Poll: Which New Head Coach Will Experience Most 2018 Success?
Coaching staff turnover was abundant this offseason, but most of that change occurred at the assistant level: while there were 33 instances of alteration among offensive and defensive coordinators, only seven new head coaches will be leading teams in 2018, a number that fits in nicely with yearly averages. Naturally, these seven new HCs are taking over clubs that are in something of a rebuild phase, as the Titans are the only team that made the postseason in 2017 before opting to make a coaching change at the top.
With that in mind, we’d like to ask PFR readers which new head coach will experience the most success during the upcoming campaign? While we aren’t solely asking about record (the Bears could stage a turnaround in 2018 and still not make the playoffs given their starting point and the strength of the NFC North, for one example), we’re looking mostly at wins and losses.
Here’s a refresher on the NFL’s new head coaches:
- Arizona Cardinals: Hired Steve Wilks to replace Bruce Arians
- Chicago Bears: Hired Matt Nagy to replace John Fox
- Detroit Lions: Hired Matt Patricia to replace Jim Caldwell
- Indianapolis Colts: Hired Frank Reich to replace Chuck Pagano
- New York Giants: Hired Pat Shurmur to replace Ben McAdoo / Steve Spagnuolo (interim)
- Oakland Raiders: Hired Jon Gruden to replace Jack Del Rio
- Tennessee Titans: Hired Mike Vrabel to replace Mike Mularkey
In the NFC, Wilks will be not only tasked with re-forming a defense that’s moving from a 3-4 to a 4-3 scheme, but deciding if and when to insert rookie quarterback Josh Rosen over free agent acquisition Sam Bradford. Nagy, meanwhile, has the benefit of leaning on veteran defensive coordinator Vic Fangio on one side of the ball, but he’s installing an all-new offensive system with weapons such as Allen Robinson, Taylor Gabriel, Anthony Miller, and Trey Burton. Patricia takes over a relatively stable roster in Detroit, but he’s looking up at the Packers and Vikings in the NFC North, while Shurmur will be asked to wring at least one more productive season out of 37-year-old signal-caller Eli Manning.
Moving to the AFC, Reich is the new lead man in Indianapolis after Josh McDaniels spurned the Colts; with a barren 53-man roster, Reich will need Andrew Luck at something close to full health. Gruden landed a $100MM contract to return to the NFL and Oakland, but after an offseason which saw the Raiders’ roster get older, it’s anyone’s guess if the Black and Silver can compete with Kansas City and Los Angeles in the AFC West. Vrabel takes over an already-contending Titans club after just one season as a defensive coordinator, but his addition of coordinators Matt LaFleur (offense) and Dean Pees (defense) drew considerable praise.
So, who do you like? Which of these coaches will post the most successful season in 2018?
Poll: Which New Head Coach Will Experience Most 2018 Success?
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Jon Gruden (Raiders) 25% (551)
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Matt Nagy (Bears) 20% (456)
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Pat Shurmur (New York Giants) 17% (377)
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Matt Patricia (Lions) 14% (305)
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Mike Vrabel (Titans) 12% (269)
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Frank Reich (Indianapolis Colts) 8% (189)
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Steve Wilks (Cardinals) 4% (91)
Total votes: 2,238
Colts Sign Second-Round Pick Braden Smith
The Colts have signed second round pick Braden Smith, according to a team announcement. With that signing, the Colts have now formally inked ten of their eleven draft picks. 
Smith, a 6’6″ guard, was taken with the No. 37 overall pick. The Auburn product earned All-America honors in each of his final two seasons and won the 2017 SEC Jacobs Blocking Trophy, given to the conference’s best blocker.
Smith projects to start at right guard on the Colts’ new look offensive line. Fellow rookie Quenton Nelson will start at left guard and free agent Austin Howard projects to start at right tackle with holdovers Anthony Castonzo (left tackle) and Ryan Kelly (center) rounding out the front five.
