Perennially-losing franchises, as well as those who simply failed to meet lofty expectations in 2011, have made quick moves to hire new faces, in the hope that fresh ideas will translate into a winner for 2012.
But the new coaches and coordinators face an uphill battle to revive the fortunes of teams and individual units stuck in troubling streaks of mediocrity. These challenges are made even tougher because the pressure on new coaches and coordinators intensifies every year.
Every new coordinator will be expected to produce an impact similar to what Wade Phillips has achieved in his first season with the Houston Texans defense. Given the phenomenal first-year success of Jim Harbaugh’s San Francisco 49ers, the bar for new head coaches has been set even higher.
Of the last 10 NFL Super Bowl MVPs, six have played quarterback. That number balloons up to 80 percent when you look at just the past five years.
