Welcome to the eighth and final installment of the Head Coach and GM Hot Seat series! Week one of the preseason is underway and we’re getting some early glimpses into new faces in new places and highly anticipated rookies. This is a good opportunity for long shots to show that they belong on the final 53-man roster. Last time, we took a look at a new-look NFC South, which encountered changes throughout the division. Most of the front offices in that division are rebuilding their teams for future success. In the NFC East, however, all you see are question marks littered throughout the division. This division was the worst in the entire league last year (and it still might be), with the AFC South not too far behind them. Three out of the four teams are facing crucial seasons and evaluations of their respective quarterbacks, while the fourth team has a QB who is working his way back from a brutal season-ending injury last year. Will we see a division winner over .500 this year? The Washington Football Team made it to the playoffs last year at 7-9 and are in a position to improve that record, so it is entirely possible. With that being said, let’s take a look at the wild and crazy NFC East!
Dallas Cowboys: GM Jerry Jones and Head Coach Mike McCarthy
The year is 1995 and the Cowboys are fresh off of another Super Bowl victory. Now, fast forward to the year 2021 and they haven’t been back, let alone to the NFC Conference Championship game. They may be the wealthiest franchise but are certainly one of the more underachieving ones. One of the reasons why is because of their owner and GM, Jerry Jones. Jones is at the top of the food chain when it comes to decisions on team personnel, which is why they haven’t been to the NFC Championship game since 1995. His staff has assembled a great offense that can hang with any team on any given Sunday. However, their defense hasn’t been able to stop anyone consistently, and it’s just been a recurring problem that they’ve faced over the years. Just check this article out and see how many times they were in the Top 10 Points Allowed and Top 10 Most Yards Allowed in just the last decade (that’s five times for points and eight (!) times for yards). Last year’s team was probably the worst defense in Cowboys history, so they have a lot of work to do if they want to keep their image up as “America’s Team”.
Even with the addition of 11th overall pick LB Micah Parsons, the defense isn’t where it needs to be if it wants to be considered one of the best. Dak Prescott was on a historic campaign statistically before his injury and, even then, the Cowboys could have been staring at a 0-5 record, which is an indicator of how much work needs to be done. Dak was paid in the offseason, locking him in as the franchise quarterback for the foreseeable future. This is a win for the franchise since they only invested a fourth-round pick on him. Even with an aging offensive line, Dak has plenty of weapons at the skill positions to continue to thrive for years to come, whether it’s with Mike McCarthy or with a brand new head coach.
Seat Temperature: GM Jerry Jones: Cold. Jones is the owner, president, and general manager, so his position as the decision-maker by default remains safe. You do have to wonder if he, at some point, does turn over those responsibilities to a more modern candidate because the track record has not been positive lately. They’ve built an explosive offense and struck gold with Prescott in the fourth round of the 2016 draft, but their defense still is (and has been) a major sore spot. Head Coach Mike McCarthy: Warm. There were multiple rumors that the Cowboys had some buyer’s remorse after hiring McCarthy due to a lackluster season, although you can’t blame him for Dak’s season-ending injury. As mentioned before, the defense was historically bad, which prompted them to go after former Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quinn to run the defense. If the Cowboys don’t meet the high expectations for a second straight season under McCarthy’s watch, I sense that Jerry won’t hesitate to pull the plug in favor of another head coach.
New York Giants: GM Dave Gettleman and Head Coach Joe Judge
If there’s one GM who should be looking over his shoulder, it’s Dave Gettleman of the New York Giants. Since he was hired back in late 2017, the Giants have a 15-33 record, which is one of the worst records in that timeframe. Gettleman was handed over a roster that was in shambles after the firing of former GM Jerry Reese, which shows you how long rebuilds in the league can take. The counterargument to that is that teams can go from worst to first in a flash, but they just need the right coaches in place to maximize the talent on the roster. Even though Gettleman has spent draft capital on offense (more notably, in this past draft by adding WR Kadarius Toney), it still leaves a lot to be desired on a weekly basis. He vowed to fix the offensive line and bring in more of those “hog mollies” to bring back the grit that the former winning Giants teams used to have but, four offseasons later, it still remains a question mark.
