The Nolan hire is what gets me.
What was the point of that? Why to go bat for that guy? When was the last time he was the defensive coordinator of an actual good defense?
He was bouncing around as a LBs coach before getting one last shot from McCarthy. That hire is a big stain for McCarthy and makes him look really bad.
Apparently with Nolan hiring, again he was a familiar with McCarthy, during when Nolan was Niners HC , while Mac was the OC
Although Nolan was a successful DC in his days with Baltimore (in 2001) he was just the opposite in his DC days in ATL, where he did not pan out.
- Maybe Mac figured it was a matter of personnel than coaching in ATL, and he knows Nolan personally up close.
And again coaches tend to prefer coaches they are more familiar with in some capacity or another, ..
- Scott Linehan did it with disasterous OL coach Paul Alexander,
- I believe Garrett hired on Linehan because he had past familiarity with him.
- Kellen Moore was connected related with Linehan doing his QB years here., en route to a coaching and OC here, with Linehan.
- Some coaching decisions are grapevine hiring, ala Monte Kiffin, Rob Ryan, Kris Richard, etc.
Some coaches and coordinators keep track and admire current incumbent work that they retain existing asst. coaches ....ala Leon Lett (DT) .George Edwards, and Al Harris.
I believe McCarthy’s LB coach in GB,(Scott Curley) that came along, is still here too.
- Keep in mind some here , on this board, were not on board with Dan Quinn hiring as new DC,..i still recall the mumblings and grumbling rants,
much to the blame of his HC and defense decline in ATL.
But yet notice nowadays how we don’t hear those same disgruntlement now with Quinn as we did when he was hired on.
