Four of the teams free agent coach Mike McCarthy has been attached to in the rumor mill are Cleveland, Arizona, Tampa Bay and the Jets.
All four teams have young quarterbacks – Baker Mayfield (Cleveland), Josh Rosen (Arizona), Jameis Winston (Tampa Bay) and Sam Darnold (Jets).
McCarthy got fired during the season by Green Bay, and one of the reported reasons was he butted heads with franchise QB Aaron Rodgers.
So for his next job, he should probably try to get to a team with a QB who isn’t high maintenance or a prima donna.
Darnold seems to be the most coachable and easiest to deal in this group of four.
Mayfield is a terrific player, but can be a pain in the butt. We all know that. He can be a bucking bronco, and let’s not forget he was arrested for public intoxication and fleeing/resisting arrest in February 2017, so he’s no angel.
One of the reasons Rosen slipped in the draft was he wasn’t every coach’s cup of coffee. He can be hard to coach, and as draft guru Lance Zierlein wrote on NFL.com, “Scouts question his passion for football and whether he will be a willing student.”
Winston’s questionable behavior, legal issues and inconsistent play are well-documented.
So if you’re McCarthy, and had to chose between coaching Mayfield, Rosen, Winston or Darnold, wouldn’t you go with Darnold?
He’s eager and down-to-earth. There’s no drama around this guy. He just wants to play ball and continue to get better.
After McCarthy dealt with all the Rodgers’ drama in Green Bay, don’t you think he could use the antithesis of that at the QB position moving forward, and Darnold would give him that.
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