As a somewhat-new member of MFN (used to play a while back), I have some ideas that I think could make this game more appealing to new members.
I think a 10-team league, similar to minor leagues of American Football, like the CFL and the new XFL, would be best for new players.
These 10-team leagues would have 10 week seasons, so every team could play each other. The playoffs could be based on winning percentage and 2 teams with the best record in the 2 divisions would play in the playoffs. Then the teams that advance would play each other in the League Championship.
These 10-team leagues would have simpler gameplanning. You would pick between several offensive playbooks, like the West Coast, Air Raid, Spread, Flexbone Option (the Army/Navy offensive playbook), Smashmouth, and others if someone can think of them. These 10-team leagues would be more focused on offense. There could also be defensive playbooks to choose from like the 46, Tampa 2, and others. Each player would have an archetype and a special skill set. Here are some ideas
QB-Game Manager, Dual-Threat, Strong Arm, Improviser
RB-Power, Elusive, Receiving Threat
WR-Deep Threat, Slot, Possession, Route Runner
TE-Deep Threat, Blocker, Possession
OL-Power, Agile
DL-Power, Speed, Agile
LB-Field General, Speed Rusher
DB-Lockdown, Speedy, Tackler
If there's a way to do this, ideally, more scoring would be allowed to make the games more exciting.
Feel free to add more if you guys have any other ideas.