National Football Post Diner News

14 Jan 2009                   

QUOTE:  “All great things are simple, and many can be expressed in single words: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope.” ~ Sir Winston Churchill.

FROM JASON WHITLOCK OF THE KANSAS CITY STAR…We have no more questions about Clark Hunt’s commitment to winning the Super Bowl. By landing the biggest fish in the NFL’s off-season ocean — Patriots front-office guru Scott Pioli — Hunt told us everything we need to know about his desire to win at the highest level. Clark Hunt is as passionate and committed as the most fanatic Chiefs fan. You pierce your costume with arrows on game day, wear red on Fridays, decorate your basement with Chiefs apparel, rock Priest Holmes jerseys throughout the week, tolerate taxes to renovate Arrowhead Stadium and pay $22 to tailgate before exhibition games. Clark Hunt appreciates all that. But he wants you to recognize he just spent a fortune to eliminate the stench of Carl Peterson and make the Chiefs Super Bowl contenders again.  We thought dethroning King Carl was a big deal. Luring Pioli to replace Peterson is much, much bigger. There is no way to guarantee Pioli will be a success. The longtime Bill Belichick right-hand man might be as fraudulent as Romeo Crennel, Charlie Weis, Eric Mangini and the other Belichick clones who failed once they left the Patriots coach’s shadow and cashed in. I like Pioli — a lot. He’s young, confident, disciplined, smart and he’s certainly been in the right organization. But when it comes to the Patriots and success, we just don’t know where Belichick ends and everybody else begins. The Patriots are like the Jackson 5, and Belichick is Michael Jackson. Crennel and Weis proved to be Tito and Jackie.

There is no doubt that Scott will be prepared for the job that awaits him in Kansas City.  But the key to his success is his first move — the person he picks for his head coach.  This is not just a random pick or a look at the pool of people who are available and then make a choice.  He must find someone who knows and understands the “Program” that was installed and developed in Cleveland and ultimately mastered in New England.  Scott is one of the best personnel men in the NFL, but unless he finds someone who understands player development, the foundation of building a team and the implementation of the comprehensive program, then he will struggle to win games.  The good part for everyone in Kansas City is that Scott knows this, and he knows how important it is that the coach he picks is his friend and understands the philosophy behind the “Program.”    His father-in-law, Bill Parcells, knew he needed someone he trained in the program to be his head coach, and there wasn’t much doubt whom he would pick.  And now Pioli is faced with the same problem. I’m confident that he knows the person he’ll pick; if he wasn’t, he wouldn’t have left Belichick. 

Some of the coaches who have left Belichick have not done as well as predicted, but what happens is that many of them don’t understand how to work the program and how important it is to have a keen eye for talent with regard to the program.  Everyone asks me, “What is the ‘Program’?”  It starts with defining what you want to become as a football team and then it has ways to develop that talent in both players and coaches.  Where other Belichick coaches fail -- and where Pioli must make the right hire -- is that they are unable to evaluate and project talent and do not know how to develop it for their specific team.  Pioli may bring in a very bright young player, but if the new coach he picks doesn’t recognize the talent, or relies on an assistant coach to make the evaluation, the whole program goes to hell.  The talent is brought in, then the head coach evaluates it as it relates to the NFL, and the assistant coaches develop it, without the final say on the evaluation.  The assistants’ job is to teach and develop, not evaluate.  Everyone has a job, and no one is bigger than his job. 

Pioli understands what he needs to be successful, and he knows he must find the right coach to help him install his master plan.  He must have a great relationship with the new coach, and the coach must understand how all the pieces fit and work together.  My hunch is that Kirk Frentz of Iowa would be the right fit for the Chiefs and help Pioli install his “Program.” 

FROM JAMISON HEMSLEY OF THE BALTIMORE SUN…Teams trying to win the third straight game at home, as the Steelers are trying to do Sunday, have a 9-4 record (69percent). Asked whether it's difficult to beat a team three times in a season, Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin said: "I personally don't subscribe to that hocus-pocus. What happened in the other games will have no bearing on the outcome of this game. Each individual performance stands on its own. We're not buying into that." The Ravens can draw some hope out of recent history. The past two teams trying to complete a three-game sweep have failed. In 2004, the Green Bay Packers beat the Minnesota Vikings twice in the regular season but lost at home, 31-17. Last season, the Dallas Cowboys defeated the New York Giants twice before falling to them at home in the playoffs, 21-17.The Ravens have never lost to the same team three times in a season. "You never want to lose games like that, but sometimes you have to have those losses in order to grow," Ravens safety Jim Leonhard said. "I think we've learned from those games. It's helped to get us where we are right now."

I’m a big believer in the “Program,” and part of being successful in the “Program” is having the right coaches on staff -- coaches who know and understand their roles and can develop talent.  To me, a coach is judged on whom he develops and how he brings out the talent in the player.  Hue Jackson, the quarterbacks coach of the Ravens, has done that with Joe Flacco.  He has developed and improved Flacco’s game and brought out the best in him as the season went along.  Most owners are always looking for the hot coach, but for me, I tend to gravitate to the film room and learn about what a coach can do from watching tape.  Coaches are in a much better position than personnel men because they have tape to back up their claims.  All personnel men can do is say they like this player or that player, but in the end it’s just talk.  Tape doesn’t lie, and Hue Jackson’s tape of Flacco is very good. 

