The OFFICIAL Welcome Al Golden Thread

[Luvnit2]

(01-25-2025, 06:03 PM)Bilbo Saggins Wrote: Being a successful HC at the college level seems a lot easier than doing so in the pros. A lot of great coordinators did fail at the HC thing pretty hard in the NFL. 

So for me going .500 as a college HC doesn't wow me as being impressive. Maybe it was. Maybe those teams exceeded expectations or overcame talent deficiencies. But a .500 mark as a college HC doesn't really move the needle for me like some other accolades. Has Golden piloted an NFL defense to a top 5 finish before? Made a great pro offense look off balance? Why did the ownership poo-poo other candidates who did in favor of a former employee who they may know or like on a personal level?

Back to your question, I'd be interested in correlation between college HC records and NFL coordinator success. I don't have that info right at my fingertips nor the time to write a paper on football hiring processes. Schwartz, Spagnuolo, Joseph, etc. etc. flopped at HC in the pros but that's pro level and a different animal. Golden's track record looks pretty meh to me. It doesn't stick out like a sore thumb like Jim Harbaugh's where you wonder why teams aren't lining up to hire him. Zimmer and Saleh have better NFL DC credentials full stop. Others too. He seems like a comfort hire who won't rock the boat. 

You had my attention until you played your hand with your last sentence.

Rock the boat of a crappy defense? Don't we need a new DC to rock the boat of players and coaches to get a better result. I will be disappointed if he does not improve our defense. 

If he fails, you are correct. I hope he succeeds, do you? Or would you rather be right?