Welcome back to the fourth installment of the GM and Head Coach hot seat series, where we conclude the AFC with one of the more electrifying divisions in all of football, the AFC North. There seems to be a changing of the guard in a division that has long been dominated by the Steelers and the Ravens, as we are seeing the Browns starting to make some serious noise and the Bengals building a competitive roster. I can easily see three teams make the playoffs from this division but those predictions are for another time since this article is all about who’s seat is hot or not. So, without further ado, let’s examine the hot seats in the AFC North.
Baltimore Ravens: GM Eric DeCosta and Head Coach John Harbaugh
Baltimore brings back a deep squad that is ready to take the next step with their superstar QB, Lamar Jackson. Last year, they got their revenge when they walked into Nashville, Tennessee, sending the Titans packing and giving Lamar his first career playoff victory. Unfortunately for them, they ran into the powerhouse Bills, led by Josh Allen, and once again got eliminated in the divisional round. Questions still arise around the passing ability of Lamar Jackson, but also there is some blame to be placed with a weak receiver room. A good GM will recognize deficiencies on their team and do everything possible to help out their QB to maximize the potential of the offense in its entirety. Eric DeCosta recognized this and brought in veteran WR Sammy Watkins and drafted Minnesota WR Rashod Bateman with the 27th pick along with speedster Tylan Wallace out of Oklahoma State in the fourth round. With an improved WR room, Ravens fans want to see the passing attack complement the rushing attack that has been the forte of offensive coordinator Greg Roman. The Ravens lost some players at the EDGE position when they saw Matt Judon get a massive payday in New England and also with Yannick Ngakoue going to the Raider. To make up for the loss of those two players, they took a chance on Penn State defensive end, Odafe Oweh at the end of the first round. John Harbaugh enters his thirteenth year with the Ravens and is looking to return to the Super Bowl in a loaded conference, and a lot of will ride on the improvement of Lamar Jackson with tons of weapons at his disposal.
Seat temperature: Cold. Eric DeCosta and John Harbaugh are in a great position to maintain their jobs. The roster is still one of the best in the division and, if the passing attack develops enough to compliment the rushing attack, this unit has the chance to be the best in the entire league. Kudos to the front office for doing everything possible to strengthen a position of weakness. This team isn’t going anywhere.
Cincinnati Bengals: GM/De Facto GM Duke Tobin and Head Coach Zac Taylor
The Bengals didn’t have a great season, as evidenced by their 4-11-1 record, and haven’t made the playoffs since 2015. There is tons of optimism, however, as the Bengals faithful watched what the potential of this team can be with their second-year QB, Joe Burrow, taking snaps under center. As you might remember, Burrow’s season ended abruptly when he tore his ACL and MCL in Week 11 of the 2020 season, ending his rookie season and leaving the Bengals fan base wondering if they’re wasting an incredible talent. They’re right to be nervous, as we saw the Bengals offensive line surrender 48 sacks and watch Burrow take a beating every week. This prompted the need to seriously address the unit, and the front office started the overhaul by signing OT Riley Reiff in the offseason to man the right side opposite LT Jonah Williams. Additionally, they had the opportunity to draft one of the best offensive line prospects in the draft, Penei Sewell, out of the University of Oregon to strengthen that unit. Instead of doing the obvious, they drafted Burrow’s former teammate out of LSU, WR Ja’Marr Chase, to give them one of the best young rookie wide receivers in the draft and give Burrow another weapon at his disposal. Don’t get me wrong, Chase is an exceptional talent at WR, and adding him to a room with Tyler Boyd and second-year man Tee Higgins puts the Bengals on the map with one of the better trios in the league. That being said, I didn’t agree with the logic to pass on a talent like Sewell to solidify the offensive line, since the weapons on offense won’t matter if that line can’t protect the quarterback. They did draft former Clemson OL Jackson Carman to lock up one of the guard positions, so it’s not a terrible approach overall from Duke Tobin and company but only time will tell if they made the right choice to pass on Sewell. They also made a splash by signing Trey Hendrickson from the Saints to add to an underrated defense that isn’t talked about enough.
Seat temperature: GM Duke Tobin: Cold. Tobin is the de facto GM and has been with the organization since 1999, so there’s no reason for him to fear losing his job anytime soon. Having second-year QB Joe Burrow back and healthy with an improved offensive line unit and an underrated defensive unit should give the Bengals a more competitive edge, but not good enough yet to be kings of the North. Head Coach Zac Taylor: Hot. Many thought that coming from the Sean McVay coaching tree would generate instant success, but Taylor hasn’t done much to offer any glimmer of hope that he is the right guy to lead the Bengals to a winning culture. His 6-25-1 record speaks for itself and you just have to produce wins in this league due to the very short leashes given nowadays; teams just will not hesitate to replace coaches as quickly as possible. If this team manages to challenge for a playoff spot, I can see Taylor keeping his job but anything short of that means that it will not look good for him out in Cincinnati.