When Flacco came out, I was not a big fan.  I thought he was slow with the ball and was too passive with his decision-making.  I felt he had to see the wideout open before he could make the throw.  I loved the big arm but felt he would get sacked too much and was not quick minded.  And this has been proven to be all wrong because of the coaching of Jackson and the development of the player.  So why aren’t Hue Jackson and Mike Heimerdinger of the Titans mentioned for head coaching jobs now?  Or at least brought in for interviews?  The key to being a successful head coach in the “Program” is to understand and develop talent, and both men excelled in that area this season. 

FROM DAVID WHITE OF THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE…The Raiders fired wide receivers coach James Lofton after one season on the coaching staff. That makes it at least six coaches who won't be coming back next season, and that number easily could double in the coming days.With everyone else's contracts expiring Tuesday -- and that includes interim head coach Tom Cable's -- here's an updated scorecard on where the Raiders stand. Consider this written in erasable ink: Head coach: Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride will interview in person for the top job this week, a team source said. Gilbride spoke with Raiders owner Al Davis for 90 minutes by phone Jan. 3. Gilbride described it as an interview but team officials said it was just a "very interesting conversation." Consider his pending visit to be the real thing by all accounts. Offensive coordinator: The Raiders requested permission to interview Broncos quarterbacks coach Jeremy Bates, and Denver agreed, a league source said. It isn't clear if the interview is to be for the offensive coordinator or head-coaching job, but it's more likely the former.

Ever walk through the check-out stand in the Supermarket and read the tabloids?  The ones that always get me are the ones that say, “Where are they now?”  You get caught up with Ginger from “Gilligan Island” or J.J. from “Good Times.”  Makes you revisit another time in your life that may have been pleasant or not, but at least it makes you think.  Yesterday, I had one of those moments.

Here’s what the Raiders spokesman said about the firing of James Lofton, which we first reported here at the Post, according to Jason Jones in his Sacramento Bee blog: “Senior executive John Herrera said Lofton is still with the team and that it would be up to the next head coach to decide what capacity Lofton would be used in. So I asked if that meant whoever the next head coach is could keep Lofton as receivers coach if he chose. Herrera reiterated that Lofton would be used in whatever role the new coach wanted. Herrera would not confirm that quality control assistant Sanjay Lal would be the new receivers coach. Adam Schefter of the NFL Network reported Lal signed a two-year extension and would be promoted to receivers coach. Being demoted or reassigned would be a dramatic change in status for Lofton, who twice interviewed to be the Raiders head coach before joining the staff last year.”

So, we now know where Baghdad Bob went after the Iraq war.  He is working in the Hotel issuing statements to say whatever contradicts reality.  Some things never change. Do you think we can get John to confirm that the Raiders’ season has ended? 

Now back to David White (why does the Hotel all sidetrack my thought process?).  I love how Bagdad Bob said that Gilbride called the Raiders and that they were not interested in him, but now he is getting on a plane to meet with them.  Is he coming out to replace the late great Run Run Jones  (I really miss seeing him, sleeping of course)?  I would think Gilbride would know what lies ahead of him in the interview process.  Gilbride has done a solid job with the Giants, although lately he has taken some heat for his play-calling. But it’s hard to call plays when the quarterback can’t throw the ball into the wind.  I think Gilbride is the kind of coach who might be able to work in the Hotel, but since the staff is already being assembled, it appears to me that Tom Cable will be the head coach very soon.  Wonder if Baghdad Bob will confirm this when it happens?  

FROM TIM SULLIVAN OF THE SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE…In the NFL, the essential musical question is not Janet Jackson's, "What Have You Done For Me Lately?" but Carole King's "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?" The answer, sadly, is usually derived not from accumulated affection, but cold-blooded calculation. I would love to be wrong about this. I would love to see Tomlinson finish his career with the Bolts and surpass Emmitt Smith as the NFL's all-time leading rusher. Few athletes have achieved so much and changed so little as has LT. Fewer still have done so without a whiff of scandal or a tendency to speak of themselves in the third person. But five years have passed since Smith promised Tomlinson his career "would not be in vain," and the Chargers have more holes now than they have had since at least 2005. There are acute needs on both the offensive and defensive lines, shortages in the secondary and at linebacker, in addition to the desirability of a coherent succession plan at running back.

For me, the tough off-season question for the Chargers is deciding if LT, who was finally healthy for the Denver game and the first half of the Indy game, can be counted on as a major contributor next year.  My answer: Counting on him for 16 games and 60 minutes is very unrealistic, and you must plan accordingly.  You must draft a young back and re-sign Sproles.  They need to get a thumper in their backfield and reduce the amount of time that LT plays.  He must accept a lighter load, and he must be told this in an honest and direct fashion.  There should be no room for misinterpretation on this one, just honest and open communication behind closed doors.   They have to bring him back, but they do not have to have him in the same role. 

Comments

Add a Comment