madlithuanian

Coaching carousel will be a wild ride in 2010 .Mike Florio Archive|Email Mike FlorioComments (1)More Login or register to post commentsPrinter-friendly versionWednesday, Nov. 4, 2009 - 11:02 a.m. ET After the 2005 season, Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti had a problem. The team he owns had missed the playoffs for two straight years. Coach Brian Billick, who won a Super Bowl in his second year on the job thanks to a dominant defense built before he arrived, had demonstrated a chronic inability to develop a successful quarterback. And so Bisciotti was thinking about making a change. But if Billick had been fired, who would have been hired? Bisciotti concluded that there were no alternatives who would have represented clear upgrades. So he kept Billick. If Jeff Fisher departs Tennessee, will he land in Dallas?For any owners considering whether to upgrade the coaching position for 2010, this year is the year. No fewer than five Super Bowl-winning coaches (Billick, Mike Holmgren, Mike Shanahan, Jon Gruden, Bill Cowher) are expected to be available. Other former coaches who have rehabilitated their reputations (like Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and Broncos defensive coordinator Mike Nolan) will see their stars rise again. And, surely, assistants with no prior NFL head-coaching experience will land on the league's radar screen -- if for no reason other than to leverage the men with pelts on the wall into taking less money. With so many competent candidates and so many bad teams, January 2010 could spark an unprecedented game of musical chairs, and there might not be enough empty seats when Bocephus stops asking whether we're ready for some football. So let's look at the teams that might have vacancies, and the men in whom they might be interested. Eric Mangini was given too much power in Cleveland.Browns: Once the Browns hire a new GM, his first order of business will be to hire a new head coach. After being burned by giving too much power to Eric Mangini, owner Randy Lerner is more likely to go the "strong GM" route, which would rule out men like Cowher, Shanahan, Holmgren, and Gruden, who surely will hold out for a position in which they'll run the show. So Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier or 49ers defensive coordinator Greg Manusky could become attractive options. Titans: This team will have to lose a lot more games before the longest-tenured coach in the league is in real trouble. But with owner Bud Adams possibly having to choose between Jeff Fisher and quarterback Vince Young, Fisher could enter the market as a candidate who can be had for a draft pick or two. And he'd likely be replaced by someone other than Cowher, Holmgren, Shanahan, or Gruden -- unless Adams decides to part ways with GM Mike Reinfeldt, too. Jaguars: Before making a coaching change, owner Wayne Weaver would have to be willing to pay out the rest of Jack Del Rio's salary. With the team barely drawing 40,000 attendees to its home games, that might be too tall an order. But if Weaver decides to make a change, he might then make a play for Florida's Urban Meyer, who would pair up nicely with quarterback Tim Tebow. Related Links PFT: Rumor Mill PFT: Lerner meets with disgruntled fans PFT: Dolphins move slowly with Pat White Brown: Giants have mess to clean up Scouts: Polamalu not a textbook tackler TSB: Parity still alive and well in NFL .Raiders: Apart from the Randy Hanson incident and fresher allegations of domestic violence, Tom Cable simply isn't getting it done. But the problem is that owner Al Davis will have a very hard time attracting a new coach who has options elsewhere. His last two head coaches were previously basic unknowns, and if the Raiders make a change, the job surely won't be filled by anyone whose name currently would sound familiar to the average football fan. Chargers: In San Diego, a failure to make the playoffs could get Norv Turner fired. The bigger question is whether the Spanos family also would clear out GM A.J. Smith. And that would go a long way toward determining the identity of the next coach. If Smith goes, Shanahan could be intrigued by the possibility of coaching twice per year against the two franchises that have fired him. Cowboys: Despite the optimism routinely displayed by owner Jerry Jones, Wade Phillips' job is on the line. It has to be. And with Jeff Fisher possibly available, Jones could be intrigued. In the end, look for Jones to hire someone who'll accept the fact that Jones still calls the shots -- which could rule out the likes of Shanahan, Holmgren, Cowher, and Gruden. This is likely John Fox's last season in Charlotte.Redskins: The craziness of the past month will serve only to drive up the demands of the next head coach, who'll want hazard pay and full control. The question is whether owner Daniel Snyder will be willing to step aside. In 2001, he did that -- but for one year only -- firing Marty Schottenheimer after an 8-8 season. Bears: Though many regard the franchise as being averse to buying out contracts, a poor outcome to a season of high hopes could force a change. As in San Diego, the identity of the next coach will depend on whether the Bears fire coach Lovie Smith only, or whether GM Jerry Angelo gets a pink slip, too. Packers: The team didn't insert in the Brett Favre trade a term requiring the Jets to give up three first-round picks if Favre were traded to the Vikings because Green Bay wanted to save Brett from the embarrassment of being beaten twice by his old team. The Packers feared precisely what has occurred this year -- a two-game sweep by a divisional rival with Favre at the helm. Depending on the whether the Packers make the playoffs and whether the Vikings finish with fewer than four losses, a house-cleaning could occur. And if the job becomes open, Jon Gruden's perpetual scowl could become a smile, if only for a moment. Panthers: Barring a miracle of a much greater magnitude than Sunday's upset of the Cardinals, coach John Fox likely will be gone after this year. And the early speculation continues to focus on Bill Cowher, given both his proximity to Charlotte and a stated desire by owner Jerry Richardson to emulate the Rooneys, who own the franchise where Cowher spent 15 seasons. Buccaneers: If the Bucs don't win a game, it would be difficult -- if not impossible -- for the team to give Raheem Morris a second season. The decision ultimately could hinge on whether Gruden and former GM Bruce Allen get new jobs, which would cut off the buyout obligation and make it easier to dump (but still pay) Morris, and possibly GM Mark Dominik. That said, the suddenly dysfunctional Buccaneers would likely encounter difficulty in attracting a high-end coach. The perception is that the team won't spend enough money to be competitive, and until that changes, the job in Tampa won't be regarded as an attractive one.

