Albuquerque Journal

SLOW STARTS

New class of bosses is 3-11 after Week 2

- BY JOSH DUBOW ASSOCIATED PRESS

NFL’s seven head coaches who weren’t in those jobs last year are 3-11

ALAMEDA, Calif. — Jon Gruden was welcomed back to Oakland as a returning hero when he got hired for his second stint as coach of the Raiders.

There was a party he hosted for fans at a local sports bar, loud ovations in the preseason and a heightened level of excitement that Gruden could get the Raiders back to being the consistent winner they were during his first stint that started two decades ago.

The reality has been far different after two weeks. Fans are frustrated by the trade of the team’s best player, Khalil Mack, the crowd booed at the end of a lopsided, season-opening loss, and an 0-2 start has raised questions about how long it will take to turn the Raiders into a winner.

“We’re going to keep building our football team. Whether that translates into one win or four wins or any wins, I’m not going to make any prediction­s,” Gruden said.

“I want to continue to play good, hard-nose football. Keep improving. Keep improving and good things will happen. I’m not going to sit here and make any prediction­s about anything other than we’re going to play hard and provide the best effort we can.”

Gruden’s not alone when it comes to getting off to slow starts in a new tenure as coach. All seven new coaches lost on the opening weekend for the worst debut performanc­e in NFL history for a new class of coaches.

There was some improvemen­t in Week 2 as Indianapol­is’ Frank Reich, Chicago’s Matt Nagy and Tennessee’s Mike Vrabel all got into the win column for the first time in their head coaching careers. That makes the new class of coaches a combined 3-11.

“It always helps to win,” Vrabel said. “When you’re trying to explain things to a team, or trying to get a message across, there has to be some tangible evidence to say, ‘Hey, when we do these

things we give ourselves a chance to win.’”

The other three new coaches are in the same boat as Gruden, searching for that elusive first win and facing questions about whether they were the right choice for the job.

The New York Giants have looked listless on offense in their first two games under former Minnesota offensive coordinato­r Pat Shurmur, scoring only one TD in the opener and not making it into the end zone until 1:27 remained in a 20-13 loss to Dallas this past week.

It’s the defense that’s been the problem in Detroit under former New England defensive coordinato­r Matt Patricia. The Lions have allowed 78 points in losses to the Jets and San Francisco, the third most in franchise history after two games.

“I certainly understand their frustratio­n and we’re doing everything we can possible to make sure we get this turned around,” Patricia said of Detroit fans who have celebrated just one playoff win in the past 60 years.

“I expect to win every single week and go out and we work extremely hard to make sure we get that done, and we have to keep pushing forward.”

The Cardinals have been perhaps the worst team of all under Steve Wilks, getting outscored 58-6 the first two weeks against Washington and the Rams and failing even to cross midfield until the next-to-last play of the game in Sunday’s 34-0 drubbing against Los Angeles.

There are already questions about coordinato­r Mike McCoy’s status in Arizona and about when rookie quarterbac­k Josh Rosen should take over from Sam Bradford.

“We all need to look in the mirror and check ourselves and figure out, ‘What can I do to help this team win games?’” Wilks said.

“I don’t think your actual long-term vision changes and your expectatio­ns, but you have to be able to adapt in this league. We’re looking to make changes. We’re looking to make this thing better and make it right.”

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 ?? JAMES KENNEY/ASSOCIATED PRESS ?? Tennessee Titan head coach Mike Vrabel got his first win Sunday when his team beat the Texans. New head coaches went 0-7 in Week 1 but managed to win three games last week.
JAMES KENNEY/ASSOCIATED PRESS Tennessee Titan head coach Mike Vrabel got his first win Sunday when his team beat the Texans. New head coaches went 0-7 in Week 1 but managed to win three games last week.
 ?? MARK TENALLY/ASSOCIATED PRESS ?? Indianapol­is Colts head coach Frank Reich, right, talks with Andrew Luck during the Colts’ win Sunday, which was Reich’s first victory.
MARK TENALLY/ASSOCIATED PRESS Indianapol­is Colts head coach Frank Reich, right, talks with Andrew Luck during the Colts’ win Sunday, which was Reich’s first victory.
 ??  ?? Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy got his first win Monday night against Seattle. Nagy is one of three new coaches out of seven who have won a game this season.
Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy got his first win Monday night against Seattle. Nagy is one of three new coaches out of seven who have won a game this season.

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