Nothing is more informative (and fun) than looking at the new head coaches in the NFL! The 2010 2009, 2008, 2007, and 2006 editions of the NFL Rookie Coaching Classes are also fun reads, if you are curious. My favorites from past editions are still Coach Mangina (Eric Mangini, class of 2006), The Whizzenator, aka nobody beats the Whizz (Ken Whisenhunt, class of 2007), and the Todd (Todd Haley, class of 2009).
After a lackluster year in 2010, where all the new coaches were actually people who already had experience, we have some new, actually first-time coaches this year.
1. Cleveland Browns- Pat Shurmur
Proposed nickname: The Shurminator
With Mike Holmgren being in charge of the Browns, this new coach obviously has to be connected to the great Holmgren coaching tree, and Shurmur was QB coach of the Eagles from 1999-2008 before being the Rams offensive coordinator for two seasons. Those weren't great seasons, though he did get to coach Sam Bradford last year, but all of the WRs got injured and he had a rookie QB, so the results were mixed. I see no way of avoiding calling this coach the Shurminator: he is a sophisticated coach, sent back in time to change the future for one lucky franchise (or so I hope). It's been a long time since I've seen American Pie, which had the original Sherminator, so here's a clip of that awesome moment.
2. Tennessee Titans - Mike Munchak
Proposed Nickname: Munchie
He's been the offensive line coach for the Titans/Oilers (yes, that long) since 1997. His Titans profile has a lot of the usual information, plus the fact that he secured regional distribution rights to Snapple and became the owner of a number of Gold Gyms in Texas.
3. Oakland Raiders - Hue Jackson
Proposed Nickname: Hue Downs
I really didn't know much about this guy. He's only 45, but he's already held 12 different coaching positions from Pacific, Cal State Fullerton, London Monarchs (yes, the defunct World League of American Football!), Arizona State, California, USC, Redskins, Bengals, Falcons, Ravens, and was the offensive coordinator for Oakland last year. Most notably, he was the offensive coordinator for the Redskins in 2003 (22nd in points, w/ Ramsey and TIM Hasselbeck starting, under Steve Spurrier), the Falcons in 2007 (29th in points, w/ Harrington, Redman, and Leftwich starting, while head coach Petrino quit midway through), and the Raiders in 2010 (6th in points, w/ Jason Campbell and Gradkowski). I don't know what to make of this guy. He's worked for some of the craziest people ever (Spurrier, Petrino, Al Davis), and installs college offenses. Last year, he was successful with it, so who knows.
4. Dallas Cowboys - Jason Garrett
Proposed Nickname: The Gunslinger
He was the interim coach, and now is finally the coach. He has been with the Cowboys since 2007 as the offensive coordinator and has seen them score lots of points. No idea what will hapen with the defense, but it should be a fun season!
5. Minnesota Vikings - Leslie Frazier
Proposed Nickname: Drebin!
He actually was a head coach once upon a time, at Trinity College from 1988-1996. He's been defensive coordinator with the Vikings since 2007, and was defensive coordinator with the Bengals from 2003-2004. With a first name of Leslie, he must carry the namesake of Leslie Nielsen from Naked Gun and be dubbed, Drebin! Lt. Frank Drebin if we are acting professional.
6. Carolina Panthers - Ron Rivera
Proposed Nickname: Ron-Ron
He was the defensive coordinator with the Bears from 2004-2006, and with the Chargers from 2008-2010. He also was a linebacker on the 1985 Bears championship team! His wife was an assistant coach in the WNBA. Love the weird facts some teams include in the bios.
7. San Francisco 49ers - Jim Harbaugh
Proposed Nickname: Captain Comeback
The most famous of the entire list, he was the coach at Stanford just from 2007-2010, after being the coach at San Diego from 2004-2006. He's had a meteoric rise. He is most famous for being a Chicago Bears QB, but I always remember him for a crazy postseason run with the Colts when he almost completed a hail mary to beat the Steelers in the AFC Championship game. According to wikipedia, Harbaugh and his brother John are the first brothers to be coaches in the NFL. The nickname Captain Comeback is from that ridiuclous 1995 NFL postseason run, 2 come-from behind victories, and the almost hail mary. Im open to other suggestions, such as "Little Brother Jim."
