Serious Question: Would you rather have Kliff as HC with Dan gone, or Dan as HC with Kliff gone?

[grhqofb5]

For the most part, the structure of an NFL coaching staff has evolved into one of three arrangements, although it's not always disclosed to the public.

(1) Head coach with extensive offensive design experience that handles play-calling, with an offensive coordinator that's more of an assistant, and an independent defensive staff;

(2) Head coach with extensive defensive design experience, with a defensive coordinator that is acts more as an assistant, and an independent offensive coordinator that calls plays;

(3) Head coach that acts as an overseer of both coordinators, but allows them to work more or less independently with the offensive coordinator calling the plays.

So here's my concern: Dan Quinn appears to fall in category #2 (Head Coach that acts as Defensive Coordinator), or maybe #3 (HC that oversees). Either way, is experience is on the defensive side of the ball. Understanding the importance of offensive game planning, and the success that Kliff has had with Jayden Daniels (and I know this is very hypothetical). In a perfect world not full of egos, I would prefer to retain Kliff with the title of "Head Coach," and have Dan officially take the title of Defensive Coordinator. Practically speaking, that may be how things operate right now, even though Dan retains the final call on offensive decisions.

 

[TakeCommandRollTide]

I think Kliff did a great job as OC this past year. I am not entirely convinced he is ever going to be a good HC. He was never that good of a HC in college or the NFL. Dan clearly has an eye for talented coaches and players love him. Give me Dan over Kliff all day. Plus we have the QB so attracting coaches probably won't be too hard.

 

[Bulldog]

Well the good news is Kliff turned down the Saints and is coming back in 2025, so we don’t have to make that choice.

He’s still being paid by Arizona through 2027, so his $7M plus there added to his almost $4M here allows him to make more as OC than many head coaches.

Kliff leaves when a Reid or Zac Taylor steps down and he has a true franchise passer to work with.

He and the Cardinals made a mistake with Kyler Murray in thinking the 5’9 quarterback was going to ascend to that top level in the league. His work ethic also stinks evidently.

Kliff I think learned a lot there.

 

[burgold]

Until proven otherwise, I’d prefer Dan as HC. We know kingsbury is a good coordinator, but his HC toolkit is lacking.

Dan was a good HV in Atlanta and seems to have upped his game since.

 

[Discobob]

The magic of Kliff this year was that, as OC, he could hyper focus on building an offense around Jayden without having to do the "overhead" work of HC. I don't want to lose him, but the other offensive coaches around him are high quality. I like the way Quinn conducted the orchestra this year, and don't want to lose that!

 

[Boone]

Until proven otherwise, I’d prefer Dan as HC. We know kingsbury is a good coordinator, but his HC toolkit is lacking.

Dan was a good HV in Atlanta and seems to have upped his game since.

I don't think we know that his HC toolkit is lacking (up until the last season in Arizona, he had a lot of success) but I agree that Quinn is a far more proven HC. And it would be fair to chalk up what success Kingsbury had in Arizona to him having a great offensive mind. He made a star out of Kyler Murray and that is looking more and more magical as time goes on. I think he would tell you himself he learned a lot in terms of being the HC and probably still had a lot to learn. They were impulsive and rash in firing him if you ask me.

 

[Petey hodge]

 

[scruffylookin]

Dan Quinn has created some pretty good juju in year one. The only question is will the “dog ass”, “anybody, anywhere, anytime “ stuff gets stale and players check out. But I think you have to give him the full opportunity to see how long he can go. He has built a good succession pipeline on staff so I am confident that we can continue to progress if/when Kliff leaves.

Having said that, I bet Kliff is a much better head coach when he goes for his 2nd shot. His experience and now his experience with Quinn I’m sure has made him a better HC and the players seem to absolutely love him. Contrast that to the isolated dweeb Ben Johnson.

 

[philibusters]

I think Kliff is a workaholic who has a great relationship with Daniels, but I do wonder how that can translate to other situations. For example he struggled with Kyler Murray who was rumored to be on the lazy side. I think both Dan in Atlanta and Kliff in Arizona showed that they have their limitations in player evaluation so regardless of which one is the HC I like Peters being in charge of that.

 

[HTTR]

Great question! I’d be happy either way, but I think I’ll give it to DQ by a nose. We’ve seen that he’s so well respected around the league that he’s able to attract quality coaches and players. I have no doubt he’ll be able to bring in another high-quality OC when needed.

Kliff, with his play calling chops and workaholic nature will also make a very good head coach, albeit with a different style. Definitely think he gets a bad rap for Arizona. All of his eggs there were in the Kyler Murray basket, and Kyler turned out to be somewhat of an immature turd. Perhaps a more experienced coach could have overcome that. Kliff has that experience now.

 

[Riggotoni]

I'm not sure Kingsbury is HC material, but under Quinn Atlanta fell off a cliff (no pun intended) after K Shanahan left.

 

[Gooseneck]

If Kingsbury left we could hire Eric Bieniemy right away.

 

[Faithful Fan]

Kliff has done a great job calling plays, but I would pick Dan Quinn if forced to choose.

I have been very impressed by DQ’s leadership. The players he has coached love him and want to be here. Whenever our players are interviewed they say all the right things: they respect their opponents, they take responsibility for their mistakes, they give their teammates credit, etc. Most importantly, we are winning more than we have in decades. The whole vibe around the team is just great. The last time I felt this way about the culture was during Gibbs II, which is very high praise indeed.

I was worried about DQ given the history in Atlanta, but I’ve become a big fan. I hope he stays here and gets that 28-3 monkey off his back.