I will give Gettleman credit, though, as he has brought some stability to the coaching staff by adding Joe Judge, who wore many hats during his time with the New England Patriots. In a shortened (and limited) offseason, he was able to get the Giants to play at a high level and compete in almost every game. He has also built a defense that plays with a bend-but-don’t-break mentality and, with the addition of Patrick Graham as the defensive coordinator, suddenly this Giants defense is looking like one of the better ones in the division! The jury is still out on the offense, which is led by offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, and this is the most important season for players like QB Daniel Jones, RB Saquon Barkley, and OT Andrew Thomas to steer this offense in the right direction.
Seat Temperature: GM Dave Gettleman: Hot. As mentioned above, with a 15-33 record since becoming GM, Gettleman is squarely on the hot seat. If this team doesn’t show any improvement and can’t win this very winnable division, he’ll be handed his walking papers, and co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch will have to conduct another search for a new GM. The best-case scenario for the Giants is to win the division and to have key players on offense improve drastically. Unfortunately, for the metropolitan area, making the playoffs isn’t just enough, but it would certainly be an encouraging sign of things to come. Head Coach Joe Judge: Cold. The hiring of Joe Judge certainly raised eyebrows throughout the league, as his name came out of nowhere. However, all indications have pointed to him being a respected leader and someone who was going to teach solid fundamentals and hold players accountable. Even with a very limited offseason and a slow start, the Giants competed in almost every game, and a 6-10 record could have easily been a .500 record, if not better. They’re a young team that is coming into an important second season under Judge and they have a tremendous opportunity to prove that this is their division. Only time will tell!
Philadelphia Eagles: GM Howie Roseman and Head Coach Nick Sirianni
The City of Brotherly Love had been starving for a championship for years, especially more so after losing to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 39 in 2004. Well, technically, they did win the National Football League Championship Game thrice (1948, 1949, 1960) before the 1970 AFL-NFL merger but, for the sake of this exercise, we won’t count them. They finally got to savor their time in the limelight in 2017, when the Philadelphia Eagles (led by SB MVP Nick Foles) shocked the Patriots to capture their first Lombardi trophy in franchise history, thereby securing their revenge on them for 2004 in the process. The Eagles were squarely in a winning window, and they made it to the NFC Divisional Round the following season before suffering a tough loss to the New Orleans Saints, thus avoiding the dreaded “Super Bowl Hangover”. They managed to return to the playoffs again in 2019 and lost to the Seattle Seahawks in the wild card round, and it has been a downhill trend since then… The marriage between QB Carson Wentz and HC Doug Pederson did not end in the best of terms, since Wentz was not thrilled with the situation he was in.
If you recall, in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft, GM Howie Roseman selected QB Jalen Hurts out of Oklahoma, causing Twitter to explode questioning the decision to use a day two pick on a QB after they had already signed Wentz to a four-year extension. Wentz’s issues stemmed from the fact that he couldn’t stay healthy and was becoming injury-prone, so just add competition in the QB room and suddenly Wentz looks like he’s never seen the football field before… The ending to the Eagles season was well below its standards, and that prompted Roseman to fire Doug Pederson at the end of the season and also trade Carson Wentz to the Colts for future draft considerations. This leaves Jalen Hurts as QB1 for a team that is going through a lot of changes and is seemingly in a rebuild. Eagles fans are still expecting to win the division with a fresh face under center, as well as players like WRs Jalen Reagor, Quez Watkins, and 10th overall pick in the 2021 draft DeVonta Smith out of Alabama. The defense has a couple of sore spots, mainly at linebacker and in the secondary, so expect some growing pains in those respective units. They’ve tried to add to both position rooms, signing LB Eric Wilson, CB Steven Nelson, and S Anthony Harris. This trio should be instant starters and will help stabilize that defensive core as well as provide veteran leadership. Their defensive line is still a group that you need to game plan for but age, injury, and consistency issues are beginning to creep up. That’s why they brought in an influx of new defensive players in the 2021 draft (four DLs, one LB/S, and one CB). We still don’t know what will be made of the Zach Ertz situation and whether he will be traded or not, so that is something to monitor as the weeks keep rolling.
