. I want him to come in after these years off as an innovator. I want to see some cool new designs. He has the mind for it. He has the capabilities for it. I hope that happens. I don't think that's going to happen.

[Andy Holloway]

Do we have any modern day example of the large coaching gap and then the return with success?

[Jason Moore]

I don't think so, no.

[Andy Holloway]

I mean, Mike Shanahan came back to Washington and I don't remember his records there. It wasn't great success.

[Jason Moore]

Part was missing. It was.

[Mike Wright]

Okay.

[Andy Holloway]

You have, you have a lot of these cases where a coach was fired previously and came back and then was good. Right. But they didn't come back with the lore like Bill Belichick, Tony Dungy, Tom Coughlin, Pete Carroll. Those were all head coaches that were fired at one point in time and then came back. But they weren't like esteemed, you know, super bowl champs that then came back and dominated. Although I'm going to give Tom Coughlin a little credit for what he did in Jacksonville this year.

[Mike Wright]

Okay.

[Andy Holloway]

But not on the sideline, so.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, did Jacksonville's offense get better this year?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, it did, actually.

[Jason Moore]

You want to know who their offensive coordinator was the year before? Greg Olson.

[Andy Holloway]

Maybe he signed a contract with the NFL and they just have to distribute him among teams.

[Mike Wright]

I am currently researching who his agent is. Yeah, I want him because I'm, I'm signing on right now. I don't care if it's a 5050 split. That guy's going to get me paid.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. Greg Olson was the offensive coordinator in Tampa with Gruden, so there's that connection here. But those are again, the years where.

[Andy Holloway]

The good old days were deep.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, they were defensive minded, defensive led. I mean, I brought this stat up to Andy. He wasn't that impressed. I thought it was crazy. But he brought up a good point. They were a defensive focused team. But his last seven years with Tampa, Gruden, seven consecutive years, the better part of a decade, not one time did they finish in the top half for points scored in the league.

[Andy Holloway]

They did win a Super bowl, though.

[Jason Moore]

Yes, they did.

[Andy Holloway]

Defense okay. Yeah. It's going to be very interesting. I'm happy he's coaching. I'm happy, happy for the story, the narrative, the thread through the NFL season, getting to watch Jon Gruden on the sideline. He should put on. He should. Whenever he's on Monday Night Football as the head coach. He should also commentate the game. He should do both from the side.

[Jason Moore]

I still want the quarterback camp, whatever he does.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, you want him to do that?

[Mike Wright]

Spider2y banana.

[Jason Moore]

I love Jon Gruden. I mean, I know this is a foot.

[Mike Wright]

What A foot ball.

[Jason Moore]

Good.

[Andy Holloway]

You're a quarter. What? Quarter back. All right. Mike Vrabel is the new head coach of the Tennessee Titans. It's a great follow up to Oakland because in some ways, these are the polar opposite hires.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

And I'm not sure that the best hire isn't somewhere in between or maybe slightly less green than Mike Vrabel. But he is the new head coach of the Tennessee Titans, Mike Malarkey, despite the playoff appearance. See you later. Greener pastures with Mike Variable was the defensive coordinator for Houston last year. Wasn't real good. Maybe they saw those, maybe they saw those numbers and said, you know what? You'd be a better head coach. We'll put you responsible for, not the defense and the offense. I, I'm kind of confused by the hire because I think most people are really, really excited and maybe they're more excited about Matt LaFleur.

[Mike Wright]

I am excited for Matt LaFleur.

[Andy Holloway]

That's the best new offensive coordinator for the Tennessee Heights.

[Mike Wright]

The best thing that Vrabel has done is brought in Matt LaFleur. If you're not aware of who he is, he was the Rams offensive coordinator. So you may think, well, that's kind of strange that the. He was the Rams OC and he just made a completely lateral move to be the Titans oc. But that's because he was in the shadow of Sean McVeigh. He wasn't calling plays. Is that Sean McVay's team in their offense? So it's actually kind of a step up in the career of LaFleur. But coming from the McVeigh coaching tree, I love it. We've seen Sean McVay's offense be incredibly successful now in two different spots in Washington with Kirk Cousins and in LA with Jared Goff. Matt LeFou was the quarterback coach in Atlanta from 2015 to 2016. He was under consideration to be the OC for Atlanta when Kyle Shanahan left. They went a different direction. So I am very excited to see what Matt LaFleur can do if he brings over Sean McVeigh's system with Mario to get Mario to out of the garbage of last year.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. And this is the. I'm not buying into the Matt Nagy Chicago narrative. I'm buying into the Matt LaFleur Titans narrative.

