San Francisco Chronicle

Six offensive coordinato­rs to watch

- By Barry Wilner Barry Wilner is an Associated Press writer.

Head-coaching changes get the most attention, and new hires normally decide who their coordinato­rs will be.

For 2018, most offensive-coordinato­r alteration­s came from incumbent coaches.

Some former coordinato­rs moved up: Matt Nagy from Kansas City to Chicago, Pat Shurmur from Minnesota to the New York Giants. Some were canned: Pittsburgh’s Todd Haley, who landed in Cleveland; Mike Shula, going from the Panthers to the Giants. Others are returning to familiar ground: Joe Philbin in Green Bay, Greg Olson in Oakland. Many got promoted.

Here are six intriguing new offensive coordinato­rs: Todd Haley, Cleveland

A former head coach with Kansas City who spent the past six seasons in a love/hate relationsh­ip with Ben Roethlisbe­rger in Pittsburgh, Haley faces a whole new set of challenges with the Browns.

Sure, he and Roethlisbe­rger often quarreled, but they also won lots of games with a potent, dynamic attack. If you have a short memory, let us remind you: Cleveland has won a single game, in total, over the past two seasons. Its offense has ranged from anemic to putrid.

So Haley joins the team with the charge of grooming (or pushing rapidly) the first overall draft pick, Baker Mayfield, as the starting quarterbac­k. The head coach in Cleveland, Hue Jackson, also has a background on offense and some ideas of his own on how to move the ball. Of course, Jackson also has that 1-31 record.

“That is what appealed to me: the challenge and the people I was going to be working alongside of,” Haley said when hired. Norv Turner, Carolina

One of the most successful OCs in NFL history — not so much as a head coach, with a 114-122-1 record — Turner tries to re-establish Cam Newton as an elite passer. Newton remains a dangerous runner and creator, but he hasn’t developed the fundamenta­ls to be a true pocket passer, and as he gets later into his career, the 2015 league MVP needs those basics in his repertoire.

Turner has been an effective QB whisperer for decades, going back to helping Troy Aikman become a Hall of Famer. Turner has a strong relationsh­ip with Carolina head coach Ron Rivera, and will get lots of leeway in running the offense, particular­ly in resurrecti­ng the deep passing game.

“I think Cam gets that Norv is here to help,” Rivera said. John DeFilippo, Minnesota

DeFilippo moves from Philadelph­ia, where he masterfull­y helped Carson Wentz reach prominence, then was of immeasurab­le aid for Nick Foles in the Super Bowl run. DeFilippo was handed an expensive bauble, too.

The Vikings signed Kirk Cousins to the largest guaranteed contract in NFL history after discarding their three quarterbac­ks of 2018, including Case Keenum, who helped Minnesota reach the conference title game. With shortterm 2018 sensation Dalvin Cook returning to the backfield, a solid and deep receiving group and a strong line, expectatio­ns in the Twin Cities are for the Vikes to take that next step.

“He’s been a great communicat­or, and I love his passion for the game,” Cousins said of DeFilippo. Joe Philbin, Green Bay

From 2007 through ’11, with the transition from Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers a part of it, Philbin was the Packers’ OC. The team’s success, including a Super Bowl title, got him the head-coaching job in Miami, where he went 24-28.

Following two seasons working in Indianapol­is with the offensive line, Philbin Part 2 begins on the tundra.

Rodgers has been somewhat vocal about changes in Green Bay that didn’t quite meet his approval. So the symbiosis between A-Rod and Philbin will be critical.

“Change can be really good . ... Anytime you’re in a situation where you’ve had the same type of things going on for a number of years, it’s nice to change it up in some positions, yeah,” Rodgers said. Matt LaFleur, Tennessee

LaFleur rapidly has gone from QB coach in Atlanta — Matt Ryan had his MVP season with LaFleur on hand two years ago — to overseeing the Rams’ offensive turnaround. Having such success with Jared Goff and Todd Gurley in L.A., he heads to Nashville, where the passing game has been dormant.

If Marcus Mariota is to become a franchise quarterbac­k, it must happen soon. LaFleur doesn’t have a lot to work with in Music City, but he didn’t seem to have much in SoCal, either. And unlike with the Rams, for whom head coach Sean McVay called many plays, the offense is LaFleur’s baby now.

“This is something when you get into the coaching profession, you’re always looking for the next step,” LaFleur said. Randy Fichtner, Pittsburgh

Roethlisbe­rger should have a more peaceful co-existence with Fichtner, and the tempo figures to increase.

This should be the best attack in the AFC, anchored by running back Le’Veon Bell and wide receiver Antonio Brown. Fichtner needs to ensure it is close to the top given the question marks on defense.

“He knows what we do well,” Brown said. “He knows some things we can work on and some things that (we can do) better. But we’re in great hands with him.”

 ?? Jack Dempsey / Associated Press 2011 ?? Norv Turner, here as head coach of San Diego in 2011, didn’t have as much success (114-122-1 record) as he has shown as an offensive coordinato­r.
Jack Dempsey / Associated Press 2011 Norv Turner, here as head coach of San Diego in 2011, didn’t have as much success (114-122-1 record) as he has shown as an offensive coordinato­r.

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