Ranking every new head coaching hires Week 1 Performance

Patriots' Jerod Mayo upsets Bengals in Week 1 with strong defense and rushing offense. Panthers' offense and defense struggle under Dave Canales in a disappointing Week 1 loss. Titans' Brian Callahan's solid defensive performance is marred by Will Levi's mistakes in a Week 1 loss.

EIght NFL teams trekked out a brand-new head coach during Week 1 of 2024. Some coaches are leading the charge of franchises looking to have a breakthrough season, while others are managing a lengthier rebuild. This article analyzes which coaching performances left a positive first impression to start the new football year or which outings may have previewed longer days to come.



While they haven't been given much credit this offseason, do the Seahawks have the best chance to knock off the 49ers in the NFC West? 8 Jerod Mayo The New England Patriots came into their Week 1 road tilt versus the Cincinnati Bengals as eight-point underdogs. It was an understandable assessment for a team breaking in a new starting quarterback, a fresh offensive system and a first-time head coach in Jerod Mayo. Mayo leaned on two constants that usually aid a brand-new offensive attack; a strong running game and a stout defense.

The Patriots rushed for 170 yards on 39 carries and were led by the phenomenal individual performance of fourth-year back Rhamondre Stevenson . The Oklahoma standout outgained the entire Bengals' ground attack by himself on just 25 carries. Rhamondre Stevenson Week 1 Stats Rushes Rushing Yards Yards Per Carry Rushing Touchdown 25 120 4.

8 1 Defensively, New England held Cincy's offense scoreless in the first half before surrendering just one touchdown for the entire game. Their unit brought Bengals' quarterback Joe Burrow down three times and held him under 170 passing yards and below 6 yards per pass attempt. Defense was Jerod Mayo's identity as a former stallworth for the Patriots throughout the 2010's.

Expect more of the same throughout the rebuilding Patriots 2024 campaign as he mans the sidelines. 7 Mike Macdonald Mike Macdonald's historical success a season ago as Baltimore Ravens 's defensive coordinator made him one of the hottest head coaching commodities in the NFL. He was hired by the Seattle Seahawks to lead their team and inherits a playoff-caliber roster littered with talented young skill players.

Game 1 on the job featured a showdown between rookie quarterback Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos . The game featured a Hawks defense holding the Broncos to just 231 yards and collecting two interceptions despite being on the field for 69 plays. GIVEMESPORT Key Stat : The Seattle defense held an opponent under 240 yards of total offense for just the third time in the 2020s.

The Seahawks' offense saw its highs and lows being dictated by a Hawks offensive line that was hanging on by a thread. Eventually, Seattle leaned on the rushing ability of Kenneth Walker III who ran for 103 yards and a score before he went out with a second-half abdominal injury. The Seahawks have the talent and a young, ingenious head coaching mind to truly challenge for a division title.

The success may come down to the health of Walker, the arm of Geno Smith and the youth of their defense. 6 Jim Harbaugh In Jim Harbaugh's official return to the NFL as the Los Angeles Chargers head coach, J.K.

Dobbins rushed for nine yards less yards than Justin Herbert passed for during the team's 22-10 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders . J.K.

Dobbins Week 1 Rush Stats Carries Yards Yards Per Carry Touchdowns 10 135 5.5 1 While the Raiders aren't the best litmus test in how the 2024 Chargers will look throughout the year, the opposition brought a level of physicality that the team had to match. Herbert was sacked only once, while the Chargers defense featured sacks from Pro Bowl pass rushers Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack .

Harbaugh's Chargers won't be winning in the ways they formerly did during the Herbert era, but will instead take a physical grind-it-out approach to collect as many victories as possible. Long as that's accomplished, they have a chance to challenge for an AFC WIld Card spot. 5 Antonio Pierce Antonio Pierce was the Raiders' interim head coach in 2023 and leaned on protecting the football and physical defense to get victories against the opposition.

The same formula was put forward against the Chargers in Week 1, but the lack of quarterback play ultimately did them in. Gardner Minshew II was named the team's Week 1 starter, and he had a pretty efficient day through the air. However, he had one of the team's three turnovers and led just two scoring drives through four quarters of play.

Gardner Minshew Week 1 Passing Stats Completion Percentage Yards Touchdowns Interceptions 75.7 257 1 1 The Raiders' success this season will forever be capped as long as their offense doesn't have an impact player at quarterback. Turning the ball over three times isn't great either and will have to be kept at a minimum in order for the franchise to have a chance every week.

