Welcome to our weekly column where we look at all things NFL from our regular NFL tipster and Rugby League raconteur Nick Tedeschi. He will look at the good, the bad and the ugly of the NFL, holding back no punches.
Coaching Contenders
Two NFL head coaching jobs are now open following the dismissals of Brian Daboll and Brian Callahan. More will be coming – Raheem Morris will do well to survive another fortnight – but for now here are the top five contenders for the Giants and Titans jobs:
NY GIANTS
The Giants have plumped for three rookies and one near-rookie with their last four hires. Three of those were under different GMs while Joe Schoen was hired only a week before Daboll so this will essentially be his first hire. The edict from ownership though will almost certainly be to hire experience and given that their most successful coaches were tough, defensive-minded types it would not surprise if the Giants looked to tread a similar path.
1. Bill Belichick: Belichick has always expressed an affection for the Giants and despite his latest college exploits is one of the great NFL coaches. Seems a perfect fit – particularly if he is happy to just coach and not try to take on any GM role.
2. Mike McCarthy: Experienced Super Bowl winner who may be offensive minded but is tough and known as a culture-changer.
3. Jon Gruden: The conservative Giants may not want to get involved with the lairy and scandal-tainted Gruden but he is another Super Bowl winner who knows how to build success.
4. Kliff Kingsbury: Younger than the top three candidates but did a good job at Arizona with Kyler Murray and elevated his reputation as Washington OC last year.
5. Brian Flores: Flores’ departure from Miami was messy but he has been an elite DC and his record at the dolphins was 24-25.
Tennessee
The Titans are surely regretting firing Mike Vrabel, who went 54-45 with two playoff wins during his six-year stint. He is the only coach post-Jeff Fisher to have a winning record. It is also noteworthy that four of the six coaches post-Fisher have been called Mike. They almost certainly won’t coach with another rookie with Mike Borgonzi likely to look at the Chiefs where he spent most of his administrative career at for his next head coach while finding an offensive-minded coach to develop Cam Ward will be essential.
1. Matt Nagy: Has experience with the Bears and has done a superb job in two stints as Chiefs OC.
2. Mike McCarthy: The Titans have a predilection for Mikes and McCarthy has a Super Bowl ring, a wealth of experience and a track record helping quarterbacks.
3. Kliff Kingsbury: Looks a nice fit given his work with Kyler Murray and Jayden Daniels and will have learnt plenty from his time at Arizona.
4. Joe Brady: If the Titans do go with another rookie then Brady is the man as he won a national championship with Joe Burrow at LSU and has helped Josh Allen to an MVP award.
5. Arthur Smith: The former Falcons head coach has strong family links to Tennessee and was at the Titans from 2011-20. He is viewed as a QB whisperer.
Only In Cleveland
Shedeur Sanders made his NFL debut against Baltimore and looked all the unprepared, undeserving rookie he is, completing just four of 16 passes, losing a fumble and taking two sacks. There is no organisation in the NFL a bigger mess than the Browns, who are now stuck with two rookies, one undersized and one totally shy of NFL talent.
Bengal Implosion Shows No Signs of Abating
The Bengals have struggled all season without star quarterback Joe Burrow. One would think other senior players collecting big pay cheques would step up. Wrong. The Bengals this week will be without Ja’Marr Chase because he spat on Steelers DB Jalen Ramsey in an utterly vile act that was lucky to draw just a single game suspension.
Week 11 Bad Beat Power Rankings
No sport lends itself to cruel beats more than American football. Here are the worst for Week 11:
4. Washington +2.5: The Commanders led 13-6 going into the final quarter but gave up a touchdown and then on the first play of overtime Marcus Mariota threw a pick to destroy plus punters.
3. Baltimore -7.5: When Shedeur Sanders took charge, the minus was surely home. It was not to be with the Ravens missing by a ½ point.
2. Tampa Bay +6.5: Buffalo scored 23 of the last 29 points to beat the Bucs by 12 and cover the +6.5.
1. LA Rams -3: The Rams completely dominated the Seahawks, leading 14-3. The resilient Seahawks kept holding firm though and managed to cover by a point
Punter Stat of the Week
The Raiders’ Ray Guy and Patriots’ Ryan Allen are tied for the most Super Bowl rings for a punter with three each.
Fun Fact #1: Shedeur Sanders had two sacks and four completion in his debut NFL appearance.
Fun Fact #2: The Cleveland Browns have started 40 different quarterbacks since 2000 – including four Heisman Trophy winners.
Fun Fact #3: The Browns started just 29 quarterbacks between 1950 and 2000.
Read It: The best football article you will read this week comes from Stephen Holder at ESPN, who produced a wonderfully insightful piece on new Indianapolis Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon. Read it here.
Watch It: Darrell Hammond, Will Ferrell, Jimmy Fallon and Maya Rudolph at Al Michaels, Dan Fouts, Dennis Miller and Melissa Stark … yes please. Watch it here.