Here's how Brinson stacked up the playoff prospects of these coaches.
6. Chip Kelly, San Francisco 49ers
5. Hue Jackson, Cleveland Browns
4. Doug Pederson, Philadelphia Eagles
3. Ben McAdoo, New York Giants
2. Adam Gase, Miami Dolphins
1. Dirk Koetter, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
It's interesting, and expected, that the biggest difference between the top-3 and the bottom-3 is the respective quarterback situations with each team. The top-3 have their quarterback in place. The bottom-3 don't. At least the Eagles and Doug Pederson believe that they have their future franchise quarterback on the roster or they wouldn't have traded up to draft Carson Wentz with the second overall pick. Chip Kelly and Hue Jackson might go on and have brilliant coaching careers with their current teams but their immediate prospects are pretty bleak. Everything would have to unfold perfectly, perhaps miraculously, for either the Browns or the 49ers to make the playoffs this year. But, you never really know until the games are played. While the Eagles quarterback situation might be a bit up in the air right now there's enough talent on the team, especially on defense, for them to makw a run at the playoffs. I agree with Brinson on his top three coaches and teams but I have them in a different order.
6. Chip Kelly, San Francisco 49ers
5. Hue Jackson, Cleveland Browns
4. Doug Pederson, Philadelphia Eagles
3. Adam Gase, Miami Dolphins
2. Dirk Koetter, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
1. Ben McAdoo, New York Giants
The Giants offense could be one of the most explosive in the league. Ben McAdoo is the architect of that offense and is probably the reason that two-time Super Bowl champ Tom Coughlin was given the boot. They didn't want to lose McAdoo to another team just to keep Coughlin around for another year or two. The Giants defense was an issue last year and they spent a ton of money on big-time free agents this offseason to fix it. If those players can play well with the others and improve the defense McAdoo's first season as head coach could be a very good one. He stepped into the top coaching spot of a team that can win now.
Dirk Koetter got the Buccaneers head coaching job in much the same manner that McAdoo got his. Tampa Bay didn't want to lose Koetter to another team just because they had solid and dependable Lovie Smith as their head coach. Koetter was critical to rookie quarterback Jameis Winston's promising play last season. The team's future is tied to Winston's development and in turn Winston's development is tied to Koetter. At least the Buccaneers management feel that way and that's all that really matters. Koetter inherits a very promising young team. Winston appears to have the talent and leadership skills to be an elite NFL quarterback. When a team has that they will always have a shot.
Adam Gase also inherited a team that has the talent to win now. If he can bring the best out of quarterback Ryan Tannehill the playoffs aren't out of the question. Playing in the same division as the New England Patriots doesn't help their playoff hopes but it doesn't end them either. Tannehill has been very up and down since the Dolphins selected him with the eighth pick of the 2012 NFL Draft. Gase worked well with Peyton Manning in Denver and with Jay Cutler in their one year together in Chicago. The Dolphins hope that he can bring out the best in Tannehill.
It seems pretty clear to me that the playoff prospects of all six coaches rests on the quarterbacks that each inherited and not just the overall talent on those teams. That's hardly a surprise as the NFL becomes more and more quarterback-driven each year. I would rank the six quarterback situations in the same order that I ranked the playoff prospects of the first-year coaches.
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