[Mike Wright]

All right.

[Andy Holloway]

Where you have an established quarterback who has played at an elite level on a playoff team with weapons like Corey Davis, and now you bring in better play calling and somebody that can shape the decision making process for Matt Marcus Mariota. This is one of the few moves that makes me literally move Mariota up my rankings.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, certainly.

[Andy Holloway]

I mean, I mean, that's what you care about here on this show.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. Matt LaFleur, or as I like to call him, Peter LaFleur from Dodgeball. If I think that, you know, he's been a quarterback's coach, he comes in and, you know, has an opportunity with a lot of tools. The only thing we haven't seen out of him yet is play calling. But I can't imagine it's going to be much worse than it was last year in Tennessee. So this is an arrow pointing up when you're talking fantasy weapons in Tennessee. I like. I like them to outperform the 2017 numbers in 2018.

[Andy Holloway]

It gives you some hope as a fantasy owner. You want to hope for Corey Davis, you want to hope for Derek Henry and whomever else is in that backfield. If you just came back with Malarkey, you would get the same. You would get more of the same.

[Jason Moore]

LaFleur and DeFilippo were the two guys that. I was really curious where those two guys were going, and they both landed offensive coordinator roles. We'll get to defilippo in a little bit.

[Andy Holloway]

All right. Yeah, we're going to jump right into offensive coordinators. Those were the seven head coaches that changed. Like I said, last year, I believe it was six. And this year we've got some offensive coordinator changes in Buffalo. This one's. This one's interesting. Brian Debaul, who. Rick Dennison was fired. And here we have the offensive coordinator for the University of Alabama coming into Buffalo to try to revamp and improve an offense that two years ago was 10th in the league in points under Tyrod Taylor. Last year was struggling.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. Being 10th a team led to being in top 10 in points is something that Brian Duball has never done. He. In fact, his teams are generally in the low 20s when it comes to offensive yardage. The only thing that is somewhat redeeming here for fantasy owners is he does run the ball. He's been in the top six. He's been in OC four times and he was in the top six for rushing attempts three of four years. So Shaney McCoy will still be fed. Do not have concerns about that.

[Andy Holloway]

Good.

[Mike Wright]

You would hope that they get, get McCoy back into running out of the shotgun after refusing to do it last year. But overall, this is a, this is one of those uninspiring hires.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I mean, this is a hire. Again, this isn't fantasy football. This is for a defensive minded head coach.

[Andy Holloway]

Everything's a fantasy football. Jason.

[Jason Moore]

I know who's wanting to run the ball and win with defense. So yeah, I mean, this is an arrow pointing down situation where I don't look at the Buffalo weapons and think, hey, maybe Kelvin Benjamin will be a great value.

[Andy Holloway]

We don't even know the quarterback.

[Jason Moore]

Exactly. So right now, yeah, this is uninspiring for fantasy purposes. Maybe he's exactly what Buffalo needs to win games with the players they have.

[Andy Holloway]

What do we make of Norv Turner anymore? Guys? Carolina, the new offensive coordinator is Norv Turner. Mike Shula fired. He had last quit the Vikings offensive coordinator job in 2016. I remember all the preseason, you know, Norv Turner, hype train. Every tight end he has is going to be the next Antonio Gates from the great San Diego days. Are you, are you excited about this?

[Mike Wright]

No.

[Andy Holloway]

Are you shrugging this one off? I mean, what, what are you really hoping for here?

[Jason Moore]

I think it's, I think it's a good move for Carolina. You know, we just talked about Mike Shula a little bit ago, the former offensive coordinator. I think he struggled with having to call plays. Nora Turner is a, is a good offensive coordinator that can call the plays, design the plays, do the whole thing. Do I think he's the guy that's going to come in here and turn Carolina around and be a top five offense? No. But I do think he tailors his offense to his players. He is a very capable offensive coordinator, a very capable play caller. He's a little old school.

[Andy Holloway]

He's a little old, definitely that he's older than Jeff Fisher, Chuck Pagano, Bruce Arians or John Fox.

[Jason Moore]

And when you look at his 65 coaching history, Social Security, it's oh, he's double dipping, man.

[Mike Wright]

Arp.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh yeah, you don't know Norv Turner. You don't know Arp.

