NFL Rumors: Teams Now Want 'Culture Builders' over 'Hot Play-Callers' for HC Hirings
Joseph Zucker@@JosephZucker
Featured Columnist IVNovember 15, 2024
Being an elite tactician may not be enough for a coordinator to land a head coaching gig in the NFL once the offseason kicks into gear.
The Athletic's Dianna Russini reported at the 6:20 mark in the newest episode of her Scoop City podcast that "there's now the trend of culture builders again" when it comes to the candidates teams are going to consider. She contrasted that with past hiring cycles, when "the hot play-callers, the guys that can get the most out of the young quarterbacks" were being targeted.
Russini cited Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris as examples of the culture-building archetype.
Campbell in particular might be the kind of coach in mind for teams that are less enamored with hiring somebody based on scheme or play-calling.
Campbell received plenty of mockery when he said in his introductory press conference that he wanted the Lions to have a mindset where they'd "bite a kneecap off" of opposing players.
Michael Silver @MikeSilverNew <a href="https://twitter.com/Lions?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Lions</a> HC Dan Campbell: "I told (the players), honestly, day one, I said, 'Look, I'm not carrying your toilet paper around. I'm not gonna wipe your butt. You're gonna wipe your own butt. You handle it and I'll treat you like men until you prove otherwise.'" More to come soon.
But the 48-year-old clearly struck the right tone with the locker room because Lions have become a genuine Super Bowl contender in the NFC. He also took an organizational culture that had turned rancid under his predecessor and made it a strength.
The Lions are proof positive you can win without a strategic guru as the head coach if he assembles the right staff. Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn have both received a ton of praise for their individual contributions.
That's a blueprint teams could look to emulate this offseason.
Russini's report is also interesting as it relates to the Lions because Johnson has earned a reputation as a very good offensive play-caller. Detroit is sixth in total offense (366.9 yards per game) and second in scoring (31.6 points per game).
Johnson was a sought-after candidate in last year's coaching carousel until he decided to stick around in Detroit.
If NFL owners and general managers are approaching this year's hiring cycle with a different view, perhaps his market proves to be a little cooler than you'd expect.