When it comes to coaching staffs in the NFC East, the Dallas Cowboys have arguably the best overall among the top three positions. Mike McCarthy has won a Super Bowl and has led Dallas to three straight 12–5 seasons. Of the division’s head coaches, he’s the only one with a ring.
Washington’s Dan Quinn led the Falcons to a Super Bowl, then his defense collapsed in an epic fail to the Patriots.
Philadelphia’s Nick Sirianni also led his team to the final game, only to watch his running back-playing-quarterback fumble the game away.
As for New York’s Brian Daboll, well…
So, going into the 2024 season, the Cowboys will have the best coaching staff.
They also have players with the talent to make a deep run, but we all know why they aren’t favored to even repeat as division champions this year.
That has more to do with the front office. We’ll talk about that handicap in the next post. For now, Dallas’ coaches stand alone.
1. Dallas Cowboys
- Head coach: Mike McCarthy
- Offensive coordinator: Brian Schottenheimer
- Defensive coordinator: Mike Zimmer
As my colleague, Shane Taylor, pointed out a few days ago, McCarthy is fed up with Jerry Jones. Reportedly, Jones is getting fed up with McCarthy too.
Meanwhile, the rest of us are getting fed up with the entire team, the drama, and the lack of production in the playoffs.
Somehow, in the midst of all of this disgust, the Cowboys have three men who are best suited to steer the team out of the storm.
They better. Because another early playoff exit, or missing the postseason all together, will likely result in the entire trio heading for the unemployment office.
McCarthy has the added pressure of going into the season in the final year of his contract. Even another season of double-digit wins likely wouldn’t save him if it ends the same way the last three seasons have.
Schottenheimer is the offensive coordinator, but McCarthy calls the plays, so how much of the team’s 2024 success – or failure – can be laid at his feet is unclear.
The Cowboys lost Quinn to a division rival, and reached back to the past for his replacement. Zimmer will be prowling the sidelines, in contrast to Quinn’s more modern preference to remain up in the coaches’ box.
How that change along with Zimmer’s immediate presence impacts the defense is the question. Personally, I think it will help.
Mike Zimmer has a solid record as a defensive coordinator. If anyone can get the defense to show up week in and week out, and especially in the playoffs, it’s Zimmer.
2. Washington Commanders
- Head coach: Dan Quinn
- Offensive coordinator: Kliff Kingsbury
- Defensive coordinator: Joe Whitt Jr.
Dan Quinn instantly improves the Commanders’ defense. He had a nice two-year run during his five-plus seasons as Atlanta’s head coach. He also knows how to build a coaching staff.
His coaches in Atlanta?
Matt LaFleur, Mike McDaniel, Raheem Morris, Kyle Shanahan, and Jeff Ulbrich.
Quinn brought Joe Whitt Jr. along with him from Dallas.
Whitt was the Cowboys’ passing game coordinator and secondary coach from 2021-2023. He knows the defense Quinn wants to run. He also knows how to coach defensive backs.
On the offensive side, Quinn has brought Kliff Kingsbury back into the NFL.
Kingsbury was the Cardinals head coach from 2019-22. His win totals for the first three years in order were: 5, 8, and 11. In other words, he had the team on the right track. Then the 2022 season derailed everything as Arizona only won four games.
It didn’t help that the Cardinals had four different starting quarterbacks that year. Despite that, Kingsbury took the fall.
He also took a one-way flight to the Far East and everyone thought that was the last they’d ever hear from him. He’s back, though, and his offensive prowess just might be what the Washington Commanders need most in 2024.
3. Philadelphia Eagles
- Head coach: Nick Sirianni
- Offensive coordinator: Kellen Moore
- Defensive coordinator: Vic Fangio
Prior to the 2023 season, Sirianni was the golden child. This despite the Super Bowl choke against the Chiefs.
The team took a huge hit when they lost their offensive and defensive coordinators, Shane Steichen and Jonathan Gannon.
Brian Johnson, and the two-man combo of Brian Johnson and Sean Desai/Matt Patricia, couldn’t get the job done in 2023. All three are no longer with the Eagles. Worse still, their performance in 2023 – especially down the stretch – exposed Sirianni badly.
It turns out he may not be the wunderkind of the NFL after all.
One would be tempted to call him a bit of a street punk with a mouth that writes checks his players can’t cash. Seriously, I had worse in mind. But we do try to be a family-friendly Cowboys website.
Bottom line: Sirianni has been holding the Eagles back. Hopefully, Philadelphia’s front office doesn’t realize this anytime soon.
For Sirianni in 2024, as with the Eagles organization on the whole, 2024 will be a make-or-break year. Win and all is well.
Lose, or even just fail to make the playoffs, and Nick Sirianni may not be around for Cowboys’ fans to abuse much longer with memes like this.
Philadelphia hired Kellen Moore as their offensive coordinator. It’s a hiring that doesn’t strike an ounce of fear among the hearts of Cowboys Nation.
Moore is exactly who we thought he was. If anything, the Eagles’ offense took a step backward with this hire.
The coaching hire that might get the Eagles the division crown, as well as another trip to the Super Bowl, was on the defensive side of the ball. Vic Fangio is the new defensive guru.
His resume as a defensive coordinator is among the best, and he will have a defense on the field that Dallas and every other team must respect.
4. New York Giants
- Head coach: Brian Daboll
- Offensive coordinator: Mike Kafka
- Defensive coordinator: Shane Bowen
After eight NFL seasons as an offensive coordinator, Daboll took over as the Giants’ head man in 2022. The Giants went 9-7-1 in his rookie year, despite some significant injuries on the defense.
Last season, his team finished 6-11. None of the team’s offensive skill position players started every game. RB Saquon Barkley had 14 starts to top the offense. The Giants had three different starters at quarterback and none of them started more than six games.
Like Daboll, Kafka is in his third year with the Giants and his third overall as an NFL coach.
Between the two, they have a lot of work to do. Not many inside or outside of New York are holding out much hope that they can actually do it, however.
On the defensive side, Shane Bowen replaces Wink Martindale, who rage-quit the team at the end of last season.
Bowen was Tennessee’s defensive coordinator under Mike Vrabel. He left the team after Vrabel was let go and landed in New York. He may or may not be much of an upgrade.
Then again, he may or may not have much to work with.