There are nine new head coaches in the NFL. All are selling hope and culture and making their fan bases believe, too. Of course, the fired coaches they all replaced said many of the same things, too. Regardless of how many “well respected” stamps of approval you see and hear this time of year from the powers that be in sports media, nobody knows if these coaches will win any more than mock-drafters know who’ll be the first five players selected in the NFL draft. There are too many variables.

Is the head coach in lockstep with the GM? What’s the salary cap situation? When it’s nut-cutting time will this same tough-talking coach go for it on fourth and 2 at midfield?

And, most importantly, Who’s playing quarterback?

Now, that the 2021 NFL season is officially wrapped up — and the Los Angeles Rams are Super Bowl Champions — optimism will steadily build from this day forward, in all 32 markets, until September. Anybody declaring any team “the next Bengals” is grifting. Teams do not elevate from 4-11-1 to a 15-yard gain from forcing overtime in the Super Bowl so easily. The initial thoughts here? Doug Pederson was the right hire to clean up the filth Urban Meyer left behind in Jacksonville. Everyone burnt far too many calories debating Mike McDaniel’s race. The Denver Broncos’ chances at landing Aaron Rodgers skyrocketed with the hire of Nathaniel Hackett. The QB loves him. And here’s a sentence we never imagined gracing this space in December:

The New York Giants are on the right track.

It’s true.