Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Locked On Patriots December 31, 2018 - NYE Edition

Episode Date: December 31, 2018

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Hey there everybody, welcome on into a very special New Year's Eve edition of the Lockdown Patriots podcast. Mark Schofield sliding into the big chair on this New Year's Eve, December 31st, 2018. It is now 541 on the East Coast in the afternoon. And so we are getting closer and closer to flipping that calendar to 2019. I wish all of you the very best in the year ahead. We'll have a little bit more on New Year's Eve a little bit later in the show. I will say this though, Africa by Toto, the album version is four minutes and 55 seconds, so just under five minutes. So if you really want to rein in that new year right, you can start at 11 p.m. and just go nonstop with Africa and probably time up pretty

well as we get into the new year, as we get the countdown and the ball drop and all that fun stuff that happens right around midnight. Wherever you are tonight, wherever you are right now, when you're listening to the show, I hope you have a fantastic, fantastic New Year's Eve and stay safe. What we're going to do very quickly, because today, obviously, the day after in the National Football League, with a lot of coaching changes, we're going to talk briefly about some of the coaching changes and two Patriots coordinators slash defensive play callers, let's put it that way, that might be in the mix for some of these jobs. So we're going to talk about what jobs I think are the most enticing,

at least from where I sit. We're going to kind of look at where to land in spots for these two potential guys. And so we're going to talk a little bit about that. But before we do all of that, a reminder to follow me on Twitter at Mark Schofield. Check out the work at places like InsideThePylon.com, Pro Football Weekly, The Score, Matt Waldman's Rookie Scouting Portfolio, Big Blue View, part of the SB Nation family of one-size-fits-fits. If there's an outlet that is covering the National Football League or the game of football itself, chances are I'm doing some work for them.

Let's get into it though. We currently have eight head coaching jobs that are, plus one very intriguing offensive coordinator spot that we'll get to in a little bit. So we're going to talk about eight head coaching gigs, as well as this one offensive coordinator gig, which isn't too much of a concern for the Patriots, because I don't think Josh McDaniels is going to make a lateral move, but Steve Sarkeesian is out as the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons.

I think that's a pretty enticing gig when you look at Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, Calvin Wrigley, Muhammad Sanu, Coleman, Freeman. You've got a very nice base to work around. I think that offense didn't live up to the potential that it had on paper. But that's an enticing gig. You might see a very talented new young quarterback coach, offensive mind, receivers coach, make the leap. Maybe, here's a name I'll throw out there. I know he just got the gig at USC,

but Cliff Clinsbury. You might want to get in touch with him if you're Atlanta. He'd be a nice name to look at the mix there. So that's the Atlanta offensive coordinator gig. But we've got eight head coaching gigs. We've got the two vacancies right now with the Browns and the Packers. It sounds like the Browns seem to be talking maybe Mike McCarthy. Bruce Arians has expressed some interest in it.

So we're hearing some names being associated with that position. If it were me, and I've said this on a couple of different shows, don't tip over the apple cart. You look at how this team played after Hugh Jackson. I know Greg Williams, he has the whole bounty gate kind of associated with him, but I think he's kind of earned himself a shot, particularly with the way that team played down the stretch. I think with Freddie Kitchens, you've seen what he can do with Baker Mayfield.

I think you leave that intact, but it seems like the organization wants to go in a different direction. So there's that job. There's the Green Bay Packers job. We're hearing both Flores, Brian Flores, Patriots offensive play caller, as well as Josh McDaniels associated with that one as well. And so that's a very interesting one. But then we've got the six fire-ins that came down today. I don't think any of them were truly a surprise. Todd Boles out with the New York Jets. Adam Gase out in Miami with the Dolphins.

