The Super Bowl isn’t over yet, but for the teams not playing in Miami the focus has already shifted to next season, with several major personnel changes. With the recent “coaching carousel” in the NFL, several teams made changes to their coaching staffs, putting an end to an interesting week that also saw the first time an African-American head coach has ever led their team to the Super Bowl.
The biggest change occurred when future Hall-of-Fame coach Bill Parcells retired, putting an end to a disappointing tenure with the Dallas Cowboys. The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oakland Raiders also filled vacancies naming new head coaches.
Parcells, who didn’t fulfill the high expectations in Dallas during stay leaves after compiling a 34-30 regular season record in four seasons, and more importantly, an 0-2 record in the playoffs, including the debacle in the NFC Wild Card this year against the Seattle Seahawks where a botched snap on a field goal blew a chance to win the game.
“I am retiring from coaching football…I am in good health and feel lucky to have been able to coach in the NFL for an extended period of time,” said Parcells in a statement on the Dallas Cowboys’ Web site.
Parcells is known for his fiery personality and his ability to turn teams into playoff contenders. However, the last season clearly took a toll on him with the inconsistency of his team and having to deal with Terrell Owens, a player with great talent who is also gaining a reputation for being disruptive to team chemistry.
In addition to coaching the Cowboys, Parcells spent time with the New York Giants where he coached them to two Super Bowl victories, the New England Patriots and the New York Jets.
Vdawgg’s Take: This doesn’t come as a surprise to many people and this is probably also not the last time we hear from “The Tuna,” who in the past has gotten bored of retirement.
As you might imagine, this is an attractive job with a good talent level and the resources to potentially win the Super Bowl next year. Because of that, we are hearing several big names such as Bill Cowher, Pete Carroll and Bob Stoops to name a few as potential replacements. The Cowboys will need someone who can get the players to play consistently and who can deal with Jerry Jones, the owner of the Cowboys. I am not sure who that is going to be (since it is too early in the situation to make a good guess) but I don’t think this is a good situation for college coaches, given their recent track record and the fact that they are used to getting things done their way – which will definitely not happen here. I am not sure if Jones will be able to lure Cowher away from his vacation, but I think that would be a fit that could work.
The Pittsburgh Steelers also made a change, hiring former Minnesota Vikings Defensive Coordinator Mike Tomlin as their new head coach. Tomlin is the first African-American coach in franchise history.
Tomlin, who reportedly signed a four year contract with the Steelers, becomes one of the youngest coaches in the NFL, replacing the afore mentioned Bill Cowher, who resigned after the regular season ended.
“We are very excited to announce that Mike Tomlin has accepted the position of head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers,” Steelers President Art Rooney II, said, on the team’s Web site. “Mike has emerged as our top choice from a pool of several very qualified candidates that we interviewed. I think Mike’s core beliefs are a good match for our organization and the way we want to approach the game.”
Vdawgg’s take: I find this decision really surprising as Tomlin wasn’t a name that surfaced in many of the recent job openings. What’s more fascinating is that Tomlin will likely be tinkering with the Steelers’ staple - defense. The Steelers are known for their 3-4 defense but Tomlin favors a 4-3 (which he used in Minnesota) or a cover 2 from his days as an assistant with Tampa Bay. I’m not sure Pittsburgh has the personnel in place to make the switch, but if that’s the change they will make, I am sure they will be looking to pick up some defensive linemen in either the draft of free agency.
That said, I can’t believe the defensive coordinator from the Vikings was picked to replace an icon in Pittsburgh. The Vikings defense, while great on the run, was atrocious against the pass and doesn’t strike me as one of the great defenses in the NFL. If you are going to go with a defensive coordinator why not Ron Rivera of the Chicago Bears or Wade Phillips of the Chargers? Those two teams had much better defenses than the Vikings. Or how about Russ Grim, the former assistant coach who just signed with the Arizona Cardinals to join his former colleague Ken Whisenhunt, who had a good reputation in the locker room? Those were all better choices to me. Then again nobody probably heard of Bill Cowher before he was hired.
Either way it will be interesting to see if the Steelers can return to their winning ways.
Lastly, the Oakland Raiders, after weeks of searching for a new coach to replace the fired Art Shell, hired former offensive coordinator of University of Southern California, Lane Kiffin.
Kiffin, 31, becomes the youngest head coach in franchise history and is known for helping USC produce two recent Heisman Trophy winners, Matt Leinart in 2004 and Reggie Bush in 2005. In addition, he is the son of Monte Kiffin, the long-time defensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Raiders, once one of the storied franchises in the NFL, have had three coaches in four years and have not had a winning season since 2002 when they lost the Super Bowl to Tampa Bay.
Owner Al Davis felt the team needed to go into a new direction with some youth and an aggressive offensive game plan.
“As time went on, I realized that we had to go in a different direction," Davis said. "We have to move the clock back. We have to get youth in the organization, and we have to go ahead and attack and with someone who really means that he will attack."
Vdawgg’s take: The Oakland Raiders have been awful during the last few years and it is going to be awhile before things get straightened out. I don’t see how Kiffin expects to succeed in this situation. It’s one thing to have an aggressive game plan, but it’s another thing to have job experience and credentials. I don’t see any here. Kiffin, whose father is well-respected in the NFL, had the benefit of being able to work with some of the top college talent at USC, hence the two Heisman trophy winners.
The NFL as I mentioned before, is different and instead of working with kids who will listen because they are trying to make it to the next level, he will be working with Randy Moss, Jerry Porter and LaMont Jordan, all players who last year either underperformed or were unhappy. If they aren’t going to listen to someone who has been in the NFL for a really long time (Art Shell), what makes the Raiders front office think they are going to listen to someone whose only NFL experience is being the defensive quality control coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2000. My prediction is that things are not going to get any easier for the offense this year, regardless of who they pick in the draft and that Al Davis will be looking to hire a new coach within a couple of years.
Vdawgg is a columnist for RGX Sports and will have a sports blog that will start posting in the near future. Information from Reuters News Wire Service was also used in this article. Any comments or emails can be sent to vdawgg_rgx@yahoo.com.
