Pro Football Grapevine

Pretty simple, huh?  Keep the offense clicking but learn to get their defense off the field.  Will it work?  From the Rocky Mountain News…

Even without a Freud text handy, this seems a fairly transparent attempt by Bowlen to recreate the magic of the Shanahan hire – the smart young offensive mind brought in to coach up the latest rocket man at quarterback.

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If we look at the list of NFL head coaches hired at roughly McDaniels’ age, we find a decidedly mixed bag.

According to the NFL Hall of Fame, here are the youngest head coaches in NFL history, in ascending order of age:

Kiffin, Harland Svare, John Michelosen, David Shula, John Madden, Don Shula, Davis, Joe Collier, Bob Snyder, Jim Trimble, Jon Gruden, Bill Cowher, Joe Kuharich, Norm Van Brocklin, Mike Tomlin, Joe Schmidt, Mangini, Shanahan and Dick Nolan.

McDaniels ranks fifth on the list, between the younger Shula and Madden.

Some of these guys worked out pretty well. Some didn’t. Some failed in their first jobs but succeeded later on.

Not knowing McDaniels, I can’t hazard a guess into which camp he’ll fall. This much I do know: Before he can do what Bowlen clearly wants him to do, which is turn Cutler into John Elway, he has to rebuild a defense that made whatever Cutler did insufficient the last two seasons. (Italics added, source)

I was shocked that 3 out of 4 home teams lost over the weekend.  But not Pittsburgh.  Why?  Alex Marvez of Fox Sports says it was, in part, how they used their bye week.

Bye-week preparation laid the groundwork for Sunday’s dominance. The Steelers practiced for only three days but put the time to good use. Rather than attempting to game-plan for a potential opponent, Steelers coaches stressed fundamentals that had slipped and challenged players through sessions that matched the first-team offense and defense.

“It made it a little competitive,” Steelers defensive end Aaron Smith said.

Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin gave his team the weekend off. But unlike the 2007 Dallas Cowboys, there were no sightings of Steelers players in Cabo San Lucas or any other off-field controversy.

“You’ve got a mature team that understands a week off isn’t a vacation,” said Smith, a 10-year NFL veteran. “You’ve got to keep that edge.”

Pittsburgh’s impressive outing against San Diego also reflects the stronger bond Tomlin has built with his players. During Tomlin’s head-coaching debut in 2007, Pittsburgh had become a tired team by season’s end. It was evident when the Steelers lost a first-round home playoff game to Jacksonville.

Tomlin has adjusted his practice schedule accordingly, resulting in a fresher team in January. (Source)

Burried in the Woody Paige article from the Denver post on the hiring of Josh McDaniel was this piece of news on Steve Spagnuolo.  It reads…

Maybe the reason that Steve Spagnuolo was stumped and silent as he slunk into the locker room Sunday afternoon was not only because the Giants would not be returning to the Super Bowl, but that he knew he wouldn’t be getting the Broncos job.

Spagnuolo did not talk, per team policy, and even sneaked out the back door of the stadium.

According to two clued-in league sources Sunday, Spagnuolo has moved up to top candidate for the Lions’ vacancy and dropped off the Broncos’ radar.  (Source)

It seems a little bit much to me, but perhaps.  From Newsday.com…

Eli Manning now is three solid performances away from claiming sole ownership of a title no one in his or her right mind would have bestowed upon him a year ago today: greatest quarterback in New York history.

Think of what you thought of Eli three years ago, two years ago, even a couple of weeks before Super Bowl XLII, and consider the improbability of it all.

Eli Manning, better than Phil Simms? Better than Y.A. Tittle, Charlie Conerly, Fran Tarkenton? Better, even, than Broadway Joe himself?

All he needs to do is play three solid football games in the next four weekends. Not spectacular football games; not even the most blindly loyal Giants fan would be silly enough to expect that.

Just three of what have become to be accepted as Eli Manning-type games: well managed, with a minimum of disastrous mistakes and a well-placed throw or two at the right time. (Source)

From the Saint’s beat blog…

After interviewing Thursday with the Saints for their vacant defensive coordinator position, Gregg Williams has an “extremely strong interest” in the job, according to his agent.

Williams, who led the Jacksonville Jaguars’ defense in 2008, was the first candidate the Saints brought in to interview for the position, which opened Wednesday when Gary Gibbs was fired after three seasons.

Williams’ agent, Marvin Demoff, said Williams did not know Saints Coach Sean Payton very well before the meeting. But after coming to New Orleans, Williams’ interest in the position is “definitely stronger, ” Demoff said.

“He was extremely impressed with everything in the organization, from Sean on down, ” Demoff said.  (Source)

No disrespected intended to the Saints, but this is quite a fall for Williams.  This guy was the most sought after DC in football a while ago and now has to find a new job after one season.

