4 coaching matchups sure to add drama to Week 2
An awful lot is made of revenge games in the NFL, but nine out of 10 times, it has to do with a player. However, coaches need revenge too.
Week 1 of the 2017 NFL season lacked the explosive rivalries and drama that generally follows North America's most popular pro sports league. But, Week 2 has tension built right into the schedule with four games featuring coaches taking on their former teams.
Redskins at Rams
Coaches: Jay Gruden vs. Sean McVay
The youngest head coach in NFL history got just one regular-season warmup outing before facing his former mentor. McVay served under Gruden as offensive coordinator in Washington the previous three seasons and as an assistant with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2008.
Without DeSean Jackson or Pierre Garcon, the Redskins' offense has already undergone some major changes in McVay's absence, but the basic philosophies and the starting quarterback remain in place.
The chess match between Gruden trying to guess what McVay is thinking while the young coach does the same is sure to be full of surprising play calls and intense gamesmanship.
Bills at Panthers
Coaches: Sean McDermott vs. Ron Rivera
McDermott can't necessarily credit Rivera with kick-starting his NFL coaching career as the 43-year-old had spent 12 season with the Philadelphia Eagles before becoming the Panthers' defensive coordinator in 2011.
The Bills are still early in their rebuilding process under McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane so their chances against a re-surging Carolina team aren't great, but they do exist. If McDermott can exploit whatever holes he felt the Panther defense had, a 2-0 start would be the perfect way to conquer a moral victory in a season where winning streaks aren't likely.
Cardinals at Colts
Coaches: Bruce Arians vs. Chuck Pagano
This is not the first time these two former co-head coaches faced off against one another after Arians won Coach of the Year filling in for a cancer-stricken Pagano in 2012. Arians' Cardinals stomped all over the Colts in 2013 with a 40-11 win, but now both teams and coaches are in much less comfortable predicaments.
While it is early in the season, both coaches are in danger of losing their jobs if they continue on losing trends set in Week 1. For the Cardinals, a loss to the banged-up Colts would be devastating, but not out of the question without star runner David Johnson. Arians' experience with Andrew Luck won't do much good with the star quarterback injured, but both coaches should know enough about one another to keep the other guessing as they look to avoid 0-2.
Eagles at Chiefs
Coaches: Doug Pederson vs. Andy Reid
Pederson was reportedly in danger of being fired before he left the Chiefs to become the Eagles' head coach in 2016, but really, that's just a piece of the drama in this matchup. For just the second time since he was fired by the Eagles - the team he spent 14 seasons leading - Reid will face his former club on Sunday.
It's a shame this game is not in Philadelphia so Reid could get to hear from his former fans in the City of Brotherly Love; a rocking Arrowhead Stadium will have to do. Kansas City fans will be as loud as ever with their coming off a huge win in New England, which should make Pederson and the Eagles feel somewhat at home.
Reid appeared to change up his game plan in Week 1, chucking the ball deep with Alex Smith and actually effectively managing the clock while Pederson and the Eagles started the season hot for a second straight year. After serving as Kansas City's offensive coordinator from 2013-15, it will be interesting to see how much Pederson has taken from Reid's offense, while that Chiefs system has apparently evolved.
(Photos courtesy: Action Images)