Seat Temperature: GM Howie Roseman: Hot. Philadelphia is a passionate city for its sports teams and fans are certainly itching for a more consistent winning team. Usually, after winning the SB, the window is open for a little while but, in this case, the window has shut rather quickly. Roseman, as good as he has been managing the salary cap, has had a tough time finding good players in the draft. He did set up the franchise nicely for 2022, as they could potentially have three first rounds picks, but I wonder whether or not he’ll be around to see those decisions pay off. Hearing my take on this, our Editor (Abs, an Eagles fan) was absolutely delighted to read it but, at the same time, was pessimistic about how true these words would end up being. In his words, “he’s been around for this long, and [Jeffrey] Lurie hasn’t done anything yet… I just don’t know whether he would pull the trigger on [Howie] Roseman.” He had some other choice words that I won’t mention, but he is eagerly hoping for my words to come true, is all I can say! Head Coach Nick Sirianni: Cold. I believe he’ll be given a chance to run this team for more than a year, regardless of whether Roseman is let go of. Sirianni brings an offensive mind from the Colts, where he learned under HC Frank Reich (the former offensive coordinator of the Eagles). It also wouldn’t surprise me if the Eagles decide to clean house, bring in a new regime, and start over. As always, time will tell.
Washington Football Team: GM Martin Mayhew and Head Coach Ron Rivera
Last but not least, we have the reigning division champs, the Washington Football Team. The Football Team won the dreadful NFC East last season with a 7-9 record and had the luxury of hosting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wild card round, where they lost 31-23 23. Armed with cap space and an up-and-coming defense, the Washington front office addressed the secondary to complement their ferocious defensive line by adding CB William Jackson III in free agency. They also saw QB Alex Smith retire in the offseason, which prompted them to dip into the free-agent market pool and sign the always entertaining QB Ryan Fitzpatrick. We all know by now that we can expect some highs and lows when it comes to Fitzpatrick whenever he’s taking snaps. In the draft, they added players like LB Jamin Davis, OT Samuel Cosmi (who had a solid debut), and WR Dyami Brown.
A lot of credit goes to GM Martin Mayhew for finding solid talent and building a competitive roster that is looking to repeat as division champs, and they are certainly in the driver’s seat to do so! An offense featuring Fitzpatrick, WR Terry McLaurin, FA acquisition WR Curtis Samuel, Brown, TE Logan Thomas, and RB Antonio Gibson is an overall unit that should be respected. Their best unit is on the defensive line, featuring DE Chase Young, DE Montez Sweat, and interior defenders Jonathan Allen and Da’Ron Payne. It’s a formidable group that is only going to get better, and having a head coach with a defensive background like Ron Rivera is just a match made in heaven for them. The WFT isn’t getting enough respect heading into the season, but it won’t be surprising by any stretch if they managed to repeat as division champs.
Seat Temperature: Cold. Mayhew was eventually let go from his GM position with Detroit back in 2015, but he has worked his way back to the same title in the nation’s capital. On paper, this team is strong throughout its roster, but they will go as Fitzpatrick goes. If it’s bad, they’ll turn to QB Taylor Heinicke, but Mayhew and his staff should keep close tabs on the QB class for 2022. Ron Rivera is one of the more respected head coaches in the league who has had tremendous success with his time in Carolina. Washington hasn’t had much success making any kind of deep postseason runs but, with Rivera at the helm, that narrative can change quickly. This is a team that has a chance to develop into one of the elites in a few seasons if all things click for them, considering the talent they have been accumulating. For those reasons, I believe both Mayhew and Rivera are safe in their current positions.
That covers the last and final division in this series! Thank you again for taking the time to read all eight of these articles as we visited the landscape of each teams’ front office. Football is right around the corner! Enjoy the 2021-2022 season!
Sources
- Cover Picture: https://studentunionsports.com/what-is-wrong-with-the-nfc-east/
- Dallas Cowboys GM and HC Picture: https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2922533-cowboys-jerry-jones-its-ridiculous-to-think-mike-mccarthy-would-be-fired
- New York Giants GM and HC Picture: https://sports.yahoo.com/giants-2021-nfl-draft-dave-024731834.html
- Philadelphia Eagles GM and HC Picture: https://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/video/exclusive-howie-roseman-nick-sirianni-preview-the-2021-nfl-draft
- Washington Football Team GM and HC Picture: https://www.washingtonfootball.com/news/washington-trade-up-trade-back-2021-nfl-draft
Edited By: Rupayan “Abs” Samanta.