Showing posts with label NFL Rookie Coaches. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NFL Rookie Coaches. Show all posts
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Friday, August 06, 2010
Meet Your 2010 NFL Rookie Coaching Class
Nothing is more informative (and fun) than looking at the new head coaches in the NFL! The 2009, 2008, 2007, and 2006 editions of the NFL Rookie Coaching Classes are also fun reads, if you are curious. My favorites from past editions are still Coach Mangina (Eric Mangini, class of 2006), The Whizzenator, aka nobody beats the Whizz (Ken Whisenhunt, class of 2007), and the Todd (Todd Haley, class of 2009).
After 2009's ridiculously large class of 7 freshman coaches, this year's class has ZERO coaches with no experience. Neither Chan Gailey (Buffalo), Pete Carroll (Seattle), or Mike Shanahan (Washington) are technically freshman coaches who are new to the NFL, so I feel it would be an injustice to Mangina to give them derogatory rookie nicknames. Nonetheless, I will still go through some interesting facts on these three new coaches.
1) Buffalo brought back a coach, Chan Gailey, who had coached 2 prior seasons with Dallas, losing in the first playoff game in each season. Chan Gailey always struck me as wildly underperforming, because these were the 1998 and 1999 Cowboy teams, so there still was a lot of talent remaining. The 1998 Cowboy team is pretty infamous for underperforming, as they are the ones that lost to the Cardinals at home. It's fun reading the article about the game, as Aeneas Williams had 2 INTs of Troy Aikman, Jamir Miller had 2 sacks and 12 tackles, and RB Adrian Murrell had a 74 yard run! While Gailey was out of the NFL, he ended up being the head coach at Georgia Tech from 2002-2007, but was never able to beat the big rival, the Georgia Bulldogs.
I found a fun video from March where Chan Gailey ends up basically saying that playing either Trent Edwards or Ryan Fitzpatrick is "like biting a bullet." Nice!
2) Seattle brought back Pete Carroll. Pete Carroll was a classic NFL coach who didn't find much success, but then was fantastic at the college level (assuming we look past the "lack of institutional control", and all the silly things that went on at USC off the field.) It's funny, because I always thought of Pete Carroll as a loser in the NFL, but he actually went to the playoffs twice with New England and even won a playoff game once, as his 1997 Patriots and Drew Bledsoe beat a hapless Dolphins team (with Karim Abdul Jabar at RB and OJ McDuffie at WR, but they still had old-man Dan Marino).
Pete Caroll has gotten involved in some interesting things. I found this one video where Pete Carroll tries to recruit Will Ferrell for Twitter.
Even better than that video, is this bizarre celebrity endorsement... for Pete Carroll's virtual world for kids called Camp Pete. I'm not making this up. Check out the link.
3) Washington brought back Mike Shanahan. If you look at the link, you will see Shanahan's incredible statistics... and also see that he's hardly won any playoff games outside of the back-to-back championships (going 1-5 in the playoffs in the other years). Shanahan's endless PR campaign against overweight DE Albert Haynesworth has been entertaining. I'm really curious though how McNabb will perform under Shanahan.
After 2009's ridiculously large class of 7 freshman coaches, this year's class has ZERO coaches with no experience. Neither Chan Gailey (Buffalo), Pete Carroll (Seattle), or Mike Shanahan (Washington) are technically freshman coaches who are new to the NFL, so I feel it would be an injustice to Mangina to give them derogatory rookie nicknames. Nonetheless, I will still go through some interesting facts on these three new coaches.
1) Buffalo brought back a coach, Chan Gailey, who had coached 2 prior seasons with Dallas, losing in the first playoff game in each season. Chan Gailey always struck me as wildly underperforming, because these were the 1998 and 1999 Cowboy teams, so there still was a lot of talent remaining. The 1998 Cowboy team is pretty infamous for underperforming, as they are the ones that lost to the Cardinals at home. It's fun reading the article about the game, as Aeneas Williams had 2 INTs of Troy Aikman, Jamir Miller had 2 sacks and 12 tackles, and RB Adrian Murrell had a 74 yard run! While Gailey was out of the NFL, he ended up being the head coach at Georgia Tech from 2002-2007, but was never able to beat the big rival, the Georgia Bulldogs.
