Board 8 > NFL Division Playoffs Discussion Topic: Part 2

(+) Yeah! (+)

Pete Carroll is going to be the new Raiders coach

I kinda like that hire actually

Not a fan of how it went down, and not sure he's worth Ben Johnson money (but hey, coaches don't count toward the salary cap anyway), but he got Baalke fired at least.

Hope if we sign him, he's the next great thing, and not the next Josh McDaniels.

woo let's go Hamlin!

Cowboys are indeed making Schottenheimer the next HC

never change, Jerry

Giants have won a playoff game since then, tyvm.

Bears: Ben Johnson A+
Good hire. Maybe he'll work out, maybe he won't. But he's got the potential you want. He was most coveted for a reason. I think the Lions will be fine losing their coordinators, because Dan Campbell is still the man.

Jets: Aaron Glenn B+
Good hire. I like Glenn more than Johnson as a leader. But it's the Jets. Which should mean I grade this on a curve, but they get a reverse curve because they're the Jets. Would probably be an A on another team. I remember when he was a CB for the Jets.

I think the issue is that they're the Bears and their obsession with beating the Packers is highly distracting for them. So despite this splash hire, the NFC North still runs through Detroit for now. Packers are always ones to watch out for, but who knows about the Vikings at this point.

I feel like with better coaching they would have been 9-8 this year. With a good draft, they could be competing for a wildcard spot next year. But, yeah, NFC North is Detroits (with an off chance at the Vikings fluking their way into it or the Packers winning it outright).

• Who will Dan Campbell hire as his new coordinators, and will this cause any cultural changes that make the Lions more vulnerable? This question is most relevant to the defense, given the injuries and Campbell's offensive mind.
• What impact will Benji being Bears HC have on Caleb Williams' development? Can he fix the culture problems in Chicago?
• Who will be the Vikings' QB? Will they re-sign The Darnold, or is he asking for more than he's worth? Will they option Danny Dimes, who is on their practice squad? Will JJ McCarthy amount to something despite missing his entire rookie season due to injury?
• Will the Vikes also have a chip on their shoulder, wishing to prove this last season wasn't the fluke everyone thinks it was after their January collapse?
• Will the Packers' new President have any immediate impacts on the team, or will the Packers just continue doing their thing of drafting, developing, making the playoffs, and bowing out every year?
• Will any team sign the guy that provides the spark they were missing this year?

It's really anybody's game. No other division has all four teams with potential paths to the division title next season.

Like SHINE said, the NFC North is absolute cinema right now. Very hard to predict next year right now, because we have the following questions:
* Who will Dan Campbell hire as his new coordinators, and will this cause any cultural changes that make the Lions more vulnerable? This question is most relevant to the defense, given the injuries and Campbell's offensive mind.
* What impact will Benji being Bears HC have on Caleb Williams' development? Can he fix the culture problems in Chicago?
* Who will be the Vikings' QB? Will they re-sign The Darnold, or is he asking for more than he's worth? Will they option Danny Dimes, who is on their practice squad? Will JJ McCarthy amount to something despite missing his entire rookie season due to injury?
* Will the Vikes also have a chip on their shoulder, wishing to prove this last season wasn't the fluke everyone thinks it was after their January collapse?
* Will the Packers' new President have any immediate impacts on the team, or will the Packers just continue doing their thing of drafting, developing, making the playoffs, and bowing out every year?
* Will any team sign the guy that provides the spark they were missing this year?
It's really anybody's game. No other division has all four teams with potential paths to the division title next season.

I thought the Bears were going 9-8 this year and were, like last year, going to remain in playoff contention for most of the year.

But Eberflus said

Same. I did not think they were going to make the playoffs but I thought they would be hanging around and feisty the whole season.

Although I guess there was that span where they played Washington, Green Bay, Detroit, and Minnesota incredibly close and only went 0-4 because of Eberflus Eberflusing and the dumbest individual play I saw of all time. So maybe they were that team and Eberflus was just one of the worst head coaches in the league I dunno.

"I may have committed one of the greatest fails in NFL history, but I think I did everything right!"

Best coach.

new OC is likely going to come from outside the organization so I'm fine with promoting up for DC

Yeah Eberflus really cratered this team. Not to mention Waldron and his horrendous playcalling.