ASK THE EXPERTS appears weekly from training camp through the Super Bowl with answers to a new question being posted Thursday morning. How the guest experts responded when we asked them: Which new coaching hire intrigues (or concerns) you most?
SCOTT PIANOWSKI
The Chargers likely hit a home run with new OC Mike McDaniel. I love seeing coordinator hires that involve previous head coaches; it's like the reverse Peter Principle. McDaniel could become another rebound success story in this way, similar to guys like Josh McDaniels, Wade Phillips and Brian Flores. The LAC offense needs some fresh ideas.
Pianowski has been with Yahoo Sports since 2008, covering a variety of sports. On the rare occasions when the computer is turned off, he enjoys word games, poker, music, film, game theory, and a variety of condiments. He lives in suburban Detroit. Pianowski was inducted into the FSWA Hall of Fame in 2021.
SAM HENDRICKS
John Harbaugh to the New York Giants intrigues for so many reasons. How will he mold the team? How will he use Jaxson Dart? Malik Nabers? Cam Skattebo? His 2026 draft picks? Love him back coaching after Ravens chose to get rid of him rather than Lamar Jackson.
Hendricks is the author of Fantasy Football Guidebook, Fantasy Football Tips and Fantasy Football Basics, all available at ExtraPointPress.com, at all major bookstores, and at Amazon and BN.com. He is a 30-year fantasy football veteran who participated in the National Fantasy Football Championship (NFFC) and finished 7th and 16th overall in the 2008 and 2009 Fantasy Football Players Championship (FFPC). He won the Fantasy Index Open in 2013 and 2018.
SCOTT SACHS
The Browns are at it again. Todd Monken is the choice for head coach after an "exhaustive" interview process. On the positive, he's been successful due to his being adaptive to changing his system to fit the talent of the players, as opposed to forcing players into a system as Stefanski does. In my opinion, Klint Kubiak is the absolute best candidate--just look at Seattle this year--but the Browns burned a bridge with him in the past. As long as Haslam owns the team, he hires who he wants, while disregarding the wishes and opinions of others more qualified to make hiring decisions. Up and coming offensive minds like Udinski and Scheelhaase were also considered, but the stubborn insistence on forcing an incumbent defensive coordinator on a new coach has just blown that failed strategy sky high as Jim Schwartz is now out the door.
Haslam bristles at being called dysfunctional, but that is the best description of his ownership tenure. The "smartest guy in the room" attitude that has permeated the team since Haslam bought the team hasn't gotten them any closer to a championship, and has pushed a rabid fan base to the brink. Poor talent evaluation, terrible drafting, baffling play calling, lack of player development, horrible special teams, and some of the worst strategic moves in all of football have been the order of the day since the franchise returned in 1999.
With 2 perfect seasons and multiple league championships to his credit, Sachs runs Perfect Season Fantasy Football, featuring LIVE Talk & Text Advice. He is a 3-time winner of the Fantasy Index Experts Auction League, as well as a previous winner of the Fantasy Index Experts Poll. Follow on X: https://x.com/ffbcoach
JASON WOOD
In my time covering the coaching carousel, I’ve never seen a cycle this deep. We have had 10 openings, featuring teams with the NFL's last two MVPs—a truly unprecedented scenario. Buffalo is the interesting story. In a draft class twist, Sam Darnold has outpaced Baker Mayfield, Lamar Jackson, and Josh Allen to a Super Bowl appearance. This comes as Bills owner Terry Pegula made the erratic move of firing Sean McDermott over "vibes" following a sloppy loss to Denver, while simultaneously promoting GM Brandon Beane. Whether this hire (promoting Joe Brady) leads Buffalo to a championship or a regression is the biggest question of the offseason.
Wood is Senior Editor at Footballguys.com and has been with the company since its start in 2000. For more than 20 years, Footballguys has provided rankings, projections, and analysis to help fantasy managers dominate their leagues.
ANDY RICHARDSON
The fondness for Kevin Stefanski surprises me a little. I get that winning in Cleveland probably isn't something that will happen anytime soon. But for a Falcons team that needs to develop a young quarterback to be hiring a guy coming from a franchise that never solved its quarterback issues doesn't seem great. Cleveland had a good running game, when it had good running backs, but the overall offense was a disappointment -- it's been Cleveland's defense that's regularly done well, and that wasn't Stefanski's forte. Ultimately he's just one of a pretty uninspiring group of retread coaching hires this year.
Richardson has been a contributing writer and editor to the Fantasy Football Index magazine and www.fantasyindex.com since 2002. His responsibilities include team defense and IDP projections and various site features, and he has run the magazine's annual experts draft and auction leagues since their inception. He writes a weekly gambling newsletter, Index Bets, during the NFL season and also previews all the games on Saturdays and writes a wrap-up column on Mondays.

