Tag Archives: Aaron Glenn

Predicting The 2026 NFL Season

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It’s that time of year again, where I try to predict all the division winners and the playoff outcomes. Let’s go! Here are my prior season predictions:

I don’t really have a whole lot to hang my hat on from last year. I had the Broncos winning the West, which was a little bit of an upset, but not huge. There’s lots of nuggets of sounding like I know what I’m talking about, but I also had the Ravens in the AFC Championship Game, and they didn’t even make the fucking playoffs.

2026 is a new year, though! So, let’s dance.

NFC East

  • Dallas Cowboys
  • Philadelphia Eagles
  • New York Giants
  • Washington Commanders

Yeah, I guess I’ll bite. This will probably look super dumb at this point next year, but Dallas is a very chic pick. The offense looks tremendous, and the defense appears to have taken strides towards improvement. I like them and the Eagles to be neck and neck; maybe a tiebreaker situaton gives Dallas the edge. Also, watch out for the Giants. Don’t ask me why; I don’t believe they’ll have what it takes to make the playoffs, but they could get close. I like Washington to be TERRIBLE.

NFC North

  • Green Bay Packers
  • Chicago Bears
  • Detroit Lions
  • Minnesota Vikings

This is the most difficult division to predict, because all of the teams have a chance to be good. Many are saying it’s going to be the best division in football, which usually feels like a death knell for said division. I have decided to just run back my prediction from last year. I’m choosing to drink the Jordan Love Kool Aid. I’m choosing to believe Ben Johnson will be a Top 6 head coach after this season. I’m also choosing to believe that the Lions keep getting massive amounts of injuries for a reason, and maybe Dan Campbell is kind of an idiot. Finally, I choose to believe Kyler Murray sucks, and no amount of KOC is going to fix that quarterback room.

NFC South

  • New Orleans Saints
  • Carolina Panthers
  • Tampa Bay Bucaneers
  • Atlanta Falcons

I’ll also gladly step onto the Saints bandwagon, as I think Tyler Shough is the real deal! And, in spite of losing a valued D-Lineman, I think the Saints have enough on defense to win this pathetic division. I was going to throw Tampa into the second spot, but they hired one of the worst OCs of recent memory in Zac Robinson (he was with the Falcons last year, and didn’t know what the FUCK he was doing), so they’re third. I legitimately believe Carolina has a good coaching staff, and will continue to hang around .500 in spite of Bryce Young. The Falcons are kind of a disaster, as much as it pains me. Tua has no business starting over Penix. You could chop any three limbs off of Penix’s body and he should still play over Tua!

NFC West

  • Los Angeles Rams
  • Seattle Seahawks
  • San Francisco 49ers
  • Arizona Cardinals

I’m taking all of my homerism out of the equation here. This brings me zero joy, and quite frankly, I hope to God I’m wrong! But, I got the Rams here. It’s not that I believe Seattle will be bad – indeed, they might be my highest-rated wild card team – but I just think the Rams have a chance to be a 2-loss team. I also think the 49ers will be mediocre, and the Cards will be one of the worst teams in football.

AFC East

  • Buffalo Bills
  • New England Patriots
  • Miami Dolphins
  • New York Jets

Maybe my biggest upset of this whole post is NOT having the Dolphins fourth. That just goes to show how little I believe in Geno Smith and Aaron Glenn. I like the Bills for a bounce-back, and I like the Patriots to lay a big, fat turd! Here’s a prediction for ya: the Pats will NOT be back in this year’s playoffs!

AFC North

  • Cincinnati Bengals
  • Baltimore Ravens
  • Cleveland Browns
  • Pittsburgh Steelers

Here’s what I’m thinking: I’m going to pick every single chic team from this offseason to win their respective divisions (Cowboys, Packers, Saints, Rams, Bills, Bengals) and just hope to hit on like 2/3 of them. I will say that this is very much a Heart pick, and not a Head pick. I want the Bengals back in the playoffs. I want Joe Burrow to stay healthy for the full season. And, I’m curious to see if the moves they made on defense can be just good enough. That being said, I don’t think any other team is an overwhelming favorite. I’ll believe the Ravens when I see it; moving on from John Harbaugh feels like a mistake. The Browns are obviously a joke. But, that being said, I think the Steelers will be worse. Aaron Rodgers is toast. McCarthy is kind of a loser. The defense is old and overrated. D.K. Metcalf is abysmal. I think the Steelers will finally bottom out and next year will have a real chance to draft their quarterback of the future.

AFC South

  • Houston Texans
  • Jacksonville Jaguars
  • Tennessee Titans
  • Indianapolis Colts

I like the Texans a lot. So much, in fact, I’m predicting they will get the #1 seed in the AFC. I still like the Jags to make the playoffs. I like the Titans to take a step forward, and I like the Colts to take a step back.

AFC West

  • Denver Broncos
  • Kansas City Chiefs
  • Los Angeles Chargers
  • Las Vegas Raiders

I just think the Broncos are good. Their defense is great, and the offense is fine. Here’s something for you: I like both the Chiefs and Chargers as wild card teams! And, I like the Raiders to be better than last year, but not good enough to make the playoffs.

