ASK THE EXPERTS appears weekly from training camp through the Super Bowl with answers to a new question being posted Thursday morning. How the guest experts responded when we asked them: Which new coaching hire interests you the most?
JODY SMITH
I'm very interested in seeing how this fast-paced, cutting edge offense that Matt Nagy and Mark Helfrich are planning to roll out in Chicago. Helfrich has ties to Chip Kelly at Oregon and Nagy studied under Andy Reid so there's some history of success here, but when I hear that they want to implement a ground-breaking offensive philosophy catered to Mitchell Trubisky's strengths, I want to pay attention to how that develops in mini-camp and the preseason. Trubisky looked for comfortable down the stretch and the Bears have a decent back in Jordan Howard that could support a high-octane attack. The pass catchers leave a little something to be desired. If this new approach actually pays off, not only could the Bears be successful but we could see yet another new wrinkle to the ever-evolving NFL offense. I'm skeptical that it will work, especially early, but it will be something for us to keep an eye on this summer.
ALAN SATTERLEE
I am most interested in seeing if Patriots’ coordinators Josh McDaniels and Matt Patricia both land head coaching jobs for 2018 (and both seem to be a done deal). Patricia looks to be a lock for the Lions head coaching job and then the big question is will he retain Jim Bob Cooter as offensive coordinator. There’s so much talent on the Lions’ roster, it would be nice to see everything come together and perhaps they finally make a push in the playoffs (the Lions haven’t won a playoff game since 1991). As for McDaniels, it’s possible he’ll bring an instant resurgence back to the Colts assuming he goes there. They need a lot of upgrades on the roster, but Andrew Luck and T.Y. Hilton certainly could be a potent combo next season and be had on the cheap. It also will be interesting to see what they end up doing at running back, but the Colts could use a young bellcow.
Satterlee is the Fantasy Football Insider for the Charlotte Observer and is syndicated in a few other newspapers in the southeast. Satterlee first started playing fantasy football in 1990.
SAM HENDRICKS
Josh McDaniels at Indy or soon to be. Sure he has been the OC for NE for many years (spent two forgettable Tim Tebow seasons as HC with Denver) but his offenses have been super. I am excited about a Colt offense QB’d by Andrew Luck who leads a team of talented young players (and Frank Gore) in 2018. OK maybe that is just me rationalizing Luck as my keeper player from this years draft. No I am buying McDaniels. He has matured and learned and will deliver a Indy team from the ashes.
Hendricks is the author of Fantasy Football Guidebook, Fantasy Football Tips and Fantasy Football Basics, all available at ExtraPointPress.com, at all major bookstores, and at Amazon and BN.com. He is a 25-year fantasy football veteran who participates in the National Fantasy Football Championship (NFFC) and finished 7th and 16th overall in the 2008 and 2009 Fantasy Football Players Championship (FFPC). He won the Fantasy Index Open in 2013. Follow him at his web site, www.ffguidebook.com.
SCOTT SACHS
As a long-suffering Browns fan, coaching interest includes both an assistant coach and a head coach. The assistant coach I'm most interested in is new Browns OC, Todd Haley. The Steelers were ranked 2, 3, 7, and 3 the last four years on offense. Why did he choose Cleveland? Haley is both in demand and now really bitter. Since the Browns have draft picks and cash, a bit of talent to build on with Josh Gordon/David Njoku/Duke Johnson, 2 revenge games against Pittsburgh each season, plus declining Baltimore and Cincinnati in the AFC North, Cleveland became an attractive option -- for a change! Newly hired Giants head coach, Pat Shurmur, has a Cleveland connection, too. He was terrible in his short tenure with the Browns, thin-skinned, totally over his head, and majorly dull -- like vanilla in an ice cream store with 31 flavors. In fact, the local sports radio station during Monday morning drive time would mix in his post game comments from yet another Sunday loss with the old Warner Bros Beaky Buzzard song (Google it). Losing wasn't funny, but hearing Shurmur's comments with excerpts from the "Bringing home my baby bumblebee" song while driving to work was LOL hilarious. Hopefully Shurmur is more successful this time around with Eli and Odell.
With two perfect seasons and multiple league championships to his credit, Sachs runs Perfect Season Fantasy Football, featuring LIVE Talk & Text Advice. He won the 2011 and 2016 Experts Auction League and also the 2012 Fantasy Index Experts Poll.
JUSTIN ELEFF
In one sense the most interesting hires have to be Steve Wilks in Arizona and Mike Vrabel in Tennessee; those are the guys we have the least data on, and because they both have defensive backgrounds we really have no idea what those hires will mean for the big fantasy pieces on the two teams. I very much look forward to seeing who Wilks and Vrabel (and their respective braintrusts) bring on as offensive coordinators. And speaking of offensive coordinators, honorable mention here goes to the addition of Todd Haley as the OC in Cleveland. We have plenty of data on Haley, and if the top of the upcoming draft goes the way many are projecting, with the Browns picking up either of the big-bodied quarterbacks (Sam Darnold or Josh Allen) and the absurdly big-bodied running back (Saquon Barkley), Haley's new offense might map pretty neatly onto the one he just left in Pittsburgh.
Eleff hosts the Fantasy Index Podcast, available in the iTunes Store now. He has worked for Fantasy Index off and on all century.
DAVID DOREY
Certainly all coaching changes bear notice and bring about change. If there was just one with the most fantasy relevancy, it would have to be Jon Gruden in Oakland who brings along Greg Olson as his offensive coordinator. Olson was the QB coach for the Rams last year and has a lengthy resume including being the Raiders OC back in 2013 and 2014. His first year was not good thanks to a lack of talent but he was there in 2014 for Derek Carr’s rookie season. The Raiders have far more potential than they have realized, particularly with a good offensive line. In combination with free agent and draft moves, it will be interesting to see what happens.
Dorey is the co-founder and lead NFL analyst for The Huddle and author of Fantasy Football: The Next Level. He has projected and predicted every NFL game and player performance since 1997 and has appeared in numerous magazines, newspapers, radio and television.
ANDY RICHARDSON
I'm interested in Pat Shurmur and the Giants. Do they try to get another year or two out of Eli Manning? There's no denying the team has some exciting receiving talent in Beckham, Shepard and Engram. I'm curious what they'll do at quarterback, and how they'll use those pass catchers. Biggest worry for me is Norv Turner in Carolina. And I guess Jon Gruden. The game moves on, and I'm not optimistic when teams gaze backward.
Richardson has been a contributing writer and editor to the Fantasy Football Index magazine and www.fantasyindex.com since 2002. His responsibilities include team defense and IDP projections and various site features, and he has run the magazine's annual experts draft and auction leagues since their inception. He previews all the NFL games on Saturdays and writes a wrap-up column on Mondays during the NFL season.