Cleveland Browns: GM Andrew Berry and Head Coach Kevin Stefanski
Ladies and gentlemen, the Dawg Pound is back, baby! The Browns are back and they are here to stay for the foreseeable future. Coming off of one of their more successful seasons in recent memory, the Browns are looking to add more bite to their bark and go to their first-ever Super Bowl appearance. Cleveland fans can now start taking the brown bags off of their heads and begin to look past all of the memes and jokes now that they are building a powerhouse in Berea, Ohio. Losing to the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round this past season isn’t going to be good enough for this team and its fan base. They’re expecting the team to compete for championships, and a lot of the credit goes to their GM and head coach duo. GM Andrew Berry has done an outstanding job building this football club from top to bottom and no longer be the laughingstocks that we’ve known the Browns to be for so long. You can argue that this team doesn’t have any weak spots (besides QB?) and that they have talent and depth along every unit on the team that can match up with the best of the best. Having talent doesn’t mean anything unless they are properly coached, which is where reigning Coach of the Year Kevin Stefanski comes in. He was hired by Berry after a few years running the offense in Minnesota and it paid off in a big way, as they finished 11-5 and steamrolled the Steelers in the Wild Card Round to win their first playoff game since 1994 before the divisional-round loss to the Chiefs. They have arguably one of the best rushing attacks in the league led by Nick Chubb, a plethora of weapons, and a stingy unit on defense led by Pro Bowler Myles Garrett. If QB Baker Mayfield can step up in his second year in this offense and play at a high level, the Browns will be a team that no one wants to face off against come playoff time.
Seat temperature: Lake Michigan cold. This is arguably one of the better GM and head coach duos in the league and a duo that I don’t see changing anytime soon. The front office and the coaching staff have, for once, have gotten it right with drafting and signing players that fit the respective systems and are hungry to win. I have nothing but high praise for Berry and Stefanski and I’m going to be honest when I say I am rooting so hard for this team to be successful. The Browns are back!
Pittsburgh Steelers: GM Kevin Colbert and Head Coach Mike Tomlin
The Steelers started the 2020 campaign by ripping off 11 wins in a row, only to struggle down the stretch and get bounced from the playoffs in the first round by their divisional rivals, the Cleveland Browns. Speculation and rumors began in the offseason around the future of lifelong Steeler and QB Ben Roethlisberger on whether he would hang up the cleats or give it one more run. I’m sure that GM Kevin Colbert was feeling the heat a little bit on whether or not he would push all of his chips onto the table to have one more run with the future Hall of Fame QB. What if he began searching and grooming the heir apparent in the Steel City? They kind of answered that question when they signed first-round flop, Dwayne Haskins (formerly of the Washington Football Team), once he was a free agent to give him a fresh start. The offseason was not too kind to the Steelers, as they saw their long time center, Maurkice Pouncey, retire alongside his brother Mike Pouncey, and they also lost their former first-round draft choice, edge rusher Bud Dupree, as he took his talents over to the Music City in Nashville for the Titans. They also saw LT Andrew Villanueva, underrated CB Mike Hilton, and homegrown fan favorite RB James Conner all walk away for newer opportunities. A lot of depth was removed and valuable snaps depleted this offseason for the Steelers but, like they always say, “the show must go on”, and GM Kevin Colbert went ahead and added some young talent via the draft to an offense that needs a bit of a boost. It started with one of the top running backs in the class and national champion, Najee Harris out of Alabama, in the first round. I feel like Colbert saw how lifeless and ineffective the run game had looked during the season and so he decided that fresh legs and top talent at the position was necessary, which made the Harris pick an easy choice. I’m just a couch GM (an armchair analyst, if you will), but I would have preferred to see the Steelers take an offensive lineman in the second round instead of taking Penn State tight end Pat Freiermuth. Don’t get me wrong, I follow Penn State football and I am a big fan of Pat, but I think a “hog molly” would have been more beneficial to the overall effectiveness of this offense. One of the best coaches in the league, Mike Tomlin, returns to lead a respectable team that still has a defense that can keep them in games but certainly will need the offense to sustain drives and keep them fresh and off of the field. This could be the last season we see Tomlin and Big Ben have a season together because Ben has flirted with retirement and the tank seems to be almost running on empty. I still believe the Steelers won’t be an easy opponent week in and week out, but I feel like they are a notch below the Ravens and Browns, who bring much more explosive offenses. This leads me to believe that the Steelers might be on the outside looking in come playoff time, or the third divisional team to reach the playoffs at the very least.
Seat temperature: Cold. The Steelers have been consistently good for a while now, but they haven’t been able to reach the SB since their last appearance in 2011. Even with that, I don’t feel that GM Kevin Colbert’s job is on the line because he has done a fine job finding talent and fielding the best possible team in Steel City. That being said, his team has fallen flat whenever the playoffs have come around. I believe that he and coach Tomlin will get the opportunity to find their next QB if Big Ben hangs it up after this season so that they can start a new era in Pittsburgh. This franchise has a long history of winning but, if some down years begin to plague this franchise, you could see a changing of the guard out in Pittsburgh. Only time will tell!
That wraps up the entire AFC, and I will take a look at the NFC coming up shortly to evaluate who’s seat is hot or not in that conference.
Sources
- Cover Picture: https://www.nflanalysis.net/nfl-one-glaring-weakness-for-each-team-in-the-afc-north-entering-2020
- Baltimore Ravens GM and HC Picture: https://twitter.com/aroundthenfl/status/1091014427963359232
- Cincinnati Bengals GM and HC Picture: https://www.cincyjungle.com/2019/2/28/18244459/bengals-news-2-28-duke-tobin-and-zac-taylor-on-the-same-page
- Cleveland Browns GM and HC Picture: https://brownswire.usatoday.com/2021/04/28/browns-jimmy-haslam-andrew-berry-kevin-stefanski-surpassed-expectations-right-away
- Pittsburgh Steelers GM and HC Picture: https://www.pennlive.com/steelers/2018/07/steelers_kevin_colbert_mike_tomlin.html
Edited By: Rupayan “Abs” Samanta.