4 Brian Callahan The expectation of the 2024 Tennessee Titans is that it will field a dominant defense to pair with its creative offensive attack led by new head coach Brian Callahan and second-year quarterback Will Levis . During their Week 1 matchup versus the Chicago Bears , Tennessee presented half of the winning formula by featuring a defense that set the tone with a variety of impactful statistics: 84 rushing yards allowed 64 passing yards allowed 2 sacks 1 takeaway 11 allowed first downs 2 allowed third-down conversions (from 13 attempts) Unfortunately, second-year quarterback Will Levis wasn't able to return the favor. While the second-year quarterback performed statistically better than the Bears' rookie Caleb Williams through the air, he tossed two interceptions, which included a go-ahead pick-six in the fourth quarter that gave the Bears the victory.

Levis will be embarking on a sophomore season that will decide his future with the franchise. The hope is that Bill Callahan will get the best out of the Kentucky product as a mobile athlete and strong-arm passer. A tough test against an elite Bears' defense probably wasn't going to produce anything supremely positive for Levis early on, but losing the game because of his inaccuracy and miscues isn't the best worst-case scenario for his early development.

3 Raheem Morris There was immense excitement from the Atlanta Falcons ' brass about what its potential 2024 season would look like. New quarterback Kirk Cousins is coming off of an Achilles injury, but he isn't far removed from three consecutive 4,000-yard passing seasons. The team even added veteran pass-rusher Matthew Judon and safety Justin Simmons to bolster a slightly below-average defense from a season ago.

During Week 1, Cousins looked like a player who hadn't tossed a football in live action since October 2023. As for the Falcons' defense, they surrendered 137 rushing yards and six field goals in the team's 18-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers . GIVEMESPORT Key Stat : Despite not scoring a single touchdown, the Steelers had the game's leading passer, rusher and receiver in their Week 1 victory over the Atlanta Falcons.

Falcons' head coach Raheem Morris is a defensive guy with past head man experience with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the 2010's. The ultimate downfall during his tenure there was middling quarterback play and an underachieving defense. Sure, the team didn't allow Steelers' backup quarterback Justin Fields to lead a touchdown drive, but they didn't turn the former first-round pick over either, as the Steelers won the takeaway battle over the Falcons three to zero.

For Morris to maximize his second head coaching opportunity, quarterback play will need to improve along with defensive productivity. 2 Dan Quinn Washington is adopting the 2023 Houston Texans head coaching model; field a talented rookie quarterback with a defensive-minded head coach. Quinn isn't the head coaching novice that DeMeco Ryans once was, but he's taking on a somewhat similar reconstruction project.

Jayden Daniels is a dual-threat quarterback with tons of talent, but the offensive line protecting him isn't as ideal. The ground game and weapons are there, but Daniels misfired on some deep shots in Week 1 versus Tampa Bay and was more effective on the ground during his first NFL start. GIVEMESPORT Key Stat : Jayden Daniels featured game-highs in carries (16), rushing yards (88) and rushing touchdowns (2) in his first NFL start.

Defensively, the Commanders' secondary was shredded to the tune of four Baker Mayfield touchdown tosses and a two receiving touchdown day by Buccaneers' wideout Mike Evans . Considering defense is Dan Quinn's strong suit, he'll have to find an inevitable solution to that side of the ball for the team to have a legit chance in 2024. 1 Dave Canales The Carolina Panthers were already up against a monster fight when they took the field against their NFC South rival, the New Orleans Saints , for Week 1.

As a rebuilding offense with protection issues, it was fair to assume that Panthers' quarterback Bryce Young would struggle against an experienced New Orleans' defense. From the moment Young's first pass was intercepted, the oncoming train wreck quickly became a televised demolition. The former Heisman winner couldn't register 200 yards passing despite serving 30 pass attempts and was sacked four times by a blitz heavy Saints rush.

Bryce Youngs' Week 1 Passing Stats Completion Percentage Yards Touchdowns Interceptions 43.3 161 0 2 On the other end, Canales had to watch his new defensive coordinator, Ejiro Evero, get schooled by New Orleans' offensive coordinator, Klint Kubiak. The Panthers' defense surrendered: 180 rushing yards 2 rushing touchdowns 3 passing touchdowns from Derek Carr 79.

1% allowed completion percentage The expectation that Carolina musters more than five wins this season is pretty bleak. Their defense had some key departures in free agency and is breaking-in a variety of new guys under a different defensive scheme. Offensively is where the team will need a level of consistency and progression from Bryce Young to have a chance each week.

With Canales calling the plays, he'll have his work cut out for him with a miniature quarterback and a horrendous offensive line at his disposal. So far, it doesn't seem like a promising collection of talent to work with. All stats are courtesy of ESPN .

Washington is expressing high praise for the No. 2 overall pick, who'll start the preseason opener on Saturday.