Lowering the boom on Bill - Neil Best - Newsday
January 23, 2007
Whatever you think of him as a TV analyst, there is one thing that consistently makes East Islip's own Boomer Esiason stand out from the pontificating pack: He thinks and talks like one of us!
That was evident late in Sunday's 8-hour gridiron gala, when he reacted to the strangest moment of a long TV day and night.
A seemingly nervous Solomon Wilcots had just attempted to conduct an interview with losing Patriots coach Bill Belichick and elicited only two terse non-answers.
Back to the CBS studio! Esiason threw up his arms, shook his head and said, "What was that?"
It was a nationally televised reminder that for all his brilliance, Belichick is not a particularly nice fellow, and is especially hopeless around journalists -- who, like it or not, are a conduit to fans.
Yeah, we know. Any fan would gladly take a nasty coach over a sweetheart if it means three rings in four years. But all else being equal, is there anything wrong with being, say, Tony Dungy?
Sometimes it's helpful to remind the paranoid coaching tree of (please, stay retired) Bill Parcells that helpfulness with the media -- remember: conduit to fans! -- and winning are not mutually exclusive.
Nine years ago, Dungy earned the Pro Football Writers of America's Horrigan Award for cooperation with reporters. Peyton Manning was nominated for it in 2004.
Belichick? Well, at least this week he didn't assault a photojournalist en route to barely acknowledging Manning after the game.
Anyway, Wilcots' encounter with Belichick capped a generally solid day of work from the No. 1 teams from Fox and CBS.
One Fox quibble: Neither Troy Aikman nor Joe Buck commented on the Saints' Reggie Bush pointing at Brian Urlacher as he ran toward, then flipped into, the end zone. The Bears were not amused.
On CBS, Phil Simms and Jim Nantz were their usual cautious selves about second-guesses or criticisms; it would have been interesting to see how they handled Manning if he had not rallied the Colts.
It never came to that, of course, but as of halftime, the bluntest opinions on Manning came from Esiason, who repeated a line he used on a conference call Wednesday:
"If he turns this ball over [again], he is going to have to buy a house in A-Rod's neighborhood, because that's where he's going to belong -- all the money, all the stats and no championships. So a lot of pressure on him."
Tough, but true. One half later, the world had turned and Belichick was the one who looked bad.
Esiason saw the tape of the Belichick interview seconds before it went on the air; he wished he had had more time to discuss it on CBS' brief postgame. He did so on the phone yesterday.
"I was pretty disgusted with Belichick," he said. "I've interviewed him on my MSG show. It's hard. It's really hard. I don't think he does it on purpose. I just think he doesn't know any better. I just thought it was unprofessional."
Esiason left a message Sunday night for Wilcots, a former teammate on the Bengals.
Among other things, he said, "I'm surprised you didn't strangle him."
Grid bits
The AFC and NFC title games attracted audiences that will make them the most viewed shows of the TV season thus far, surpassing the first two episodes of "American Idol." The AFC on CBS drew 28.1 percent of households in large markets; CBS did not release national figures, but that number will fall a bit when they do. The NFC on Fox drew a 25.1 national rating and 43.2 million viewers ... Even Eli Manning believed the penalty against the Patriots for roughing his brother Peyton on the Colts' winning drive was a bad call. He said so on Michael Kay's ESPN 1050 show ... The race to hire Tiki Barber has taken a turn, with him now leaning toward NBC over early favorite ABC/ESPN, a person familiar with his thinking said. A deal is unlikely until after the Pro Bowl ... The current HBO "Real Sports" has a report on disabled former NFL players and efforts to get help from the league and/or union. "The players today are the worst-represented union in all of sports," Mike Ditka says.
Sound bites
MSG's coverage of Friday's Knicks-Nets game drew 1.72 percent of households, compared with 0.65 on YES ... TV pros long have tried to translate hockey to a small screen, with Peter Puck to glowing pucks. Now this: Rail Cam. Versus showcases it for the All-Star Game tomorrow; it's a camera that runs on a rail above the glass. Worth a try ... CBS and DirecTV extended DirecTV's deal to show out-of-market NCAA Tournament games. But the big question is whether Major League Baseball will, as many expect, sell out-of-market rights exclusively to DirecTV, cutting out cable customers. An MLB spokesman said nothing is final despite a report in The New York Times that a deal is near ... Derric Rossy, a heavyweight out of Medford, fights Eddie Chambers on Feb. 9 at Suffolk CC on a card to be
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Hooter Girls Are Coming To Bauer's Pure Rush Super Bowl Miami!
Yep. You saw it here! The Hooter Girls are coming to the Bauer's Pure Rush Super Bowl Party in Miami.
You can enjoy them, er, their look...Ah, the fact that they're around. If you come to Miami for the party. Makes logic to me!
NFL, Union Reach Deal on Drug Testing
NFL, Union Reach Deal on Drug Testing Finally! see my end notes
By DAVE GOLDBERG
AP Football Writer
January 24, 2007, 12:44 PM EST
NEW YORK -- The NFL and its players union have agreed to more extensive testing for performance-enhancing drugs and have added the blood-boosting substance EPO to the league's list of banned substances.
The agreement, announced jointly Wednesday by the league and union, also adds to the financial penalties for players suspended for using those drugs. Players suspended for using steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs will forfeit a prorated portion of their signing bonuses.
Signing bonuses often are the only guaranteed portion of a player's compensation.
In addition to the new test for EPO, the deal includes an increase from seven to 10 of the number of players on each team randomly tested each week during the season for steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs. That means there will be 12,000 tests each season, up from the current 10,000.
"It is important that the NFL and its players continue to be leaders on the issue of illegal and dangerous performance-enhancing drugs in sports," said NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. "These latest improvements will help ensure that we continue to have a strong and effective program. As we have done in the past, we will review and modify the policy on an ongoing basis."
The enhancements to the drug policy have been pending for almost six months -- from about the time Goodell succeeded Paul Tagliabue as commissioner. The league and union began negotiating on additional tests and substances in September, but didn't reach agreement until this week.
Those discussions followed congressional reaction to a story in the Charlotte Observer on steroid prescriptions given to Carolina Panthers players by a South Carolina doctor during the 2003 season, which ended with Carolina losing the Super Bowl to New England.
One provision of the agreement increases the unpredictability of random testing during the season and offseason, making it harder for players using performance-enhancing substances to regulate their usage because they won't know when they might be tested.
EPO, which provides users more stamina by increasing their number of red blood cells, is used primarily by long-distance runners and cyclists. That testing will begin this summer when teams go to training camp.
The program also includes additional use of carbon isotope ratio testing on a random basis to detect for doses of testosterone. All players now will be subject to those tests, previously used only to confirm positive tests.
The NFL also agreed to a $500,000 grant to the UCLA Olympic testing laboratory and other researchers for further testing on HGH -- human growth hormone. The league also will establish a group to study issues related to HGH.
In addition, the NFL Youth Football fund, endowed by both the league and union, has approved a $1.2 million steroids education fund at the Center for Health Promotion Research at the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) in Portland, Ore.
