David Hunter
The NFL offseason is upon us, for at least 24 organizations, and with that comes new head coaches and new assistant coaches.
Along with the introduction of coaches comes the parting ways of key, sometimes valuable, team players and the acquisitions of new players through the NFL Draft (now being held in May) and the Free Agent market. Along with new players comes old faces, at least to the coaching staff. Most head coaches not only want to put their stamp on their own squads but also allow a quick learning curve and in order to do that, they reach back for familiar players. They may help teammates understand a complex coaching playbook or simply understand what the coach desires on the field in terms of playing style and simply lead by example. In other aspects, they may be utilized to fulfill a role that they filled under the previous coach’s team.
New head coaches, if given enough years, often radically turn over squads and do so in immediate time. One example is the New England Patriots, under Bill Belichick. Many cite the fact that he and Scott Pioli lucked into drafting quarterback Tom Brady in the 6th Round of the 2000 NFL Draft but few are aware how extreme the turnover in the roster was: Patriots Planet Compared the 1999 Patriots to 2004 Patriots. The only holdovers in just 5 Seasons? WR Troy Brown, DE/OLB Willie McGinest, ILB Tedy Bruschi, ILB Ted Johnson, CB Ty Law, and K Adam Vinatieri. That’s just 6 players that remained on the roster, ending up with 3 Super Bowl rings by the end of the 2004 NFL Season.
The Kansas City Chiefs recently hired General Manager John Dorsey and HC Andy Reid at the start of the 2013 NFL Season after going 2-14. Their roster turnover was similarly extreme, signing 30 players out of their 53 man roster whom were not members of the Chiefs during the 2012 NFL Season. As of this post, the Chiefs made the playoffs but got beaten by the Indianapolis Colts 45-44 in the Wild Card Round.
The Importance of the NFL Draft
The Denver Broncos have reveled in absolutely slaughtering the opposition through the arm of QB Peyton Manning and an absolute bevy of weapons at the skill positions, including Free Agent acquisition Wes Welker for the 2013 NFL Season. However, the core of that offense was built much earlier as an aftermath of roster turnover and trying to create a new identity under then Head Coach Josh McDaniels.
– RB Knowshon Moreno was drafted 1×12 in 2009. Finally stayed healthy after multiple injury riddled seasons.
– DE/LB Robert Ayers was drafted 1×18 in 2009. Has never lived up to the draft position but has been a key rotational player on the Broncos defense, finishing 2013 with 5.5 Sacks.
– S David Bruton was drafted 4×114 in 2009. Has never been a starter but is a leader of their ST unit, much like Matt Slater with the New England Patriots.
– WR Demaryius Thomas was drafted 1×22 in 2010. The lynchpin and defacto WR 1 of that offense.
– OG Zane Beadles was drafted 2×45 in 2010. Has been a key starter for the Broncos at LG his entire career.
– WR Eric Decker was drafted 3×87 in 2010. Has been a reliable WR for Peyton and a great WR 2 compliment to Demaryius Thomas.
Although John Fox took over in 2011, he was able to utilize and more importantly, recognize, some of the talent that he had inherited from Josh McDaniels and as a result has complimented those players with his own key draftees including OLB Von Miller, RT Orlando Franklin, TE Julius Thomas, DT Derek Wolfe, and RBs Ronnie Hillman & Montee Ball.
The Buffalo Bills hired Doug Marrone as their head coach for the 2013 NFL Season and immediately underwent a roster overhaul themselves rebuilding to a 6-10 record. They had 16 rookies including many whom went undrafted such as CB Nickell Robey out of USC along with 21 players with just 1 to 2 years of NFL experience. Of those 21 players, 11 of them had been drafted by Buffalo from 2010 – 2012.
Chip Kelly and the Philadelphia Eagles also underwent a similar roster movement as they would wind up making the NFL playoffs only to lose to the New Orleans Saints in the Wild Card Round. They had 11 rookies on their squad, with only 6 actually being drafted by the Eagles themselves. They also had 20 players with at most 2 years of NFL experience and 12 of them were drafted by Philadelphia through either the 2011 Draft or 2012 Draft.
Get Your Guys
Bill Belichick took over the Cleveland Browns in 1991 and immediately went about getting players from his days as Defensive Coordinator of the New York Giants, guys who knew what was expected and knew how to play under him. Although they may have been closer to the tail end of their careers, Belichick recognized how valuable they could be as veteran leaders and teachers to the younger players on his squad.
1991: 3 Players drafted by the NY Giants including RB Joe Morris and K Matt Stover.
1992: 1 Player drafted by the NY Giants in TE Mark Bavaro.
1993: 1 Player drafted by the NY Giants in future assistant coach LB Pepper Johnson.
1994: 1 Player drafted by the NY Giants in LB Carl Banks.
Belichick would again repeat this process almost immediately upon being hired as the Head Coach of the New England Patriots for the 2000 NFL Season. He’d also start showcasing his ability to pilfer a lot of his talent from the AFC East, where the Patriots competed.
2000: CB Antonio Langham had been drafted by Cleveland in 1994. DE Bobby Hamilton and CB Otis Smith both came over from the New York Jets.
2001: DT Anthony Pleasant had been drafted by Cleveland in 1990. STer Larry Izzo and CB Terrell Buckley had played with Miami. LB Roman Phifer had played with the NY Jets in 1999. LB Bryan Cox had played with Miami and then the NY Jets in 1998 and 1999. RB Antowain Smith had played with Buffalo.
2002: DE Rick Lyle had played with Cleveland in 1994 and the NY Jets from 1997-1999. QB Damon Huard had played with Miami. S Victor Green had played with the NY Jets since 1993. TE Fred Baxter had played with the Jets since 1993.
So as the NFL offseason rolls on and teams with new head coaches start examining their salary caps, don’t be surprised to see heavy turnover within 2 or 3 seasons for your favorite team. May occur through the NFL Draft or may happen through free agency as the head coach starts to bring in his players but just know that it’s a nature of the business and a utilization for familiarity and ease of transition.
Credit to The Sports Fan Journal for the feature image.
