WDHA’s 2-Minute Drill – What A Week For Football Coaching Changes

Talk about changes! In a matter of just a couple of days, three very high-profile coaches found themselves out of a job - including one of the all-time great collegiate coaches and perhaps the greatest head coach in the history of the National Football League.

Bill Belichick is out in New England, Pete Carroll is moving to an advisory role with the Seahawks, and Nick Saban announced his departure from the University of Alabama.

Jim Monaghan and Chris Swendeman discuss some interesting scenarios on this week's Two-Minute Drill.

JIM MONAGHAN - Two-Minute Drill time Friday morning here at 105.5 WDHA. Swendeman, boy, did the coaching landscape change dramatically in both college and professional football in just a matter of days. Wow.
CHRIS SWENDEMAN - How crazy is it that three iconic coaches, Nick Saban, Pete Carroll and now Bill Belichick, all either resigned or mutually decide to part ways? As they've been saying, all three of them in one season leave their posts. It's crazy.

JM - And you look at what's happened with the jets and the Giants. You had one of the members of the jets call out the coaching staff saying this can't happen again. And he specifically talked about the offense that, granted, (Aaron) Rodgers only plays four plays and who knows what happens if he goes the distance. But the dysfunction in there. And then we find out with this whole Wink Martindale thing that the Giants were probably a lot more dysfunctional than we had any idea during the season.
CS - Both teams really are like rudderless ships at this point. Your coach is the one that leads by example. Dabol seems to have a lot of internal issues that they were trying to kind of put the kibosh on behind the scenes. Saleh, his body language, the players coming out talking about complaining, and both teams seem just to be an utter mess going into the offseason.

JM - So you've got Saban, one of the best college coaches ever. He's out looking for a job right now. You've got Belichick, arguably the best professional coach ever. And you know he's not going to retire. He wants that all-time record. And he's only one really good season away from catching Don Shula. Chris Wragge from Channel Two news on Twitter on Thursday morning threw this out there. And the more I think about it, the more I like it. Bill comes back to the Giants and if you want to take it a step further, he reunites with Saban and they form this coaching cabal, the two of them together, and they go out with the Giants.
CS - Could you imagine the two of them riding off into the sunset, just where basically where Belichick started, back in the Meadowlands, but this time as the head coach of the Giants with Saban in tow? That would be the dynamic duo of coaching staffs. How do you top the two of them together? But believe it or not, Cleveland had this duo together at one time. But Cleveland being Cleveland even screwed that up. So can you imagine these two riding off into the sunset at their last gig being the Giants? Giant fans everywhere would be losing their minds even more so than having Tommy DeVito as quarterback.

JM - I was wondering if we were going to get the Tommy Cutlets. Well, this will all unfold over the next few weeks, I'm sure. That's the two minute drill here at 105.5 WDHA on the Morning Jolt. Thanks, Swendeman.
CS - You got it, Jim. It's going to be an interesting offseason.

Well, this has certainly been a nightmare season for the New York Giants so far. The harsh reality is that Daniel Jones is out for a full year with a very unfortunate knee injury. Now, we are left with pondering what the possible quarterback scenarios for the Giants could be in 2024.

2023 was expected to be a year of growth, with a playoff push seeming like a very reasonable goal. We had a revigorated Saquon Barkley, the reigning coach of the year Brian Daboll, and a now $40-million-a-year franchise guy in Daniel Jones.

To put the first half of this season in perspective, after nine games so far, the stars of the team Barkley and Jones, only played two games together. The team has been crushed with injuries. This includes the best offensive lineman on Big Blue, Andrew Thomas. Big number 78 has barely played.

It's unbelievable the difference ten weeks makes. In late August, there were NFL analysts who suggested the GMEN could challenge the Philadelphia Eagles for the top spot in the NFC East. Now, we are wondering who the quarterback will be moving forward.

Right now, we are dealing with an open wound. We are a few emotional days removed from the news that Daniel Jones tore his ACL in Las Vegas vs. the Raiders. Furthermore, the poor guy was just returning from a neck injury. However, there are serious questions as to whether or not Jones will ever wear #8 for the Giants again.

This upcoming NFL draft features one of the best quarterback classes of the past ten years. In addition, these players each have unique skill sets that differentiate themselves from their competitors. The NFL is a QB-driven league. In fact, without a solid, healthy quarterback on your roster, your chances are limited.

The only week on the upcoming schedule that looks favorable is the bye week. Two games still remain vs. the NFC champion Eagles as do road games vs. the Cowboys, the Commanders, and the Saints.

Still, there are three general scenarios the Giants could be faced with at quarterback for 2024. One of them includes Jones, one of them does not, and the third is somewhere in between. So, in no particular order, here are the three possibilities.

The front office has believed in Jones since they drafted him sixth overall in the 2019 draft. Just eight months ago, the Giants rewarded Jones with a four-year $160 million contract. That means three years are remaining. Yes, that is a big commitment to still have on your hands, but the the fact is, that is more of a short-term running back contract as opposed to a franchise quarterback. However, has Jones really had a fair chance yet? It's a question worth considering, given that Jones has yet to play with an offensive line where he doesn't have to run for his life. The Giants can very well want to give Jones another shot (with solid weapons around him). Jones will be 27-years-old in May.

On ESPN's Get Up this week, many NFL analysts suggested this could be the last season Justin Fields is the quarterback of the Chicago Bears. Fields is still on his rookie contract. Can the Giants afford both Jones and Fields? No, probably not long-term. For one year, they might be able to get creative, however. Fields could challenge Jones (once he returns) to see who is really the guy under center for Big Blue. Where this really gets interesting is that the Bears and Giants may own three of the top five picks of the 2024 NFL draft. The Bears own the Carolina Panthers' pick from the 2023 draft trade. The Bears are 3-7 and the Panthers are 1-8. The Giants also have an additional second-round pick as a result of the recent Leonard Williams trade. So, there are pieces to play with here.

Caleb Williams (USC), Drake Maye (UNC), Michael Penix Jr. (Washington), J.J. McCarthy (Michigan). That's the cream of the crop of a 2024 class that is deep and full of exceptional talent. Those four QBs may very-well be four of the first five picks in the next draft. Only the Panthers don't need one, having just taken Bryce Young first. What's even more intriguing here, is this upcoming draft class also includes guys like Bo Nix (Oregon) and Jordan Travis (Florida State) who can be available later in round one or on day two. At least one of these major talents will be there on the draft board when the Giants are on the clock come April. It will be hard to pass on any of them.