The NFL “Coaching Carousel” added two more names Friday, Jan. 24. The Las Vegas Raiders hired Super Bowl winner and future Hall of Famer Pete Carroll as its next head coach and The Jacksonville Jaguars came to an agreement with former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen.
Pete Carroll leaves Seattle for Las Vegas
When the season begins, Carroll will be 74 years old, which will make him the oldest coach in the NFL. He has a 170-120 record as a head coach in the league and took the Seattle Seahawks to the playoffs in 11 of his 14 seasons, including two Super Bowls. Under his direction, the Seahawks won it all in 2014 and came up one infamous play short in 2015.
Mike Florio of “Pro Football Talk” believes the key ingredient for Carroll is building a winning culture, something he says the Raiders desperately need.
“Pete Carroll, I think, can make the differences necessary as they try to reshape the organization into something that has a winning culture, into something that’s competitive,” Florio said.
Liam Coen changes his mind
The Liam Coen hiring saga took several turns in a 48-hour period. He withdrew his name from consideration for the head job in Jacksonville and signed an extension to continue as the Buccaneers offensive coordinator. The Jaguars then fired their general manager and the next day Coen reconsidered and took the job.
Coen has never been a head coach. However, his play calling has transformed offenses at every coaching stop in his career. The Bucs were top five in numerous categories this past season.
Cade Otton, a star tight end in Tampa, said will miss Coen.
“First of all, he was really personable and really cared about us as individuals and just the detail and passion he brought every day to our offense was something really cool to be a part of and you saw it come to life throughout the season,” Otton said. “So, it was really fun to play for him.”
What head coach positions are still open?
Just two NFL head coaching vacancies remain. The Dallas Cowboys are rumored to be near a deal with their offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer. The New Orleans Saints have spoken with former Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy.