I found a fun video from March where Chan Gailey ends up basically saying that playing either Trent Edwards or Ryan Fitzpatrick is "like biting a bullet." Nice!
2) Seattle brought back Pete Carroll. Pete Carroll was a classic NFL coach who didn't find much success, but then was fantastic at the college level (assuming we look past the "lack of institutional control", and all the silly things that went on at USC off the field.) It's funny, because I always thought of Pete Carroll as a loser in the NFL, but he actually went to the playoffs twice with New England and even won a playoff game once, as his 1997 Patriots and Drew Bledsoe beat a hapless Dolphins team (with Karim Abdul Jabar at RB and OJ McDuffie at WR, but they still had old-man Dan Marino).
Pete Caroll has gotten involved in some interesting things. I found this one video where Pete Carroll tries to recruit Will Ferrell for Twitter.
Even better than that video, is this bizarre celebrity endorsement... for Pete Carroll's virtual world for kids called Camp Pete. I'm not making this up. Check out the link.
3) Washington brought back Mike Shanahan. If you look at the link, you will see Shanahan's incredible statistics... and also see that he's hardly won any playoff games outside of the back-to-back championships (going 1-5 in the playoffs in the other years). Shanahan's endless PR campaign against overweight DE Albert Haynesworth has been entertaining. I'm really curious though how McNabb will perform under Shanahan.
Sunday, August 09, 2009
Meet Your 2009 NFL Rookie Coaching Class
Nothing is more informative than looking at the new head coaches in the NFL! The 2008, 2007, and 2006 editions of the NFL Rookie Coaching Classes are also fun reads, if you are curious.
1. Denver Broncos - Josh McDaniels
Proposed nickname: Mr. McFlurry
Honestly, has any new coach ever gotten off to a worse start before the season than Josh McDaniels? Basically, he arrived in Denver, immediately started courting his old QB (Matt Cassel), failed to acquire him, pissed off his current QB, and ended up downgrading from QB Jay Cutler to QB Kyle Orton... and ended up pissing off his WRs too! McDaniels, who is only 33, was previously the offensive coordinator (2006-2008, during the 50-TD season of 2007 for Tom Brady) and QBs coach for the Patriots. McDaniels looks young and sweet, like a McFlurry. However, McDaniels is also just like a McFlurry- which has approximately 23 fat grams (or 76% of your saturated fat daily allowance!), as he is actually unhealthy for your football organization.
2. Detroit Lions - Jim Schwartz
Proposed nickname: Yogurt!
The Lions were winless in 2008. 2009 will be different because t
his time the Lions have the Schwartz! A fun fact: Jim Schwartz is yet another Belichick disciple, getting his start as a scout in the 1990s on the Cleveland Browns! Schwartz has been the defensive coordinator from 2001-2008 for the Titans.
3. Indianapolis Colts - Jim Caldwell
Proposed nickname: Jimmy
Interestingly, Caldwell was the head coach at Wake Forest from 1993 to 2000... and compiled a ghastly record of 26-63. Eesh. He is the hand-picked successor to Tony Dungy and was named as the coach before the 2008 season (for the 2009 season). I don't have a good feeling about this... I wonder what the Colts fans think?
4. KC Chiefs - Todd Haley
Proposed nickname: The Todd
He was the offensive coordinator for the Cardinals in 2007 and 2008. Haley is very demanding, is fiery and blunt, and learned these things while under Bill Parcells while on the Jets and the Cowboys. He's also worked with Pioli before - back on the Jets in the late 1990s. I'm proposing we call Haley the Todd, after the character from Scrubs who relentlessly gives high-fives. Like The Todd, such an insane, over-the-top energy gets old after a while. But it certainly will be fresh and enjoyable at first for the Chief players.
5. NY Jets - Rex Ryan
Proposed nickname: Zan (Wonder Twin)
Rex Ryan is indeed a son Buddy Ryan, and the twin brother of the Browns' defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. Ryan was the defensive coordinator from 2005-2008 on the Baltimore Ravens. Is it the players or was it the coaching? Marvin Lewis has showed us it was the players. I'm curious what Rex Ryan will show us? His bio on the official Jets website says that he "participated in Maryland State Police's Polar Bear Plunge in 2006 and '07." This event entails jumping in the freezing water of the Chesapeake Bay, but doing it for charity. I assume this means when he meets up with his brother Rob, he yells out "Form of... a glacier!"