Vance Joseph, after two years, he is done as head coach of the Denver Broncos. Marvin Lewis, after 16 seasons in Cincinnati, the hammer finally falls on Marvin Lewis. Obvious to the name that we're already seeing, Hugh Jackson, associated with that potential gig. Dirk Cutter for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he is out of a job right now, as is Steve Wilks, who is one and done at Arizona. And I think that's pretty tough. That team, look, people can say they had talent

on both sides of the ball, and I get it. But the issue there, I think, was one of offensive coordinator. I think the Mike McCoy hire, and I got to take an L on that one because I thought the parent of Josh Rosen and Mike McCoy was fantastic. I thought smart offensive coordinator, guy that was known for having complexity to his offense, Josh Rosen, sort of the guy that was the millennial. He was almost given a red flag for being too curious, too smart, all that kind of stuff.

I thought it was the perfect parent. It did not work out. So I had to take an L on that call, but that's what I do. I own up to my losses. Look, I missed it. I think, you know, moving on from Steve Wilkes, there's a lack of patience with some of these teams, some of these franchises. And we can talk about Denver right now. The problem with the Denver Broncos was the quarterback position, and it has been under the John Elway era. Elway lucked in to get Peyton Manning. And yes, they put some defensive talent around him,

and that defense sort of helped them win a Super Bowl with Peyton Manning when he was not the Peyton Manning we know and love. But when you look at the decisions that John Elway has made at the quarterback spot, you draft Brock Osweiler, you draft Paxton Lynch, you go out and you get Case Keenum, and I thought that Keenum signing was a good one. That didn't seem to pan out. Maybe the problem is the calls that I make. But Vance Joseph, he's the one that has to fall on the sword out in Denver.

Adam Gase, probably not a surprising one there. Apparently, ownership and Gase, there was starting to be a little bit of loggerheads. Gase was asked to sort of give up control, play a personnel type stuff. Didn't want to do that. He seemed to be reaching sort of a standway between him and Steven Ross, and so now Adam Gase is out. We talked about Vance Joseph.

We talked a little bit about Marvin Lewis. You know, Dirk Conner, that might be a little bit of a surprise, but I think with the talent they have, particularly in the offensive side of the ball, with Winston, with Mike Evans, you add in Deshaun Jackson, you add in O.J. Howard, you've got Cameron Brate, you've got Adam Humphreys, you add Chris Godwin to that mix.

That was an offense that people thought was going to put up points in bunches, and they didn't do it. I think the more curious thing to watch there is the Jameis Winston factory. This is the fifth year of his rookie deal, fifth year option. Now, given the quarterback market, they're probably going to roll with him, but a new regime might want to prepare for life perhaps without Jameis Winston.

So that's going to be an interesting one to watch. J.C. Cottrell over at the Draft Network, he's sort of plugged into the Tampa Bay area. He keeps saying Bruce Arians. He's been saying that for a while now on Twitter. So I guess that's a name to watch. And Arians kind of said that he would talk. He knows Jason Licht, the general manager down there.

And so that might be one to watch. Now, with Brian Flores and Josh McDaniels, they've already been both linked to the Packers. Apparently, they are going to reach out to them, get some interviews with them. And that would be an interesting job. Especially, look, if you're Josh McDaniels, the chance to move from Coach and Tom Brady to Aaron Rodgers,

that might be a nice little fit. But the Packers also want to talk about Brian Flores as well as Mike Munchak. New Orleans Saints tight ends coach Dan Campbell. Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line coach Mike Munchak, like I said. They've already interviewed Jim Caldwell, Chuck Pagano. They also want to interview Pat Fitzgerald. And I think of these eight gigs, if you're Flores or McDaniels, that should be near the top of your list.

I think the top gig, believe it or not, is the Cleveland Browns. I think for whichever coach, Flores or McDaniels, you want to have success early You go to Cleveland You look at the way that team played The way they finished Yeah they didn't have a winning record But did you expect Cleveland to go from 0-16 to a winning record? Probably not

But they made a nice little run And so I think that Cleveland Browns gig is extremely enticing. I think the Packers one is enticing. Then it gets a little tricky. If you want to rank these, I go Browns, I go Packers. Next, I think I go with the Jets because part of the problem with a lot of these teams is the quarterback position.