So we are finally TRYing to get a bit Tougher on players who THINK they can fool the doctors. Only 10 Players ramdomly tested? up from 7??? Thats just Crazy. how about Half the roster each testing visit?? How about if one positive test on a team,..pull the whole team in?? The updated fines are good though.....a good start.
By DAVE GOLDBERG
AP Football Writer
January 24, 2007, 12:44 PM EST
NEW YORK -- The NFL and its players union have agreed to more extensive testing for performance-enhancing drugs and have added the blood-boosting substance EPO to the league's list of banned substances.
The agreement, announced jointly Wednesday by the league and union, also adds to the financial penalties for players suspended for using those drugs. Players suspended for using steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs will forfeit a prorated portion of their signing bonuses.
Signing bonuses often are the only guaranteed portion of a player's compensation.
In addition to the new test for EPO, the deal includes an increase from seven to 10 of the number of players on each team randomly tested each week during the season for steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs. That means there will be 12,000 tests each season, up from the current 10,000.
"It is important that the NFL and its players continue to be leaders on the issue of illegal and dangerous performance-enhancing drugs in sports," said NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. "These latest improvements will help ensure that we continue to have a strong and effective program. As we have done in the past, we will review and modify the policy on an ongoing basis."
The enhancements to the drug policy have been pending for almost six months -- from about the time Goodell succeeded Paul Tagliabue as commissioner. The league and union began negotiating on additional tests and substances in September, but didn't reach agreement until this week.
Those discussions followed congressional reaction to a story in the Charlotte Observer on steroid prescriptions given to Carolina Panthers players by a South Carolina doctor during the 2003 season, which ended with Carolina losing the Super Bowl to New England.
One provision of the agreement increases the unpredictability of random testing during the season and offseason, making it harder for players using performance-enhancing substances to regulate their usage because they won't know when they might be tested.
EPO, which provides users more stamina by increasing their number of red blood cells, is used primarily by long-distance runners and cyclists. That testing will begin this summer when teams go to training camp.
The program also includes additional use of carbon isotope ratio testing on a random basis to detect for doses of testosterone. All players now will be subject to those tests, previously used only to confirm positive tests.
The NFL also agreed to a $500,000 grant to the UCLA Olympic testing laboratory and other researchers for further testing on HGH -- human growth hormone. The league also will establish a group to study issues related to HGH.
In addition, the NFL Youth Football fund, endowed by both the league and union, has approved a $1.2 million steroids education fund at the Center for Health Promotion Research at the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) in Portland, Ore.
So we are finally TRYing to get a bit Tougher on players who THINK they can fool the doctors. Only 10 Players ramdomly tested? up from 7??? Thats just Crazy. how about Half the roster each testing visit?? How about if one positive test on a team,..pull the whole team in?? The updated fines are good though.....a good start.
A Little More on Minority Hiring In Football
A Little extension on Zennie's Impassioned Plea from the other day. See My take at the end.
Johnette Howard
SPORTS COLUMNIST
Time to get schooled on college hiring
January 24, 2007
When Chicago's Lovie Smith and Indianapolis' Tony Dungy meet with thousands of reporters in Miami next week and field questions about being the first two African-American head coaches to take their teams to the Super Bowl, it would be terrific if both men used the platform they'll have to steer the conversation away from the NFL, and toward college football's most outrageous, longest-running disgrace.
Did you know of the 119 NCAA schools that play Division I-A football, only six head coaches are African-American - one fewer than the NFL had last season despite having only 32 teams?
If that weren't already shameful enough to the NCAA, the NFL has progressed to a point where it has retread black coaches. They are Dennis Green, Art Shell, Herman Edwards and even Dungy, if you want to call him that, for the way Indy hired him after Tampa pushed him aside for Jon Gruden.
Though Green and Shell left their teams in the past month, the last two weeks still have been progressive ones for the NFL. In addition to Smith and Dungy's Super Bowl breakthroughs, the Giants made Jerry Reese their first African-American general manager and the Steelers selected 34-year-old Vikings defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin as their first African-American head coach.
College football's numbers are an outrage, by comparison. While the NFL's progress is directly traceable to the concerted push the league has made in the last decade since its passage of the Rooney Rule on minority hiring, NCAA schools - a notoriously fractious bunch - have plodded along rather than seriously consider an obvious question:
Would some version of the Rooney Rule - in which NFL teams are required to interview minority candidates - work for them?
Eugene Marshall Jr., deputy athletic director at the United States Military Academy at West Point and president of the board of directors of the Black Coaches Association, says the excuses the BCA hears about the lack of minority hires remain the same year to year: "There's not enough people out there ... The pool is weak ... They don't have enough experience ... They've never been a head coach."
"But I can tell you," says Charlotte Westerhaus, the NCAA's vice president of diversity and inclusion, "the lack of hiring is not happening because of a lack of qualified minority candidates."
So what is the holdback?
A few things, it turns out.
"What it really comes down to are schools' funding people and alumni," Marshall said. "Will fundraisers hire people [of color] to run these places where they spend their money? And in some cases, the answer is still no. We are seeing progress. It's just been far slower here."
For the past three years, the BCA has issued an annual Minority Hiring report card for college football's top two divisions to put a greater spotlight on the problem.
The BCA isn't demanding that minorities be hired for every college head coaching position. In the spirit of the Rooney Rule, what the BCA asks is that minorities be considered as head coaching and athletic director candidates, that minorities are included on the search committees that hire them, things like that. And, Westerhaus says, the NCAA leadership supports and works toward the same goals.
But one difference between the NCAA and NFL is significant: NCAA schools have no hammer hanging over them, while the NFL's Rooney Rule has teeth. The Detroit Lions were fined $200,000 when general manager Matt Millen ignored the league's directives and hired Steve Mariucci.
While Marshall believes accountability is needed in the college ranks, Westerhaus disputes the notion - advanced by the BCA, among others - that the fear of penalties is why the NFL is hiring more minorities more quickly. Westerhaus argues that the NFL's progress is traceable to making the hiring process itself "more and more inclusive" rather than "penalties, penalties, penalties - that's not why the Rooney Rule works."
Oh? It's hard not to notice how the NFL has changed since the Rooney Rule came along while the NCAA has made only glacial progress by urging its schools to do the right thing.
Westerhaus goes on to point out that even if the NCAA regarded penalties as important, getting some binding standards adopted would be extremely difficult because all member schools autonomously set their own institution-wide hiring practices.
But look: Exceptions have been made before. All universities set their own academic honor codes, but the NCAA has approved mechanisms to take back bowl money and scholarships when athletic programs cheat. The NCAA already has passed measures in which member schools can lose athletic scholarships if their sports programs don't meet a list of criterion that include acceptable graduation rates.
Why can't or shouldn't the hiring of minorities be treated with the same import? Why haven't incentives or penalties even been put to a vote?
College sports haven't been held to the fire nearly enough on minority hiring.
