Opinion: It’s time for fresh faces in the NFL coaching circles

Someone told me once, “The NFL is a tight-knit frat.”  The problem with that analogy is fraternities have students who eventually graduate from college and get out of the frat house after four years.  The NFL is more like a private golf club of people in their 70s whose memberships are revoked only at death. 

Most of these NFL coaches win and lose, go somewhere else, and do more winning and losing (mostly losing).  Few bring any consistency to a franchise.  

I’ve advocated for a long time that the NFL needs to bring in some fresh faces with new perspectives, in both coaching and (especially) player personnel.  These coaches and front office people have been in the frat house for too long.  It would be a welcome change to see NFL owners open their minds and pocketbooks to high school head coaches with a proven track record, general managers who can wisely select players, and player personnel scouts who get hired because they know the game, not the general manager’s second cousin.

And right now, the Indianapolis Colts are in a prime position to do just that. Following their abysmal and shocking loss to the NFL’s worst New York Giants, change is expected.  If it happens at head coach, they need not look very far to find Shane Steichen’s replacement.

Jim Irsay has plenty of options available within a 40-minute radius of his facility on 56th Street. He’d even save a few bucks without paying for moving expenses. Center Grove head coach Eric Moore immediately comes to mind.  He has a 256-81 record and has won more 6A state championships than anybody else.  Noblesville head coach John Hebert won two state championships at Carmel, so his name deserves to be in the hat.  Indianapolis Cathedral head coach Bill Peebles has a proven track record too.  I’ll even throw in Russ Man, who took Ben Davis to a state championship in his first year at the helm in 2023 and understands the new age of analytics while also coaching his players hard.

I’m not sure if he wants to get back into coaching, but current Warren Central athletic director Mike Kirschner is one of the best at turning around programs: he did it at Warren Central, Mount Vernon, and successfully led the Ben Davis Giants to two state championships.  Brownsburg head coach John Hart led the Bulldogs to a state championship last November with a sophomore quarterback and has a long winning history.  Indianapolis Lutheran head coach Dave Patch won three state titles in a row, so throw his name into the mix as well.

Or the league could just keep recycling the same people over and over and over again.

To the owners who want to keep doing that, I must ask a question: in light of the fact that 17 of your teams are at or below .500, and 21 teams have lost at least 7 games, how’s that workin’ out for ya?

I think it’s time for big, bold change, and this change makes a lot of sense to me.