6. St. Louis Rams - Steve Spagnuolo
Proposed nickname: Mr. Spasmodic
He was the Giants defensive coordinator the last 2 seasons, and has never been a head coach. By far, his greatest accomplishment was game-planning a way to defeat the previously undefeated New England Patriots in the 2007 season's Super Bowl. I absolutely love this silly picture that the Rams have on their website. Yes, one day, you could be #1! I also love this quote, from the Rams official bio: "Steve is married to wife, Maria." Yes, he is indeed married to his wife.
7. Tampa Bay - Raheem Morris
Proposed nickname: Theo
He is only 32 years old. He was the defensive coordinator at K-State for one season, and was the defensive backs coach for the Buccaneers... and now he is head coach! Wow. I did find one article explaining a bit of his background, and how he grew up in a tough neighborhood, and how he likes the Cosby Show, but then again, who doesn't like the Cosby show?!? I think we'll call him Theo, because everyone loves Theo, and this guy must be a real smooth-talker like Theo to be a head coach at the age of 32.
Coaches who took over as Interim Coaches, and Stayed on
8. San Fran 49ers - Mike Singletary*
Proposed nickname: Captain Intensity
Coach Singletary took over the 49ers last year and went 5-4 with a soft schedule. As widely reported, Singletary dropped his pants last year during a halftime speech last year to illustrate what he thought of his players' performance. I wouldn't want to mess with Singletary. He's a throwback and is full of intensity!
9. Oakland Raiders - Tom Cable*
Proposed nickname: T-Pain
Cable has only been the offensive line coach, and only was a head coach at Idaho for 3 years. He took over head coaching duties last season and went 4-8. There really isn't much known about this guy.
NOTE: Cleveland and Seattle brought back coaches who have already coached elsewhere in the past (Eric Mangini and Jim Mora Jr.). They are technically not freshman coaches who are new to the NFL so I have omitted them from this article.
1. Denver Broncos - Josh McDaniels
Proposed nickname: Mr. McFlurry
Honestly, has any new coach ever gotten off to a worse start before the season than Josh McDaniels? Basically, he arrived in Denver, immediately started courting his old QB (Matt Cassel), failed to acquire him, pissed off his current QB, and ended up downgrading from QB Jay Cutler to QB Kyle Orton... and ended up pissing off his WRs too! McDaniels, who is only 33, was previously the offensive coordinator (2006-2008, during the 50-TD season of 2007 for Tom Brady) and QBs coach for the Patriots. McDaniels looks young and sweet, like a McFlurry. However, McDaniels is also just like a McFlurry- which has approximately 23 fat grams (or 76% of your saturated fat daily allowance!), as he is actually unhealthy for your football organization.
2. Detroit Lions - Jim Schwartz
Proposed nickname: Yogurt!
The Lions were winless in 2008. 2009 will be different because t
his time the Lions have the Schwartz! A fun fact: Jim Schwartz is yet another Belichick disciple, getting his start as a scout in the 1990s on the Cleveland Browns! Schwartz has been the defensive coordinator from 2001-2008 for the Titans.3. Indianapolis Colts - Jim Caldwell
Proposed nickname: Jimmy
Interestingly, Caldwell was the head coach at Wake Forest from 1993 to 2000... and compiled a ghastly record of 26-63. Eesh. He is the hand-picked successor to Tony Dungy and was named as the coach before the 2008 season (for the 2009 season). I don't have a good feeling about this... I wonder what the Colts fans think?
4. KC Chiefs - Todd Haley
Proposed nickname: The Todd
He was the offensive coordinator for the Cardinals in 2007 and 2008. Haley is very demanding, is fiery and blunt, and learned these things while under Bill Parcells while on the Jets and the Cowboys. He's also worked with Pioli before - back on the Jets in the late 1990s. I'm proposing we call Haley the Todd, after the character from Scrubs who relentlessly gives high-fives. Like The Todd, such an insane, over-the-top energy gets old after a while. But it certainly will be fresh and enjoyable at first for the Chief players.