Do you have a link to the article? We are putrid at 3rd and long! On both sides of the ball!

Brown did say it in context of "when he is on"...which he hasn't been. Smith called him disruptive.... But the tenor of the article is what is being discussed. At least that's how I'm approaching it...

Well said AZ!

Agreed.

Alaskan, I appreciate your positivity! However, I think you're not seeing the big picture. Many of the poster are not on Smith and staff just this season. it's a cumulative effect of all the seasons post, and to some degree including the SB season. There's no choice in re-building. We have no OL. And our DL is a shadow of what it once was. It's all won and lost there. There's no doubt Cutler is the future... I just hope his talents aren't wasted behind poor coaching for more years... Actually 4-3 was pretty much what was expected before the season started... We thought we'd beat Green Bay 1-0, we thought we'd lose ot PIT 1-1, we thought we'd beat SEA 2-1, we thoughts we'd beat DET 3-1, we thought we'd loseto ATL 3-2, we thought we'd beat CIN 4-2, we thought we'd beat CLE 5-2. Actually, we are doing worse than we thought! (Or at least some of us...) My kool-aid needs a re-fill. Maybe a strong win agasint AZ will to that... Until then I'm skeptical.

Our best bet to to hold out hope that Fisher isn't let go for another year and Smith is next year, when the Bears could sever ties w/ Smith w/ only 1 year on the contract.

Moose'll be there next season!

