5 most bizarre coaching hires in NFL history
The NFL coaching carosel happens every year and it seems as though there are some teams who just cannot get it right. The greatest coach in the history of football, Bill Belichick was once fired by the Cleveland Browns and traded by the New York Jets, two teams who have been searching for coaching stability for the last decade.
The NFL coaching tree has sprouted some of the game's best over the past several seasons. Shock hires like Sean McVay in Los Angeles not only led the Rams to a Superbowl victory but brought the likes of Matt LaFleur and Zac Taylor to Green Bay and Cincinnati respectively.
While the game has changed thanks to these young offensive minds, the NFL has a history of bizarre coaching hires that came into the league with high hopes and ended with shattered dreams and terrible records.
Here are the five most bizarre coaching hires in NFL history:
Art Shell (Round 2) - Oakland Raiders
Art Shell is a legendary head coach and the first African-American head coach in the NFL (modern era). His first run as coach of the then Los Angeles Raiders was extremely successful. He won the AFC coach of the year award in 1990 and led the Raiders to the AFC championship game that year. Over 10 years later, the Raiders, this time in Oakland, surprised many by rehiring Shell in an attempt to capture past glory. Unfortantly, it didn't work and Shell was fired after a 2-14 record.
Marty Mornhinweg, Detroit Lions
The hiring of Marty Mornhinweg for the Detroit Lions made some sense. He came from the Mike Holmgren and Steve Mariucci coaching tree and should have brought some offensive stability to the always struggling Lions. Instead, Mornhinweg was a complete disaster. His most bizarre moment came in a game against the Chicago Bears where in overtime he elected to give the Bears the ball after winning the coin toss, allowing the Bears to score and win the game. He somehow lasted two seasons in Detroit, finishing with a combined record of 5-27.
With Dirk Koetter announcing his retirement, I feel obligated to post this beauty from the Columbia Tribune archives. That's him with Andy Reid and Marty Mornhinweg sporting some of the best trousers in CFB history. https://t.co/LKTgJ2zd9F
Marc Trestman, Chicago Bears
It's not like Marc Trestman did not have NFL coaching experience before being hired by the Chicago Bears, but he had been out of the league for 5 years. Trestman was an excellent coach for the Montreal Allouttes in the CFL but the two leagues have different rules and in many ways are very different games. The Bears hired Trestman with the expectation that he was going to turn their medicore offense around, but instead Trestman quickly lost the locker room, including the never-easy-to-please Jay Cutler. He would be back in the CFL two years later.
Since firing Lovie Smith, the #Bears have had 3 Head Coaches over the past 9 years…
Marc Trestman: 13-19
John Fox: 14-34
Matt Nagy: 34-31
They have 2 playoff appearances over the past 11 seasons, and no playoff wins since the 2010 season
David Shula, Cincinnati Bengals
David Shula is proof that coaching success does not get passed down from father to son. Despite growing up in football and learning from one of the best coaches in NFL history in Don Shula, David Shula was a failure. His lack of success should not have come as a surprise as he was demoted from his offensive coordinator position with the Dallas Cowboys after several confrontations with players. After getting hired by the Cincinnati Bengals, Shula would finish his NFL coaching career as the fastest coach to reach 50 losses (in only 69 games).
Urban Meyer, Jacksonville Jaguars
What hasn't been written or said about Urban Meyer's one year with the Jacksonville Jaguars? From not knowing who Aaron Donald was, kicking his kicker and isolating key players like running back James Robinson for no reason. After retiring from Ohio State University due to health reasons, Meyer made a shock debut as Trevor Lawrence's first head coach with the Jaguars, leading the team to a dreadful 2-11 record and not even making it to Christmas.