5. NY Jets - Rex Ryan
Proposed nickname: Zan (Wonder Twin)
Rex Ryan is indeed a son Buddy Ryan, and the twin brother of the Browns' defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. Ryan was the defensive coordinator from 2005-2008 on the Baltimore Ravens. Is it the players or was it the coaching? Marvin Lewis has showed us it was the players. I'm curious what Rex Ryan will show us? His bio on the official Jets website says that he "participated in Maryland State Police's Polar Bear Plunge in 2006 and '07." This event entails jumping in the freezing water of the Chesapeake Bay, but doing it for charity. I assume this means when he meets up with his brother Rob, he yells out "Form of... a glacier!"
6. St. Louis Rams - Steve Spagnuolo
Proposed nickname: Mr. Spasmodic
He was the Giants defensive coordinator the last 2 seasons, and has never been a head coach. By far, his greatest accomplishment was game-planning a way to defeat the previously undefeated New England Patriots in the 2007 season's Super Bowl. I absolutely love this silly picture that the Rams have on their website. Yes, one day, you could be #1! I also love this quote, from the Rams official bio: "Steve is married to wife, Maria." Yes, he is indeed married to his wife.
7. Tampa Bay - Raheem Morris
Proposed nickname: Theo
He is only 32 years old. He was the defensive coordinator at K-State for one season, and was the defensive backs coach for the Buccaneers... and now he is head coach! Wow. I did find one article explaining a bit of his background, and how he grew up in a tough neighborhood, and how he likes the Cosby Show, but then again, who doesn't like the Cosby show?!? I think we'll call him Theo, because everyone loves Theo, and this guy must be a real smooth-talker like Theo to be a head coach at the age of 32.
Coaches who took over as Interim Coaches, and Stayed on
8. San Fran 49ers - Mike Singletary*
Proposed nickname: Captain Intensity
Coach Singletary took over the 49ers last year and went 5-4 with a soft schedule. As widely reported, Singletary dropped his pants last year during a halftime speech last year to illustrate what he thought of his players' performance. I wouldn't want to mess with Singletary. He's a throwback and is full of intensity!
9. Oakland Raiders - Tom Cable*
Proposed nickname: T-Pain
Cable has only been the offensive line coach, and only was a head coach at Idaho for 3 years. He took over head coaching duties last season and went 4-8. There really isn't much known about this guy.
NOTE: Cleveland and Seattle brought back coaches who have already coached elsewhere in the past (Eric Mangini and Jim Mora Jr.). They are technically not freshman coaches who are new to the NFL so I have omitted them from this article.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Meet Your 2008 NFL Rookie Coaching Class
Nothing is more informative than looking at the new head coaches in the NFL! The 2007 and 2006 editions of the NFL Rookie Coaching Classes are also fun reads, if you are curious.
1) Washington Redskins - Jim Zorn
Proposed nickname: ZORN!!!!!
All I can think of when I see his name is the "Wrath of Zorn." Both Zorn and Khan are four letter words, both end in the letter "n," both have only one vowel, and bo
th sound very, very evil. I wonder if Zorn has ever given a brain slug to any of his players? If he did give brain slugs to each of his players, coaching the team would be like playing a video game... the players would always do what you want!
Anyways, Zorn actually was a QB that got to throw to famous WR and Congressman Steve Largent. Zorn was the QB coach at the Seahawks since 2001, where he tutored Matt Hasselbeck from a QB rating of 70 to a very high 98 in 2005 and 91 in 2007. He also was the QB coach at the Lions from 1998-2000, where he helped Charlie Batch get a QB rating of 83, 84 and 67 respectively. I honestly have no idea how being a QB coach makes one qualified to be an NFL head coach, so clearly, he must be giving brain slugs to someone.
2) Baltimore Ravens - John Harbaugh
Proposed nickname: Big Brother
John Harbaugh is indeed a younger brother of former QB Jim Harbaugh! While John Harbaugh has never been a head coach, the weird thing is former Marquette basketball coach, now Indiana coach, Tom Crean is actually John Harbaugh's brother in law! Even cooler though, is the fact that John Harbaugh played at my alma mater, the Miami RedHawks!
