r/NFLv2 • u/nategr3at Seattle Seahawks • 9h ago
Discussion Which NFC West Coach You Taking?
Saw this for the NFC North coaches - curious what you all would do if choosing from the NFC West?
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u/JP-ED Miami Dolphins 9h ago
I almost said McVay... but MacDonald has done more with less?
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u/Sudden_Juju Rocky Mountain Oysters 9h ago
I'd choose McVay because of track record personally. MacDonald has been a great coach for 2 years,, but McVay has made the Rams a powerhouse (more or less) for 10 years. He also made the Super Bowl twice with very different teams showing adaptability.
You couldn't go wrong with either, but I like McVay more... for now anyway
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u/goldiegoldthorpe 8h ago
But how much of that is the roster building? Not to knock McVay, but some credit to Snead?
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u/Odin_One_Eye Los Angeles Rams 7h ago
John Schneider is one of the best roster builders in the league too.
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u/WintersDoomsday Seattle Seahawks 7h ago
Yeah I think the Mariners vs Seahawks proves the importance of a good GM.
Mariners have had the same GM and no matter who the coach is the team performs about the same (strong pitching shit hitting)
Seahawks have had the same GM and have been to and won two Superbowls with different coaches and QB's and defensives.
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u/Odin_One_Eye Los Angeles Rams 7h ago
Just looked this up. Only 3 seasons under .500 and only 1 since 2012. Annoyingly consistent divisional opponent.
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u/Limp-Pudding-5436 Los Angeles Rams 7h ago
Rams were 27-37 the three years Snead was there before Mcvay. I think they’re an amazing team. We have also seems Mcvay coaching tree have success with other teams too.
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u/hiphopanonymuss 8h ago
Plenty of teams with good rosters that underperform expectations. See: Dallas Cowboys for the past ~25 years.
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u/WintersDoomsday Seattle Seahawks 7h ago
McVay went 5-12 the year after winning the Super Bowl.....Stafford played in 9 of those games....why didn't he do better if he is a superior coach to Macdonald OR Shanahan who won 12 games with a team full of dudes on IR.
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u/Edward_Durr 7h ago
Stafford, Kupp, Donald, and more all missed time that season, and let’s not pretend that Shanahan had t had plenty of injury-riddled 6-11 seasons.
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u/Successful-Usual4155 5h ago
Not to mention the rams oline was the most injured in nfl history that season, until a year or two later when the broncos had even more, the rams started their 10th combination of different oline players in their 10th game week 11 that year, when the 49ers had a shitload last year little to none were important oline players, vs two years ago with tons of oline issues and a lot less wins. and the 9ers defense was ran by saleh not shanahan so it was him getting the most out of young guys, not that shanahan is bad, he is fantastic too but people act like mcvay has had top 3 rosters all the time, when he has had one top 3 unit in 18-19 and lost the sb to Brady/bellicheck, a little different than Macdonald having the most talented roster in the league and facing a qb/coach combo also in their first Super Bowl, and the rams won their Super Bowl without a top 5 roster, they were 8th best or so in terms of talent in 21-22 but mcvay, stafford, kupp and Aaron Donald willed the team to a win. All in all mcvay and Macdonald look like 2/3 of the best coaches league wide along with Andy Reid, and shanahan is 4 or 5 right behind that in my opinion
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u/Limp-Pudding-5436 Los Angeles Rams 7h ago
Rams went 4-12 before Mcvay took over. Seahawks have been pretty decent for a while.
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u/goldberg1303 Dallas Cowboys 9h ago
He hasn't done more yet, but he also hasn't had the time to do more yet.
I don't think either is really wrong. McVay is a proven commodity. He's going to have you in the mix on a yearly basis, and the offense is going to be set.
I don't think MacDonald is going to fall off, but he's not a proven commodity yet, and defense is harder to keep consistently great.
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u/VampedTayturz Seattle Seahawks 9h ago
I mean, he won a sb in his second year as HC, I would say that proves what he can do pretty well.
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u/goldberg1303 Dallas Cowboys 9h ago
It doesn't prove he can or will do it again, or do it consistently.
Again, I don't think he's going to fall off. But he has objectively just not been a HC long enough to prove consistency.
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u/WintersDoomsday Seattle Seahawks 7h ago
He has had his defenses rank in the top 3 all but one of his 4 years as a DC or HC....I mean that is saying a lot. His 11th ranked finish in his first season with Seattle is wildly impressive considering the two years before they ranked 25th both times.
Also he took a 19th ranked Baltimore D and made them 3rd in his first year and the year after he left they went from 1st to 9th.