We've already discussed this here on the forum! Interesting read, even though as of late, Morrissey's been more Mariotti... http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/footb...,6568918.column Lovie Smith inanities deserve to be reported Related Is Lovie Smith on speaking terms with the truth? The plain truth and Lovie Smith are not always on speaking terms. Is that good for the team? Yes, if you can't say anything nice, how can you fill up a news conference? No, coaches should be critics (and critics think they could be coaches). Truthfully, I don't care what Lovie Smith says. Bears players support coach Smith Topics Super Bowl Philosophy Neck See more topics » XFootball Chicago Bears Lovie Smith When Chicago Bears coach talks, he doesn't say anything, but his words must be heard to be disbelieved Rick Morrissey In the wake of the news November 4, 2009 E-mail Print Share Text Size I woke up Tuesday morning contemplating a boycott of Lovie Smith. This concerned me because it seemed to suggest I had just dreamed of the dull Bears coach, which would mean that even my dreams put me to sleep. And I'm confused enough as it is. Anyway, the boycott: My thought was that until Smith said something both interesting and truthful (early bet: 2018), no utterances of his would show up in this column space. How much better the world would be! How much more peaceful! That vein on your neck would stop pulsating! No longer would we have to stand by as Smith blinked impassively at a scattering of bird droppings and then proclaimed it impressionistic art. On Monday, having analyzed the video of his team's woeful offensive performance against Cleveland, Lovie's search party found a way to put the game in the most gracious terms. You were left to wonder whether he's teaching football or Intro to Positive Self-Esteem. "I feel good about what we're doing offensively," he told reporters. "There are some things we need to do a little bit better, which we'll do and go from there." Since he arrived here in 2004, "and we'll go from there" has been Smith's stock way of saying, "Not only have I not answered you honestly, but now I'm dismissing your question and moving on to the next question that I'll avoid." So why put ourselves through this? Why take it anymore? As a public service, I pondered the possibility of never quoting the Lovester. I would take a stand against us being played for fools. I would put an end to his maddening platitudes. I would rid Chicago of the strain of repetitive eye rolling. No longer would we have to ask ourselves, "How stupid does he think we are?" If the purpose is to infuriate otherwise clear-thinking people, then Smith is first-team All-Pro. More from him on the offense: "Of course we have tried to do some things differently. When things don't work, you try to do some different things. It's a process like it is with everything else. I'm pleased with us continuing to get down in the red zone where we are talking about the red zone." Get it? Don't focus on the Bears' problems in the red zone, where they scored touchdowns only twice in seven tries Sunday; concentrate on the achievement of just getting into the red zone. See? We're all winners! Now, which team mom is supposed to hand out the juice boxes this week? The patronizing quote made me realize that ignoring him would only enable him. Not calling him on his bizarre take on reality would be to encourage him to continue to believe we're idiots. Smith's philosophy seems to be that public criticism of his players serves no constructive purpose. But let's turn it around. What do compliments accomplish when they're not earned? There has to be more to this than protecting players. If Lovie says something that might be the slightest bit self-incriminatory, does he believe it will be used against him later? Is it better to say nothing than to say something that might make you unpopular in the locker room? On his Monday night show on WBBM-AM 780, he bristled when host Jeff Joniak said the 24-point victory over the Browns didn't feel like a victory to some people. That statement happened to be the truth. But truth is a foreign concept to Smith, who believes if he doesn't hear any evil, you shouldn't either. What he still doesn't understand, after almost six years here, is that Chicago appreciates bluntness. His record will be the most important thing when he gets canned -- he's 20-19 since the 2006 Super Bowl season, by the way -- but his lack of forthrightness won't help him. What Smith views as noble looks more like a refusal to accept or distribute responsibility. And if the players see this from their head coach, why should they ever worry about repercussions? It occurred to me that if I make my column a Lovie-free zone, I am making things easier for him. The fewer people who read his quotes, the fewer who will realize a shell of a coach is running the Bears. As much as it pains me to listen to or read his statements, there's the public good to consider. That's me, always thinking of you. Anyway, how much fun would life be without parsing Smith's nonsense? So we won't stop. We'll seek the truth. And we'll go from there.

Nice! That's the dose of reality I'd like to hear coming from the Chicago media instead of what we've been getting.

...and now claimed by the Chiefs. http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/category/rumor-mill/ Chiefs claim Chris Chambers Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on November 3, 2009 4:38 PM ET Chris Chambers didn't stay out of work for long. In a minor upset, Chambers was claimed by the Chiefs Tuesday off waivers, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Chambers is due roughly $2.4 million for the second half of this season, and many folks thought that no one would pay that kind of money for a declining receiver. (It's not like the Chargers couldn't use a consistent wideout.) Of course, there is no rule that the Chiefs have to keep Chambers for long. They can get an up close look at him for a while before deciding how to use him. Kansas City's wide receiver group is thin after Dwayne Bowe, with Mark Bradley, Bobby Wade, and Bobby Engram all fighting for snaps

Good question! I think he's so intent on being secretive and towing the line, he was no idea how bad he's coming off...