I think the Jets got it figured out. And after the Jets, I think you probably go Tampa Bay. Yes, there's a question about Jameis Winston and that situation, but you look at the talent on the offensive side of the ball around him, you can certainly build around another quarterback if you want to go in that direction. And even if you decide coming in that you're going to roll with Jameis Winston,

he can still do some nice things. And so there is some talent there. After that, it thins out a little bit. You could make a case that the next best gig after that might be Miami, but you've got a Ryan Tannehill issue there, you could make a case that the next best gig after that might be Miami, but you've got a Ryan Tannehill issue there.

You could make a case that maybe it's the Bengals or the Broncos, but there's still issues with the quarterback position of both of those teams. Are you really going to ride with Andy Dalton? Are you really going to roll with Case Keenum? And so maybe you look at, even though they played so poorly and they seem to need

a lot of help, and Josh Rosen seemed bad at times, you've still got the rookie quarterback. And I just finished a piece over at Big Blue View, again, part of the SB Nation family of websites, talking about how the Giants should address the quarterback position. I run through all the various scenarios. You punt it to next year, and you roll with Eli for one last season. You acquire somebody via a trade or free agency, whether it's Bridgewater, Jacoby Brissett, Nick Foles,

you go that route. You throw everything you can and make sure you get somebody in the draft, ideally Dwayne Haskins, you go that route. Or maybe you try sort of a kitchen sink approach. You bring Eli back, You make a trade for Brissette. You draft somebody, say, early in the second round, like a Will Greer or a Daniel Jones or a Drew Locke if they fall. And you have Kylo Letta still, and you just throw as much in terms of resources at the problem and try to fix it that way.

And eventually what I came down to is I think even with all those options, the best thing you can do is go get a rookie quarterback. Why? Because there is no more competitive advantage you can get in this league right now than a rookie quarterback on his rookie deal. Look at this year's playoffs. Of the 12 teams in the dance, seven of them have a rookie quarterback on his rookie deal. Yeah, the Eagles one is a bit tricky because he's hurt, but still.

And one of the teams, the Seattle Seahawks, they set the blueprint for doing this when they won a Super Bowl with Russell Wilson on his rookie deal. Why is it so valuable? Because you can throw money at other problems. You can maximize the talent around him. Look at the Chicago Bears this year. Again, I cover Mitchell Trubisky for Pro Football Weekly.

I have seen every single snap, throw, decision read he has made this year. Can he get there eventually? Sure. Is he there now? No. But they're hosting a playoff game next weekend, and they almost got a first-round bye. Why? Because they were able to go out and get other pieces and put talent around him. And Matt Nagy has done a first-round buy. Why? Because they were able to go out and get other pieces and put talent around him. And Matt Nagy has done a fantastic job, yes.

Mitchell Drabisky has shown some development, yes. But a rookie quarterback playing on a rookie deal, it's such a competitive advantage to have. And so you look at Cincinnati, you've got Andy Dalton. You look at Denver, you've still got Case Keenum. You look at Miami, well, you've still got the Tannehill decision lingers. And so you come to Arizona, and yeah, they were bad this year. Didn't live up to their potential, and Josh Rosen looked bad.

But you could get somebody with him. You could have that sort of Goff slash McVay next season. You know, the type of jump that we saw from Jared Goff. Is it outside the realm of possibility that Josh Rosen could make that kind of leap? Certainly not. Would it surprise me? Absolutely not. Why? Goff was my QB1 that year. Rosen was my QB1 last year. I didn't give up on Jared Goff. I thought he needed some help and some good coaching. Same thing with Josh Rosen. And so I think you can make the case, especially if you're

Josh McDaniels and you don't get this Packers job, you don't get considered for that Browns job, go out to Arizona. That was a pretty good pass defense, pretty talented defense. You've got talent around you. You've got Johnson.

You're going to get another year of Larry Fitzgerald. Christian Kirk looks to be a good wide receiver. Ricky Seals-Jones looks to be a pretty good tight end. You can add some pieces here and there through the draft, and you'll be rolling. And when you look at what the Arizona Cardinals have, they have something pretty big, which is the first overall pick.