[Jason Moore]

But I think for Carolina, for their team, that is, you know, a defensive Minded, but has a lot of weapons on offense. He's come out. He said he wants to design runs for Cam Newton and, you know, utilize that, which I think is what you need to do. So I like it. I think, you know, if you have to compare when I'm just trying to say, do I think, you know, the offense as a whole is going to be better, worse or the same as last season? I lean slightly better.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay.

[Jason Moore]

All right.

[Andy Holloway]

I want to see Christian McCaffrey take a next step.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I can hear that.

[Andy Holloway]

Todd Haley moving in division, moving on down from that one.

[Mike Wright]

Got a Brooks.

[Andy Holloway]

An audible laugh from Brooks out loud.

[Mike Wright]

Wow.

[Jason Moore]

He hopped on that fire pole. He went straight to Cleveland.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm sure he wanted to stay in the division and try to pay it back to Pittsburgh.

[Jason Moore]

I'll get you Pittsburgh.

[Andy Holloway]

Good luck. Look, he's. Todd Haley's an interesting case because he's now the. Look, it's a good hire for Cleveland. No doubt about it.

[Jason Moore]

It is.

[Andy Holloway]

Haley had great success in Arizona. He had great success in Pittsburgh. And his offense is yardage wise. I mean, 20, 14, 15, 16, 17, all top 10. Three of the four years of the top three in yardage. I mean, he, he butts heads with players. I can think back to the Dwayne Bowe days. I can think back to even Larry Fitzgerald, who, much more mature than Dwayne Bowe, eventually learned from Haley and became a better player. Dwayne Bowe was driven out of the league by him. So it takes a certain person, I think, to work well with Haley. And honestly, I think it doesn't hurt that they'll have a young quarterback there, because a young quarterback, there's less of the I do it my way, you do it your way situation that you have and maybe developed with Big Ben and Todd Haley. Despite their success, there was still that butting of heads. So I think it's a great hire for Cleveland. Ultimately, you want to have some confidence in the scheme that's taking place, whomever the quarterback is. You've got Josh Gordon, Corey Coleman, Duke Johnson and Tom.

[Mike Wright]

They're great pieces.

[Andy Holloway]

They do.

[Mike Wright]

Great skill players there.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. I mean, the truth is the arrow is pointing way up on the offensive options for Cleveland because he's going to come in and whether the players like him or not and whether the scheme is difficult or not, he's going to be calling the plays. He is a very. I think he's a much better play caller. Well, definitely than Hugh Jackson or, you know, what the Cleveland Browns have had to deal with the last couple years.

[Mike Wright]

And that'll help.

[Jason Moore]

I mean, plain and simple.

[Mike Wright]

Yep.

[Andy Holloway]

All right. We're going to go rapid round with these remaining offensive coordinator hires. I want to get your take. Eric Bien Ami promoted from the running backs coach to the offensive coordinator position in Kansas City with Matt Nagy leaving.

[Jason Moore]

I trust Andy Reid. Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

This is what it is.

[Mike Wright]

It's the Andy Reid coaching tree. And you have the, you have the.

[Andy Holloway]

Fallback of if he's not what they want, Reed could just call plays again.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, well, I imagine that Reed will call the plays, but what I like is that it's the running back coach. And maybe someone can remind Andy Reed, hey, you have a great running back. Let's make sure that he gets some touches.

[Andy Holloway]

All Kareem Hunt owners or say if.

[Mike Wright]

It'S not just Kareem Hunt, it's Jamal Charles was there too. And someone needed to remind Andy. You have Jamal Charles. Don't forget.

[Andy Holloway]

All right. Miami Dwell Lagaines. This is the one. This is the head scratcher of all head scratchers.

[Jason Moore]

So he knew Adam Gase from when they. He was the quarterbacks coach. When Adam Gase was the head coach in Chicago. Yep. And that's how he got hired.

[Andy Holloway]

That's all there is, folks.

[Jason Moore]

I mean, is it worse than what they had last year? I don't, I don't know. I mean, I don't think they had a really great offensive coordinator there.

[Andy Holloway]

So Chicago was 30 yards, 29th in points.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, it's a loud.

[Andy Holloway]

At least there's no like overt reason to be optimistic about this hire.

[Jason Moore]

Unlike with John DeFilippo in Minnesota.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, let's talk about that hire. You're excited.

[Jason Moore]

I am. I think he is excellent. Now Minnesota's offense was already great. Minnesota is a defensive minded team. So I expect this to be kind of lateral. We're going to see more of the same for Minnesota next year. It's not a step up because they're. They don't want to step their offense up and become an offensive first team. But I really think John DeFilippo is a great football mind and he's going to succeed. He's such a grinder.

