Misfortune for NFL Newcomers

 

CLAIRE RODARTE Staff Writer

The NFL began its 2018-2019 season with a less than impressive start. The league came into this year with seven new head coaches, making each of these programs considerably new in terms of coaching, development and playing strategies. With the future surely looking bright with the new sets of staff, week one of the season certainly did not show this vibrant array of new and refreshing starts. The 0-7 record of the accumulated new head coaches portrayed the worst opening campaign in NFL history, passing the previous worst record of 0-6 in 2001. Many will look to point fingers at the new leaders for each team, but one must take into consideration what they are working with before making accusations.

All of the respective teams dealt with their own problems during week one. Whether it be penalties, lack of a solid offensive or defensive line, injuries or simply too many points allowed, each program struggled to find a victory by the end of the day. A majority of these teams ended last season in losing fashion, hence the reason they have new sets of staff this year. With this, it can and should be hard to expect much from programs looking to develop and establish a sense of growth and rebirth from within. Of the seven new coaches in the league, two are returning after a number of years of being away. Pat Shurmur and John Gruden, head coaches of the New York Giants and Oakland Raiders respectively, both have experience in the NFL but still failed to win their first games. This shows that it takes a certain amount of time for a team to fully develop in order for them to succeed, regardless of who the coach is.

Statistically, the ratio of new coaches’ winning to losing is close to even throughout each year, but that is not the best result. From 2013-2017, with the average number of new coaches each year being seven, three or less have advanced to the playoffs each of those seasons. Adding onto the disappointing start of this year, the NFL does not have much to be proud of, especially ones with experienced players and leaders. With long-term returners, it should not be difficult for a team to obtain a win. On the contrary, the league is growing and moving forward in terms of each team being good. Each of the seven teams that lost in week one had considerable performances, despite walking away empty-handed. They had upsides and played exceptionally well, but that is not always seen at first glance.

The things that people focus on most is the end result, the final score. If they did not witness the actual event, they will not know or care about what occurred during the game. This can very well undermine the programs and give them a bad name, as the public eye pays no mind to what is actually important – the progress and experience they have gained from it. Many are hoping that they will bounce back from an unfortunate start, and will become better as each new week approaches.