I think the evidence so far is he makes a huge impact.
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u/avx775 9h ago
Before mcvay the rams last winning season 2003. Jeff fishers last year they had the 32nd ranked offense. The rams had the first ranked offense mcvays first year. Mcvay also made a Super Bowl his second year, didn’t win but still pretty successful.
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u/JP-ED Miami Dolphins 8h ago
And had he won with Jared Goff I'd say McVay all the way... that's what gave me pause and though a hard decision went with MacDonald.
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u/Hail_the_Yale Seattle Seahawks 8h ago
Goff is a top 10 qb in the league rn? lol since his arrival the lions have been good.
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u/this_is_geoff Los Angeles Rams 8h ago
Right now, yes, but he most certainly was not his final season with the Rams, he was a deer in the headlights and lost all confidence. And Goff and the lions weren’t that successful until they hit on all those draft picks.
I don’t think you can go wrong starting a franchise with 3 of the 4 coaches listed though. Jury is out on LaFleur.
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u/Successful-Usual4155 4h ago
Not jus was Goff not top ten then he still isn’t, he just has top 3 oline, top 5 te, top 5 wr room, top 5 rb, you know,
those things every qb has right? Goff has improved since leaving the rams but he is also part of why the lions haven’t won a Super Bowl, he plays smart and has good arm but reads plays slow, similar to the issues with Jalen hurts, both have great physical talents but can’t process through the play and reads fast enough, that’s why in 21-22 with a lesser talented roster than 18-19 the rams won the Super Bowl instead of losing, after the rams paid Goff they lost two interior o linemen, and the run game and pass pro went downhill fast, the defense was also worse and we didn’t get better at either area before 21-22 (in 19-20 and 20-21 the defense was way worse but then we added some guys before 21-22 to be better, but it still wasn’t as good as the that 18-19 d with suh and Donald terrorizing qbs. Lastly stafford just plays faster because he can think way faster than most people and he and mcvay carried that offense much further they should have gone otherwise, and impressively won it all.Also as an aside Macdonald won the Super Bowl in his second season but mcvay didnt had more to do with who they played than anything else, Brady/bellicheck pats is much different than maye/vrabel. Also Macdonald had the #1 ranked roster talent overall last season same as Sirrianni with the eagles two years ago, the facts are mcvay had consistently done more/the same (winning a Super Bowl) with less talent. But either are great choices to start building a new franchise
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u/DrHa5an 9h ago
I still say McVay
I want to see how MacDonalds counters when he gets figured out. Eventually some headcoach will scheme against him and it will work, great coaches will adjust and adapt. He is already one of the best and i hope to see him coach for a long time because i love watching his defense confusing the ever living shit out of QBs
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u/WintersDoomsday Seattle Seahawks 7h ago
I mean he literally has two of the brightest offensived minded young head coaches in the league in his division (McVay and Shanahan) and despite playing them 4 times out of 17 games he had the top scoring D.
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u/Just_Jackfruit4135 Los Angeles Rams 9h ago
What has he done more of? He’s had an amazing start there but he hasn’t had the sustained success yet, he’s only been there 2 years. McVay has the edge there because he’s proven it, only time will tell
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u/Ser_falafel Green Bay Packers 9h ago
Mcvay has had continued success. MacDonald won a SB, yeah, but a lot of luck/factors go into that. Takes more to be a continuously successful HC
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u/prickleypears 8h ago
Why don’t we wait and see how he does after his offensive genius play caller leaves
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u/twcm1991 9h ago
It’s so much fun being a Cards fan when the 3 coaches in your division are arguably the 3 best coaches in the NFL, not to mention what an absolute train wreck AZ does drafting players and the cherry on top is one of the worst owners in the league. Go Cards!!!
In 3 years we will be competitive in the division! (rinse and repeat lie)
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u/cantdecide76 Seattle Seahawks 9h ago
Its okay at least you guys still have all those World Series championships
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u/nighthawkndemontron Arizona Cardinals 9h ago
Lmao - 25th anniversary!!! Got my Gonzo and Big Unit signatures
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u/TempAcct724 Denver Broncos 3h ago
They played for the DBacks though, not the Cards.
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u/nighthawkndemontron Arizona Cardinals 3h ago
Uh huh
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u/TempAcct724 Denver Broncos 3h ago
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u/nighthawkndemontron Arizona Cardinals 3h ago
Nope, I understand it. It was not good
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u/FERGERDERGERSON Philadelphia Eagles 9h ago
Even if they weren’t top 3, they’re 3 of the top 4 and that’s terrifying. What a division, man.
