Generally when coaches are hired you'll see a few names that make you wonder, "Why is this guy getting yet another chance?" And with nine openings, you definitely would've expected to see some familiar faces.
However, right now the only new coaches to have previously been an NFL head coach are Eric Mangini, who takes over the Cleveland Browns after being fired by the New York Jets, and Seattle Seahawks head man Jim Mora, who formerly coached the Atlanta Falcons before becoming the Seahawks offensive coordinator and ultimately replacing the retiring Mike Holmgren.
But again, Mangini's job with the Jets was his first, as was Mora's with the Falcons so they would hardly qualify as same-old-retreads.
Clearly the success of the Pittsburgh Steelers' Mike Tomlin and the Arizona Cardinals' Ken Whisenhunt, both hired as untested head coaches in 2007 and now in Super Bowl XLIII, got owners looking more at coordinators and assistant coaches instead of recycled names.
And after this season, with first-time head coaches Mike Smith in Atlanta, John Harbaugh in Baltimore and Tony Sparano in Miami making the playoffs, the copycat mode kicked into high gear.
In San Francisco, the 49ers permanently promoted interim coach Mike Singletary after the team rallied to finish 5-4 under him after he replaced Mike Nolan on Oct. 20.
Jim Caldwell in Indianapolis, Rex Ryan with the New York Jets, Steve Spagnuolo in St. Louis, Raheem Morris with Tampa Bay, Jim Schwartz in Detroit, and Josh McDaniels in Denver will be making their NFL debuts as head coaches during the 2009 preseason.
I've always been in favor of going for a fresh face when making coaching changes, but this transition from experience to inexperience is rather astonishing.