NFC Playoffs

  1. Los Angeles Rams
  2. Green Bay Packers
  3. Dallas Cowboys
  4. New Orleans Saints
  5. Seattle Seahawks
  6. Philadelphia Eagles
  7. Chicago Bears

AFC Playoffs

  1. Houston Texans
  2. Buffalo Bills
  3. Denver Broncos
  4. Cincinnati Bengals
  5. Jacksonville Jaguars
  6. Kansas City Chiefs
  7. Los Angeles Chargers

Wild Card Round

  • Packers over Bears
  • Eagles over Cowboys
  • Seahawks over Saints
  • Bills over Chargers
  • Chiefs over Broncos
  • Jaguars over Bengals

Divisional Round

  • Rams over Eagles
  • Seahawks over Packers
  • Texans over Chiefs
  • Bills over Jaguars

Championship Round

  • Seahawks over Rams
  • Texans over Bills

Super Bowl LXI

  • Seahawks over Texans

The Seahawks Are Lucky To Have Mike Macdonald

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I’m not going to sit here and tell you Mike Macdonald is the best coach in the NFL or anything. He still has a long way to go in his burgeoning career. But, in seeing what’s been going on this year with the coaching carousel – and what goes on EVERY year in the coaching carousel – it’s become more and more apparent that there very much AREN’T 32 qualified NFL head coaches in existence.

It feels particularly wild this time around. While Pete Carroll being One & Done with the Raiders isn’t totally shocking, he’s still a huge name and potential Hall of Famer. John Harbaugh, however, really took the world by surprise; who knew there were so many problems in Baltimore? I thought that was one of the most stable and together organizations in the league! Miami, Cleveland, Atlanta, Arizona, Tennessee, the Giants, they all round out a new 8-man class of incoming head coaches. Some will inevitably be retreads (probably one of the spots going to Harbaugh right away), some will be new guys most of us have never heard of. But, how many will stick?

Looking ahead, there are a number of teams on thin ice; it’s never a good sign when an organization has to give out a press release specifically noting someone isn’t going to be fired. I’m looking at Tampa, Cinci, probably the Jets again, maybe Indy, apparently the Packers and Eagles, and whoever ends up being One & Done from this class. Also, can’t count out old timers like Tomlin, Reid, and McDermott.

There’s lots of retreads besides Harbaugh in the mix. Stefanski is a big name. Brian Flores has done great things as a DC in Minnesota. Mike McCarthy after a year off is in high demand. Robert Saleh again for some reason. Kliff Kingsbury has already abdicated his OC job with Washington in hopes of being a head coach. Even guys like Matt Nagy, Steve Spagnuolo, and Vance Joseph are getting multiple interviews!

Do any of these guys inspire confidence? Harbaugh for sure. Maybe Stefanski. MAYBE Flores in the right situation, and if you can get him to call the defense. Same goes with Kingsbury and the offense. But, the rest of those guys?

Who are the new guys looking to get a shot? Chris Shula is a hot name, as DC of the Rams. Lou Anarumo as DC of the Colts (and previously with the Bengals). Jesse Minter, DC of the Chargers, is apparently a hot name. And even Klint Kubiak and Aden Durde with the Seahawks are taking interviews!

Of those names, Shula is interesting to me. That Rams defense turned around in a hurry, and unlike all of their offensive assistants who get OC jobs elsewhere, Shula actually has play-calling and scheming experience. Minter sounds promising; anyone who is a Harbaugh guy is immediately high in my book.

It just makes me feel incredibly lucky that we got Mike Macdonald, especially when he’s coming right on the heels of Pete Carroll, who was the best head coach we ever had.

I feel doubly lucky when I look at Macdonald’s head coaching class of 2024. There were 8 openings that year too; 4 of them have already been fired. That’s how crazy it’s been, how crazy it always is. You knew Brian Callahan, Raheem Morris, and Jerod Mayo wouldn’t work out. Shit, the Raiders are on their third coach in three years now! Of the guys still around, it’s Jim Harbaugh, Dan Quinn (two guys with proven track records), and Dave Canales (who, with Macdonald, appears to be one of the good up-and-coming head coaches in this league).

As for the 2025 class, Carroll is already gone; Aaron Glenn feels like a firing waiting to happen (because they’re the Jets, and because they somehow had zero interceptions as a defense?); Schotty is no great shakes, but Dallas is weirdly loyal, so he’ll probably stick around a few years; Kellen Moore is specifically tied to how well Tyler Shough develops (so far, so good); Vrabel has a great thing going in New England; and Ben Johnson and Liam Coen look like two of the good ones, who should be fixtures for a good, long time.

I’ll say this, I look around the NFL, and I don’t see very many – if any – I would rather have than Mike Macdonald, especially factoring in his defensive play-calling and scheming. It’s tough out there for some of these organizations. I don’t envy very many of them, that’s for damn sure.

