New head coaches' plans for their quarterbacks
— -- For Chip Kelly, the painful waiting game is almost over.
The 49ers kept Colin Kaepernick on the roster on Thursday, guaranteeing his $11.9 million and giving Kelly the quarterback he's excited to coach. "Waiting is the hardest part," Kelly said last week at the owners meetings.
The waiting game is almost over, too, for the seven men who were named new head coaches this offseason, all of whom are offensive minded. Starting Monday, Kelly and the other six new coaches can begin teaching and preparing their quarterbacks for the new season. They have the opportunity to get a two-week jump on the rest of the league.
Ben McAdoo of the Giants and Dirk Koetter of the Buccaneers gave a possible preview of coming attractions. As offensive coordinators on the teams they've now taken over, McAdoo and Koetter worked with Eli Manning and Jameis Winston, respectively. For Manning, the Giants' offense improved by 5.4 points per game in 2014 and 2.5 points last year, finishing with an average of 26.2 points per game, which ranked fourth in the league. Koetter helped Winston improve the Bucs' offense from 17.3 points per game in 2014 to 21.4 points last year.
Mike Mularkey made similar improvements with the Titans' offense, which averaged only 15.9 points per game in 2014. With rookie Marcus Mariota as the quarterback, the Titans finished the season averaging 18.7 points per game .
The 49ers (14.9), Browns (17.4) and Dolphins (19.4) were among the lowest-scoring teams in football last season. Kelly lost his job in Philadelphia when his 10-win team dropped to 7-9 and his offense's scoring fell 6.0 points per game to 23.6.
It's not out of the question to expect improvements of two to three points per game in the offenses with these new head coaches, if they can work their magic.
Here's what's next for each new coach as they get a head start on the season and meet with their quarterbacks:
Cleveland Browns
New Browns coach Hue Jackson and Robert Griffin III hit it off well in the meeting before Griffin's signing. As a coach, Jackson doesn't hold back. "I asked tough questions and I expect to get tough answers," Jackson said. The Browns waited a few days and then signed Griffin to a two-year, $15 million. As offensive coordinator in Cincinnati, Jackson had a heart-to-heart with Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton last offseason, asking him for more leadership. Dalton responded with his best season. Jackson will try to work with Griffin's footwork and create an offense that could work for Griffin and the quarterback that Jackson might acquire with the No. 2 pick in the draft, likely either Carson Wentz or Jared Goff. Jackson will need some front-office help in getting him some good options at running back. Jackson believes in the importance of the running game to make life easier for a quarterback.