3) Miami Dolphins - Tony Sparano
Proposed nickname: Godfather
Of course, this coach has been hearing Sopranos jokes for years, and ESPN already has done a spoof of the Sopranos starring this new coach. This is why we should just cut the shenanigans and call him the Godfather.
4) Atlanta Falcons - Mike Smith
Proposed nickname: Smitty
Mike Smith was the defensive coordinator at Jacksonville from 2003-2007. I really can't find anything silly on this guy. Even ESPN's Camp Confidential stated that the coach is "a simple man."
1) Washington Redskins - Jim Zorn
Proposed nickname: ZORN!!!!!
All I can think of when I see his name is the "Wrath of Zorn." Both Zorn and Khan are four letter words, both end in the letter "n," both have only one vowel, and bo
th sound very, very evil. I wonder if Zorn has ever given a brain slug to any of his players? If he did give brain slugs to each of his players, coaching the team would be like playing a video game... the players would always do what you want!Anyways, Zorn actually was a QB that got to throw to famous WR and Congressman Steve Largent. Zorn was the QB coach at the Seahawks since 2001, where he tutored Matt Hasselbeck from a QB rating of 70 to a very high 98 in 2005 and 91 in 2007. He also was the QB coach at the Lions from 1998-2000, where he helped Charlie Batch get a QB rating of 83, 84 and 67 respectively. I honestly have no idea how being a QB coach makes one qualified to be an NFL head coach, so clearly, he must be giving brain slugs to someone.
2) Baltimore Ravens - John Harbaugh
Proposed nickname: Big Brother
John Harbaugh is indeed a younger brother of former QB Jim Harbaugh! While John Harbaugh has never been a head coach, the weird thing is former Marquette basketball coach, now Indiana coach, Tom Crean is actually John Harbaugh's brother in law! Even cooler though, is the fact that John Harbaugh played at my alma mater, the Miami RedHawks!
3) Miami Dolphins - Tony Sparano
Proposed nickname: Godfather
Of course, this coach has been hearing Sopranos jokes for years, and ESPN already has done a spoof of the Sopranos starring this new coach. This is why we should just cut the shenanigans and call him the Godfather.
4) Atlanta Falcons - Mike Smith
Proposed nickname: Smitty
Mike Smith was the defensive coordinator at Jacksonville from 2003-2007. I really can't find anything silly on this guy. Even ESPN's Camp Confidential stated that the coach is "a simple man."
Monday, August 06, 2007
NFL's 2007 Rookie Coaching Class
After last year's smashing success of previewing the rookie coaching class, I thought it would be fun to do it again for this upcoming season...
1) Arizona Cardinals - Ken Whisenhunt
Proposed nickname: Whizzenator
The Whizzenator was the offensiver coordinator for the Steelers. While we always think of the Steelers as a running, smash-mouth team, but the Whizz always had a good balance of creative passing plays and devised ways to allow his receivers to get big-play opportunities. He also has a Civil Engineering degree, meaning he's smarter than the average NFL coach so maybe he will be the man to finally lead the Cards to respectability.
2) Atlanta Falcons - Bobby Petrino
Proposed nickname: 'Trino
'Trino came over from Louisville after turning down a number of different NCAA and NFL opportunities the past few years. Unfortunately for him, it appears that he will not have Vick running the show but instead will get Joey Harrington. I was pleasantly surprised when reading his bio that he was quarterbacks coach of Jacksonville when the Jaguars were contenders and offensive coordinator during the tail end of the Brunell-Fred Taylor-Jimmy Smith era (in 2001, the team went 6-10). On the plus side, maybe Petrino can form a strong enough relationship with Joey to meet cousin Padraig (winner of the British Open) and distant cousin Dan Harrington (a professional poker player and winner of the 1995 World Series of Poker). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joey_Harrington The Harringtons are out to take over the world I tell you!
3) Miami Dolphins - Cam Cameron
Proposed nickname: Coach Cam
Coach Cam was the offensive coordinator on the San Diego Chargers. That's impressive until you realize that Tomlinson makes any offensive system viable. I'm intrigued most though by Coach Cam's name. It immediately reminded me of some children's literary character, named Cam, who had a photographic memory. After googling some different phrases, the best summary of this series of books is found in Wikipedia:
"Jennifer "Cam" Jansen - The female protagonist of David A. Adler's Cam Jansen children mystery novels. Cam uses her photographic memory to her advantage when solving crimes. Cam, short for Camera, was appropriately nicknamed due to her idiosyncracy of saying "click" every time she takes a "picture" of a scene in her head (using her photographic memory)." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photographic_memory
If I ever got a press pass courtesy of BSD for a Dolphins game, I would love to ask Cam Cameron if he has a photographic memory.