Second round pick Darius Leonard stands as the Colts’ last straggler in this year’s class. Although the deal is taking a while, Stephen Holder of the Indy Star (on Twitter) has not received word of any major holdup. Leonard and 49ers wide receiver Dante Pettis stand as the final two unsigned second-round picks in the NFL.
Latest On DB Brandon Bryant
Mississippi State defensive back Brandon Bryant is making his case to NFL scouts in advance of the NFL’s supplemental draft. On Monday, 40 scouts from the Rams, Browns, Falcons, Jets, Giants, 49ers, Redskins, Colts, Steelers, Saints, Jaguars, Texans, Raiders, and Ravens watched Bryant audition, Chase Goodbread of NFL.com tweets. 
There may have been even more clubs on hand to watch Bryant work out, according to Tony Pauline of Draft Insider (on Twitter). Pauline hears there were “about 20 teams on hand” and he hears his 40-yard-dash times ranged from the high 4.3’s to the low 4.4’s. He also conducted five separate one-on-one meetings on Sunday.
Bryant established himself as one of the top safeties in the SEC in his time with the Bulldogs. Across three years, Bryant compiled 157 tackles and five interceptions in 37 games. This year, after Mississippi State hired Joe Moorhead as their new head coach, Bryant announced he was going pro.
This year’s supplemental draft will take place on July 11. Other entrants include former Western Michigan cornerback Sam Beal and Virginia Tech cornerback Adonis Alexander.
Tre Boston On Cardinals, Colts Visits
Tre Boston‘s recent visit to the Cardinals yielded a contract offer. However, it was a “very, very disrespectful” one, according to the safety (Twitter links via SiriusXM). 
The Cardinals “rolled out the red carpet” for Boston late last month, but the end result was a deal that he found insulting. Meanwhile, his visit with the Colts might not have been serious at all.
“I didn’t meet with the GM, head coach or defensive coordinator,” Boston said of his visit to Indy. “I was in the lunch room for two hours. I even got to play basketball.”
Like several other veteran safeties, Boston finds himself in limbo this summer. He finds the situation frustrating, to say the least.
“It’s kinda rough man, they got us where they think they want us,” Boston said. “For us, we have to communicate with each other so we don’t take this minimum wage.”
The longer things drag on, the more likely it is that Boston and his fellow safeties will have to accept minimum wage deals. Tyvon Branch, Ron Parker, Eric Reid, and Kenny Vaccaro are also among the safeties without contracts as we head into July.
Adam Vinatieri Not Looking To Retire “Anytime Soon”
Despite being the oldest active NFL player, kicker Adam Vinatieri isn’t planning on hanging up his cleats. The 45-year-old told Andrew Walker of Colts.com that while breaking the league’s all-time points record would be the perfect exclamation to a Hall of Fame career, he can’t envision himself retiring anytime soon.
“I love it as much today as I had when I started 23 years ago,” Vinatieri said. “I’m not looking to hang them up anytime soon, unless something happens that needs to be that way.
“I guess I’ll take these one year at a time and see where it ends up. I would anticipate if I can stay healthy and be productive, I can anticipate catching up to Morten midseason or thereabout, and I guess at the end of the year I’d be 46. I’m not putting anything out of reach. I’m not looking and saying, ‘No way,’ or ‘For sure.’ But again, like I said, I just want to help our team be as productive as possible this year, and if everything works out well, hopefully we’ll be having this conversation again next year.”
The 22-year veteran is within 57 points of Morten Andersen‘s all-time points record, and he needs only seven more field goals to break Anderson’s mark (he still needs 135 extra points to reach George Blanda‘s record). A 1996 undrafted free agent out of South Dakota State, Vinatieri has split his career between the Patriots and Colts. Along the way, he’s earned three Pro Bowl nods, three first-team All-Pro honors, and four Super Bowl Championships.
Of course, that elusive fifth championship is another reason why the kicker is sticking around, as another ring would tie him with Tom Brady and Charles Haley for the most all time. Vinatieri mentioned that the opportunity to win another Super Bowl has played a role in him sticking around for so long, and he believes the Colts have a chance to win another title with him on the squad.
