When Dan Quinn could finally accept the Atlanta Falcons' head-coaching job after Super Bowl XLIX, there were no more NFL vacancies.
With the coaching carousel stopped (unless we get an unexpected firing this offseason), it's time to take a look at the seven teams that made a change, and figure out which team made the best hire. We're not just looking at the coach himself, but also if the team improved itself by firing its old coach and bringing in new blood:
7. Jim Tomsula, San Francisco 49ers
Tomsula might be the next Don Shula; I have no idea. But what we know now is this: The 49ers ran off Jim Harbaugh, who has been incredibly successful at every stop and a top 5 NFL coach, top 10 at worst. And they replaced him with a defensive line coach who has been a NFL head coach for one game, as an interim. There’s a lot to live up to there.
6. Jack Del Rio, Oakland Raiders
I felt bad for the Raiders fans when the “Jon Gruden will take the Raiders job! No, it’ll be Jim Harbaugh!” madness was happening. That was not realistic, but good job by their agents parlaying that into a lot of money for their clients. What the Raiders did get is a solid coach with a good reputation as a coordinator and some head-coaching experience (68-71 with the Jacksonville Jaguars, who have cratered since he was fired), and most importantly – Del Rio wanted the job. I’m not sure this was a grand slam hire or anything, but it was probably as good as the Raiders could have done.
5. Dan Quinn, Atlanta Falcons
I’m always a bit leery of just taking the coordinator from the top unit. It’s probably unfair to Quinn, but it’s also fair to wonder how he’ll do without Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor, Bobby Wagner, Michael Bennett, K.J. Wright, Cliff Avril … you get the idea. His players love him, he came off very well during Super Bowl week, and he was a hot name. We’ll see if Atlanta made the right hire.
4. Gary Kubiak, Denver Broncos
It was hard to pick between Kubiak and Fox. Fox has had better success, but how much of that was due to John Elway landing Peyton Manning? Kubiak has been a tremendous coordinator through the years, and was a solid head coach in Houston. But we have to factor in if the move was an upgrade, and well, was it?
3. John Fox, Chicago Bears
While Fox had a ton of success with Manning, he also won division titles with Jake Delhomme and Tim Tebow at quarterback. So maybe he’s better suited to win with an average quarterback like Jay Cutler than we generally give him credit for. He could end up being a great hire if he fixes the Bears defense, but that might take a miracle.
2. Todd Bowles, New York Jets
I’m ranking Bowles ahead of two guys who have won 180 games between them as NFL head coaches. This is a bit of blind faith, but I believe. Bruce Arians got a lot of credit for the Cardinals’ success, and rightfully so, but what about the defensive coordinator who lost Darnell Dockett to injury, John Abraham to retirement, Daryl Washington to suspension and Karlos Dansby to free agency and kept rolling right along? His schemes are very creative, he has a dynamic personality – I just think he’s going to be a very good head coach.
1. Rex Ryan, Buffalo Bills
I give Ryan the top spot for two reasons: I think Ryan is a heck of a coach, and Buffalo wasn’t the easiest sell. The Bills have no quarterback (prove me wrong, EJ Manuel!) and haven’t been to the playoffs this century. If you take that job, you're also entering a tough division. But they landed Ryan, a brilliant defensive Xs and Os coach who also is a good motivator. He was given a talent-poor roster the past few years with the Jets and did a pretty good job getting the most out of it. This was a really good hire for the Bills.
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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdowncorner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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