Last night we watched the product of what happens when a team is completely broken. The Jacksonville Jaguars suffered a 41-14 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on national television. The Jaguars in particular are in a tough spot when they play teams like the Falcons, or the Chargers as they did two weeks ago. Their secondary is completely depleted, and they’re getting whipped by teams that have good receivers.
This is the challenge of the interim coach. How do you continue to inspire your players to continue to fight when you know full well that you’re likely gone at the end of the year? So far this season, 3 coaches have been put into that position; Mel Tucker in Jacksonville, Todd Bowles in Miami, and Romeo Crennel in Kansas City.
Two of the above coaches likely have a realistic chance of being serious candidates for the job they’ve inherited. Crennel makes some sense in Kansas City as he’s been a head coach in the NFL before (Cleveland), but he doesn’t carry the weight that some of the big-name candidates do.
The other interim coach that has a chance at dropping the “interim” part of his title is Mel Tucker. Tucker has turned one of the worst defenses in the NFL into one of the better units, although they’ve slipped lately as a result of the injuries I mentioned earlier. The players love him on both sides of the ball, and he’s seemingly what the Jaguars would like to get; a young guy with a lot of energy.
Todd Bowles isn’t likely to become the Dolphins new head coach once the season is over. The Dolphins are looking for a big-name guy that can inspire their fans and players. It’s likely that the Dolphins will be cleaning out their front office at season’s end, and bringing the A-listers to South Beach is practically in their DNA.
Interim coaches such as Crennel, Tucker, and Bowles are constantly under a microscope. The position as interim coach is often described as an ongoing audition for their job. In all reality, that’s not always the case. True, it’s likely that Bowles may get an interview for the Dolphins’ vacancy, but it’s highly unlikely that he could actually win the job. Essentially, the interim position is only an audition if the owner wants it to be, and more often than not, the owner just wants the season to end so he can start his real search for a head coach.
So, what would it take for Crennel or Tucker to secure the head coaching job for their respective teams? Probably just winning games. The Chiefs and the Jaguars have both underperformed this season for all kinds of reasons, but the fact is that the owners just want to be putting winners on the field. I’m not talking about one or two wins either. I’m talking about a record of above .500 to secure the job. Crennel has the tougher job between him and Tucker. He’s not as likely to garner as much attention as Tucker will in Jacksonville.
Don’t underestimate interim coaches though. Just like their teams, they often have nothing to lose and everything to gain, making them very, very dangerous on the field.
