The Kansas City Chiefs hired Todd Haley on February 6th making him the final coach to be hired in the 2009 offseason. After 11 coaching changes, the NFL's newest coaches (including those with experience that switched teams), face an uphill climb.
If you're switching coaches, it usually means your team and previous coach wasn't very good to begin with (save the Colts, Broncos and Bucs in this case).
Here's a look at the coaching changes for the 2009 NFL season.
| Team | New Coach | Years HC Exp. | Previous Coach | '08 Wins |
| Chiefs | Todd Haley | 0 | Herm Edwards | 2 |
| Raiders | Tom Cable | 1/2 | Lane Kiffin | 5 |
| Jets | Rex Ryan | 0 | Eric Mangini | 9 |
| 49ers | Mike Singletary | 1/2 | Mike Nolan | 7 |
| Rams | Steve Spagnuolo | 0 | Scott Linehan/Jim Haslett | 2 |
| Bucs | Raheem Morris |
0 | Jon Gruden | 9 |
| Lions | Jim Schwartz | 0 | Rod Marinelli | 0 |
| Browns | Eric Mangini | 3 | Romeo Crennel |
4 |
| Broncos | Josh McDaniels | 0 | Mike Shanahan | 8 |
| Colts | Jim Caldwell | 0 | Tony Dungy | 12 |
| Seahawks | Jim Mora, Jr. | 3 | Mike Holmgren | 4 |
Wow. I didn't realize just how new all these coaches were. Eric Mangini (Browns) and Jim Mora (Seahawks) top the experience list with six combined years of head coach experience in the NFL.
Here are a few notes on the new coaches in 2009:
- 11 new head coaches (NFL record)
- 7 with no head coaching experience
- 2 with interim experience
- 4 have never been an offensive or defensive coordinator
Of the coaches above, I would say Todd Haley has the greatest chance to increase his team's win total the most. Even though he was the last head coach hired in this group, the Chiefs previous win total combined with another year of experience with one of the the youngest teams in the NFL is the biggest reason a few analysts on the NFL Network predicted Haley would be the most improved new coach.
But let's face it - it's not only improvement we're looking for in the 2009 Chiefs. We want to win and the best way to do that is with a quarterback. Of the list above, I would say the Chiefs quarterback situation is better than or equal to all the teams except the Colts (Manning) and Seahawks (Hasselbeck).
Haley's first year with the Chiefs may not be the best of this group but I suspect he'll be in the top five. Where do you think he'll rank?