The Cowboys Corner shared this today…

take this from Jerry Jones’ mouth.
On December 17 at an owner’s meeting in Irving, the S-T’s Charean Williams asked Jones if he planned to bring Pacman Jones back for a second season:
“He’s a good player. He’s a hard worker,” Jerry Jones said then. “He’s certainly addressing any league issues and you put all that in the thought process and I see him back.”  (Source)

I only share this to say that I can see Jerry Jones changing his mind about Wade Phillips, too.

If Jeff Jagodzinski is indeed fired for interviewing with the Jets (and, of course, does not get the Jets job), he may end up with Jim Mora Jr. in Seattle.  From the Seahawks Insider…

How does this relate to the Seahawks? Jagodinski is a long shot to win the job with the Jets, but reportedly wants back in the NFL and has ties to both Matt Hasselbeck and Jim Mora. Jagodinski coached Hasselbeck during his first stint at Boston College, serving as the offensive coordinator. And he also worked as a tight ends coach and offensive line coach for Mora when he coached at Atlanta. (Source)

Update: SI is reporting the Jagodzinski is indeed gone.

In spite of the public claims of the Rams, it would appear that money is a factor in deciding who the next coach will be.  From the Sporting News…

With a team that could soon be sold, the last thing the Rams want to do is impede the potential transaction by signing a big-name coach to a big-money contract that the new owner might regard as a big-time problem.

So they’re aiming low and it’s evidenced by the Rams’ decision not to pursue Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, based on the perception that they won’t be able to compete with other teams for his services.

Thus, in addition to interim coach Jim Haslett, the list is made up of names from the second cut of candidates, with guys like Winston Moss, Leslie Frazier, Rex Ryan, Ray Sherman, Todd Bowles, Jim Fassel (yes, Jim Fassel) and Jim Schwartz in the running.

With the players wanting Haslett, and given his past success with the Saints, he’s the best name on the team’s current “B” list.  (Source and other coaching buzz)

Jean-Jacques Taylor of the Dallas Morning News is not happy with Jerry Jones.  First, for not canning Wade Phillips.

Sometimes, if I’m not careful, I could allow myself to feel sorry for Jerry Jones.

He wants to win so badly. Really, he does.

He just doesn’t have a clue how to make it happen.

If he did, we all know Wade Phillips wouldn’t still be the Cowboys’ coach. But Jerry doesn’t know how to fix his underachieving team, especially since promoting Jason Garrett these days would cause a mutiny.

So Jerry has somehow convinced himself the status quo will get the job done to his satisfaction. Jerry thinks the mild-mannered Phillips will be demanding enough to maximize the roster’s talent.

You don’t believe that any more than I do. It’s not too late for Jerry to change his mind and fire the coach.

Remember, Jerry once said any one of 500 coaches could coach the Cowboys. Phillips is the fifth coach Jones has hired since uttering those words, but that still leaves 495.

And secondly, for not making the coach a figure with more authority.

If Jerry the GM wants to control personnel, that’s fine. It’s his right. And we all thought he did a wonderful job assembling talent before the season, which is why nearly every prognosticator picked Dallas to play in the Super Bowl.

When he listens to players griping about anything from playing time to schemes, he makes a weak head coach even weaker.

That’s sad.

But it’s Jerry’s fault, and that’s why I can’t feel sorry for him.  (Source and a really good piece)

On a related note, Jerry Jones is reportedly thinking about bringing in Mike Shanahan to coach in 2010.  What happened to Jason Garrett?

It seems to me that it is the growing sentiment as reflected by Bob Kravitz of the Indy Star.

It’s time for coach Tony Dungy to follow his heart, return home to Tampa and his family and the next chapter in his life, and it’s time for the Indianapolis Colts to hear a new voice.

Dungy knows that, and my sense is he has known that every time he has made an in-season trip to Tampa to see his family. Every time he stepped back on the plane to return to Indianapolis, he left a little piece of his heart behind.

Now it’s time to go.

It’s the best thing for Dungy, who has considered retirement at the end of each of the past five seasons, only to be talked back onto the sideline.

And yes, it’s the best thing for the Colts, who have gone about as far as they can with Dungy and his staff.

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It’s not just his record here. He had the same reputation in Tampa, where he built what had been a laughingstock of a franchise into a perpetual contender. He had to leave before the Bucs got over the top and won a Super Bowl under Jon Gruden.

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Listen, nobody is kicking Dungy’s backside out the door. Nobody is packing his bags for him. But sometimes, well, you just know it’s time. And the Colts have reached a point where they need to know that their coach is in it for the long run and is not an eternal year-by-year proposition.

You can read the rest of the article gently pushing him out the door, here.