Barber: Why the best NFL coordinators aren't always the best head coaches

Most of America will be watching its flat-screens Sunday to see which two teams advance to Super Bowl 53. But the top executives from a couple of NFL organizations will have ulterior motives. The Cincinnati Bengals will have their eyes trained on Rams quarterbacks coach Zac Taylor, and the Miami Dolphins will be watching Patriots linebackers coach Brian Flores, each (reportedly) hoping to hire their new head coach as soon as his current team is eliminated.

It is that time of year for ascending assistant coaches. The only surprise in 2019 is that neither Taylor nor Flores holds a coordinator title, though the latter is widely regarded as Bill Belichick’s de facto defensive coordinator in New England.

Career progression tends to follow a well-worn path in the NFL: from position coach to coordinator (and sometimes to assistant head coach) to head coach.

It makes sense. If you work in the league and gain respect and experience winning seasons, people take notice, and if all goes well you are rewarded with increasing levels of responsibility. Football is no different than any other profession in that regard.

The problem in the NFL is that the best position coaches don’t always make the best coordinators. And more to the point, the best coordinators don’t necessarily make the best head coaches.

The sport is littered with brilliant offensive and defensive diagrammers who failed as leaders. For every Sean McVay, there is a Josh McDaniels or Todd Haley or Jim Mora the Younger who bring the playbooks but not the people skills, and end up rubbing everyone the wrong way. For every Frank Reich, there is an Eric Mangini or Marc Trestman or Rod Marinelli who fails to inspire. The list of crash-and-burn coordinators is longer than Gregg Williams’ bounty list.

That’s because coaching in the NFL has never been purely an academic task. Bill Walsh and Bill Belichick might be the two most influential football coaches in history, one on either side of the ball. But their legacies go way beyond Xs and Os. Both are/were keen talent evaluators, able decoders of information and cutthroat decision makers when they had to be.

Being an NFL head coach is a complicated alchemy. Calling plays is only a fraction of it, and sometimes none of it. Jim Harbaugh is the most successful 49ers coach since George Seifert, and he didn’t coordinate his offense or defense. Ditto for Jimmy Johnson, who won two Super Bowls with the Cowboys.

And January is the month we annually choose to forget all this. Who is the tasty offensive coordinator du jour? Well, for heaven’s sake, someone offer him a head coaching position. It almost happened to Eric Bieniemy, Andy Reid’s offensive coordinator in Kansas City. Bieniemy interviewed for four coaching vacancies this offseason, but apparently will not be offered a job.

No one illustrates the Hot Coordinator Theory better than a former Raiders head coach.

Anyone who watched the Silver and Black from 2012 through 2014 knows that Dennis Allen was in way over his head as an NFL head coach. He was Reggie McKenzie’s first hire, and one of his worst. Allen had earned praise as the Denver defensive coordinator in 2011, but he showed zero leadership in Oakland. He sniped behind the scenes and offered no answers when things went downhill. His three-year record was 11-37.

And yet Allen is one of five men to interview with the Dolphins for their open head coaching position. He received that opportunity based on the tremendous work he’s done as Saints defensive coordinator. Even though, as I’ve been saying, that performance has little bearing on how Allen would do as Miami’s head coach. Based on experience, I’m guessing he wouldn’t do so well.

Vic Fangio, on the other hand, is more of an open question.

The Denver Broncos made Fangio their head coach last week, and the news was greeted warmly by almost everyone who followed the 49ers under Harbaugh. Fangio ran the defenses on those teams, and they were exceptional. He was Chicago defensive coordinator the past four seasons, and there, too, he built a savagely formidable unit. Yes, Fangio was given a wealth of talent to mold, with both the 49ers and the Bears. It’s also true that he extracted the most from that talent. Khalil Mack was a star with the Raiders. But he didn’t reach full production capacity until he joined Fangio’s Bears system.

Fangio is 60 years old and has been a coordinator for 19 NFL seasons. He absolutely deserves this chance, and I’m happy for him. But I have to wonder if he’s cut out for it.

Fangio isn’t the type to bristle or get defensive (so to speak) or cave under the pressure of an NFL head coaching job. But can he stomach all the nonsense that comes with the position? I don’t know that he’ll have the energy for the constant demands placed upon him by media, team officials and season-ticket holders. Fangio is a straight shooter in a role best served by BS artists.

There’s another coach relevant to this discussion. It’s Kyle Shanahan. He isn’t interviewing with any teams, because he is firmly embedded with the 49ers. But is Shanahan a good head coach?

The jury’s out, right?

Shanahan was a classic Best Coordinator Available when the 49ers hired him in 2017, fresh off a record-setting year with the Falcons. He has yet to turn the corner in Santa Clara. Sure, there are mitigating factors. The Niners’ roster was a mess when he got here, and he lost his franchise quarterback for 13½ games last fall.

But Shanahan hasn’t proved himself as a successful head coach. With his team at 10-22 after two seasons, that much is irrefutable.

Shanahan’s players admire his brains, and they seem to generally like him. That’s not enough for an NFL head coach. Shanahan needs to answer other questions. Has he filled his staff with the right assistants? Are his mid-game adjustments as good as his mid-week game plans? Does he have the composure necessary to lead men in stressful situations? Does he have a vision for the 49ers’ future?

To be determined, all of it.

There are signs the 49ers are moving in the right direction. But if Shanahan can’t do better than 10-22, he’ll join the list of elite NFL play callers who simply weren’t cut out to be head coaches.

You can reach columnist Phil Barber at 707-521-5263 or phil.barber@pressdemocrat.com. Follow him on Twitter: @Skinny_Post.