The sight of Dungy and Smith taking a stand in the next two weeks would be a sensational boost.
Minority report
Six of 119 head football coaches in Division 1-A are black (5%)
Coach School
Sylvester Croom Mississippi State
Karl Dorrell UCLA
Turner Gill Buffalo
Ron Price Kansas State
Tyrone Willingham Washington
Randy Shannon Miami
Six of 32 head coaches in the NFL are black (18.8%)
Coach Team
Romeo Crennel Cleveland Browns
Tony Dungy Indianapolis Colts
Herman Edwards Kansas City Chiefs
Marvin Lewis Cincinnati Bengals
Lovie Smith Chicago Bears
Mike Tomlin Pittsburgh Steelers
and my feelings on the subject: Zennie and I have been going back and forth the last day+ about this. I agree with Both Zennie's Prior post regarding the Raiders' Most recent Hire, and in general that Minority Hiring Practices In the NFL, NCAA, and several other Sports governing bodies are far behind the times. However, most of what Ms. Howard says in this piece above also makes sense. In college, the people holding the purse strings don't always want to embrace change, even if it's the right thing to do. I'm lucky enough to work for one of the Nicest, Smartest football people i ever met. He also just happens to be an African American. But NYC is ahead of the curve on such things, in both the public and private sector.
I also feel that it shouldn't be "Equality" for some, it should be Equality for ALL....
And Yes: there are PLENTY of Capable Minority assistant coaches at the College level(and High School) who are qualified to be head coaches.
Johnette Howard
SPORTS COLUMNIST
Time to get schooled on college hiring
January 24, 2007
When Chicago's Lovie Smith and Indianapolis' Tony Dungy meet with thousands of reporters in Miami next week and field questions about being the first two African-American head coaches to take their teams to the Super Bowl, it would be terrific if both men used the platform they'll have to steer the conversation away from the NFL, and toward college football's most outrageous, longest-running disgrace.
Did you know of the 119 NCAA schools that play Division I-A football, only six head coaches are African-American - one fewer than the NFL had last season despite having only 32 teams?
If that weren't already shameful enough to the NCAA, the NFL has progressed to a point where it has retread black coaches. They are Dennis Green, Art Shell, Herman Edwards and even Dungy, if you want to call him that, for the way Indy hired him after Tampa pushed him aside for Jon Gruden.
Though Green and Shell left their teams in the past month, the last two weeks still have been progressive ones for the NFL. In addition to Smith and Dungy's Super Bowl breakthroughs, the Giants made Jerry Reese their first African-American general manager and the Steelers selected 34-year-old Vikings defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin as their first African-American head coach.
College football's numbers are an outrage, by comparison. While the NFL's progress is directly traceable to the concerted push the league has made in the last decade since its passage of the Rooney Rule on minority hiring, NCAA schools - a notoriously fractious bunch - have plodded along rather than seriously consider an obvious question:
Would some version of the Rooney Rule - in which NFL teams are required to interview minority candidates - work for them?
Eugene Marshall Jr., deputy athletic director at the United States Military Academy at West Point and president of the board of directors of the Black Coaches Association, says the excuses the BCA hears about the lack of minority hires remain the same year to year: "There's not enough people out there ... The pool is weak ... They don't have enough experience ... They've never been a head coach."
"But I can tell you," says Charlotte Westerhaus, the NCAA's vice president of diversity and inclusion, "the lack of hiring is not happening because of a lack of qualified minority candidates."
So what is the holdback?
A few things, it turns out.
"What it really comes down to are schools' funding people and alumni," Marshall said. "Will fundraisers hire people [of color] to run these places where they spend their money? And in some cases, the answer is still no. We are seeing progress. It's just been far slower here."
For the past three years, the BCA has issued an annual Minority Hiring report card for college football's top two divisions to put a greater spotlight on the problem.
The BCA isn't demanding that minorities be hired for every college head coaching position. In the spirit of the Rooney Rule, what the BCA asks is that minorities be considered as head coaching and athletic director candidates, that minorities are included on the search committees that hire them, things like that. And, Westerhaus says, the NCAA leadership supports and works toward the same goals.
But one difference between the NCAA and NFL is significant: NCAA schools have no hammer hanging over them, while the NFL's Rooney Rule has teeth. The Detroit Lions were fined $200,000 when general manager Matt Millen ignored the league's directives and hired Steve Mariucci.
While Marshall believes accountability is needed in the college ranks, Westerhaus disputes the notion - advanced by the BCA, among others - that the fear of penalties is why the NFL is hiring more minorities more quickly. Westerhaus argues that the NFL's progress is traceable to making the hiring process itself "more and more inclusive" rather than "penalties, penalties, penalties - that's not why the Rooney Rule works."
Oh? It's hard not to notice how the NFL has changed since the Rooney Rule came along while the NCAA has made only glacial progress by urging its schools to do the right thing.
Westerhaus goes on to point out that even if the NCAA regarded penalties as important, getting some binding standards adopted would be extremely difficult because all member schools autonomously set their own institution-wide hiring practices.
But look: Exceptions have been made before. All universities set their own academic honor codes, but the NCAA has approved mechanisms to take back bowl money and scholarships when athletic programs cheat. The NCAA already has passed measures in which member schools can lose athletic scholarships if their sports programs don't meet a list of criterion that include acceptable graduation rates.
Why can't or shouldn't the hiring of minorities be treated with the same import? Why haven't incentives or penalties even been put to a vote?
College sports haven't been held to the fire nearly enough on minority hiring.
The sight of Dungy and Smith taking a stand in the next two weeks would be a sensational boost.
Minority report
Six of 119 head football coaches in Division 1-A are black (5%)
Coach School
Sylvester Croom Mississippi State
Karl Dorrell UCLA
Turner Gill Buffalo
Ron Price Kansas State
Tyrone Willingham Washington
Randy Shannon Miami
Six of 32 head coaches in the NFL are black (18.8%)
Coach Team
Romeo Crennel Cleveland Browns
Tony Dungy Indianapolis Colts
Herman Edwards Kansas City Chiefs
Marvin Lewis Cincinnati Bengals
Lovie Smith Chicago Bears
Mike Tomlin Pittsburgh Steelers
and my feelings on the subject: Zennie and I have been going back and forth the last day+ about this. I agree with Both Zennie's Prior post regarding the Raiders' Most recent Hire, and in general that Minority Hiring Practices In the NFL, NCAA, and several other Sports governing bodies are far behind the times. However, most of what Ms. Howard says in this piece above also makes sense. In college, the people holding the purse strings don't always want to embrace change, even if it's the right thing to do. I'm lucky enough to work for one of the Nicest, Smartest football people i ever met. He also just happens to be an African American. But NYC is ahead of the curve on such things, in both the public and private sector.
I also feel that it shouldn't be "Equality" for some, it should be Equality for ALL....
And Yes: there are PLENTY of Capable Minority assistant coaches at the College level(and High School) who are qualified to be head coaches.
Parcells "consulting" again?? Bill We though you were retiring??
This is Priceless! See my Slant at the end!
