N F L Football coaching changes 2007

[Ming]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
San Francisco fan are breathing a sigh of relief as Turner was great as their O-Coord this past season.

I'm sure Dallas fans are as well... Turner has had much success as an OC... his track record as head coach leaves much to be desired

[-Jrabbit]

The stripping of the San Diego coaching staff is now complete.

Defensive coordinator Wade Phillips - now Cowboys head coach
Offensive coordinator Cam Cameron - now Dolphins head coach
(That makes it 6 ex-Shottenheimer assistants now NFL head coaches.)
Also:
TE coach Rob Chudzinski - now Cleveland offensive coordinator
Linebackers coach Greg Manusky - now San Fran defensive coordinator
Asst strength coach Matt Schlotz - moved to Miami with Cameron
RB coach Clarence Shelmon was promoted to offensive coordinator

They did manage to hang onto receivers coach James Lofton, who interviewed at Stanford and the Raiders.

Does it look like GM A.J. Smith is setting up Shottenheimer to fail?

[Zopperoni]

A team cannot deny an interview opty for an assistant coach, so I don't think A.J. Smith could've done anything about this. Plus, when he and John Butler moved to San Diego, the Chargers have been trending upward.

Any coach aspires a head coaching opty. Any team that is successful will lose key personnel. Look at the Pats: Weis, Crennel, and Mangini are all head coaches elsewhere.

[SlowwHand]

Originally posted by Ming


I'm sure Dallas fans are as well... Turner has had much success as an OC... his track record as head coach leaves much to be desired

The Peter Principle. Promoted beyond his range of capabilities.
It's a damned shame when it happens in any business. You lose an outstanding contributor in a given capacity, and they go fail at another level.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by Ming
I'm sure Dallas fans are as well... Turner has had much success as an OC... his track record as head coach leaves much to be desired

There is a school of thought that Wade Phillips is just as bad as a head coach and as good a coordinator as Turner.

[Ming]

Actually... I kind of agree with you. But out of the two, I would have to give the nod to Wade.

But again, it was a "surprise"

[-Jrabbit]

I was surprised to learn that Wade is actually over .500 as a head coach. I'm also reminded that he was the loser (coaching Buffalo) in the Tennessee "Music City Miracle" game...

[Lord Avalon]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui

I consider the 'talking head' jobs to fall under announcing. I can see him do what Ditka is doing for ESPN and give some analysis for part of an hour every Sunday until he wants a coaching job again.

Originally posted by Lord Avalon

Does CBS have a coach?

They do now!

Cowher joins CBS as studio analyst
PITTSBURGH -- Former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher is returning to the NFL -- as an analyst on CBS' Sunday "The NFL Today" studio show.

Cowher resigned as the Steelers' coach last month following 15 seasons and less than a year after winning the Super Bowl. He plans to spend more time with his family at their new home in Raleigh, N.C., but said working on the CBS show allows him to keep his ties to the league.

"I can still be part of it but not have it consume your life," Cowher said Thursday, speaking on a conference call.

Cowher sent mixed signals as to how long he plans to stay away from coaching.

Initially, he said, "It's an opportunity to stay busy on Sundays and it may go beyond this year." Later in the call, he said, "I'm planning on doing this for a couple of years."

However, he would not officially commit to appearing beyond one season, saying, "It's an opportunity to remain a part of the NFL, and it may go a lot longer than that."

Cowher doesn't expect to have any problems critiquing or criticizing his former team, saying it would be no different from doing so along the sideline.

"I'd be doing it if I were coaching," he said. "Willie Parker is a good running back but if [he fumbles], he knows he would be standing next to me on the sideline."

Some coaches have found it difficult to criticize former colleagues and players once they became broadcasters, but Cowher said he plans only to give his opinion without being judgmental.

"I'll just be giving an opinion," he said. "I'll just be saying that I would have done."

CBS is adding Cowher to the show without any of the other analysts leaving -- Dan Marino, Shannon Sharpe and Boomer Esiason will return, as will host James Brown and former NFL general manager Charlie Casserly.

"It will be like a bye week every week," Cowher said of working Sundays in a studio rather than in a stadium. He will commute each weekend from Raleigh to New York.

As the NFL's most desirable coaching free agent, Cowher understands he will be subjected to season-long rumors tying him to this job or that job. He has insisted that money wasn't an issue in him leaving the Steelers, but it is believed to have played a major role.

It is likely he could land an offer in the $8 million a year range or more should he want to get back into coaching next year, or about twice as much as he was making in Pittsburgh. He is expected to attract considerable interest because he remains relatively young for an NFL head coach -- he doesn't turn 50 until May.