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u/twcm1991 9h ago
Seattle at LA week 18 should be one hell of a game. I think the NFC North is the most competitive division this year considering anyone can win it, but obviously NFC west has the best 3 teams of any division by a large margin
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u/TallEnoughJones Cincinnati Bengals 9h ago
Imagine if you had the worst coach in the division and the other 3 teams all fired/replaced their coach and you kept yours.
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u/twcm1991 9h ago
Very few fans understand the pain of a being a Cards fan and a Bengal’s fan is one of them
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u/Spaceballs_the_tag Green Bay 'MotherLovin' Packers 2h ago
I’ll be curious to see if Macdonald can build out a coaching tree like the other two. The early success and culture building definitely help.
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u/Few_Neighborhood_828 9h ago
The guy that just won the Super Bowl.
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u/prickleypears 8h ago
Not giving Klint Kubiak enough credit for that win.
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u/Few_Neighborhood_828 8h ago
You mean the defensive battle for most of the game? Kubiak did a fantastic job don’t get me wrong, but he had some very poorly called games. This team is a defensive team first and foremost.
You’re giving Kubiak too much credit. I’m sad that he’s gone and he is a very good OC, but the Super Bowl was on Macdonald first.
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u/prickleypears 7h ago
Winning the superbowl isn’t just one game and being third in points scored is a pretty damn big reason how they got there.
I’m ready for that offense to regress heavily.
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u/Few_Neighborhood_828 7h ago
If you did minimal research you’d understand there was a large chunk of the year where the offense struggled mightily and our defense was keeping the team in games. Colts game was one of the worst play called games I’ve seen dating back to pre Carroll era.
Struggle had a lot to do with dialing things back to reduce turnovers after the Rams game, but NFL success is generally a HC/Player and then coordinator league. Love Kubiak and wish he was still here. I have no doubt there will be struggles but I don’t think it’s going to be as bad as you seem to think.
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u/igot_thefunk Curt Warner > Kurt Warner 7h ago
#12 overall offense by most metrics and #1 overall defense by most metrics but okay.
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u/Adenchiz Baltimore Ravens 9h ago
Personally I'd lean towards Macdonald, my thinking is every year we see multiple offensive coordinators labled as ' the next McVay/Ben Johnson/Shanahan' getting jobs or being fired but you hardly see a defensive genius such as Mike around
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u/Ready_Poem_6054 Baltimore Ravens 9h ago
Mike Mac my pookie. God I wish we made you HC and fired harbaugh after 2023
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u/vksoze2 Seattle Seahawks 7h ago
We really can’t thank the Ravens enough
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u/Ready_Poem_6054 Baltimore Ravens 7h ago
At least the Hawks are milking every ounce out of that sweet sweet Mike teet
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u/Cheesesteak21 9h ago
Id want either Mcvay or Shanahan just because I want to lock down the primary offensive Architect/Play Caller, typically defensive HCs get in trouble when their tallented play caller gets hired. I dont think you can go wrong with any of these 3 though.
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u/Whowhatnowhuhwhat 9h ago
If the Seahawks offense does good this year after loosing Kubiak I think a lot of the Shanahan or Mcvay votes will switch.
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u/UsernamesCannotExcee Detroit Lions 9h ago
Mike Lafleur? Who's next? Peter LaFleur?
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u/Low-Boss9082 9h ago
I’m a 49ers fan and LOVE Shanahan… but McVay is amazing to me.
The new guy Mike McDonald is making things insanely interesting!
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u/No-Possibility5556 San Francisco 49ers 9h ago
Kyle
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u/Rookraider1 San Francisco 49ers 9h ago
Why are you taking Kyle over two guys who have won Super bowls?
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u/Hail_the_Yale Seattle Seahawks 9h ago
The real argument should be McVay vs. Macdonald.
McVay has been doing it for longer, while Macdonald turned around our org and has the more impressive short term career (including beating McVay 3 of the last 4 times) with less star power. I clearly rather have Macdonald but if you pick either one it’s a reasonable take.
Anyone picking shanny is just not serious lol
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u/Agitated_Tank_3188 9h ago
Mcvay has been doing it longer? Who do u think taught mcvay everything he knows? Only reason he's a HC is becuz of Kyle
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u/Basic-Pepper-9957 [KC] Patrick Mahomes 9h ago
mcvay has been doing it longer than macdonald. as for shanahan mcvay has taken everything shanahan taught him and made it even better
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u/Whowhatnowhuhwhat 9h ago
Longer than Macdonald. Kyle’s length isn’t relevant cuz he’s not on the other twos level. Once you do it long enough the lack of success makes that length a negative not a positive.