Parcells as adviser?
Team source says he would be welcome as consultant to GM
BY TOM ROCK
Newsday Staff Writer
January 24, 2007
Bill Parcells has been a de facto adviser for the Jets in the past year, supplying answers and guidance to both general manager Mike Tannenbaum and coach Eric Mangini throughout their first season at the helm. Now that Parcells has retired as the coach of the Cowboys, though, his role with the Jets could become more formal.
The man who coached the team from 1997-99 and was the general manager in 2000 could soon return as a consultant, a move that would be welcomed by the Jets, according to a team source.
"There have been no conversations," the person said, "but you always want to leave the door open."
Unlike some of his other coaching stops, Parcells' departure from the Jets was relatively amicable. He has a solid relationship with owner Woody Johnson and has been a mentor for Tannenbaum and Mangini. It was Parcells who originally hired Tannenbaum for the Jets in 1997. Had Parcells accepted the coaching job in Tampa Bay after the 2001 season, he likely would have taken Tannenbaum with him as a general manager there.
Both Mangini and Tannenbaum have said they run many of their football ideas past Parcells before moving forward on them. His blessing is believed to have been influential in the Jets' decision to hire Mangini last winter, a move largely orchestrated by Tannenbaum.
Parcells has made no indication he wants to return to the Jets, or to the NFL for that matter. He will likely be wooed by television networks that will offer more money than the Jets for his on-air analysis. But if he does rejoin Gang Green, he would likely find the non-demanding role as consultant a semi-retirement that would allow him to maintain a position in the league while avoiding the day-to-day minutiae that he said was a part of his decision to leave the Cowboys. He would also add clout -- and two Super Bowl rings -- to the Jets' front office.
And My Take:
Yeah Ok: like the Jets really need clout with guys like Mike Westhoff and Bob Sutton on their staff. While i Know that It doesn't hurt to have a "Smart Uncle" to run to with tough questions, how long before Bill gets the Itch Again? or when The Boys Genius have two bad years in a row(like maybe the next two years) and Ol Woody J says " Bill, fix this for me" You don't think he won't step back in "for the good of the team"? It's a good move anyway,....but Parcells will go TV before he takes a job with another team so quickly.
Parcells as adviser?
Team source says he would be welcome as consultant to GM
BY TOM ROCK
Newsday Staff Writer
January 24, 2007
Bill Parcells has been a de facto adviser for the Jets in the past year, supplying answers and guidance to both general manager Mike Tannenbaum and coach Eric Mangini throughout their first season at the helm. Now that Parcells has retired as the coach of the Cowboys, though, his role with the Jets could become more formal.
The man who coached the team from 1997-99 and was the general manager in 2000 could soon return as a consultant, a move that would be welcomed by the Jets, according to a team source.
"There have been no conversations," the person said, "but you always want to leave the door open."
Unlike some of his other coaching stops, Parcells' departure from the Jets was relatively amicable. He has a solid relationship with owner Woody Johnson and has been a mentor for Tannenbaum and Mangini. It was Parcells who originally hired Tannenbaum for the Jets in 1997. Had Parcells accepted the coaching job in Tampa Bay after the 2001 season, he likely would have taken Tannenbaum with him as a general manager there.
Both Mangini and Tannenbaum have said they run many of their football ideas past Parcells before moving forward on them. His blessing is believed to have been influential in the Jets' decision to hire Mangini last winter, a move largely orchestrated by Tannenbaum.
Parcells has made no indication he wants to return to the Jets, or to the NFL for that matter. He will likely be wooed by television networks that will offer more money than the Jets for his on-air analysis. But if he does rejoin Gang Green, he would likely find the non-demanding role as consultant a semi-retirement that would allow him to maintain a position in the league while avoiding the day-to-day minutiae that he said was a part of his decision to leave the Cowboys. He would also add clout -- and two Super Bowl rings -- to the Jets' front office.
And My Take:
Yeah Ok: like the Jets really need clout with guys like Mike Westhoff and Bob Sutton on their staff. While i Know that It doesn't hurt to have a "Smart Uncle" to run to with tough questions, how long before Bill gets the Itch Again? or when The Boys Genius have two bad years in a row(like maybe the next two years) and Ol Woody J says " Bill, fix this for me" You don't think he won't step back in "for the good of the team"? It's a good move anyway,....but Parcells will go TV before he takes a job with another team so quickly.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
New England Patriots Coach Bill Belichick's Snub Of Colts QB Peyton Manning Captured On Video
About a week ago, San Diego Chargers running back LaDanian Tomlinson was seen stating that the Patriots were less than a class organization and suggesting that their character -- making fun of the Chargers' Sean Marriman's dance after the Patriots won -- came from their head coach Bill Belichick.
Now, here's video evidence that he may have a point. While Coach Belichick was gracious in his congratulations of Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy, he totally and openly snubbed Peyton Manning and it's captured on camera below:
I wonder if anyone will ask Coach Belichick about this behavior.
Now, here's video evidence that he may have a point. While Coach Belichick was gracious in his congratulations of Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy, he totally and openly snubbed Peyton Manning and it's captured on camera below:
I wonder if anyone will ask Coach Belichick about this behavior.
Monday, January 22, 2007
At War With The Raider Nation Over Lane Kiffin and The Raiders' Affirmative Action For Young White Men
Upon the annoucement that the Oakland Raiders hired Lane Kiffin as their new head coach, it can be said that I went balistic. Why? Well, look at his background:
-- Two years as USC Offensive Coordinator, not six as reported on Raiderfans.net (Hey, did someone clear this with Norm Chow? I thought he was the USC OC and not Kiffin. Kiffin was promoted to OC in 2005, thus he's not been the USC OC for six years. Sorry, but the Raiderfans report is an error.)
-- No NFL coordinator experience
-- One year as Quality Control coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars
-- No college head coaching experience
-- No NFL head coaching experience
Why do the Raider fans report that Kiffin has six years of experience as USC's Offensive Coordinator, when USC reports this:
"...Lane Kiffin, the son of longtime pro and collegiate coach Monte Kiffin, is in his sixth year at USC. He joined the Trojan staff in February of 2001 and spent the 2001 season handling the tight ends. He became the wide receivers coach in 2002. In 2004, he took on the additional duty of passing game coordinator. In 2005, he was promoted to offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator, in addition to continuing as the wide receivers coach..."
The Raiders just insulted Tennessee Titans Offensive Coordinator Norm Chow, one of the greatest offensive coordinators in the game of football and the man who developed USC's passing system. Indeed, they should have just hired Norm Chow, who's Asian. So the Raiders are actually hiring an Assistant to an assistant at the NCAA level, right?
Plus, many USC fans are happy -- happy -- that Kiffin's gone. Check Scott Wolf of Inside USC. Or how about this AOL Blog where fans were pissed with Lane after the loss to UCLA? Heck, even UCLA fans are laughing at the Raiders! So why is the print media treating Al Davis as if he were some genius?
Why?
