Pete Carmichael - Saints' OC and Prospective Head Coach (1 Viewer)

[Disc Shark]

So, I'm talking to my stockbroker after Sean Payton gets his leg broken by Jimmy Graham's ### in Tampa Bay this season. He tells me, "Don't worry, Pete Carmichael's been calling the plays since 2009. Payton's just a figurehead. Pete has scripted the offensive game plans for the last 3 years. Pete tells Sean what to call. The Saints will be fine."

What happens? The Saints go on to play the best offense in the history of the National Football League. After Payton's injury the play-calling duties were shifted to Carmichael, even after Payton returned to the sidelines. The Saints went on to shred NFL defenses (even the vaunted 49ers in yesterday's epic playoff game) and break numerous NFL records in the process.

Carmichael will be interviewed for head coaching positions:

Times-Picayune 1.13.12

Where might he land? San Diego and Philadelphia would have been good choices, but they, stupidly, did not fire their head coaches. Miami? He knows what Reggie Bush can do. And suppose they land a good QB (Peyton Manning? RG III?) to go along with Brandon Marshall?

As a Saints fan, I hope he stays in N.O. as the OC. Super Bowl victory guaranteed, after we run Gregg Williams out of town.

Edited to add: Gregg Williams left for St. Louis on 1/16/12; most of New Orleans said, "Don't let the door hit you on the way out."

 

[Disc Shark]

USA Today 1.17.12:

"With three NFL head coaching jobs still open, Saints OC Pete Carmichael could be emerging as a hot candidate and might even entice a bidding war."

Is Saints OC Pete Carmichael the next hot coaching prospect

Carmichael was given permission to interview with the Raiders. He could do quite well with all of the offensive weapons Oakland has accumulated in the last several years.

 

[SwampDawg]

As a Dolphins fan I've been screaming for him to get an interview for weeks but they'll most likely turn to one of Ireland's old Dallas croonies like Zimmer.

 

[Jason Wood]

Carmichael is the kind of hire that would excite me if I were one of the teams looking for coaches. Much more so than a retread like Zimmer or Sherman or -- gasp -- Schottenheimer.

 

[identikit]

Miami, get this done.

 

[Disc Shark]

I agree, Jason. If Carmichael is hired as head coach of a good offensive team, it could be one of the most significant off-season developments for next year's fantasy football season, as well as a big deal in the real world of the NFL.

 

[Joe Summer]

I have a feeling that he's going to join a long list of people who make great coordinators but terrible head coaches.

 

[Luke Skywalker]

I have a feeling that he's going to join a long list of people who make great coordinators but terrible head coaches.

This.Guy is not even remotely qualified to be a head coach. I would wager that probably 50% of Saints fans out there didn't even know who he was until Sean Payton got hurt and Carmichael started doing the playcalling. Hell, we don't even know that he is a good coordinator yet. Maybe in a few years, but there is nothing that suggests this guy can even handle the reins of an offense on his own, much less run an entire team.

 

[Jason Wood]

I have a feeling that he's going to join a long list of people who make great coordinators but terrible head coaches.

This.Guy is not even remotely qualified to be a head coach. I would wager that probably 50% of Saints fans out there didn't even know who he was until Sean Payton got hurt and Carmichael started doing the playcalling. Hell, we don't even know that he is a good coordinator yet. Maybe in a few years, but there is nothing that suggests this guy can even handle the reins of an offense on his own, much less run an entire team.

When did fan recognition become commensurate with being a good NFL head coach, for a current assistant?Andy Reid wasn't even an NFL coordinator when the Eagles hired him. He was Brett Favre's QB coach. That's it. Yet he ended up being a great hire.John Harbaugh was better known as Jim's brother, and had almost no mindshare among NFL fans when the Ravens plucked him away from the Eagles. Harbaugh spent most of his tenure in Philly as the Special Teams coach. Mike Tomlin was an NFL coordinator for ONE season, his first in Minnesota by the way, when the Steelers picked him to replace Bill Cowher.Tom Coughlin was the head coach at Boston College when the Jaguars made him the first coach in their history...he had prior never been more than a WR coach at the NFL level.Name recognition, particularly by casual fans, should be wayyyyyyyyyyy down the list of criteria. There's really no magic formula for hiring a great NFL head coach. If you look at the greatest successes and failures (both current and historically), the road they took to get there have been wildly varied.