New NFL Coaches Face Unique Challenges

Summary: This offseason saw nearly one third of the teams in the NFL bring new coaches aboard, and each situation presents questions that will ultimately lead to the success or failure of the new regimes. History suggests that some will succeed and others fail. We're betting that the new coaches are spending many of their working hours pondering some of the same issues detailed below. Buffalo Bills Dick Jauron walks into a program that has seemingly been rebuilding for years. Tw...

This offseason saw nearly one third of the teams in the NFL bring new coaches aboard, and each situation presents questions that will ultimately lead to the success or failure of the new regimes. History suggests that some will succeed and others fail. We're betting that the new coaches are spending many of their working hours pondering some of the same issues detailed below. Buffalo Bills Dick Jauron walks into a program that has seemingly been rebuilding for years. Two questions should be at the top of his list. First, who is going to play quarterback? J.P. Losman, a recent first round pick, has the tools but has struggled. Kelly Holcomb has excelled in the past, but never seems to grab hold of a job. Craig Nall was paid a relatively large sum to compete for the job, but he's thrown all of 33 passes in his NFL career. Secondly, will the controversial draft choices this spring return the Buffalo defense to the upper echelons of the league? New York Jets Eric Mangini's first assignment is to find out if the draft will allow him to put together an offensive line good enough to keep Chad Pennington upright long enough to find out if his twice-injured shoulder is healed. He's got good building blocks in place with D'Brickashaw Ferguson and Nick Mangold, but the line needs to gel quickly. Detroit Lions Will Rod Marinelli's disciplinarian approach bring consistency to the much-maligned corps of wide receivers? Several high draft choices are present on the depth chart, but Roy Williams, Mike Williams and Charles Rogers have all underachieved so far in their careers. There's also that other question of who will play quarterback for a team that seems to have been searching for one for decades. Green Bay Packers Can Mike McCarthy help to bring Brett Favre back towards his three-time MVP winning form, or will Favre continue to throw interceptions by the bushel? A big part of that question will be whether or not the re-tooled offensive line can produce a running game that will make Favre's supposed re-incarnation easier. Minnesota Vikings Will Brad Childress, fresh off his first internal power struggle only weeks after being hired, restore discipline and consistency to a talented roster that has underachieved and imploded at crucial times in recent seasons? Houston Texans Gary Kubiak is certainly earning his stripes early. He's already endured much controversy with the drafting of Mario Williams instead of Reggie Bush and the resignation of GM Charlie Casserly. The Texans have nowhere to go but up, so many questions are present in Houston. One that must be near the top is whether new Assistant Head Coach/OL Mike Sherman can help mold a unit that will knock David Carr off of his record-setting sack pace. New Orleans Saints The Saints have had a very good offseason, and truth be told, no team had more good luck coming to them than this team. The Saints have always had talent, but off-field issues have led to on-field inconsistency. One of the early questions facing Sean Payton, besides the health of new QB Drew Brees' shoulder, is how he will incorporate Reggie Bush into the offense. Kansas City Chiefs Herman Edwards inherits a superstar on offense in Larry Johnson, and offense has never been the problem in Kansas City. Edwards' biggest question is whether or not he can finally restore order and respectability to a defense that has let its powerful offense down for years. Oakland Raiders The Raiders are another team that is blessed with a load of talent, and new/old coach Art Shell has plenty of tools in his shed. However, Shell's greatest uncertainty is whether or not he can help mold new QB Aaron Brooks into a playmaker that will accentuate the incredible talents of WRs Randy Moss and Jerry Porter. If he doesn't, Brooks will continue to be a turnover machine and all that talent will be wasted. St. Louis Rams Scott Linehan is known for offense, and that's never been an issue with the Rams. The biggest question facing Linehan is whether he, like Edwards in Kansas City, can put together a defense that will allow QB Marc Bulger, WR Torry Holt and RB Stephen Jackson to dominate the way they could if given short fields and more chances with the ball.