Or how about Hue Jackson, now Offensive Coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons and who's Black, has over 20 years of coaching experience, including Offensive Coordinator at two NCAA schools -- Cal and USC -- and now two NFL teams, and knows more pass offense than Kiffin ever saw or coached? Yet the Raiders never called him at all.
What gets me is that if Kiffin were Black, some in the media would question him as a Rooney Rule hire. But because he's White, his lack of qualifications get a pass from the media -- not me, however. It just goes to show how nuts and racist this society still is. Let Kiffin feel some heat for essentially allowing himself to be promoted as if Norm Chow didn't exist.
Regardless, many in the Raider nation were excited and not at all critical. To wake the throngs of sleeping Raiders fans, I posted this take on Raiderfans.net:
While I understand the excitement over Lane, my personal view is there's a HUGE misunderstanding over what a Head Coach -- A Good One -- does. The Raiders must be called out for "using" the Rooney Rule against its intent. They just interviewed one person to get around it -- James Lofton. Who's a wide receiver coach with the San Diego Chargers -- an NFL team.
Lane Kiffin comes from USC, not a pro team. Does he understand football administration at the pro level? Does he know how to manage a limited number of personel? He's got 100 football players at USC, but a limited number -- 53 -- with the Raiders.
So what does he do when he's got five linebackers, two are injured, and three are starting, and two of them play special teams? Does he have experience in handling this? What about using the Challenge Flag? What about all the other admin duties? How does he deal with players who are used to making a LOT of money and respect people who have been there at the pro level, and not as a quality control coach? I can do that job with my eyes closed.
NFL Head coaching is a hard, complex business. The Raiders --- I guess -- are going to really hold this guy's hand. A lot.
I feel sorry. Real sorry for all of the great NFL assistants -- regardless of color -- that were passed over and not even considered because the Raiders refuse to look at their organizational structure and change. I feel sorry for the players, who undoubtedly were not consulted about this matter and yet have to deal with what will be a VERY green person.
I feel sorry for the 31 WELL-QUALIFIED African American NFL assistant coaches who were not even consulted or listed. I feel sorry for Dennis Green, a proven coach who could come in and make a difference with the Silver and Black and didn't want to be PLAYED by the Raiders.
It's time for tough love. This Raiders need an enema. I'll write it here: Lane Kiffin is not the answer for the organization. The problems will continue -- back-stabbing and other matters -- well into this coming season.
This whole deal is enough to make me weep, but I won't.
Sure enough, I was taken to task for taking on Al Davis. It's not that I'm "taking him on" but for those who blindly -- and not critically -- follow what Mr. Davis does, no criticism can be given. But on the matter of the advancement of Black coaches in the NFL, I do not waver one bit. The Raiders have a pattern of seeking out and hiring real young white coaches to run the team -- never once have they hired anyone young, bright, and Black. Not once. So, someone asked if I was taking on Mr. Davis record of hiring minorities. This was my answer:
Yes I am. One -- a decade ago -- does not a progressive make. For the one, there are, let's see, four young white guys --- Madden, Shanahan, Gruden, Kiffin -- that Davis has hired. That's a pattern. Why not a young, bright Black guy? Why is it OK to have a ton of black running backs, but not a pattern of hiring good young black coaches?
So yes, I'm totally calling out Mr. Davis. Sorry, but I've seen enough. I'm really sick and tired of not only the maintenance of a kind of caste system, but this totally sick rush to defend a person when they hire one Black person -- twice -- as if it's throwing a freaking bone. This is stupid.
The Raiders are falling way behind the rest of the league. You all can go right ahead and get after me for this JUST as you came after me regarding Tom Walsh.
I'll sit right back and be the only person who's not afraid to point to the emperor and pull back the curtain. Social change is hard, man. But I for one will NOT stop pushing.
Why the heck can't it be the RAIDERS who go after the REALLY HOT Mike Tomlin -- WHO'S BLACK! The guy Chris Landry on Fox Sports says was the guy on a fast track. Why did it have to be the Steelers?
Why? (I know the answer here -- The ROONEY Rule.)
Folks, I don't care if I'm out there on an island here. Tough. But I'm going to be totally hard on the Raiders. I really am. I expect greatness from the organization, and it's not evident that they're really shooting for it. It's more like Afirmative Action for Young White Guys.
You think I'm bad; just tune into the NFL Network.
Of course, that did not endear me to the Raider nation and I'd rather not post their responses. But the bottom line is that there are massive problems. Here, we have Black coaches saying that the reason some of them don't get an interview is because of lack of experience. How the hell does one explain Lane Kiffin to anyone? How?
What do you say? As far as I'm concerned, the gloves have to come off at some point. I'm a Raiders fan, but as one who's staunchly for the promotion of young, bright , black coaches, it's hard to be a fan of the Silver and Black of late.
I've always been told that the one thing American society hates is a smart Black man. So when a young, smart, Black man comes along in the NFL, he's generally stopped after a point. Only Tony Dungy and just a few have broken through and Tony has used his good political currency to open doors for people like Mike Tomlin. Thus we see the development of a tree of coaches -- most Black -- that stem from Dungy. He's the one catalyst for change.
But not the Raiders.
The Raiders didn't go out and form a list of young Black coaches at all. They seem to save hiring Blacks for older Oakland Raider players and not for people who went through the NFL's Minority Recruitment Program.
As I wrote, the Silver and Black have no problem stocking up on African American running backs, but every problem in hiring smart, young , Black men.
So much for the progressive organization.
ESPN's Michael Smith Praises Pittsburgh Steelers Process Toward Hiring Mike Tomlin
This is far better than what the Oakland Raiders have done in hiring Lane Kiffin.
Search shows Steelers know what they're doing
By Michael Smith
ESPN.com
Archive
In the immortal words of Rakim, this is how it should be done.
The diligence with which Steelers' ownership approached their nearly two-week search for Bill Cowher's replacement serves as a textbook example of what the NFL had in mind when it established the Rooney Rule (named after Pittsburgh owner Dan Rooney, it requires teams to interview at least one minority head coach candidate.)
The policy seeks to promote a fair, inclusive and thorough process.
Which "Race/Ethnicity" box the coach checked on his application is irrelevant.
The Steelers believe former Vikings defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin to be the best man to lead one of the league's flagship franchises.
Tomlin just so happens to be African-American.
Kirby Lee/WireImage.com
Mike Tomlin, left, leaves Brad Childress and the Vikings to take over the Steelers.
From the looks of it, Rooney and team president Art Rooney II started the selection process with a clean slate. Meaning it wasn't Coach X's job to lose, though many believed the Steelers ultimately would promote former offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt or assistant head coach/offensive line coach Russ Grimm. The Rooneys didn't go for broke in a hurried pursuit of a big-name college coach. They didn't conduct courtesy interviews with members of the majority or token interviews with minorities.
No side or backdoor deals, no circumventing. It was all legit. In fact, in the end the leading candidates were minorities -- Tomlin and Bears defensive coordinator Ron Rivera, who is Hispanic.
