NFL executives ranked the five new head coaches
The NFL will have five new head football coaches for the 2023 season. NFL executives recently took a poll on which team made the best hire. The results might surprise you.
The Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos went with coaches with previous experience, Frank Reich and Sean Payton, respectively. Payton has the best resume out of the five new hires, as he won a Super Bowl with the New Orleans Saints. First-time head NFL coaches Jonathan Gannon (Arizona Cardinals) and Shane Steichen (Indianapolis Colts) were Philadelphia Eagles coordinators last season.
DeMeco Ryans was a massive get by the Houston Texans. He had a successful two-year run as the San Francisco 49ers’ defensive coordinator. With his connections to the Texans, he can help install a new culture in Houston.
Ryans was rated high by the executives
Jeff Howe wrote a piece in The Athletic that published the poll results from nine NFL executives. They were asked who was their favorite coaching hire for the 2023 season. Ryans had the second most votes from the poll:
Panthers head coach Frank Reich received 5.5 votes to edge out DeMeco Ryans (3.5 votes) of the Texans. (One executive split his vote between the two.) Sean Payton (Broncos), Shane Steichen (Colts) and Jonathan Gannon (Cardinals) did not receive any votes. No one from the coaches’ current or most recent organizations was polled to avoid personal biases.
The results from the NFL executives were a little surprising to me. I would have thought Payton would have had more votes. After all, he is the coach on the list who won a Super Bowl in that position. Reich being number one is interesting, as the Panthers’ new head coach didn’t have success with the Indianapolis Colts.
Ryans seems to be an exciting hire around the league. There should be healthy optimism for the Texans next season. The Texans will have an inspiring young coach and likely a top rookie quarterback to watch next fall. They should set themselves up to match Payton in Super Bowl wins in a few years.