[Andy Holloway]

All right. Yeah, he was the Eagles quarterback coach last year. Big impact in Carson Wentz. Jeremy Bates, new offensive coordinator from the. For the New York Jets.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

And he was their quarterback coach. He was actually out of football from 2013 to 2016. Just sabbatical.

[Andy Holloway]

Hiatus.

[Mike Wright]

Just taking some time off. Powering up now to Jeremy Bates credits. We saw Josh McCown because he was the quarterback coach for the jets. We saw Josh McCown playing the best football of his career, aside from those magical games with the Chicago Bears. So maybe there's something there. There are some. Some jets fans who are in the foot clan who keeps telling me that Jeremy Bates is the reason that Kirk Cousins will be coming to New York. So we shall see.

[Andy Holloway]

All right. Not inspiring to me. Brian Schottenheimer hired as the offensive coordinator in Seattle. Darrell Bevel fired. Darrell Bevel has been interviewed several places for a role on an offense. Was well respected. Brian Schottenheimer is responsible for what the buff fumble. We got the butt fumble in his resume. Yeah, if you're. I know, I know. But let's. Let's talk about Brian Schottenheimer. He ran the ball and they ran the ball a lot in New York. This was a product of Rex Ryan's type of offense, though. Do we really believe Brian Schottenheimer is the man to make Russell Wilson all that he can be?

[Jason Moore]

No.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, that. That's what I'm. That's what I'm talking about.

[Jason Moore]

No, I mean, I just don't think he. He's been around a long time. I realize he's been on more of the defensive oriented teams, you know, like you said with the jets, but he's been around a long time. He has never once had a team with top 10 yards on offense. As an offensive coordinator, we're talking basically a decade of offensive coordinating and not one time has he just been basically in yards.

[Mike Wright]

Am I misreading that? They were fifth and sixth on the jets in 2009 and 2010.

[Jason Moore]

You are misreading. I believe 2009 and 2010, they were 20th and 11th.

[Andy Holloway]

That's what I have too, Mike.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, okay.

[Jason Moore]

That was a freaking.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

All right. And then Todd Haley leaving to Cleveland, you get Randy Feetner. Randy Feetner, the new offensive coordinator in Pittsburgh.

[Jason Moore]

This is what I wanted Atlanta to do when Kyle Shanahan left, take their quarterback coach.

[Andy Holloway]

Big Ben is the new offensive coordinator in Pittsburgh.

[Jason Moore]

Right. Their offense was already great. Atlanta was. So don't change things. Just promote the quarterback's coach. Keep it going. That's what Pittsburgh has done. I think it's the best move they.

[Mike Wright]

Could make when he's an offensive mind. He was the OC for Memphis from 2001 to 2006 and he's kind of. He brought a really high flying, high powered, very fast moving offense to that team. You want to brighten things for college. So I like this move.

[Jason Moore]

And according to some of the reporters, what happened is he came in and he was wanting to go more, no huddle, faster tempo, and it took about half the season before he got his way last year with Pittsburgh and you saw the struggles early with Big Ben. So there's plenty of reasons to hope. That being said, when you lose your offensive coordinator, a great offensive mind with Todd Haley, I don't think that's going to help your team.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I think this is one of those cases, though, where I do lean on the side of you're going to get more of the same from that offense. They're going to be just fine. Hopefully maturation of juju and such. All right, hey, that is it for the Coaching Carousel episode. Thank you for joining us. And a reminder, if you're looking for more ways to engage in a little friendly competition, try captaining some of the greatest warships of World War II and World of Warships, the free to play historical online combat game from Wargaming. Download World of Warships for free [e-mail] to begin your naval adventure. Make sure you use that promo code Footballers18 in all caps when you download to get a bunch of bonus content courtesy of the show and that includes a free premium ship, the famous Aurora cruiser, and a pile of in game currency. Just download World of warships [e-mail] and start playing right now. Guys, I'm very excited for Thursday and the Thursday episode. It's going to be a lot of fun. That's all I'm going to say.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, okay.

[Andy Holloway]

You don't get anything else.

[Mike Wright]

All right.

[Andy Holloway]

And thanks for joining us.

[Mike Wright]

And check out draft.comballers if you want to play some way too early basketball.

[Andy Holloway]

Because it's super duper fun way perfectly early.

[Jason Moore]

Goodbye. Thank you for listening to another episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast. Join our fantasy football community on Join the foot. Com and follow us on Twitter at theffballers.