The San Francisco 49ers NFL game against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night was not about who throws the longest passes or scores the most touchdowns.
It was about the young coaches - which one is the better? Kyle Shanahan (49ers), 39, or Matt LaFleur (Packers), 40?
This question was answered clearly: With 37: 8 the California guests swept the team Green Bay from the home stadium. Shanahan is the big winner. "We were outcoached and played against the wall," LaFleur said afterwards.
LaFleur and Shanahan stand for a change in the NFL. The league sets in terms of coach on the youth. Since 33-year-old Sean McVay led the Rams into the Super Bowl last season, many teams are hotter on a comparatively young head coach than ever before.
Whether Matt Nagy at the Bears, Mike Vrabel in Houston, Matt Patricia in Detroit: They are all still under 45. However, not all young coaches have success: Adam Gases crash landing with the Jets and Zac Taylor is the first coach in history Cincinnati Bengals lost the first eleven consecutive games of the season.
The old defense hare in the background
Many of the new coaches have veterans as defensive coordinators: Doug Pederson, 51, but head coach since 2016, relies on Jim Schwartz, who has been head coach of the Detroit Lions for five years, for the defensive. The duo is successful: in 2017 they won the Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Pedersen openly states that he keeps out of Schwartz's work: "I do not expect him to come across and make suggestions for the offensive, whether in terms of players or moves, so I'll leave the defense to him in reverse."
In Arizona, Vance Joseph also has a Defensive Coordinator, who previously served as Head Coach. And Chuck Pagano, who led the Indianapolis Colts as head coach after all in the AFC Championship game, is now Defense Coordinator at the Denver Broncos.
A reboot for Rodgers
A rookie on the head coach position, a veteran as a specialty coach - this pairing has also prevailed over the success of the Rams. When Head Coach McVay preferred to use his tablet in 2017 during a prime-time game instead of his defense on-court, it caused some irritation. The 31-year-old had simply relied on his 39-year-old defensive coordinator Wade Phillips.
When the Packers split from Mike McCarthy after 13 seasons in 2018, they retained Defense Coordinator Mike Pettine, who had previously been head coach of the Cleveland Browns. This gives Matt LaFleur the space and the opportunity to devote himself to the offense and the cracked psyche of star quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
The relationship between Rodgers and his former coach McCarthy reportedly never been cordial, but in the end it was like a war of roses. Although Rodgers today states diplomatically: "You feel the loss of a gaming system and the loss of a friendship if you've been working with someone like Mike and me for so long - the whole thing was a reboot."
Run on the young offensive coaches
A restart that seems to work better and better: When the Packers inflicted a devastating defeat on the Oakland Raiders just a few weeks ago, Rodgers said to his coach on the sidelines: "I want five touchdown passes today." He answered, "That's a goal, I want six." In the end, Rodgers actually threw six.
Aaron Rodgers calling his shot against the Raiders
"I want five today"
LaFleur: "I want six"
Rodgers finished with 6 TDs. pic.twitter.com/cjPbP87TMZ
The trend towards younger, offense-oriented coaches is likely to continue: First, they strengthen the attractiveness of their own franchise, because spectacular offensive actions are now loved by most fans more. Also, the league has been trying for years to provide with small rule adjustments for more points - and to keep the number of games that go out 10: 3 or similar, as low as possible.
In addition, the organizations can hardly hide the talents in the special disciplines: If you have a brilliant offensive coordinator with an excellent working relationship with the quarterback, sooner or later another team will offer this coach a head coach position.
Shanahan became the 49ers after the Super Bowl appearance of the Falcons Head Coach. McVay turned the non-executive Washington Redskins as Offensive Coordinator into the league's third-best attack series in two seasons, in terms of yards per game. The reward was the head coach offer of the Rams.
The motto that the offense wins games, but defending the championship, is still a bit different. Also on Sunday it was mainly the dominant defense of the 49ers, which took the Packers every breath to breathe. From the point of view of the teams, it should still be more attractive for the foreseeable future to have a younger, risk-aiding head coach, who announces the moves of his offense itself.
If needed, you can still put a Defense veteran aside.