This edition of Grading the NFL Coaches looks at the AFC East. Is this just another sports article where one facet of a league or team is arbitrarily graded? Are rhetorical questions annoying as shit?
Chan Gailey, Buffalo Bills – third season
2012 is the make or break year for Chan in Buffalo. In his third season, Gailey has gone from 4 wins to 6 wins and now has a team with some legitimate talent. The Bills are poised to make some noise in the East this season which means Gailey will have to deal with something that he’s never experienced in Buffalo: expectations. He’s done a nice job so far with a young team and this season will tell you all you need to know about his tenure in Buffalo. A finish of .500 or better and Chan will have the team buying in and pointing upward. Finishing with 6 or less wins (assuming the team isn’t ravaged by injuries) and it will be clear that he’s not the right man for the job. Grade: C-
Rex Ryan, New York Jets – fourth season
It’s very easy for the Rex haters to proclaim him ‘just a coordinator’ and ‘just like his father’ and say he’ll never win a Super Bowl. You can also argue that his constant chest-beating bravado will backfire soon (if it hasn’t already) if the Jets don’t make good on it by making at least a Super Bowl appearance. All of that might be the case one day – but until then, all you can do is judge Rex by his body of work. In three full seasons, he’s taken his team to the brink of the Super Bowl with a very average quarterback twice before last year’s disappointing campaign. Ryan’s grade was far better before he admitted to not knowing who was on the field as Santonio Holmes pouted on the bench in last year’s regular season finale against Miami. With a team full of talkers and the addition of one of the most polarizing figures in NFL history sure to cause a quarterback controversy, Rex will be heavily tested in 2012. Grade: B
Bill Belichick, New England Patriots – thirteenth season
Analyzing Belichick is really a tale of two coaches. His first six years were the championship seasons – driven by defense and unselfishness with just enough offense to win – when he made his legend. These past few seasons have featured the new Patriots – the offensive juggernauts with a defense that seems to get worse each season. High expectations for the defense going into 2011 were quickly dashed with what might be the worst defensive unit in the Belichick era. Bill is a hall of fame coach without question. And let’s face it, if you had to pick one current NFL coach to be the head coach of a do-or-die game, aren’t you choosing BB at least 90% of the time? One more Super Bowl win will permanently enter him into the discussion of all-time greats. Grade: A
Joe Philbin, Miami Dolphins – first season
Poor Philbin inherits a team that took a step back in 2011, finishing 6-10 after back-to-back 7-9 seasons under Tony Sparano. Philbin also saw his best player get traded when Brandon Marshall was shipped off to Chicago. Marshall’s replacement, Chad Johnson, just headbutted his way off the team and now the Dolphins are staring at the potential of an epically bad season. The AFC East seems to be even more competitive than normal with the emergence of the Bills so the Dolphins might consider themselves lucky to match last year’s win total. Grade: Incomplete – first head coaching job
Give Me Liberty 