The trend toward younger head coaches has been all the rage in the NFL this decade, bringing some quality results.
We’ve seen Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan lead teams to the Super Bowl shortly after taking over the governments for the first time, and Sean McDermott transformed the Bills franchise of decades from playoff deviations to regular appearances. And, for good measure, we’ve seen a team like the Panthers make a relatively unusual term and financial commitment for a young head coach in Matt Rhule this offseason who has never coached in the NFL.
And with that success came another relatively new phenomenon in coaching circles; a cause of species to the market that began to occur with increasing regularity. The six-year contract extension is now becoming a thing. A quasi-regular case. When Shanahan first got a six-year deal as rookie head coach, heads turned the league around. Heck, some execs got whiplash. But after McVay’s immediate success resulted in him receiving a two-year extension just two years into his original deal, the stage was set for more long-term tackles for other emerging, young head coaches.
Fact of the matter is, if you hire 30-something head coaches, you are not as worried about age or outbreak as the league they are going to pass in the very near future. There are fewer reservations about shutting them down for half a decade or more, and the thought of a man like this out on the open market scares property. After finding such a bright coach and giving him his first shot, the idea of developing him for someone else (and from him the many nodes he cultivates to take with him) is the last thing anyone in management wol.
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Rhule got seven years back in January from Carolina. Shanahan got six more years earlier this month. McDermott just got a new six-year deal done with the Bills this week.
Even in a pandemic, the market moves for the best and brightest of the youngest coaches in the game. It’s worth noting that one man – agent Bob LaMonte – negotiated the McDermott and McVay negotiations, and, well, the record-breaking 10-year deal that Jon Gruden earned from the Raiders two years ago that really restored the coaching market. and served as the foundation for many of these other long-term deals. Expect the trend to continue.
Tight-end contracts finally match their importance
Finally, the tight end market moves in line with the import of the position. We are in an era when the relocation tight end has become a staple of the passing game and a necessary cog in the matchup games playing offensive coordinators. Now they are starting to get paid as such.
The fact that Austin Hooper, at a little over $ 10M a year, wore this coat was just wrong. The elite tight ends deserve more, and now, with George Kittle and Travis Kelce agreeing on new expansions within hours of each other, things are more in line with the reality of the roles these men play. Now we have $ 15M per year as a new benchmark. Now we have $ 30M guaranteed upon signing for a tight end. It’s time.
And come 2021, Hunter Henry and Mark Andrews are next to benefit greatly from this development. Tagging Henry a second time never seemed like the way to go for the Chargers, and tying him up in the long run comes with more cost-effectiveness, and a heavier price tag. Henry would crush it on the open market if he stays healthy by 2020; keep in mind that Kittle and Kelce were free agency agents every year and unable to negotiate with other teams when they signed these expansions, while the open market always brings the biggest fiscal rewards.
Andrews has been the primary midfielder of the Ravens’ attacking offense since his first training camp, he has incredible chemistry with MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson and is a beast in the red zone, and after completing his third season he will usually be in for an extension. With a host of core players lined up for expansions over the next 18 months, the Ravens would do well to start Jackson and Andrews next January.
More NFL insider notes
- Will be interested to see how much the Cowboys player-driven attempt to bubble themselves into a local hotel will work. Without all the staff, as those who come and go from the hotel for deliveries, etc., have themselves quarantined, there may be some problems with the effectiveness of such a plan. But you have to applaud the effort and seriousness with which the Cowboys veteran leaders are taking the pandemic …
- With teams like the Ravens and Bengals trying to innovate their necessary linebacker teams in concept, and now with a very limited camp / press season to develop them, I wonder how much they can be in situations with five or more down linemen early in the season. With Cincy adding Mike Daniels to free agency this week, they now have more depth going forward and Baltimore completely renewed its defensive line as well. Teams like the Steelers play what was a 4-0-7 defense last season and especially with the elite secondary of Baltimore there are ways to hide the kid linebackers as needed …
- If you’re not already hoping for a monster-bounce-back season from Cam Newton, then you should be. Everything I hear from New England is overly positive about the veteran quarterback both physically and mentally. Josh McDaniels will release and unlock the hot QB …
- Kind of bizarre looking NFL teams make regular updates on what they aim for with their presence. Kind of like the Big Ten who released a schedule a week before canceling the entire season. Continuously adjusting your projected numbers and making it public, if you really have no idea what will happen next month, seems like a total exercise in uselessness. And with so many teams making the edict to not leave fans, it seems like an example where the league office could step in and make that uniform. Competitive balance and health and safety and all.
