It doesn’t have to take years to rebuild, especially with the right coach: Analysis

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Teams considering a coaching change should be encouraged by some of the quick turnarounds around the NFL.

Three teams with new coaches entered Week 11 holding a playoff position. Dan Quinn’s Washington Commanders (7-4) led that group in victories despite a 26-18 loss to Philadelphia on Thursday night.

Raheem Morris and the Atlanta Falcons (6-4) are first in the NFC South. Jim Harbaugh and the Los Angeles Chargers (6-3) currently have the second wild-card spot in the AFC.

Quinn, Morris and Harbaugh have another thing in common. They previously were head coaches in the NFL. Harbaugh led the San Francisco 49ers to a Super Bowl appearance before going to Michigan and winning a national title last season.

Quinn was Atlanta’s coach when the Falcons blew a 28-3 lead in the Super Bowl to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. Morris led Tampa Bay to one 10-win season in three years with the team more than a decade ago and also served as an interim coach for the Falcons in 2020.

The four other first-year coaches — Seattle’s Mike Macdonald (4-5), Tennessee’s Brian Callahan (2-7), New England’s Jerod Mayo (3-7) and Las Vegas’ Antonio Pierce (2-7) are 11-26 combined. Macdonald, Callahan and Mayo are head coaches for the first time. Pierce went 5-4 as an interim coach with the Raiders last year.

It’s no surprise new coaches are having fast success. At least one NFL team with a new coach has reached the playoffs every year since the 2006 season.

Last year, it was DeMeco Ryans guiding Houston to an AFC South title and a playoff victory. In 2022, a record five first-year coaches led their teams to the postseason.

Quinn took over a team that hadn’t had a winning record since 2016. But the Commanders had the No. 2 pick in the draft and nailed it with quarterback Jayden Daniels, a leading candidate for AP Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Washington also added several starters in free agency, including linebackers Bobby Wagner, Frankie Luvu and Dante Fowler Jr., center Tyler Biadasz, left guard Nick Allegretti, tight end Zach Ertz, edge rusher Clelin Ferrell and safety Jeremy Chinn. They also signed running back Austin Ekeler, drafted wide receiver Luke McCaffrey and just traded for Pro Bowl cornerback Marshon Lattimore.

The Commanders still have a chance to win the NFC East even after losing to the Eagles (8-2). Washington has a softer schedule the rest of the way. After a bye, the Commanders play the Cowboys, Titans and Saints. Then they face the Eagles and Dallas sandwiched around a matchup with Atlanta.

Morris inherited a team that last had a winning record in 2017. The Falcons signed Kirk Cousins to a massive contract to solve their quarterback dilemma. They added receiver Darnell Mooney and Pro Bowl safety Justin Simmons in free agency and acquired pass rusher Matthew Judon in a trade.

With two wins over Tampa Bay (4-6), Atlanta essentially has a three-game edge over the three-time defending division champion Buccaneers.

Harbaugh walked into the most favorable situation in Los Angeles. The Chargers already had franchise QB Justin Herbert and were a playoff team in 2022. They signed running backs J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards to strengthen their rushing attack and balance the offense. Los Angeles drafted right tackle Joe Alt with the No. 5 overall pick and selected wide receiver Ladd McConkey in the second round to help replace Keenan Allen and Mike Williams.

The Chargers have a tough schedule the rest of the way, starting with a home game against the Bengals this week. Then it’s the Ravens, Falcons, Chiefs, Buccaneers and Broncos before finishing up against the Patriots and Raiders.

Harbaugh’s team will have to earn that playoff berth.

The Jets and Saints already fired their coaches so they’ll be looking for a new leader. A few more teams will be in the market.

It doesn’t have to take years to rebuild.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh leaves the field after the Chargers beat the Cleveland Browns 27-10 in an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Richard)

Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris watches play against the New Orleans Saints during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn celebrates a 1-yard touchdown run by Commanders running back Brian Robinson Jr. during the first half of an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — A Venezuelan man "went hunting for females on the University of Georgia’s campus” earlier this year and ended up killing nursing student Laken Riley after a struggle, a prosecutor said Friday. A defense attorney said the evidence is circumstantial and doesn't prove his client is guilty.

Jose Ibarra, who entered the U.S. illegally two years ago, is charged with murder and other crimes in Riley's February killing, which helped fan the immigration debate during this year's presidential campaign. Ibarra waived his right to a jury trial, meaning his case is being will be heard and decided by Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard.

Prosecutor Sheila Ross told the judge that Ibarra encountered Riley, a 22-year-old student at Augusta University College of Nursing, while she was out running on Feb. 22.

“When Laken Riley refused to be his rape victim, he bashed her skull in with a rock repeatedly,” Ross said, adding that the evidence will show that Riley “fought for her life, for her dignity.”

As a result of that fight, Ibarra's DNA was left under her fingernails, Ross said. Riley called 911 and, in a struggle over her phone, Ibarra's thumbprint was left on the screen, she said.

The forensic evidence is sufficient to prove Ibarra's guilt, but digital and video evidence will also show that Ibarra killed Riley, the prosecutor said.

Defense attorney Dustin Kirby called the evidence in the case graphic and disturbing, but he said none of it proves that his client killed Riley.

“The evidence in this case is very good that Laken Riley was murdered," he said. "The evidence that Jose Ibarra killed Laken Riley is circumstantial. The evidence that anyone had any intent or certainly committed any sexual assault is speculation.”

The killing added fuel to the national debate over immigration when federal authorities said Ibarra illegally entered the U.S. in 2022 and was allowed to stay to pursue his immigration case.

Republicans, including President-elect Donald Trump, blamed Democratic President Joe Biden’s border policies for her death. As he spoke about border security during his State of the Union address weeks after the killing, Biden mentioned Riley by name.

Riley’s body was found near running trails after her roommates told police she had not returned from a morning run. Police said her killing appeared to be a random attack. Ibarra was arrested the next day and has been held in the Athens-Clarke County Jail without bond.

Ibarra is charged with one count of malice murder, three counts of felony murder and one count each of kidnapping, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, hindering an emergency telephone call, tampering with evidence and being a peeping Tom.

Prosecutors say that on the day of Riley’s killing, Ibarra peered into the window of an apartment in a university housing building, which is the basis for the peeping Tom charge.

Before the trial, defense attorneys unsuccessfully tried to have the proceedings moved out of Athens, a city of about 130,000 people about 70 miles east of Atlanta. They also wanted to have the peeping Tom charge handled separately and to exclude some evidence and expert testimony.

Jose Ibarra listens through an interpreter during a hearing of the killing of a Georgia nursing student at Athens-Clarke County Superior Court, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (Hyosub Shin/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard speaks during a hearing of Jose Ibarra at Athens-Clarke County Superior Court, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (Hyosub Shin/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Jose Ibarra listens through an interpreter during a hearing of the killing of a Georgia nursing student at Athens-Clarke County Superior Court, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (Hyosub Shin/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)