The 2021 NFL season has been quite a rollercoaster as many witnessed some teams achieve their goals and perform beyond expectations. Unfortunately, a handful of squads continued to struggle as they further extended their years of misery in failing to reach the postseason.
Though the players are the ones responsible for performing on the field, the head coaches also play a huge role in determining the level of success that their respective teams can attain. Surely enough, teams that ended with losing records for 2021 will have to seek new tacticians who can do a better job in utilizing the talents that they have at their disposal. Hopefully, the changes that they will make will be able to get them back on the right track and help them achieve better results moving forward.
With that said, let's take a look at three teams that will benefit from a coaching change for the 2022 season:
NFL Coach Hot Seat
The Houston Texans had a troubling offseason headlined by the sticky situation revolving around three-time Pro Bowl quarterback Deshaun Watson. General manager Nick Caserio then brought in a rookie head coach in David Culley who previously served as the wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens from 2019-20.
After the events that transpired over the offseason, it was certain that the Texans will have a long season ahead of them without their star player on the field. Expectations for Houston were also tempered, given that the team is clearly in a full rebuilding mode. Surprisingly, they were able to nab some wins along the way but Culley still wasn't anything close to being a competent head coach in the big leagues.
He previously had a disagreement with one of the most respected veterans in safety Justin Reid which led him to be benched at some point in the NFL season. More than the awful win-loss record, the situation was indicative of Culley's failure to win over the Texans locker room which could serve as another obstacle that can hinder them from progressing moving forward.
Given the absence of Watson along with the lack of talents on the roster, a coaching change surely won't completely turn things around for this team. However, having a tactician that knows how to do his job properly and has the ability to garner respect from the players will surely go a long way for a dysfunctional organization like the Texans.
After moving on from Ron Rivera, team owner David Tepper wanted to seek a new direction with the arrival of Matt Rhule from the collegiate ranks. Last year wasn't a success for the debuting head coach and the same can be said for their 2021 campaign as well. After opening the season with a 3-0 start, the Panthers started skidding as they went on to lose 10 of their next 12 games.
Without a doubt, Carolina has promising pieces to work with including the likes of Pro Bowl running back Christian McCaffrey and 2019 NFL DPOY Stephon Gilmore along with a handful of capable role players. The outlook of Sam Darnold is still questionable as of the moment but there is no denying that the talent on the roster can surely do better than a 5-10 record thus far.
Recently, Tepper expressed his dismay over the performance of Rhule and how underwhelming the tactician has been after inking a lengthy seven-year contract in 2020. It is surely a bold statement coming from the team owner, given that he personally hand-picked Rhule for the job and even outbid the New York Giants just to secure his services. Nothing has been cast in stone yet but it may be indicative that Tepper is willing to make changes if the head coach fails to right the ship anytime soon.
It is no surprise that Matt Nagy and the Chicago Bears have found themselves at the top of this list as the clamor to boot the head coach has been going around for the past few years. Yes, Nagy was able to perform well in his first stint with the team in 2018 and even managed to book a playoff spot last season. However, it was already clear that the partnership between the two sides was bound to end at some point in time due to the inconsistencies of the veteran play-caller.
Despite being an offensive-minded coach, Nagy still failed to properly orchestrate the Bears offense as it became an eyesore to watch for many fans. This led them to compile a 5-10 record so far this season in what was a disastrous campaign for the struggling franchise.
More so with the arrival of Justin Fields via the NFL Draft, Chicago must get the right general manager and head coach that can build talent around the QB and help him maximize his potential on the field. As of the moment, it seems like Nagy's time with the Bears is already nearing its end and the team must willingly find the right guy who can steer the team back in the right direction moving forward.
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