NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Generally, too much can be made of whether a new NFL head coach is an offensive or defensive guy.
The game dictates you are raised on one side. But if you’ve got an expertise on defense, you understand offenses because you are trying to stop them. And if you’ve got an expertise on offense, you understand defenses because you are trying to beat them.
Two of the coaches still at work are defensive guys – Bill Belichick and Mike Zimmer. Two are offensive guys – Doug Marrone and Doug Pederson.
Of coaches currently in the league who’ve won a Super Bowl, Belichick, Mike Tomlin and Pete Carroll are defensive while Jon Gruden, Mike McCarthy, Sean Payton are offensive. John Harbaugh was a special teams guy who spent some time coaching defensive backs.
It can work anyway with the right guy.
My radio colleague from The Midday 180, Jonathan Hutton, pointed out one big reason it would be an advantage for the Titans to have an offensive head coach.
If the Titans hire Mike Vrabel or Steve Wilks or another defensive guy, he will have to hire a high-quality offensive coordinator.
And if that coordinator does great work with Marcus Mariota, in two years he will be a hot commodity for a team looking for a head coach who can develop a quarterback. The Vrabel or Wilks or whoever would be searching for a coordinator again.
Hire a top offensive guy as your head coach and while he may lose his coordinator or quarterback coach, he’d stay in place if Mariota is having success.
And that would bring more stability to the Titans most important guy as Mariota gets his third head coach and fourth play-caller heading into just his fourth season.
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