All I know is, the Seahawks have the presumptive favorite for NFL Executive of the Year in John Schneider, and one of the top two or three NFL Head Coach of the Year candidates in Macdonald. Things are pretty damn good in Seattle right now; let’s hope it continues indefinitely!

Where does Mike Macdonald Rank Among Current NFL Head Coaches?

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Oh the NFL offseason, when you’ve really gotta scrape the bottom of the barrel to come up with topics to write about! I know the NFL is a year-round league that’s always coming up with interesting news stories and whatnot, but you can’t literally find 365 days’ worth of compelling content!

Anyway, I read this post the other day from Field Gulls, and came away surprisingly intrigued! So intrigued, in fact, that I decided to do my own list! Here are the parameters: rank head coaches from 1 to 27 (not counting first-time head coaches who have yet to actually coach a game). Here is the list I came up with:

  1. Andy Reid
  2. Sean McVay
  3. John Harbaugh
  4. Sean McDermott
  5. Dan Campbell
  6. Kyle Shanahan
  7. Kevin O’Connell
  8. Matt LaFleur
  9. Dan Quinn
  10. Nick Sirianni
  11. Jim Harbaugh
  12. Mike Tomlin
  13. Pete Carroll
  14. Sean Payton
  15. Mike Vrabel
  16. DeMarco Ryans
  17. Zac Taylor
  18. Mike Macdonald
  19. Todd Bowles
  20. Kevin Stefanski
  21. Jonathan Gannon
  22. Dave Canales
  23. Brian Daboll
  24. Mike McDaniel
  25. Raheem Morris
  26. Shane Steichen
  27. Brian Callahan

As far as the rookies are concerned, I think Ben Johnson is in a good spot, I like Aaron Glenn a lot (but think he’s in a bad spot), I’m not wildly impressed with Brian Schottenheimer, but think he’ll be okay in Dallas (certainly not a Super Bowl winner, though). I still don’t know who Liam Coen is, and I think Kellen Moore will probably be One & Done.

Anyway, when I originally read the Field Gulls post, I thought Mike Macdonald was drastically underrated. But, then I did the list myself, and he only went up 1 slot.

There’s a couple of ways to do that list, though. The way I did it, I tried to incorporate the whole body of work of that coach. So, you know, if you’ve been consistently great, if you’ve won a Super Bowl, or put up good showings in the playoffs, you got slotted higher. But, that doesn’t necessarily mean some of those Super Bowl winners are guys I would want coaching the Seahawks right now!

Like, for instance, you’ll see Pete Carroll rated quite a bit higher than Macdonald, but that doesn’t mean I would rather have Pete back in Seattle. It just means I’m showing him respect as someone who did a lot to change the culture with the Seahawks, and took us to back-to-back Super Bowls, winning one.

If the exercise was: who would I want coaching the Seahawks right now, I feel like Macdonald would fare much better.

I think my top four would remain (seriously, I don’t understand how McDermott is so disrespected; he has five division titles and 7 playoff appearances dating back to his hire in 2017). After those guys, I think there’s a big pile in the next tier who are all pretty equal. This includes Macdonald, Dan Campbell, Shanahan, KOC, LaFleur, DQ, Jim Harbaugh, Tomlin, Vrabel, Payton, Sirianni, and Zac Taylor (I feel like he’s good, but the Bengals don’t do enough to field a balanced team for him). I don’t know if there’s anyone in that next tier who I’d rather have over Macdonald, if I put each coach head-to-head and made a pros & cons list.

I agree with the author of that Field Gulls post; defensive-minded coaches often get short shrift. That’s why I’m not automatically making Shanahan the #5 guy. I think guys like Campbell and Sirianni are in the perfect spots for their talents, but they wouldn’t necessarily translate to winners everywhere else. I need to see more in the playoffs from KOC or LaFleur before I automatically annoint them. And guys like DQ, Harbaugh, Tomlin, Vrabel, and Payton are all solid, but you really have to cede a lot of control to those guys, and if they don’t have the right QB, they’re pretty mediocre. That being said, I think it comes down to DQ or Jim Harbaugh for me. They have a good sense of how they want their teams built, and it tends to jive with what I want from the Seahawks.

So, yeah, in the list that matters, I would rank Mike Macdonald fifth. He’s the defensive version of what KOC and LaFleur do on offense. And I would always prefer the defensive wunderkind over the offensive one. But, he’s still got to put it all together if he wants to stay in the Top 5, or move into that vaunted Top 4.

It’ll be interesting to see where he ranks among the national media next year. It doesn’t seem like he gets very much credit for winning 10 games as a rookie head coach. I guess that team had too much of Pete Carroll’s hands on it, even though there’s no way in Hell that Pete could’ve gotten to 10 wins. Not with his bullshit assistant coaches. But, the 2025 Seahawks have much more of a Macdonald flare to it. No Geno Smith, no D.K. Metcalf, everyone doubting the Seahawks will win more than 8 games. If Macdonald gets to 10+ wins with THIS team? That’s a recipe to move up that list considerably!