Diner Morning News

FROM MICHAEL LOMBARDI:

23 January 2009

QUOTE:  “Relying, then, on the patronage of your good will, I advance with obedience to the work, ready to retire from it whenever you become sensible how much better choice it is in your power to make.  And may that Infinite Power which rules the destinies of the universe lead our councils to what is best, and give them a favorable issue for your peace and prosperity.” ~ Thomas Jefferson, first inaugural address, March 4, 1801

FROM CHARLES CHANDLER OF THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER... Two weeks ago, the Carolina Panthers were preparing for a home playoff game. Today, their coaching staff is in a state of upheaval. Five assistant coaches who helped lead the team to a 12-5 season are gone, including four from the defensive staff. The headliner of the group is defensive coordinator Mike Trgovac, who earlier this week planned to return next season before having a change of heart. “We offered Trgo a contract and told him we wanted him back, but he informed us last night (Wednesday) he wanted to pursue other options,” general manager Marty Hurney said Thursday. Trgovac attended Senior Bowl practices this week in Mobile, Ala., wearing Panthers attire and was planning to sign a new contract with the team after he returned to Charlotte. He stayed in the team hotel and sat in the stands for parts of practices observing NFL draft prospects with head coach John Fox and Hurney. Fox had been in the process of hiring other defensive assistants to work with Trgovac. Hurney declined to say why Trgovac changed his mind, referring those questions to Trgovac, who couldn't be reached for comment.

Change at times is good, and clearly the Panthers’ coaching staff is going through changes.  Some may look at all this movement as coaches jumping a sinking ship and others may look at it as an infusion of fresh faces.  The reality of losing the defensive coordinator when the head coach is a defensive coach is not that devastating.  Fox will not change what they’re doing on defense because Trgovac was running Fox’s defense, not the Mike Trgovac defense.  So as hard as it is to see friends leave, it’s part of the business.  (Insert the Hyman Roth quote from “Godfather II”: “And I said to myself, this is the business we've chosen. I didn't ask who gave the order -- because it had nothing to do with business!”) The Panthers have many issues to deal with this off-season, and as long as they keep Fox in place the changes might not affect the team. 

At times, it is much better to have the players hear a new voice, a new way of installing and calling the defense.  New ideas might provoke new thinking and a new perspective.  The Panthers will bring in new coaches who do not have an agenda with the current players, therefore their evaluations are not biased, not tainted -- just pure and honest, and as I have written often, the best way to improve in the off-season. 

One thing that’s important to understand right now as it relates to your favorite teams is that it’s January.  The first game is not until August, so there are many moves, many changes and many different paths each team will take to implement its plan and redesign its team. Do the Packers have the right personnel to play a game with their new 3-4 defense? The answer is no.  However, they have time to build it the right way.  You need the blueprint first before the building begins.  The Panthers are like the Packers; they have plenty of time to implement all the changes.  I’m not concerned. 

FROM MARTIN FENNELLY OF THE TAMPA TRIBUNE... If age is not a question with Morris, it shouldn't be with the 62-year-old Bates, who was named Bucs defensive coordinator Thursday. If you thought Morris would go young, you thought wrong. If experience is a question with Morris, Bates will come in handy. By the way, he's younger than Monte Kiffin, and Monte never seemed old, did he? Bates comes to Tampa after a year off, preceded by an off year in Denver, running a Broncos defense in 2007 that wasn't exactly inspiring (16 games, 409 points). But Bates' career tells another story. It's about success. He might be just what's needed, a been-everywhere, done-everything counterbalance to Morris' youthful energy. Bates comes with older energy, but energy nonetheless. He comes with a reputation as a leader, fiery, but fair. He'll be all over the practice field, exclaiming, exhorting - teaching. It's what Bucs GM Mark Dominik and Morris are banking on in their first big hire.

This is a very smart move for the Bucs and tells me a great deal of the confidence Raheem Morris has in his ability to be a leader.  Bates is an outstanding coach.  I know all the people in Denver will wince when they read that last statement, but the reality is that that was not Jim’s defense in Denver.  I was there, I know.  He tried to blend his defense into a Mike Shanahan version of the defense, and those two things never worked.  The Broncos actually got worse on defense from ‘07 to ‘08.  They did not have the players to run anyone’s scheme.  Bates will bring energy, he will bring patience, and he will help Morris grow as a coach.  He is the perfect person to complement Morris. 

I think the one great advantage that Tony Sparano had in Miami this season is that he could walk down the hall and get valuable insight into the art of being a head coach.  Not many new head coaches have that luxury.  When there’s someone on the staff who can offer a similar approach, it will help a coach grow.  We had Steelers coach Mike Tomlin (whom I love) on “Inside the NFL” on Showtime the other night.  The panel asked Tomlin what he did in the interview to get the job.  Tomlin said he was himself and he was more worried about making sure he could do the job, not win the interview.  To me, that’s the essence of a great coach.  It’s not about the PowerPoint presentation, it’s about doing the job. 

FROM JIM WYATT OF THE TENNESSEAN... Titans Coach Jeff Fisher, meanwhile, has stood pat, adding further reason to believe the  job will be filled from within, either by linebackers coach Dave McGinnis or secondary coach Chuck Cecil. Gunther Cunningham, hired by Schwartz on Wednesday, was never an option. The job isn't so simple. It requires taking over a defense that finished No. 2 in the NFL in points allowed, possibly without the big man in the middle, defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth.

My sources tell me that, barring any problems, Chuck Cecil will be the new defensive coordinator of the Titans.  McGinnis has talked to the Raiders recently about their defensive coordinator job.  He is a very good coach, but it seems that the direction the Titans want to head is with Cecil as the man in charge. 

FROM BRIAN COSTELLO OF THE NEW YORK POST... Pettine scouted Gholston before last year's draft, when the Jets took him with the sixth pick, and he saw trouble signs then.  "I thought he was a tremendous athlete, but being in shorts is one thing and how it carries over to the field is another," Pettine said in a conference call yesterday. "We liked him for sure, but there was a lack of consistency in some of his play. He would have a flash of brilliance for two or three plays, then disappear."

This is a nice way of saying they never should have drafted him.  I’m sure no one in the Jets building is laying claim to liking Gholston, and his primary supporter went off to Cleveland.  I was talking to a Jets coach, and he told me that he could not figure out how Gholston became a Jet.  He said no one in the building that he talks to liked him.  Bad picks are like orphans, and good picks have a thousand fathers.  Gholston is the one player who will be in tough spot with the change.  He does not have great instincts and does not have a feel for rushing the passer, both qualities that are extremely important in a Rex Ryan defense.  Gholston has real problems making quick decisions on the move -- he has to see it and then react, as opposed to just reacting -- and the Ryan defense is all about quick reactions.  They will not be able to scheme Gholston into the defense and he will struggle to fit. 

We will read in the coming months how much Gholston has improved and how much he is fitting in with the new scheme.  However, a real evaluation of Gholston can only take place when the games are in full action. He plays the game in sections, and when all the sections come together, he cannot make a play.  This is one pick the Jets will have to hide for a while or be embarrassed. 

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