And while it is indeed fitting that Dan Rooney, who has been at the forefront of the league's movement to increase minority hiring, did his part to raise the number of active black coaches (to six), Rooney's obligation was not to make a social statement but to make the best decision for the franchise.
Coincidentally, the best choice is the first black coach in team history.
Super Bowl XLI will feature the first two black head coaches in the game's history. It's not as though black men only now figured out what it takes to be championship coaches. The more opportunities, the more likely a minority head coach leading a team to the title game becomes commonplace. Tomlin didn't sit before the Rooneys as a means of compliance, having no shot to begin with, as so often seems to be the case. It was an open competition and he had a real opportunity -- the only thing minority coaches want given to them.
For a change, a minority didn't have to be twice as qualified from a résumé standpoint to land the gig. The 34-year-old Tomlin spent five seasons as Tampa Bay's secondary coach and this past season overseeing Minnesota's defense. But what he lacks in experience Tomlin more than makes up for, according to those who know him, in charisma, football knowledge and the ability to get players young and old to buy into what he's selling.
Also, give the Steelers credit for focusing on the big picture rather than the short term. No one would have blamed the Rooneys for promoting from within in an attempt to maintain continuity on a team one season removed from its fifth championship. Or even for hiring an offensive coach or one whose preferred defensive scheme is better-suited to their current personnel. (Tomlin comes from the Tampa 2 coaching tree. The Steelers have run the 3-4 since the early 1980s.) Whereas other teams often select a head coach with one unit or even a few players a mind, Pittsburgh chose whom it believes to be the best leader.
Interestingly, an organization that has changed so little in the past -- Tomlin is the team's third coach in the past 38 seasons -- ignored the potential sweeping changes and instead focused on Tomlin's potential.
Clearly the Rooneys were thinking more about the next two decades rather than the next two years. And Tomlin, who becomes the league's youngest head coach, certainly will grow into the job.
He looks nothing like either Cowher or Chuck Noll, but the Rooneys see the same profile in Tomlin. Pittsburgh changes coaches about as often as the Catholic Church elects a pope, so it has some idea what it's doing in this department. The Steelers tend to do things the right way, and the exhaustive process that led them to Tomlin is no exception.
Michael Smith is a senior writer for ESPN.com.
Search shows Steelers know what they're doing
By Michael Smith
ESPN.com
Archive
In the immortal words of Rakim, this is how it should be done.
The diligence with which Steelers' ownership approached their nearly two-week search for Bill Cowher's replacement serves as a textbook example of what the NFL had in mind when it established the Rooney Rule (named after Pittsburgh owner Dan Rooney, it requires teams to interview at least one minority head coach candidate.)
The policy seeks to promote a fair, inclusive and thorough process.
Which "Race/Ethnicity" box the coach checked on his application is irrelevant.
The Steelers believe former Vikings defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin to be the best man to lead one of the league's flagship franchises.
Tomlin just so happens to be African-American.
Kirby Lee/WireImage.com
Mike Tomlin, left, leaves Brad Childress and the Vikings to take over the Steelers.
From the looks of it, Rooney and team president Art Rooney II started the selection process with a clean slate. Meaning it wasn't Coach X's job to lose, though many believed the Steelers ultimately would promote former offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt or assistant head coach/offensive line coach Russ Grimm. The Rooneys didn't go for broke in a hurried pursuit of a big-name college coach. They didn't conduct courtesy interviews with members of the majority or token interviews with minorities.
No side or backdoor deals, no circumventing. It was all legit. In fact, in the end the leading candidates were minorities -- Tomlin and Bears defensive coordinator Ron Rivera, who is Hispanic.
And while it is indeed fitting that Dan Rooney, who has been at the forefront of the league's movement to increase minority hiring, did his part to raise the number of active black coaches (to six), Rooney's obligation was not to make a social statement but to make the best decision for the franchise.
Coincidentally, the best choice is the first black coach in team history.
Super Bowl XLI will feature the first two black head coaches in the game's history. It's not as though black men only now figured out what it takes to be championship coaches. The more opportunities, the more likely a minority head coach leading a team to the title game becomes commonplace. Tomlin didn't sit before the Rooneys as a means of compliance, having no shot to begin with, as so often seems to be the case. It was an open competition and he had a real opportunity -- the only thing minority coaches want given to them.
For a change, a minority didn't have to be twice as qualified from a résumé standpoint to land the gig. The 34-year-old Tomlin spent five seasons as Tampa Bay's secondary coach and this past season overseeing Minnesota's defense. But what he lacks in experience Tomlin more than makes up for, according to those who know him, in charisma, football knowledge and the ability to get players young and old to buy into what he's selling.
Also, give the Steelers credit for focusing on the big picture rather than the short term. No one would have blamed the Rooneys for promoting from within in an attempt to maintain continuity on a team one season removed from its fifth championship. Or even for hiring an offensive coach or one whose preferred defensive scheme is better-suited to their current personnel. (Tomlin comes from the Tampa 2 coaching tree. The Steelers have run the 3-4 since the early 1980s.) Whereas other teams often select a head coach with one unit or even a few players a mind, Pittsburgh chose whom it believes to be the best leader.
Interestingly, an organization that has changed so little in the past -- Tomlin is the team's third coach in the past 38 seasons -- ignored the potential sweeping changes and instead focused on Tomlin's potential.
Clearly the Rooneys were thinking more about the next two decades rather than the next two years. And Tomlin, who becomes the league's youngest head coach, certainly will grow into the job.
He looks nothing like either Cowher or Chuck Noll, but the Rooneys see the same profile in Tomlin. Pittsburgh changes coaches about as often as the Catholic Church elects a pope, so it has some idea what it's doing in this department. The Steelers tend to do things the right way, and the exhaustive process that led them to Tomlin is no exception.
Michael Smith is a senior writer for ESPN.com.
Lane Kiffin Named Head Coach Of The Oakland Raiders - www.raiders.com
Kiffin Named Head Coach
January 22, 2007
Lane Kiffin will be formally introduced as Head Coach of The Oakland Raiders during a press conference on Tuesday, January 23, 2007 at 1:00 p.m. at the Raiders' facility in Alameda.
With his appointment today by Raiders owner Al Davis, Kiffin becomes the 16th head coach in franchise history and the youngest head coach in the NFL. The 31-year old Kiffin is also the youngest Head Coach in Raider history. Pro Football Hall of Fame Coach John Madden was 32 when he was elevated to the head post by Davis in 1969.
Most recently, Kiffin presided over the vaunted offensive attack at the University of Southern California that a featured long, medium and short-range passing game coupled with a power running attack. His tutoring helped the Trojans capture back-to-back National College Football Championships in 2003 and 2004.
Kiffin's play-calling, structure and offensive design helped the Trojan produce two Heisman Trophy winners-Reggie Bush in 2005 and Matt Leinart in 2004.
Kiffin, the son of longtime pro and college coach Monte Kiffin, just completed his sixth year at the University of Southern California. He joined the Trojan staff in 2001 handling the tight ends and he coached wide receivers from 2002-03. In 2004, he took on the responsibility of passing game coordinator as well as coaching wide receivers. In 2005, he was promoted to offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator in addition to continuing as the wide receivers coach.