"But I didn't get out of it to get back into it," Cowher said. "This is my next challenge and I'm planning to work hard at it."

Once Cowher left the Steelers on Jan. 5, his agents contacted the networks that carry NFL games to gauge their interest in hiring him. Cowher felt it was a natural transition to sign with CBS, which carries AFC games, and he had a tryout of sorts with the network during its Super Bowl telecast on Feb. 4.

Cowher's hiring creates the possibility that he and former Steelers running back Jerome Bettis, who was close to Cowher as a player, will offer differing opinions on different networks.

Bettis works for NBC and on his first telecast last summer said he was convinced Cowher would leave Pittsburgh after the season ended -- a prediction that proved accurate.

Cowher also said he is disappointed with the San Diego Chargers' firing of coach Marty Schottenheimer, his friend and mentor. Cowher was Schottenheimer's defensive coordinator in Kansas City before his 1992 hiring by Pittsburgh.

"It was unfortunate ... the timing [was bad] for both parties because all the other jobs are filled and Marty won't have the opportunity to oach next year," Cowher said. "But it does mean I've gained a golfing partner this spring."

Cowher's 161-99-1 record ranked him fourth among active coaches last season in career wins. He won a Super Bowl in February 2006 after six trips to the AFC Championship Game and 10 playoff appearances with the Steelers. They missed the playoffs after going 8-8 in his final season with them.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2766888

[-Jrabbit]

Norv Turner gets his shot...

San Diego Chargers have chosen Norv Turner as their next head coach.

When Turner washed out in Oakland, we never thought he'd get a chance to be a head coach again. Only one year later, he's taking over the best collection of talent in the NFL. Turner has always engineered a powerful running game, so LT2 owners shouldn't be concerned. Another retread coach without a great track record, Ted Cottrell, is expected to coordinate San Diego's loaded 3-4 defense. ESPN.com has confirmed the story.

Source: FoxSports.com

It also means the third new offensive coordinator in 3 years for the San Fran offense...

[-Jrabbit]

OK, all the head jobs are full. Here's a summary...

San Diego -- Norv Turner, retread, offensive coordinator (San Francisco)
Dallas -- Wade Phillips, retread, defensive coordinator (San Diego)
Miami -- Cam Cameron, offensive coordinator (San Diego)
Pittsburgh -- Mike Tomlin, defensive coordinator (Minnesota), not a white guy
Atlanta -- Bobby Petrino, college head coach (Louisville)
Arizona -- Ken Whisenhunt, offensive coordinator (Pittsburgh)
Oakland -- Lane Kiffin, college guy (offensive coordinator, USC)

So, what are the trends?

--2 out of 7 had NFL head coaching experience. Not as much good old boys club as it once was.
--No one was lured out of retirement. Again, not so much the GOB network.
--Only one is not a Caucasian, but two of the departed were. Losing ground there.
--5 out of 7 worked as NFL coordinators last season. Now the preferred career path.
--Only one was a college head coach -- lessons learned from Spurrier, Saban, et al.

Oakland just... Oakland couldn't get anyone to take the gig. Kiffin wasn't even on their interview list until several candidates had turned down Al Davis. In fact, he's not even the best KIFFIN available...

[Drake Tungsten]

Monte

[Lord Avalon]

Rivera won't be back with Bears
Defensive coordinator's contract was about to expire

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) -- Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Ron Rivera is out of a job with the Super Bowl runner-ups who announced Monday he will not return next season.

Rivera, who has talked with eight different NFL teams about their head coaching job the last two seasons, including San Diego last week, had a contract that was set to expire this month.

Rivera was a linebacker on Chicago's Super Bowl champion team in 1986 and then led a defense that helped the Bears make the playoffs in back-to-back seasons. Chicago had trouble containing Indianapolis in the Super Bowl, losing 29-17 to the Peyton Manning-led Colts.

Rivera has been an assistant coach for 10 years in the NFL. He also interviewed for the Cowboys' vacant spot right after the Super Bowl.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/football/nfl/02/19/bc.fbn.bears.rivera.ap/index.html

[Lord Avalon]

Originally posted by -Jrabbit
Norv Turner gets his shot...

[-Jrabbit]

This one blindsided me, I must admit. Apparently, the plan was to let Rivera go no matter what. Lovie has wanted the linebacker coach/asst head coach, Bob Babich, as his D-coord from the beginning. The two go back 20 yrs together. Contractually, Lovie has final say on his staff, so it was a done deal. Plus, now Lovie can get the money they would have had to pay to retain Rivera...

Doesn't really matter. Lovie's running the defense anyway.

There should be some more tidbits later, as there's a Lovie-Rivera media conference call happening right now...

[SlowwHand]

Don't forget the other trend. Da Bears have Grossman.