Some people will tell you that the quarterback is the most important part for a winning football team. Some will tell you that players win the games and coaches have nothing to do with it. However, let’s not forget that, “defense wins championships” and that coaching is a vital part of football. Therefore, you would think that the defensive coordinator would be important for a team to be successful.
That said, it seems to be no coincidence that the teams who lost their talented defensive coordinators before the season, are struggling on that side of the ball this year.
The Tennessee Titans would be the first to tell you this, after losing their esteemed defensive coordinator, Jim Schwartz, to the Detroit Lions. While Schwartz led his team to their first win in 20 games, the Titans lost for the third time this year in as many chances. The Lions are 1-2 and sixth worst in total defense even after playing the New Orleans Saints already this season. However, this is a pretty big step up from last year when they ranked last in total defense, averaging to allow over 400 yards a game. The Titans, on the other hand, have averaged to allow less than 200 passing yards per game in each of the past two seasons. This year, without Schwartz, the Titans are in dead lass in pass defense and seventh to last in total defense. Tennessee averages to allow 339 yards a game through the air, which may be the biggest reason for the Titans winless start. In the past couple of years, the Titans have relied on their defense to carry the team to success and haven’t had a real strong offense. This season, with a new defensive coordinator, the Titans have lost as many games in the first three weeks as they did all of last season.
Baltimore lost their defensive coordinator, Rex Ryan, to the New York Jets. Ryan became the head coach of the jets and has led the team to their first 3-0 start since 2004. Ryan took over a team whose defense ranked sixteenth last year and has made them, through the first three weeks, the best defense in the league. The jets have only given up 24 points in the first three games and shut down the high potent offenses of the Texans and Patriots. His former team, the Baltimore Ravens, were ranked second in defense last year, only allowing 261 yards a game. This season, they are in the middle of the pack in defense and allow 70 yards more a game than last year.
The Buccaneers season fell apart last year once defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin announced he wasn’t going to be with the team after the season. The defense, which has been the staple of Tampa’s team for over a decade, fell apart after Kiffin’s announcement and the team missed the playoffs leading to coach, John Gruden, getting fired. The Bucs have started this season 0-3 under their new coach, defensive minded Raheem Morris, and have become one of the leagues laughing stocks as they apparently try to rebuild. Tampa Bay has the second worst overall defense in the league, averaging to give up 450 yards and 33.5 points a game after being ninth in defense last year. The Bucs allowed 306 yards and 20 points a game last season and ended with a 9-7. They’ll be lucky if they even get close to nine wins this season, especially with that poor defense.
The Giants haven’t felt the affects of losing their defensive coordinator, Steve Spagnulo, to the rams just yet as the defense is still ranked ninth overall. It’s not as good as last year’s team defense or that of the championship team, but it hasn’t dropped off all that far. The Eagles lost one of the smartest defensive minds, if not the smartest, when Jim Johnson sadly passed away in the off-season. He was one of the best assistant coaches and one of the best guys in the league and is and will continue to be missed on and off the field. The defense of the Eagles has still held up, maybe playing inspired this season and playing for their former coach.
There were other teams who lost their defensive coordinators, but not who were as valuable as the one’s mentioned in this article. Not every team that lost their defensive mastermind has totally dropped off on that side of the football, but the teams mentioned were the ones who had the biggest hole to fill. These teams needed to pick it up defensively and still do for the rest of the season. We’ll see how these teams perform under their new defensive coaches throughout the rest of the year.