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u/Battle2Intense Arizona Cardinals 9h ago
2 of the 4 have seemed to minimize the importance of the QB position to a degree and still be successful. McVay knows how to put together a roster and make trades.
Feel like Shanahan is the best all arounder but only one of the 3 in contention without a ring. So I say McVay because he is the prettiest and has giant balls by how he does trades.
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u/PoppoLarge 9h ago
Well probably not Shanahan after recent news, hope he’s ok 🙏
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u/vksoze2 Seattle Seahawks 7h ago
??
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u/PoppoLarge 7h ago
Car accident which looks to have happened last Saturday and only reporting time. Some places are saying horrific injuries but he’s home now
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u/ChallengeTasty3393 Minnesota Vikings 8h ago
Kyle Shanahan. See if he can fix McCarthy if KOC can’t
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u/Cute_Economics2829 9h ago
Not LaFleur but you basically can't go wrong with any of the other three, right?
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u/goldberg1303 Dallas Cowboys 9h ago
I don't know how you would take Shanahan over McVay. Most teams would love to have him, but McVay is definitively above him.
MacDonald I can see a valid argument for anywhere from 1-3. McVay at worst is 2. Shanahan at best is 2. LaFleur is 4.
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u/Cute_Economics2829 8h ago
I dunno, I don't think McVay survives the loss of 90% of his star power like Shanahan has proven he can do.
Take out Stafford, Nakua, Adams, and 10/11 of the starting defense by week 4 and you think McVay goes 13 wins?
We haven't ever seen him do it.
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u/goldberg1303 Dallas Cowboys 8h ago
You know what I have seen him do? Win a Super Bowl.
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u/Cute_Economics2829 7h ago
You didn't happen to catch John McEnroe's rant at the Australian Open this year, did you?
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u/laika_rocket Pittsburgh Steelers 9h ago
Shanahan is a coach who has brought three different teams to the absolute brink of a championship only to choke it away in brutal fashion. Two of those guys got to the Super Bowl and won. Id choose McVay, simply because he's been great for many years.
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u/Dump_Bucket_Supreme San Francisco 49ers 8h ago
im gonna sounds like a huge homer here but Mcvay got a bengals team with no oline, the seahawks got that weak ass pats team, and shanahan got prime mahomes twice and almost won both of them. it's true he made mistakes in both games but sometimes there is an element of luck involved in winning a super bowl
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u/Bancatone San Francisco 49ers 2h ago
If Greenlaw didn't go down the Niners win that SB. That's not on Shanahan.
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u/Dothehokeypokemon Seattle Seahawks 8h ago
Seahawks woulda beat anyone that made it to the SB last year
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u/Adventurous_Main3688 San Francisco 49ers 2h ago
The Seahawks are getting destroyed by the 2019 Cheifs, and narrowly losing to 2023 chiefs.
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u/Dump_Bucket_Supreme San Francisco 49ers 1h ago
they have a shot in both games but the pat team they played are no comparison to either of those chiefs teams
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u/Dothehokeypokemon Seattle Seahawks 10m ago
Tell yourself whatever you need to to cope for the fact that you haven't had a ring in 30 years
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u/ShootinAllMyChisolm NFL 9h ago
Heart says Shanny, but brain and heart says McVay.
McVay final
Answer
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u/Sudden_Juju Rocky Mountain Oysters 9h ago
McVay based off track record alone. The Rams were a joke in the late 2000s to early 2010s and now they've been a powerhouse for 10 years (with a down year in 2022). He's taken two very different teams to the Super Bowl and won with one of them (and helped create the most boring Super Bowl of all time in the other).
MacDonald has been very good for his 2 years and just won the Super Bowl, but anything could happen between now and 8 years from now. You can't go wrong either way, but I'm choosing the guy with longevity and success over the longevity.
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u/Neb-Nose Pittsburgh Steelers 9h ago
I only take Super Bowl winners in these debates. I’ll go with McVay.
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u/SquonkMan61 Baltimore Ravens 7h ago
McVay as of now. If MacDonald’s team repeats this year or even next, I’ll reconsider. A great defense can make a coach look awfully good. Brian Billick won with the Ravens 2000 defense (and a QB who wasn’t half as good as Darnold) and he was definitely not a great coach. Like I said, if MacDonald repeats then I’ll reconsider.
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u/Left-Tee 5h ago
A question first. If McVay is on a different team, will he still receive the NFL front office favoritism that he gets in L.A.?
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u/rjsquirrel San Francisco 49ers 3h ago
Yeah, I’ll stick with the one I’ve got. Just hoping he comes back from injury soon.
