NFL Head Coach: Jared Goff Will Not Win 'Big One'

Anonymous head coach doesn't believe Lions can win Super Bowl with Goff.

Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16). / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

Many believed the Detroit Lions trading for Jared Goff would not have the impact it has on the organization over the last three NFL seasons.

Goff, after a rough first season, has been a force in guiding the Lions to consecutive winning seasons and a berth in the NFC Championship game a season ago. He was rewarded for his efforts with a hefty contract extension and appears set to pilot the Lions into what the team hopes is a future full of winning.

However, there are still skeptics when it comes to his performance across the league. In a recent poll published by The Athletic, coaches and executives across the league were tasked with putting quarterbacks into tiers.

Goff was one of the biggest risers from a year ago in the annual poll, jumping up to a Tier 2 passer and was ranked No. 10 out of all the passers in the league. While a majority of the comments surrounding him were positive, there was one indictment on his abilities by an anonymous NFL head coach.

“He got an offense he can run, and he’s getting rid of the ball,” a head coach told The Athletic. “I don’t think he ever wins the big one, but he played well enough last year to go from a 3 to a 2. He has to have the weapons around him. He can’t do it by himself.”

Part of the perception around Goff within the poll indicated that a big reason for his success was the offensive scheme of coordinator Ben Johnson. Since Johnson took over the role in 2022, the Lions have dynamically shifted their fortunes on offense.

“It is set up so that it’s right in front of him, and he doesn’t have to make a lot of decisions on the field,” an anonymous defensive coordinator said. “They’ve got a good run game, they have a bunch of checkdowns to the tight end, they’ve got good players around him. He just has to go 1-2-3 and fire the ball. But he is another guy who, if it came down to a two-minute drive, I wouldn’t feel great about him in that situation.”

The Lions' offense has been one of the most high-powered units in the league in Johnson's two years as offensive coordinator. He and Goff have struck up a strong partnership, with the Lions also boasting an array of talent across the skill positions.

Goff has reached the Super Bowl previously in his career, and now is looking to do so in Detroit. The team is motivated by last year's NFC Championship game loss and appears primed for a strong campaign in 2024.