For certain. And I think that it’s probably difficult, at least emotionally/mentally, for a star player to have to “put in dues,” learn how to coach as an assistant, and move up the ranks, which is what it typically takes to become a successful coordinator, much less head coach.
As you note, Harbaugh and Kubiak were NFL QBs, but neither of them big stars, who then did work their way up in the coaching ranks: Harbaugh was an assistant for ten years before his first head coaching gig, while Kubiak was an assistant coach (mostly an offensive coordinator) for fifteen years.
“Don’t discount that if Aaron Rodgers is ever going to play football again, the one person on the planet besides Mike Tomlin he might consider doing that with is Mike McCarthy,”Pelissero told Eisenon Monday.
He then followed up with an appearance on Friday’s show, providing more context.
“I do believe that if Aaron Rodgers were coming back to play for one coach in 2026, it would be Mike McCarthy,”Pelissero said.
Pelissero clarified that if the Steelers hire McCarthy, it won’t be a move to tempt Rodgers to return. They believe McCarthy can make a long-term impact, especially with his track record of developing young quarterbacks. But it sure would be a bonus to get an additional year of Rodgers back in the same McCarthy system where it all started.
Two favorites of fans in Wisconsin are potential candidates for the Packers’ defensive coordinator job, now that Jeff Hafley has become the Dolphins’ HC:
Al Harris, who was a cornerback for the Packers for eight seasons. Harris’s most famous moment as a Packer was likely in the 2003 Wild Card game against the Seahawks, in which his overtime pick-six off of Matt Hasselbeck won the game. Harris is currently the defensive backfield coach for the Bears, who led the league in interceptions this season.
Jim Leonhard, who is currently the defensive pass game coordinator and assistant head coach for the Broncos. Leonard grew up in northern Wisconsin, and played defensive back at the University of Wisconsin: he was a walk-on, and went on to be two-time All-Big 10. After retiring from the NFL as a player, he joined Wisconsin’s coaching staff, and ultimately became defensive coordinator; when head coach Paul Chryst was fired, many Badger fans wanted to see Leonhard get the HC position, but the school instead hired Cincinnati’s Luke Fickell, and Leonhard departed.
They have interviewed Harris, but can’t do an in-person interview with Leonhard until after the Broncos’ season is over.
And, it turns out to be neither Harris nor Leonhard, with the Packers reaching an agreement with former Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon to become their DC.
The ESPN article indicates that there had been mutual interest between Matt LaFleur and Leonhard, but the Packers had missed out on the earlier window to do an in-person interview with him (as, at that time, Hafley had not yet taken the Dolphins job), and I’m guessing that they didn’t want to wait any longer. Which makes me sad, as I have a lot of respect for Leonhard, and think he would have been a great fit.
Philip Rivers has withdrawn himself from consideration for the Bills’ head coaching job.
As we discussed upthread, he has no coaching experience at the college or professional level; I’m not seeing any direct attribution from Rivers as to why he withdrew, but I hope that it was a matter of him realizing he lacked the experience to be successful at the role.
In other news, Grant Udinski has apparently withdrawn himself from consideration for Browns HC. Looks like he’s either going to be the new Bills’ coach or will stay (with a raise) in Jacksonville. That makes him the 3rd major candidate to withdraw from consideration, following Mike McDaniel (now OC with the Chargers) and Jesse Minter (new HC for division rival Baltimore).
This many coaches saying they don’t actually want to coach in Cleveland has got to be a kick in the teeth for Cleveland ownership/management.
One thing I am learning about this season (from my son, who is all into this stuff), is that not all organizations are equal - some of them just suck. From what he says, the likes of Cleveland, the Jets, the Cowboys, and a couple others are bogged-down with owners or managers who don’t know enuf about football, or how football is played today, and refuse to put football decisions in the hands of people who know more than they do. Talented staff know the score in the league on this, so they avoid these “opportunities” unless they are desperate. So, they field reliably miserable teams every season.
That is very true. Dan Snyder used to be one as well until he was forced to sell his team. But that’s the thing about being a wealthy owner. They may want to win but the arrogant ones value their own judgement more than winning (and like to blame others when they inevitably fail).
That said, there are only 32 of these jobs in the world, and if you put yourself out there for a HC job for a particular team, it’s comparatively rare to withdraw from that team’s search, no matter how bad the team - coaches usually do their homework beforehand so it doesn’t get to that point. That 3 have done so is quite unusual, even by bad NFL team standards.
In the case of Cleveland, they’re notoriously incompetent about the non-football stuff as well. Even before the Watson fiasco that has financially crippled the roster for years, they had this shining example of ineptitude:
Even Bengals coach Marvin Lewis still looked stunned at the turn of events, thinking back to what started as a quiet Tuesday.
“It was quiet! At least until …” and then he trailed off.
Lewis said he’s not sure he has ever seen anything like this in his tenure.
They had a deal in place to trade for a player that was botched by not filing paperwork in time.
And, in the case of the Cowboys, the 83-year-old owner is also the GM; his children are the Director of Player Personnel, the Chief Brand Officer, and the Director of Sales. Nepotism rarely leads to ideal business results.
Don’t forget he got rid of Jimmy Johnson because he couldn’t handle anybody else getting so much credit for the success. Dallas got one more Super Bowl, largely with holdover players from Johnson and they haven’t anything approaching that sustained level of success since
Indeed. I suspect that Jones also falls in love with certain players and coaches (e.g., Jason Garrett, Dez Bryant, etc.) and allows that to cloud making difficult business decisions regarding them.
I gots my opinions on Buffalo’s management but I do sincerely hope it goes well for the fans and for Josh Allen. They, at least, seem to be class acts.
This leaves the three least desirable openings - Raiders, Browns, and Cardinals. It’ll be interesting to see how those go, especially with several potential candidates opting to be OCs or DCs on other teams