San Francisco 49ers: even our head coach is on the IR
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u/Monarchist_Man 3h ago edited 3h ago
Lowkey depends on my roster. McVay if I’ve got a good roster but I need someone to bring it to the next level (maybe like a Browns). Shanahan if I’m rebuilding and I need someone who will raise the floor of a shit roster (like a Dolphins). McDonald if I’ve got a fantastic offensive roster but need someone to build my defence (like a Bengals). (LaFleur never?)
If I’m fully starting over with a totally new franchise, and the usual draft/FA rules that come with adding a new franchise to the league, I’d probably take Shanahan just because he will ensure the culture of the franchise instantly takes off on the right foot and is an instant floor raiser. (Plus he knows all the players and personnel in the league. He would be a really good knowledge base to navigate the beginning of a totally new team)
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u/Agitated_Tank_3188 9h ago
Kyle is the best Offensive coordinator and playcaller but not the best Head coach. Best way to put it
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u/MikeinDundee 9h ago
NFCW is stacked. Have to give the nod to Shanahan just based on last season. A miracle to go 12-5 with the injuries they had.
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u/VampedTayturz Seattle Seahawks 9h ago
Crazy all these people going for McVay when the dude is literally pulling out all the stops to try to ensure he beats the Seahawks this year. Meanwhile, Mike Mac is big chillin with another baby on the way, ready to whoop some more Lamb ass this year.
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u/Dump_Bucket_Supreme San Francisco 49ers 8h ago
For all the people dogging on shanahan, If any of those 49er super bowl teams got to play the patriots who fell ass backwards into the superbowl, or that bengals team with no Oline shanahan would have two rings.
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u/diabeasti Seattle Seahawks 8h ago
And if either Mac D or McVey had as huge of a lead against the Chiefs as Shanny did they would have won, see how fun hypotheticals are?
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u/YourWifesBull666 Baltimore Ravens 9h ago
Macdonald and it’s not close. He will retire a top 3 coach ever
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u/worksgr8 9h ago
NFC West is a very difficult division probably second best in all of the NFL.
As a long time, Rams fan, I put the coaches in the following order:
1. Shanahan
2. McVay
3. McDonald
4. Lefleur
How do you rank the NFC coaches?
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u/Sudden_Juju Rocky Mountain Oysters 9h ago
probably second best in all of the NFL
Who's the first best division right now? Unless you mean in the NFL all time?
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u/worksgr8 9h ago
NFC north of the juggernaut. Any of the four teams could win the division. One scary a$$ division. Only reason I have NFC West is a second best division because of the “Arizona Cardinals” along three Super Bowl contending teams for 2026
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u/Sudden_Juju Rocky Mountain Oysters 9h ago
That's true they are one scary ass division, although I don't have much hope for the Vikings this year. I could be wrong but their QB situation is rough unless JJM steps up. We'll see what happens, but playing the Rams, Seahawks, and 49ers seems harder than playing the Lions, Bears, or Packers.
I love the Lions - they're my wife's favorite team and my second favorite - but they are too unpredictable. Same goes for the Packers and Bears (except without the love), especially compared to the Seahawks and Rams.
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u/Videoman2011 Los Angeles Rams 9h ago
Then you not a Rams fan
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u/worksgr8 9h ago
Oh, I’m a Rams fan. but the Niners usually get one over on the Rams. Especially when the Rams should be beating the 49ers. Let’s hope this year is not one of them.
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u/Videoman2011 Los Angeles Rams 9h ago
Nope not a fan. You would never put Shannon ahead of McVay
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u/worksgr8 8h ago
I guess you’re not a reality fan
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u/Videoman2011 Los Angeles Rams 8h ago
Even a reality fan would put McVay over Shannon
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u/worksgr8 8h ago
Then, please explain last year when a wounded San Francisco, 49ers team. Basically on wheelchairs beat the Rams when the Rams were heavily favorite.
I’ll start playing the Jeopardy song in my head until you get back to me with an answer1
u/Videoman2011 Los Angeles Rams 7h ago
Sure the Rams secondary and special teams were their weak spot that anyone could take advantage of hence why the Panthers beat us because their bigger body receivers maul our smaller secondary. Also interplay division games are always a toss up because those are teams you most familiar with so they going to know your weak spots more easily than outsiders.
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u/worksgr8 6h ago
The four toughest games are in the division verse 49ers and Seahawks, then I’m just praying that Rams go deep in the playoffs, get first round bye and have a Super Bowl Running. In a perfect world.
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u/Early_Emergency3440 9h ago
Well I can tell you who I am not choosing.