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The results of the first week of the NFL season are anything but a definitive picture of what each team will look like, but things have been very difficult for organizations starting with a clean slate.
Each team that debuted with a new head coach lost his first game of the year, combining for a 0-7 opening week record.
Seven new coaches have been about average in recent seasons, but according to NFL research, their 0-7 start is the worst of a group of new coaches in league history – the previous record being held by the 0-6 group. in 2001.
Coaches who started their first year with a new team in 2001 were:
- Buffalo Bills: Gregg Williams (replaced Wade Phillips)
- Cleveland Browns: Butch Davis (replaces Chris Palmer)
- Kansas City Chiefs: Dick Vermeil (replaced Gunther Cunningham)
- New York Jets: Herm Edwards (replaced Al Groh)
- Detroit Lions: Marty mornhinweg (replaced Gary Moeller)
- Washington: Marty Schottenheimer (replaced Terry Robiskie)
Davis, who was the last coach to lead the Browns to the playoffs, was arguably the big winner of this group. They went 9-7 in 2002 and lost a 36-33 burner against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the qualifying round.
Is it a stroke of luck, or should we look at the miserable group of 2001 and consider it a giant red flag? Unfortunately, it is likely to be somewhere in between. Some of them are intended for failure. Steve Wilks and Matt Patricia did not win a single victory in Week 1 in Arizona and Detroit, and Jon Gruden has been a disaster since returning to Oakland.
These are not all rain clouds. Here are some things to consider before striking out newcomers in 2018:
- Gruden and Pat Shurmur are the only guys with previous experience as the NFL's head coach. Gruden returned this year after being out of the league for almost 10 years, and Shurmur has managed to win nine games in two seasons with the Browns – which I consider legitimately impressive.
- Titan coach Mike Vrabel lost three critical offensive starters in his 13-3 loss to the Dolphins: quarterback Marcus Mariota, TE Delanie Walker and OT Taylor Lewan – and they've always played well defensively.
- Shurmur's two offensive superstars, Odell Beckham Jr. and Saquon Barkley, were as good as everyone expected, even against the formidable Jaguar defense. At the very least, they held out in a weird 20-15 loss against a team that nearly made it to the Super Bowl.
- Matt Nagy's Bears played in the most exciting game of the week. They went to Lambeau Field and won 20-0 before Aaron Rodgers decides to refuel at Rodgers and bring the Packers back to the brink. Of course, they melted. But they melted against Rodgers at Lambeau. Honestly, who does not? More … KHALIL MACK. The man had a backpack and an interception came back for a touchdown. There is a lot to hope for in Chicago.
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