Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

I've opined before that Rob Chudzinski should have been given more time in Cleveland or at least been given a shot somewhere else. He simply reeked of potential! His OC work with the 10-6 Browns in 2007 (Derek Anderson's only Pro Bowl year) a key example.

What other NFL HCs who got fired in their HC-debut and have never HC'd again since do you think should have at least been given more time with that team; or at least been given a second-chance elsewhere?

Although he did get a HC job again with the Browns (which went horribly), I never understood why Hue Jackson was let go after one 8-8 season with the Raiders.

I still feel Ray Rhodes should have gotten another year with the Packers. Ron Wolf felt the team just didnt meet expectations but who knows what might have happened his second year ? Mike Sherman didnt make the playoffs his first year either but got retained ...

Yep - that was my thought, too - Ray Rhodes.

GameBeforeTheMoney wrote:Yep - that was my thought, too - Ray Rhodes.

Rhodes was Eagle HC from 1995-98. I do agree, though, that he didn't get a fair shake.

Yeah, I remember being excited about Rhodes because he seemed to have done more with less in Philadelphia. I thought he'd do better with the better talent in GB.

Having watched the steady decline of the Eagles in years 2-4 in Philadelphia under Rhodes, I did not expect much when Green Bay hired him and was happy when Wolf quickly corrected his mistake after one season. Wolf later said that Packer locker room was entirely too comfortable under Rhodes, especially for an 8-8 team. As in Philly, Rhodes talked like a tough guy, but players took advantage of him because he didn't back up his talk.

That may have been true John, but was Sherman any tougher on the players?
He seemed to defer to Favre as well, when Rhodes might have stayed on him but like you said, Wolf wasnt happy and let him go. Despite winning only one more game in Sherman's first season, maybe Wolf felt they were going in the right direction but I am not so sure. Favre had his worst postseason game against the Rams in his second season, then lost for the first time in Lambeau the following postseason.

Mike Sherman was not a successful playoff coach. However, he had his teams ready to play every week and was far more organized than Ray Rhodes. He was clearly the better head coach of the two.

When a HOF GM decides he's made a mistake, I tend to believe he knows what he's doing. Especially since Rhodes wasn't even a rookie coach, he was a vet at that point. Rhodes was brought in to win now. Wolf didn't even interview anyone else, he thought a vet coach could bring in the organizational skills to stay the course. Rhodes was the wrong man for the job.

The 1999 Packers were remarkably similar to the 1968 Packers, another inconsistent season from a veteran team that had previously won. Yeah, maybe Phil Bengtson "deserved" more than one season, but to be honest, nothing new was really learned in letting him coach three seasons. Bengtson lacked the leadership skills to be an effective head coach. Frankly, Dan Devine at least had potential in that area and was probably better for the organization in the long run than Bengtson was as head coach.

I was in shock when the Raiders fired Rich Bisaccia this year, he led them to the playoffs last year as an interim and I think he should have stayed.