Coaching Changes
+ Mike Vrabel, Curt Cignetti, Mike Macdonald, Chris Shula, Liam Coen
“You don’t go to war with warm milk and cookies.” — Curt Cignetti“
Hey Coaches,
Here you go!
✍️ Articles
Digest. Instruct. Adapt. Chris Shula took the best attributes from his impressive collection of mentors to create a complex, yet still player-friendly defense: This looks at how Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula blends lessons from mentors Wade Phillips, Giff Smith and Brandon Staley into a defensive structure that’s both complex and clear for players.
The Rams had typically deployed one defensive play call with multiple layers. But the unit was struggling early in Shula’s first season at the helm, so he made a bold change.
Instead of one call with multiple layers, they sent in multiple calls with fewer layers. Plays had been loaded with checks and adjustments that changed based on the offense’s look, but Shula started relaying a few simpler plays that the defense could audible between, featuring fewer individual directives.
Mike Macdonald is a genius, but that’s not the only reason his Seahawks are Super Bowl favorites: The Seattle Seahawks’s turnaround is built on leadership, clarity, and a standards-first culture that makes talent actually show up when it matters most, all centered upon coach Mike Macdonald.
For the players and coaches, it starts with establishing a standard. Schemes come and go, but Macdonald’s Seahawks are built on a rock-solid foundation.
They call themselves the M.O.B., which stands for “Mission Over Bulls—.” The slogan was chosen by the players. But the four core principles — brotherhood, truth, work and violence — come from the coach.
🎙️ Podcast
The Schrager Hour: Jaguars Head Coach Liam Coen: Start at the 30 minute mark. 48 hours after his Jaguars being eliminated from the 2025 playoffs, Liam Coen does a rare “exit interview.” Coen talks about hiring a staff, building a culture, facing Hall of Fame coaches, Trevor Lawrence, coaching philosophies, and more. [1/13/26 - 35 minutes] Apple | Spotify
💭 Miscellaneous
Coaching Changes
The 10 NFL head coach changes are the most in a single hiring cycle since there were 10 before the 2022 season — and tied for the most all-time along with the offseasons heading into the 1978, 1997 and 2006 seasons. Source
Mike Vrabel was hired 378 days ago and is now technically the longest-tenured coach in the AFC East. Source
Erik Spoelstra on becoming the longest-tenured active head coach across the four major U.S. professional sports (NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL): “That really bummed me out. I wish I wasn’t the longest-tenured. Some people could look at that as a badge of honor. I look at that as really a disappointment to this profession, that there’s not more coaches that are given an opportunity to work through things. For sure, my greatest opportunities of growth have been from disappointing seasons, where we really went to work during the offseason to find ways to get better.” Source
Indiana center Pat Coogan on Curt Cignetti’s Secret Sauce (source)
“Everyone wants to know what’s the secret. There is no secret. The secret is in the work. The secret is in the prep. There’s no magic pill we take. There’s no secret book we read that gives us all the keys to success. You just have to put in the work.”
August 31, 2024: The 1st Game of the Indiana Curt Cignetti Era (Source)
📺 Video
Mike Vrabel sits down with Bill Cowher before the AFC Championship | FULL INTERVIEW (12 minutes)
Patriots coach Mike Vrabel sits down with former Steelers coach Bill Cowher, who drafted him in 1997. He touches on his year-off before being hired by the Patriots, connecting with players, helping his young QB, collaborating with his staff and the personnel department, and more.
“This is the National Football League. Sometimes… the bear gets you, right? …There’s adversity that you have to overcome… and these games are long. So you can’t let mistakes spiral and build up on you.”
“I want them to embrace the preparation. I want them to enjoy the execution, enjoy the moment. And that we’ve built an identity and that we have to protect it… but we also have to have a belief that no matter what happens… we’re going to find a way.”
“I like when they [the players] make fun of me because it means they’re paying attention to me. When they make fun of you that means they like it.”