LA Rams DC Staley is NFL’s hottest coaches, but he’s not leaving yet

College, or veteran coordinators?

Of course, the latest top head-coaching candidates by a recent Sports Illustrated by Connor Orr at the start of the 2020 NFL season omitted Brandon Staley altogether. But the article does focus substantively upon NFL veteran coordinators who have a proven track record. Even some who have been former head coaches are exhibiting resiliency as coordinators for new teams.  Those candidates will be the sought most often.

And then, there are the college coaches who could be persuaded to join the ranks of NFL head coaches. Yahoo Sports Pete Thamel compiled a fairly comprehensive list of potential NFL head coaches from NCAA football programs. All told, for an estimated five NFL head coaching positions opening up this offseason, there will be approximately 30-50 solid candidates.

Next time, perhaps?

Perhaps the key to how many college coaches take on NFL head coaching positions comes down to the job that Carolina Panthers’ head coach Matt Rhule does this year. Right now he is having modest success at 4-7, but he is in the same NFC South division as the New Orleans Saints and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  If they can win six or more games this season, that likely opens the door for other college coaches in 2021.

While the NFL stopped short of incentivizing hiring minorities for coaching positions, they have expanded the ‘Rooney rule’ to mandate interviewing two external minority candidates for all NFL head coaching positions, and at least one external minority candidate for all NFL coordinator positions.  At the end of the day, while LA Rams defensive coordinator is indeed one of the hottest young coaches in the NFL, he likely won’t be going anywhere.  After all, teams have a huge list of candidates with a longer track record for success. And if those candidates fail? They can come back to hire Staley next year.