Coaching Changes That Could Impact the 2014 Fantasy Football Season

By Ryan Gerrity

@RyanGerrity

1. Ben McAdoo Will Save the Giants Offense

The Giants offense struggled greatly last year, including Eli Manning and Victor Cruz.  The former quarterbacks coach for the Green Bay Packers, McAdoo, is going to bring new life to this offense.  A issue for the offense last year was the offensive line, along with the turnovers and both should improve next season.  Look for Eli Manning and Victor Cruz to have a bounce back year next year.

2.  Jim Caldwell as Lions Head Coach

Caldwell was the Head Coach for the Indianapolis Colts’ and took them to the Super Bowl.  More recently he was the offensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens.  The Lions were apparently impressed with Caldwell during the interview process with his breakdown of Matthew Stafford’s game.  Calvin Johnson will always be Calvin Johnson for his fantasy owners, but Stafford has struggled with consistency the past couple of years.  Caldwell should improve that and you could see a drop in turnovers for Stafford this upcoming season.

3.  Vikings Defense Will Improve

The new Minnesota Vikings Head Coach, Mike Zimmer, used to be the defensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals.  The Bengals have had a top defense in the NFL for a couple of years now because of Zimmer.  The Bengals had the #3 defense in the NFL last year, while the Vikings had the #31.  He knows how to draft for the future, and if he can bring that same attitude and skills to the Vikings there will be a drastic improvement.

4.  Jay Gruden is RGIII’s Answer

Jay Gruden, the former offensive coordinator for the Bengals, was recently named the new Head Coach for the Washington Redskins.  Gruden improved the Bengals offense into the 10^th best offense in the NFL last year, along with average 26.9 points per game.  RGIII needs a coach and coordinator who is going to help improve his game drastically.  Gruden needs to put RGIII into situations where he is going to succeed, and situations that will allow him to improvise at times.  Jay Gruden has the right offensive mindset to make this relationship work.

5. Rex Ryan Gets an Extension

Owner of the Jets, Woody Johnson, gave Ryan a contract extension through the 2015 season.  For fantasy owners, this means that the Jets defense is going to only get better.  They were the 11^th best defense in the NFL last year, but only allowed 88.9 rush yards per game, which was 3^rd best.  The secondary for the Jets will improve this offseason, so look out for the Jets to be a top 10 defense this upcoming season.