Week 1 Report Card Grades for Every New NFL Head Coach

One week doesn’t make a season, but that won't refrain football fans from critiquing every new head coach’s performance on opening weekend. In seven NFL cities, it’s still too early to conclude whether or not they made the right choice.

Here are the Week 1 report card grades for every new head coach:

The development of the Indianapolis Colts under first-year head coach Chuck Pagano could be one of the best ongoing stories in the NFL this season. Colt fans will be tracking his growth as much as rookie quarterback Andrew Luck's progress. Right now, neither has the experience to make a difference on most Sundays.

In Week 1, Pagano struggled to have his defense show any resemblance of his Baltimore Ravens multiple-look defensive front schemes because he doesn’t have the outside speed needed to play a more attacking style of defense.

Yes, there’s plenty of work to be done before this franchise becomes a playoff contender once again.

The hiring of Mike Mularkey in Jacksonville had the feel of another recycled head coach gaining employment in the NFL, as his two-year tenure in Buffalo wasn’t exactly a resume builder.

But, Mularkey had a very impressive first regular season game as the Jaguars' head coach. They showed to have a promising young quarterback at the helm, a talented running back duo and a pretty solid ball-control offense.

Unfortunately, his defense failed to stop the Minnesota Vikings from tying the game with 20 seconds remaining, a move that ultimately made the Jaguars lose in overtime. The jury is still out on this new ownership group, but the fans may not have the patience for another rebuilding season.

It was a smart move by the Kansas City Chiefs to remove the interim tag from Romeo Crennel, as the players responded with a strong finish to last season after Todd Haley was removed from the head coaching position.

But if the Chiefs are going to contend for an AFC West title, they will have to acquire some defensive roster depth. They’re woefully thin at every position, a weakness the Atlanta Falcons offense exploited all game long.

The director of football operations, Scott Pioli, failed to upgrade the roster this offseason, and this placed Crennel on the hot seat to succeed immediately. With each loss, the seat becomes hotter and both could be out of a job by mid-season.

The Miami Dolphins hired the right man for this rebuilding job, but Joe Philbin must remain positive all season. It will take some time before good results are shown on the playing field.

Sometimes one bad drive can cost a team a victory, but in Week 1 the Dolphins suffered through a bad second quarter. It’s difficult for rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill to make plays with only one proven playmaker (Reggie Bush) on the roster. Throughout the game, poor execution often stalled promising offensive drives, and thus spoiled a solid debut for Philbin and Tannehill. 

The hiring of Jeff Fisher by the St. Louis Rams was the highlight move of their offseason, as he’s considered one of the best head coaches in the NFL.

Unfortunately, he made horrible decisions that cost the Rams a win on Sunday. First, the offensive play-calling was too conservative all game long and the coaches seemed content to hang around in the contest, rather than go for the victory. Second, Fisher mistakenly switched to a zone defense to help preserve a 20-13 lead over a high-powered Detroit Lions passing attack.

This isn’t his normal coaching style, as Fisher is usually daring and unafraid of taking a risk on both sides of the ball. In the past, his teams have played with a little edge to them.

This is a work in progress, as Fisher understands how to build a winning franchise. 

The Glazer family brought head coach Greg Schiano into the fold to instill some discipline on a very underachieving Tampa Bay Buccaneers roster. After Week 1, their strategy seems to be working well.

Schiano’s game plan against the Carolina Panthers was very simple: he wanted to get an early lead and let his defense set the tone for the remainder of the game. Mission accomplished, as they managed to keep quarterback Cam Newton in the pocket all game long, effectively shut down a very good rushing attack—the Panthers were fifth in team rushing last season.

Offensively, Schiano was content with a ball-control rushing game. Rookie running back Doug Martin gained tough yards in-between the tackles that kept the chains moving and Newton on the sidelines.

The Oakland Raiders surprised the football world when they hired an unknown defensive coordinator Dennis Allen as head coach, pledging to give him ample time to rebuild the team’s depleted roster.

Well, so much for a new era in Raider football, as they showed the same lack of discipline and mental mistakes that highlighted prior coaching regimes. Their lost to AFC West division rival San Diego Chargers spotlighted Allen’s inexperience as a head coach.

After losing long-snapper Jon Condo to a head injury, Allen never ordered his backup, Travis Goethel, to practice his snapping, even after a blocked punt and fumble led to easy Charger points. Instead, the camera showed Goethel standing on the sidelines conversing with his teammates.

Also, Allen never called for any play-calling changes by his offensive coaches, as they needed to get away from the short passing game once the Chargers added an extra defender to their pass rush. It was effective early in the contest, but after trailing by two touchdowns, the Raiders offense needed to challenge the defense deep with the long ball.