There is no clear blueprint for a best coach. But, I've noticed that a lot of the best coaches come from fringe players. Guys who recognized they couldn't just get by on superior athletic talent, so they learned everything they could, mastered every technique possible, spent countless hours grinding and analyzing hoping to augment their athletic ability just enough to make the team, or start. Those guys struggled harder than anyone else and they seem to carry over that will to succeed into their coaching. Don Shula was one of those guys. He had experience in an NFL locker room but a nondescript career. Maybe Underwood will be one of those guys too. I'm eager to find out.
Chad O'Shea isn't the biggest name hire, but he may be the one I'm most interested in seeing. That Patriot offense is not filled with great players. Yes, Brady is among the very best, and yes Gronkowski is probably the best complete TE ever, and yes guys like Edelman and Michel are good players, but there's an awful lot of role players playing very well in that offense, and it's not all Tom Brady. I'm curious to see whether Chad O'Shea is actually a budding star at OC … or just another Belichick family tree guy with mediocre production away from Belichick. If he's good of course, he'll leave in a year or two, if he's not, it's just another false dawn. But, this guy is an unknown at a position we really need someone to fix.