2015 Coaching Changes

[averagejoe]

Broncos - Gary Kubiak/Rick Dennison. Reunited in Denver after they served together in Houston where the offense averaged an 8.5 ranking. Much may depend on Manning. Some say his skills are declining. But Kubiak is a run-first guy. Denver was ranked 4th last season. I sense a slip but still a top 10 offense. Plus I'm bumping the RB values.

Falcons - Dan Quinn/Kyle Shanahan. Quinn was DC for 1 year in Seattle. Shanny comes over after spurning the Browns. Falcons were ranked 5th in offense last season. My guess is they may not miss much of a beat with Ryan/Julio/White.

Ravens - John Harbaugh/Marc Trestman. Trestman was Chicago's HC before their historic collapse. But everywhere Tresty has been as OC (SF, OAK, ARI & CHI), his first year has been phenomenal. Baltimore had the 13th ranked offense last year. I predict a top 10 offense. Easily. Might be Flacco & Torrey's best seasons.

Bears - John Fox/Adam Gase. They move their leadership from Mile High to just south of the Magnificent Mile. The Bears ranked 15th in offense but looked dysfunctional. Maybe it's homerism, but I expect a slight bump up offensively. Unless they decide to trade Cutler.

Bills - Rex Ryan/Greg Roman. Run run run. Roman was the 9ers' OC. My guess is C.J. Spiller gets every opportunity to prove he is a quality NFL RB. I'm still on the fence deciding what the actual results will be. Buffalo's offense ranked 18th last year. If they fail to bring in a better QB, my guess is they take a dip offensively. (Just not in the run game.)

Browns - Mike Pettine/John DeFilippo. DeFilippo was the Raiders' QB coach and has never been an OC. The Browns ranked 20th last season. This has disaster written all over it. Apparently Jordan Cameron agrees since word is he wants out.

Rams - Jeff Fisher/Frank Cignetti. Like DeFilippo above, Cignetti has never been an OC. I respect Fisher and believe he is an excellent coach. But after ranking 23rd in offense, it might be tough to get higher. I sense with a new OC, the Rams will be conservative and will run first. I just wonder if their plans will ultimately include Bradford?

Bucs - Lovie Smith/Dirk Koetter. Mr. Koetter comes over from the Falcons. The Bucs definitely have the receivers, but the QB position tempers my expectations. McCown is average, and if Tampa decides to start anew with a rookie QB, there will be a learning curve. They may just retain their 25th-ranked offense.

Raiders - Jack Del Rio/Bill Musgrave. Musgrave was the Eagles QB coach and helped Foles for what it's worth. Del Rio was the Broncos DC. The Raiders offense ranked 26th last season. I'm willing to give them a bump up a few notches so long as they start Latavius on game 1. But wise decisions aren't in the Raiders' favor.

49ers - Jim Tomsula/Geep Chryst. Tomsula was defensive line coach for Niners. And Chryst was OC of Bolts in 99-00 where they ranked near the bottom of the NFL. 49ers ranked 30th offensively. If they take the reigns off of Kaps and let him run, the offense can trouble defenses. I wonder how much longer Gore has left? He's always gold. But it may be devalued if the gold rush ends.

Jaguars - Gus Bradley/Greg Olson. Olson was the Raiders' OC. Jags finished 31st. Raiders were ranked 26th. The average is 28th. I trust no one on the Jags except Shoelace. And he is not the RB1 yet.

Jets - Todd Bowles/Chan Gailey. Bowles was Zona's DC. Gailey was the Bills' OC. The Jets finished dead last in offense. Another team with QB issues. Unless they make a splash to improve the QB, Ivory may have to load up the entire team on his back. (Which will result in a back strain.)


Did I miss anyone? Thoughts?

 

[leftypower]

Kind of sounds like the good teams will still be good and the bad ones still bad. All interest (fantasy-wise) will still be on the Broncos, Falcons, Ravens, Bears - unless there are some earthshattering personnel moves by the others during the off-season (unlikely). Draft may have some impact but I don't see it making a substantial change of fortunes for the teams with lower expectations.


Nice analysis Joe.

 

[TKOSpikes]

Spiller has been rumored to have interest with Chan Gailey and the Jets. It will come down to money. One thing is for sure, after using a 1st and 3rd rounder on him the last two years, I will not be touching him in 2015.

 

[Beengay fudgepackers]

Aren't the Jaguars getting Justin Blackmon back next year? If so, I think that gives the offense a top tier weapon.

 

[Beengay fudgepackers]

Spiller has been rumored to have interest with Chan Gailey and the Jets. It will come down to money. One thing is for sure, after using a 1st and 3rd rounder on him the last two years, I will not be touching him in 2015.

I might take a flyer on him after the sure things are gone. Maybe somewhere in the 6th or 7th round.

 

[averagejoe]

Kind of sounds like the good teams will still be good and the bad ones still bad.

Not necessarily. Most refer to a top 10. So next might be a respectable 11-20. And then there are the bottom feeders at 21-32.

I can see the Bucs jumping from 25th (near the bottom) up to the 14-20 mid-range. The Browns ranked a mid-range 20th and I can see them nose-diving to the 25-32 putrid range. (They need to keep Hoyer over Johnny Party.)

My wild card is the Rams. I like Bradford. And if the Rams managed a 23-ranked offense with their revolving door of RB and QB, then a steady signal caller should give them a bump a few notches. They need a decent WR too.

Aren't the Jaguars getting Justin Blackmon back next year? If so, I think that gives the offense a top tier weapon.

I'm sure some will take chances on him. But the Jags are a mess. He hasn't played a full NFL season yet. And he has off-field issues. I'd rather let him be someone else's fantasy problem.

 

[Pattersonca65]

Not sure what to make of the 49ers offense this season as you have them listed as one of the teams above. I picked up Gore in my leagues as he fell far down the draft boards this past year. I figured he could still be a good flex option this year and could still be the guy. But the 49ers abandoned the run heavy game plan and many of the goal line opportunities went to Hyde. Gore was almost a nonfactor this year for Fantasy Football and I don't expect it to be any better next year. Kaep is still high risk.

 

[averagejoe]

Another perspective from Rotoworld courtesy of Adam Levitan.