Um, yeah. I do want him gone. I don't think he will be, but I still want it. I have no problem booting Angelo either. I also have no problem keeping Angelo for now. Why do we need to bring in a cover 2 HC? Haven't we had former DC's since Ditka all to show us they can't get the job done? Plus, we no longer have te personnell for cover-2. We need to s-can that like no tomorrow! We will be changing. I propose we do it sooner than later and waste less years w/ Cutler...

Nah. It's all good cop. Smith actually never came out and told us he was benching Harris for conduct detrimental,etc. One easily could contrue that he was benched, especially based on harris's own comments. But it was never outright said. So no matter the situation, you will always get some sort of spin from Smith. I'm so used to it by now...

I really could not agree more! Even something like, "I liked the improvement I saw from our DL, but we expect more improvment, and need to see more in order to frustrate our upcoming oppenents." At least that doesn't play us for fools...

Utter lies spewing from Smith's mouth yet again... It's amazing that he continues to play us all for fools. Never bought it from him, never will.

Keep him. But if a stud is available, I'd rather have him. At least right now.

I see Martz... He's got some connection w/ Smith...unless there's an animosity I'm not aware of. I can't see anyone going for a shared HC possibility...especially a top tier guy like Shanahan.

You got me! Once I got rolling, it was hard to stop! I think if we get a stud young OT in FA, that'll at least be a start... That simply has to be THE priority...

agreed. not to mention, he's a problem child that our staff has proven we can't deal with

I'll take any of it... I just don't want second tier bargain basement guys like we got this past off-season in Omiyale and Pace... Those were a complete waste. We have to totally start over.

...and Walter didn't fumble nearly as often...

I hear ya! I don't know much about Griffith other than 2 freinds from Atlanta that loved him when he was with them. I assume his last 2 years w/ the Raiders don't count...and this year with SEA is a wash. We need to keep up with the Joneses. Literally and figuratively!

I'm going to take a stab at this... Besides going Madden on this and blowing up our roster and trying to get picks, etc...I'm going to approach this as is. What FA are possible, where our draft picks are etc... I'll be utilizing this site for potential available FA's.... http://www.footballsfuture.com/2010/fa/ol.html 1. FA pick ups: OL - Keep on T (Williams), and one G (Garza)...the rest should be cut or traded. a. Logan Mankins (G), I want a winner, someone who knows what winning is like. He's only 27, fairly young. NE tends not to want to pay $$$$. b. Marcus McNeil (T), young kid. We need youth and he's also got some size... c. Justin Hartwig © Younger than Kruetz...also a winner. We missed on teh Faneca sweepstakes. Let's cut our loss w Olin now. S - OJ Atogwe (S) We need some experience and he is fairly young at 28. WR - I think Vincent Jackson would be a pipe dream the way he's playing this season. But if he's there, you get him. FB - Justin Griffith. He's better than McKie, and not too old. 2. Re-sign: Daneal Manning (looks to be turning the corner), Alex Brown (need some veteran in there), Roach (good back-up) 3. Release: Ogunleye (he'd want too much, we have too many other needs), Toeinea (n/a), Williams (never showed much as a LB), Bullocks (who?), AP (Thank you for the service, but we need to move on), Anderson (bust) 4. Shop: We shop Kruetz, Vasher, Harris. I'm not ssuming we'd get anything of note. But if we could get a 2nd or 3rd for one or so, I'd take it. 5. Draft: R3: OL R4: DL (E or T) R5: DB R6: LB R7 or undrafted: WR/RB/FB I just think getting the O line the upgrade would pay huge dividends. We must commit serious money to the OL.

That's awesome!