Draft Prep: The impact of new coaches

Being an NFL head coach sounds like fun -- you get to be the leader and mouthpiece for an NFL club while spending your days and nights breaking down other football teams. But in reality, it's a position that most people don't spend a lot of time in because if you don't win, you're fired. That seems to happen quite a bit considering in the last two offseasons, half of the teams in the NFL have replaced their head coach, with the Raiders doing it twice!

When a new coach comes aboard, a team's philosophy changes. If the new coach is an offensive-minded guy, then his beliefs will be the foundation for the franchise's playbook, and either he or an offensive coach he trusts will call the plays. The Broncos, Rams and Eagles are three teams that do it that way. If the new coach is a defensive-minded guy, then it's the offensive coordinator who will help form the playbook and call the plays. Indianapolis, Detroit and Cincinnati are three such franchises.

Let's take a look at five teams that have new offensive minds in place.

The team: Arizona Cardinals
The coach: Ken Whisenhunt
The offense: Coming from Pittsburgh, you can expect Whisenhunt to be that grind-it-out, lean-on-your-linemen type of offensive mind. Running the ball will definitely be a priority in Arizona, but how well can they run with Edgerrin James, and will the temptation to utilize Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin override any running goals when they need to move the ball faster? Don't expect the explosive pass attack some are anticipating, but you'd be foolish to think they're going to be a non-stop running team, as Whisenhunt is a clever, gutsy play caller who loves players who are both reliable and versatile. Expect at least one trick play per game.

The team: Atlanta Falcons
The coach: Bobby Petrino
The offense: Petrino told us that he's meshing the playbook that the Falcons had with the style of ball he's been coaching in college. We already know that Atlanta will be more pass-oriented thanks to the news that Petrino has asked Michael Vick to throw more and run less, and the signing of Joe Horn this offseason certainly helps that message gain credibility. But Petrino also likes a power running attack using big offensive linemen opening lanes for bigger running backs. The problem is, he doesn't have a "big" back on his team as Warrick Dunn and Jerious Norwood are both considered to be outside-type speedsters. Moreover, is Vick trustworthy as a pocket passer when he's gained all of his notoriety as a speedster when the play breaks down? We suspect that while the team is loaded with veterans, they'll have trouble dominating offensively.

The team: Dallas Cowboys
The coordinator: Jason Garrett
The offense: Garrett was a fabulous choice to be Dallas' offensive coordinator, and he'll run the offense while defensive-minded coach Wade Phillips focuses on the defense. An ex-Cowboy as a player, Garrett will have his own style of offense that is mostly based on the Cowboys of the early '90s when Norv Turner was there, but with a splash of the West Coast offense, which means safer, reliable passing. The Dallas O-line is gargantuan with the addition of Leonard Davis, helping make the Dallas offense better than they were last season, especially in the running game. The expectation is that Julius Jones and Marion Barber will repeat their roles from 2006, but Jones is in a contract year and could find this offense more to his liking.

Lane Kiffin's offense will approach 2007 with an eye on blossoming in 2008. (Getty Images)

The team: Oakland Raiders
The coach: Lane Kiffin
The offense: Kiffin and the Raiders are the wild-card team in the NFL this season because no one is exactly sure what to expect, but NFL.com analyst Pat Kirwan has an inkling: "Kiffin's point of reference for building a program is the USC program and how Pete Carroll did it," he said. "They're going to run the Denver Broncos-style running game developed by Alex Gibbs, the bootleg passing game that looks a lot like what Jake Plummer did, and they're going to throw the split-end screen like the Panthers do, and all of that has been done at USC." Ultimately, the Raiders are spending 2007 to prepare for 2008 while playing football that gets the momentum rolling. Also according to Kirwan, Josh McCown will spend most of the year under center and knows he's grooming not only JaMarcus Russell for the future, but the rest of the offense for Russell as well.

The team: San Diego Chargers
The coach: Norv Turner
The offense: Most head coaches in their first year with a team don't seem to find their way to the playoffs often, but Turner shouldn't be considered in that category. That's because in 2001, Turner took over the Chargers offense as their coordinator, their first year with a young running back named LaDainian Tomlinson. A year later, Turner was out of San Diego, but the basic offensive scheme stayed in place thanks to Turner's friend, Cam Cameron, taking over as the offensive play caller. Now Turner replaces Cameron as the guy calling the offensive shots in the offense he helped construct. Knowing Turner, expect the Chargers offense to be aggressive all the way around, especially with the run. Tomlinson could top 400 total touches this season.

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