Ruiz got paid so that is a difference. Some players slack off when they get paid, others step it up. It's certainly possible Ruiz slacked off. But which is which could depend on their coaches motivational skills in additional to their coaches talent, which could reflect on any or all of their coaches up the chain. Marrone is the easiest coach to switch out now.

Peat has been mediocre for a long time. Not the worst but not the best. But his constant injuries did not just tarnish his legend as a C grade oline, they also often kicked off musical chairs for other oline that affected all their development. As Peat ages, the injuries and musical chairs are likely to kick into higher gear, and he play is likely to decline from mediocre to worse. But if he is still mediocre, perhaps instead of being the starter who kicks off musical chairs, he is better utilized as the backup who fills in at any position and prevents musical chairs, or fills in directly for the worst most struggling player and that player can shift to being the injury backup who prevents musical chairs. I dont think there is any scenario where a new coach makes Peat great unless he gets brainwashed into joining crossfit and going on a paleo diet or some bs like that, but we may have to use him somewhere.

McCoy and Ramcyzk have been great in the past. But oline is not a position where every player has a long career. Its hard to carry that weight and fight those battles on mere mortal knees, just likes its hard for a baseball pitcher to throw 100 fastballs on a mortal elbow. Some guys are great for a few years and break down. La'el Collins was a legend early on, lately not so much. They are not our worst problems now, but they are a bit off, and that could be father time, it could be having to pick up the slack for the bottom feeders around them, it could be Doug Marrone, or it could be Allen and Carmichael's shortcomings as leaders and motivators. Marrone is the easiest part to change right now. Carmichael wouldn't be the hardest.

Technically Hurst is a starting oline. I don't know that he has ever been great as a full season starter. But if we believe PFF he is not our weakest link, and he played better at LT last year than Penning is playing this year.

It's possible that in the past Payton served as the motivator for the offense and enlisted a group of technicians lacking leadership and motivational skills as his assistants, but was not a great motivator on the defense and deferred on that side of the ball to a bunch of lackluster coaches until he found Allen who could do the same for the defense. But perhaps Allen has the same problem and can be a leader and motivator for the defense but not for the offense, which is staffed with a bunch of technicians who lack leadership vision and motivational skill. In this case, bringing on Gruden could potentially improve the offense instantly, if Marrone and Carmichael's shortcomings are in the area of personality, leadership, and motivational skill not x's and o's.