Under Kiffin's offensive leadership in 2006, the Trojans finished first in the Pac-10 in passing efficiency, averaging 264 yards per game, produced two 1,000-yard receivers (Dwayne Jarrett-1,105, Steve Smith-1,083) and a 3,000-yard passer (John David Booty-3,347).
In 2005, Kiffin was named one of the nation's Top 25 recruiters and served as offensive coordinator of an offensive that ranked in the top six nationally in every offensive category, including tops in total offense (579.8 yards per game) and second in scoring offense (49.1), and set Pac-10 records for total offense yardage, first downs, points scored, touchdowns and PATs. The Trojans, who scored 50 points a school-record seven times, won games by an average of 26.2 points.
Kiffin's play-calling and offensive design enabled Bush to capture the 2005 Heisman and the Trojans to become the first school to have a 3,000-yard passer (Matt Leinart-3,815), a pair of 1,000-yard runners (Bush-1,777, LenDale White-1,319) and a 1,000-yard receiver (DwayneJarrett-1,274) in a season.
In 2004, Kiffin coached on a staff that led Southern California to its second straight National Championship. He was in charge of a passing attack that helped Leinart win the Heisman Trophy with 3,322 yards passing and 33 touchdowns.
He also mentored the Trojan wide receivers including Mike Williams, a consensus All-American first teamer and a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award in 2003, who set Southern California career (30) and season (16) touchdown reception records. Kiffin also coached Keary Colbert, who set the Southern California career reception record (207) and was a NFL second round pick and Jarrett, who was named Freshman All-American first team.
In 2002, Kiffin coached the Southern California wide receivers that included Williams, who was Freshman All-American first team and the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year and Colbert both of whom became Southern California's first pair of 1,000-yard receivers. He also coached Kareem Kelly, who became the Trojan career reception leader and was a sixth round NFL draft pick.
With Kiffin on the coaching staff, Southern California played in the 2001 Las Vegas Bowl, 2003 Orange Bowl, 2004 Rose Bowl, 2005 Orange Bowl (BCS Championship Game) and 2006 Rose Bowl (BCS Championship Game) and the 2007 Rose Bowl.
Kiffin was the defensive quality control coach for the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars in 2000 (he worked with the secondary). He began his coaching career at Fresno State, his alma mater, where for two seasons (1997-98) he worked with the quarterbacks, wide receivers and defensive backs. He then was an assistant at Colorado State in 1999, working with the offensive line. The Rams played in the Liberty Bowl that season.
Kiffin was a quarterback at Fresno State for three seasons (1994-96), where he was coached by current University of California Head Coach Jeff Tedford. He earned his bachelor's degree in leisure service management from Fresno State in 1998. He prepped at Bloomington (Minn.) Jefferson High, where he played football, basketball and baseball.
He was born May 9, 1975. His wife's name is Layla. They have two daughters, Landry, 2 and Pressley, 3 months. His father, Monte, is the defensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The elder Kiffin, a longtime NFL and collegiate assistant coach served as North Carolina State's head coach in the early 1980s. His brother, Chris, was a defensive lineman at Colorado State (2001-04).
Hue Jackson Now Offensive Coordinator For Atlanta Falcons - Michael Vick In Good Hands
My favorite for head coach somewhere, Hue Jackson, was named Offensive Coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons and will be reunited with Head Coach Bobby Petrino, whom he worked with at Arizona State.
Here's Jackson's background as written on the Falcons website:
Jackson, 41, will serve as the Falcons offensive coordinator after serving as the wide receivers coach for the Cincinnati Bengals the past three seasons. During his time with the Bengals, Jackson molded wide receivers Chad Johnson, T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Chris Henry into one of the most productive receiving units in Bengals history. In 2006, Johnson (1,369) led the NFL in receiving yards with Houshmandzadeh (1,081) following closely behind, making them the first Bengals teammates to each surpass the 1,000-yard receiving mark. From 2000-01, Jackson served as the running backs coach for the Washington Redskins, where he helped RB Stephen Davis record a career-high 1,432 in 2001. A year later, he served as the offensive coordinator for the Redskins. Prior to coaching in the NFL, Jackson spent 14 years coaching in the collegiate ranks, including two seasons alongside Petrino at Arizona State.
Jackson's Coaching Background: Offensive Coordinator, Atlanta Falcons (2007) | Wide Receivers, Cincinnati Bengals (2004-06) | Offensive Coordinator, Washington Redskins (2003) | Running Backs, Washington Redskins (2001-02) | Offensive Coordinator, Southern California (1997-2000) | Offensive Coordinator, California (1996) | Assistant Coach, Arizona State (1992-95) | Assistant Coach, London Monarchs (1991) | Assistant Coach, Cal State-Fullerton, (1990-91) | Assistant Coach, University of Pacific (1987-89).
Tony Dungy Protege Mike Tomlin New Head Coach Of Pittsburgh Steelers - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Steelers Coaching Search: It's Tomlin
Vikings defensive coordinator to be announced today to take over the team from Cowher
Monday, January 22, 2007
By Ed Bouchette and Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Jerry Holt, Star Tribune
The Steelers chose Mike Tomlin, defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings, as their new coach.
The Steelers have selected Mike Tomlin as their head coach and will announce his hiring at a news conference today.
Mr. Tomlin, 34, is the defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings. His agent and the Steelers were working out contract details last night that would cover a term of four years and an option year. Mr. Tomlin succeeds Bill Cowher, who also was 34 when the Steelers hired him 15 years ago.
The Steelers chose Mr. Tomlin as head coach yesterday after vacillating between him and Russ Grimm, the team's assistant head coach and offensive line coach. The Steelers decided not to wait for Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Ron Rivera, the third finalist for the job, because he would not be available to be hired for another two weeks.
Mr. Tomlin and Mr. Grimm, 47, had second interviews for the job last week. Mr. Rivera was interviewed once.
The hiring of Mr. Tomlin will represent a radical change in at least the way the Steelers play defense. Mr. Tomlin has coached a 4-3 defense in Minnesota and is a proponent of the Cover-2 or Tampa-2 style. The Steelers played a 3-4 during Mr. Cowher's 15-year tenure using the zone blitz.
While all Steelers assistant coaches are under contract, many of them likely will not be retained by Mr. Tomlin. Wide receivers coach Bruce Arians could be the one exception. He could become offensive coordinator under Mr. Tomlin.
For sure, Mr. Grimm will leave. The Steelers likely will allow him out of his contract under the circumstances.
Dick LeBeau, in his second tenure as the Steelers' defensive coordinator, is unlikely to remain in that capacity under a head coach who believes in the 4-3 defense.
Mr. Tomlin is expected to visit the current Steelers coaching staff this week in Mobile, Ala., where the coaches are scouting the Senior Bowl practices.