And you can go in a lot of different directions if you're Arizona. And you've got a first round pick at one, a second round pick at 33, a third round pick at 65. Those are three pretty good picks. You could go Bosa out of the gate, you're pairing him with Chandler Jones

and you can get after it on the defensive side of the ball. And so I think there's a lot that the Cardinals could do. That's a pretty enticing job to me. You could mortgage that first pick and slide back a bit. Because look at this draft order right now. You've got, I'd say, two wild cards at 4-5. Oakland and Tampa Bay.

Obviously, Oakland making the move with Mike Mayock. Fantastic. Congratulations to him, the new general manager. Those are two wild card teams to get in the quarterback mix. But then at 6, you've got the Giants. At 7, you've got the Jaguars. Both of those teams are probably going to be in the quarterback mix. One of them probably wants to get up.

There might be an arms race to get up as high as you can. Arizona could stockpile some stuff. The thing with the Giants is, you look at the draft picks that they have, they've got a first, a second, and that's it until day three. In terms of Jacksonville, what do they have to get up? They've got a first, a second, and a third. So you might have to see one of those teams do something more enticing

because when you look at some of the deals that were made last year, for example, when the Jets went from six to three, I believe they gave up a first and two seconds as well as a future second. I might have that wrong. And when the Bills came up to seven from 12, it was something similar. So those teams might need to sweeten that deal. But Arizona holds a lot of cards, pun intended. So I think that's a pretty enticing job.

But more than anything, I think it's going to be fascinating to see sort of how this plays out, especially, I think, for, I mean, I guess for both of these guys so with mcdaniels you have the situation from last year in the colts with flores he wasn't even technically the defensive coordinator this year you know but he's already getting some head coaching interviews he had some last year he seems to be the next sort of hot young defensive minded guy out there and when you look at the job that this patriots defense has done this year you can say that he's had a pretty good impact on this defense. And so the coaching carousel is in full swing. Again, I think

the Browns and the Packers, those are probably the two best gigs out there. I'd say the Jets at third. And then for all the reasons I kind of outlined, I think it's either Tampa Bay or Arizona as the jobs that would be intriguing to me. Look, if my phone ran, that's the order I'd rank them. Not that my phone's running for any head coaching gigs right now. At least not yet. Before we go, though, I do want to say,

as this is the last chance I want to talk to you here in 2018, New Year's Eve often time for resolutions. And I typically make the same lame resolution every New Year's Eve. I don't go hardcore like I'm going to go to the gym 15 times a week or I'm going to lose 35 pounds or whatever.

The resolution I make every year is that I'm going to be better. I'm going to be a better father. I'm going to be a better son, better brother, better husband. I'm going to be a better podcast host. I'm going to be a better football writer. I make that same resolution every year that I'm going to be better. And so this was a very good year for the Locked on Patriots podcast. I thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for listening day in and day out, for tagging

along with the tweets, joining the Locked on Patriots Slack channel. Again, at Mark Schofield if you'd like an invite. But I'm going to do it better next year. I'm going to do it better next year. Start in 2019, more guests, more of other people, less of me just sitting here yapping in your ears. Although it is fun to do that. But I'm going to try to do it even

better next year. And I do want to leave you with this. Again, it's a joy coming into your homes each and every single day. You know, getting to know a lot of you via Twitter and elsewhere. You guys all, the guys and girls that listen to the show it means a ton to me that you do that

and I thank you from the bottom of my heart I want you all to have a wonderful New Year's Eve to be safe, to be responsible if you're going to be drinking please don't drive use Lyft, use Uber take care of yourselves be safe tonight.

Enjoy New Year's Eve, New Year's Day. We will be back to regular shows on Wednesday. We'll start looking ahead. We'll take a look back, I think, at the Jets game, and then we'll start looking ahead to potential playoff opponents and things like that. But be safe. Love you all.

Have a fantastic, fantastic New Year's, and I will see you in 2019.