Issue #255: Get Your Popcorn Ready
By Derrick Ernst
February 26, 2026
OC
We get so caught up on Head Coach vacancies/hirings that activity with other coaching positions gets overlooked. We’re not going to spend the entire issue on them, but I did want to highlight Offensive Coordinators a bit (they are closer to fantasy relevance than their defensive counterpart). Get this, in ’26 there will be 21(!!!) new OC’s across the league, 11 in the AFC and 10 in the NFC. This seems abnormally high. Over recent years, the turnover for HC’s has been approx. eight per season. I would’ve guessed coordinators to be higher, but not 2.5x higher. Here’s when all 32 OC’s were hired:
2026: 21 (66%)
2025: 6 (19%)
2024: 2 (6%)
2023: 1 (3%)
2022: 2 (6%)
Those two who are the oldest OC’s in the league (by consecutive years of experience) are both in the NFC North (MIN and GB). On the flip side, the AFC West has four “new” OC’s in ’26, the only division to have four new faces. I put new in quotes because two of the four have been OC’s in the past:
Eric Bieniemy, KC (KC from 2018-22)
Mike McDaniel, LAC (SF in 2021)
Bieniemy has been someone we’ve talked about a few times before. We won’t rehash his history again, but what I will say is that I think his return to KC will be very much welcomed. Get a load of this:
Source: Pro Football Reference
There’s a lot to unpack here. The rows highlighted in yellow are Bieniemy’s first go as KC’s OC. It’s what’s to the far right that jumps off the page. Not once in five years did KC’s offense fail to finish top-6 in the league in offensive points scored and yards for. TDF is a sentiment newsletter in a lot of ways. Let’s just say the mood around KC and its players is at its lowest level since Mahomes came to town, at least for non-KCers. If I had to guess, that’ll translate to fantasy tolerance as well and because of that, there will be value in drafting them. This is all pending Mahomes’ availability.
Switching gears, McDaniel hasn’t had as defined success as Bieniemy, but there’s no denying his unique nature when it comes to play calling. Harbaugh has traditionally run a balanced approach, so it’ll be interesting to see how McDaniel’s presence shakes this up. Given what he has done for D. Achane’s game, it’s hard not getting excited for what he might do for O. Hampton.
A few Cowboys have been in the news this past week:
My guess is that the vast majority don’t know who DAL’s OC is. I have no shame in saying I didn’t either.
Klayton Adams took over the role last season and lead DAL’s offense to:
5th in the league in PPG
2nd in the league in yards for (with DAL’s passing offense ranking 2nd and rushing offense ranking 9th)
J. Williams was a big win for us last season. There was fear that they’d run two/three RB’s on rotation, but that proved not to be the case. Unless M. Sanders returns (or another RB is signed), I’d expected Williams to be in store for another “under the radar” season.
Pickens was perhaps an even bigger win for us last season. I believe I said he had CeeDee upside without CeeDee (draft) prices. Injuries to CeeDee helped the case, but this proved to be correct. I wonder how this will show by way of ADP this season. The gap between CeeDee and Pickens will have significantly compressed, but to what extent? My guess is that both will be top-24 picks. When it comes to something like this, I’d rather focus on drafting others who aren’t cannibalizing production from one another. When two (or more) players are that closely related, I also prefer getting exposure to them by way of a common denominator, in this case, Dak.
Dak has always had trouble staying off the injury report, but in seasons that he does, it’s tough arguing against his output:
Source: Fantasy Footballers
Movies
RIP Mox.
Source: Bottlegate
This isn’t the first time I’ve referenced Varsity Blues. Can you blame me? If I could go back in time, I’d want to know at the time of the movie’s release (1999) what the odds were that Jon Voight (Coach Kilmer) would outlive James Van Der Beek (Mox), Ron Lester (Billy Bob), and Paul Walker (Lance Harbor)? It’s not 0%, but it’s close. Mox’s monologue at the end of the movie will always strike a chord with me, especially knowing everything Mox went through leading up to the conclusion. Varsity Blues will feel a bit different the next time I watch it.
Have you ever realized how many football movies there are? I didn’t realize the sheer quantity of them until I Googled Varsity Blues the other day. I also didn’t realize how much I enjoy football movies because I’ve seen quite a few of them, some numerous times.
We’re going to close things out today with my top-ten favorite football movies of all-time. I want to hear from you too! Send in your favorite(s) and/or those I might have missed (I’m sure there are plenty).
Remember the Titans, 2000
Varsity Blues, 199
Friday Night Lights, 2004
The Blind Side, 2009
The Waterboy, 1998
We Are Marshall, 2006
Draft Day, 2014
Brian’s Song, 1971
Radio, 2003
The Replacements, 2000
Remember the Titans is one of those movies that if it’s on, I’ll watch it. There are very few movies I’ve seen more. I hemmed and hawed about whether to include Jerry Maguire, but decided against it due to thinking football was secondary to the heart of the movie. If I had to guess, the one movie that I’ve omitted that is probably a fan favorite is Rudy. I’ve never seen it!
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