MIKE TOMLIN
AT A GLANCE
Age: 34
Pro coaching experience: Vikings defensive coordinator, 2006; Buccaneers defensive backs coach, 2001-05.
College coaching experience: Cincinnati defensive backs coach, 1999-2000; Arkansas State defensive backs coach, 1998; Arkansas State wide receivers coach, 1997; Memphis graduate assistant coach, 1996; Virginia Military Institute wide receivers coach, 1995.
Playing experience:
Three-year starter at wide receiver for William and Mary, 1990-94. Finished career with 101 receptions for 2,046 yards and 20 touchdown catches.
The numbers: His defense in Minnesota ranked 8th in the NFL in total defense for 2006 and led the league in run defense. ... In a Dec. 10 game against the Lions, the Vikings held Detroit to minus-3 yards rushing, the lowest total by an NFL team in the past 45 years. ... He helped Tampa Bay's pass defense rank No. 1 in the NFL in two of his five seasons as secondary coach.
Personal info: Born in Hampton, Va. He and wife, Kiya, have two sons, Dino and Mason.
One defensive coach who could join Mr. Tomlin's staff is Brett Maxie, who coached the Atlanta Falcons' defensive backs under head coach Jim Mora, who was fired after the season. Also, Steelers linebackers coach Keith Butler coached with Mr. Tomlin in college at Memphis and Arkansas State.
Mr. Tomlin, who was born in Hampton, Va., and played wide receiver at William and Mary, began his coaching career at Virginia Military Institute in 1995. He coached at Memphis, Arkansas State and Cincinnati before joining the pro ranks in 2001 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers under Tony Dungy and then Jon Gruden. He left the Buccaneers as their secondary coach last year to become the defensive coordinator of the Vikings under new coach Brad Childress.
His first defense in Minnesota ranked eighth overall -- No. 1 in the league against the run but tied for last against the pass as the Vikings went 6-10.
"I think regardless of who they hire to be head coach they expect him to lead, and part of leading is being prepared to do things that you feel strongly about," Mr. Tomlin said after his second interview with the Steelers Tuesday at the team's training facility on the South Side. "I'm no different than anyone else in that regard."
Mr. Tomlin was considered a long shot for the job when he was first named as a candidate shortly after Mr. Cowher resigned Jan. 5. In part because the Steelers won the Super Bowl in February, the two candidates on their staff were considered the front-runners -- Mr. Grimm and offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt.
Mr. Whisenhunt, though, accepted the head coaching job with the Arizona Cardinals last week after the Steelers gave him no guarantee he would get the job here. Mr. Grimm, who also was interviewed by the Cardinals, then was considered the front-runner for the Steelers' job.
But Mr. Tomlin thoroughly impressed the Steelers' three-man search committee -- president Art Rooney, chairman Dan Rooney and football operations director Kevin Colbert -- in his first interview, and he immediately became a serious candidate.
Mr. Tomlin becomes the first black coach of the Steelers, and only the franchise's third head coach in the past 38 years. Head coaches Lovie Smith of Chicago, which gained entry into the Super Bowl yesterday, and Kansas City's Herm Edwards also coached under Mr. Dungy. Mr. Tomlin replaced Mr. Edwards as the secondary coach in Tampa in 2001 when Mr. Edwards left to become head coach of the Jets.
Chuck Noll, hired in 1969 when he was 37, won four Super Bowls before he retired after the 1991 season. Mr. Cowher's teams made the playoffs in 10 of his 15 seasons and competed in six AFC championship games, two Super Bowls and won it all in February.
The Steelers would expect no less success from Mr. Tomlin, a vibrant and outgoing young coach whose reputation as a future head coach in the league skyrocketed the past couple of years. His defensive scheme may be different than what the Steelers have used recently, but his philosophy is pure Pittsburgh.
"I think football is a tough-man's game, it's an attrition game," Mr. Tomlin said on Tuesday. "You win by stopping the run and being able to run the ball effectively -- and doing the things winners do -- being a detailed-oriented football team, playing with great passion and executing."
Colts Motivated By OL Jeff Saturday's Speech On The Night Before The AFC Championship
Saturday's Words Motivated Colts Throughout Championship-Game Victory
INDIANAPOLIS - Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy’s not one for fiery speeches, pre-game, halftime or otherwise.
But he knows a good speech when he hears it.
And on Saturday night, he heard one from Colts center Jeff Saturday.
Saturday, a two-time Pro Bowl selection and a leader of the Colts’ offense, spoke to the team late Saturday night. This was after the Colts’ final meeting of that, and it came after Dungy’s final words to the team.
“He said, 'This is our time,’’’ Dungy recalled. ‘‘ ‘We’ve got to make it happen.’’’
Saturday recalled it in detail after the Colts’ 38-34 victory in the AFC Championship Game Sunday night.
“I started by telling all the guys how much respect I had for each one and I believe in them,” Saturday said. “We all knew this was our opportunity. I kind of made a parallel to the move, ‘Miracle,’ with Herb Brooks and what he said. The thing I tried to emphasize the most is, ‘This is our time, this is our team. We just need to step up and make it happen.’
“Guys did it.”
Throughout the second half, as the Colts scratched and clawed their way back from a 21-3 first-half deficit and into their first Super Bowl in their 23-year history in Indianapolis, Dungy made sure Colts players didn’t forget those words.
That was particularly true early in the second quarter, Dungy said.
In a 53-second span, the Patriots scored two touchdowns to turn a 7-3 lead into a 21-3 deficit that appeared insurmountable to some.
It didn’t seem that way to Dungy.
To make sure the players believed that, too, he referred to Saturday’s speech.
“All I did at that time
was go up and down the sidelines and tell the guys, ‘It’s still our time – we got plenty of time left,’’’ Dungy said.
Dungy also relied on past history with the Patriots. In 2003, in the first game of the current Colts-Patriots rivalry, New England led 31-10 in the second half before a dramatic fourth-quarter rally by the Colts.
Indianapolis eventually tied the game, 31-31, and trailing 38-34 late, had a chance to win late in the game before running back Edgerrin James was stopped on 4th-and-goal from New England’s 1-yard line.
“We were in this situation the last time we played these guys here,” Dungy said. “They got way up on us and we had the ball at the end to win the game. I think we were down 21 in that game. I told the guys at halftime, ‘We’re going to have the ball with a chance to win in the fourth quarter. This time, we’re going to make it happen.’’’
Only 18 players remain from that team, but those that did remembered.
“Jeff Saturday talked and Tony talked and we just felt like this was our time. We’ve been through a lot. Guys have been through a lot from a personal standpoint off the field this year. When things started coming together at the end, we just said, ‘You know what? Things are going well. We’ve got the home game. This is our time to take advantage of this.’ We’ve got one more game.
“A lot of the veteran guys remembered we were in the exact same position in ‘03. The momentum shifted. We got some turnovers, got some stops and the offense got going.”
Said Dungy, “Our guys just fought. Nobody ever got to the point. We just wanted to fight. Even if we didn’t win it, they just wanted to fight all the way and that’s what this team is all about.”
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