“We have a lot of things that can make this team successful and I look at this as a team that can make the playoffs moving forward,” Vinatieri said. “And that was a big decision for me. I clearly wanted to stay in Indy. My family lives here. Everybody, we love the state of Indiana. We are all Hoosiers now. But I also felt like I wanted to play for a team that can win and I feel like Chris Ballard and hiring Frank [Reich], I talked to Frank a little bit as well, I think these two gentlemen can definitely turn this organization around so I’m happy and excited to sign with this team and to see where we can go with it.”
Colts To Give Andrew Luck Off Days In Camp
- This offseason’s gone much more smoothly for Andrew Luck than his initial post-shoulder surgery months did. Breer notes the Colts quarterback made it about 5 1/2 months in 2017 before enduring setbacks, ones that ultimately erased his ’17 season. Now, Luck is throwing again, having privately participated in a post-minicamp workout Friday, per Breer. While Luck still has some significant obstacles to navigate, the Colts’ new coaching staff isn’t concerned about his timeline. The team, though, will give Luck days off during training camp, Breer reports, and organize his reps like they’d be distributed during the regular season.
Eric Ebron, Nyheim Hines Impressing
- TE Eric Ebron has been perhaps the most impressive newcomer for the Colts this spring, per Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star, who also says 2018 fourth-rounder Nyheim Hines was the most exciting rookie to watch. Hines, a running back from NC State, has the explosiveness and versatility to thrive in new head coach Frank Reich‘s scheme.
Extra Points: NFLPA, Anthem, Suspension leaks, Colts, Luck
The NFL announced their new anthem policy a few weeks ago, and the NFL Players Association has apparently been preparing a response ever since. Although the union has been mostly quiet since the new rules were put in place, the NFLPA is getting ready to fight the owners in court, a source told Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com.
Florio writes that “the NFLPA has retained multiple law firms to research the options for fighting the new policy.” Florio thinks the union could challenge the anthem mandate as a “non-injury grievance” under the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Any such grievance would have to be filed no later than July, so we should know the NFLPA’s plans relatively soon. Another possible route would be to challenge any fines or penalties imposed on players protesting on constitutional grounds, arguing that it violates their first amendment rights, according to Florio. Whatever happens, it’s clear this issue isn’t going away anytime soon.
Here’s more from around the league:
- The anthem issue isn’t the only fight the players union is gearing up for. Florio also reports that the NFLPA is preparing to fight the NFL over leaks that are damaging to players. Florio cites the recent leaking of the news of Julian Edelman‘s suspension before his appeals were exhausted as an example of the type of leaking the union wants to put an end to.
- Colts quarterback Andrew Luck was recently seen throwing a football for the first time since his shoulder injury caused him to miss the entire 2017 season. While Luck remained very limited in practice the past few days, the Colts expect Luck to be able to “practice without limitations in training camp”, according to Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star. Similar claims were made this time last year, but it still seems as of now that Luck will be ready to go by week 1 of the regular season.
- In case you missed it, yesterday Sam Robinson took a look at all of the key 2018 holdouts.
Colts Switching John Simon To DE
- The Colts are curiously attempting to switch linebacker John Simon to defensive end. As Zak Keefer of IndyStar.com writes, this is an especially questionable move considering the team’s lack of depth at linebacker. So far, no one on the Colts sounds overly optimistic about the switch. Defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus didn’t give a glowing review of the 27-year-old, acknowledging that Simon lacks the size of a typical defensive end. “What you have to do is use your attributes, your strengths, use your get-off, all those things,” he explained. “He’ll figure it out as we go.”
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Minor NFL Transactions: 6/15/18
Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Cut: LB Frank Ginda
Denver Broncos
- Signed: LB Bo Bower, DL Caushaud Lyons, OLB Antonio Simmons
Indianapolis Colts
- Claimed off waivers from Titans: WR Zach Pascal
- Waived: Kayaune Ross
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: WR DeAndre Smelter
- Waived: DT Michael Hughes