4) Oakland Raiders - Lane Kiffin
Proposed nickname - Kane Kiffin (sounds more menacing)
Kane was the offensive coordinator at USC and is very young and does not have much experience. Hell, he's never even been a head coach at any level! But the Raiders defense is "good" supposedly so it doesn't matter right? Wrong. I'm not expecting much from the Raiders or from Kane. Though, I do hope that Culpepper is given a chance to start because I'm rooting for him to prove everyone wrong and demonstrate that he still has something left in the tank.
5) Pittsburgh Steelers - Mike Tomlin
Proposed nickname - Tommy Boy
Tommy Boy was the defensive coordinator of the Vikings for only last season, and prior to that he was defensive backs coach at Tampa for 5 seasons. Like Kane, he has no head coaching experience at any level. The Steelers have always had success at picking young coaches though and letting them maintain continuity and stay in their positions for a long time.
NOTE: Dallas and San Diego brought back coaches who have already failed in the past (Wade Phillips and Norv Turner). They are technically not freshman coaches who are new to the NFL so I have omitted them from this article.
1) Arizona Cardinals - Ken Whisenhunt
Proposed nickname: Whizzenator
The Whizzenator was the offensiver coordinator for the Steelers. While we always think of the Steelers as a running, smash-mouth team, but the Whizz always had a good balance of creative passing plays and devised ways to allow his receivers to get big-play opportunities. He also has a Civil Engineering degree, meaning he's smarter than the average NFL coach so maybe he will be the man to finally lead the Cards to respectability.
2) Atlanta Falcons - Bobby Petrino
Proposed nickname: 'Trino
'Trino came over from Louisville after turning down a number of different NCAA and NFL opportunities the past few years. Unfortunately for him, it appears that he will not have Vick running the show but instead will get Joey Harrington. I was pleasantly surprised when reading his bio that he was quarterbacks coach of Jacksonville when the Jaguars were contenders and offensive coordinator during the tail end of the Brunell-Fred Taylor-Jimmy Smith era (in 2001, the team went 6-10). On the plus side, maybe Petrino can form a strong enough relationship with Joey to meet cousin Padraig (winner of the British Open) and distant cousin Dan Harrington (a professional poker player and winner of the 1995 World Series of Poker). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joey_Harrington The Harringtons are out to take over the world I tell you!
3) Miami Dolphins - Cam Cameron
Proposed nickname: Coach Cam
Coach Cam was the offensive coordinator on the San Diego Chargers. That's impressive until you realize that Tomlinson makes any offensive system viable. I'm intrigued most though by Coach Cam's name. It immediately reminded me of some children's literary character, named Cam, who had a photographic memory. After googling some different phrases, the best summary of this series of books is found in Wikipedia:
"Jennifer "Cam" Jansen - The female protagonist of David A. Adler's Cam Jansen children mystery novels. Cam uses her photographic memory to her advantage when solving crimes. Cam, short for Camera, was appropriately nicknamed due to her idiosyncracy of saying "click" every time she takes a "picture" of a scene in her head (using her photographic memory)." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photographic_memory
If I ever got a press pass courtesy of BSD for a Dolphins game, I would love to ask Cam Cameron if he has a photographic memory.
4) Oakland Raiders - Lane Kiffin
Proposed nickname - Kane Kiffin (sounds more menacing)
Kane was the offensive coordinator at USC and is very young and does not have much experience. Hell, he's never even been a head coach at any level! But the Raiders defense is "good" supposedly so it doesn't matter right? Wrong. I'm not expecting much from the Raiders or from Kane. Though, I do hope that Culpepper is given a chance to start because I'm rooting for him to prove everyone wrong and demonstrate that he still has something left in the tank.
5) Pittsburgh Steelers - Mike Tomlin
Proposed nickname - Tommy Boy
Tommy Boy was the defensive coordinator of the Vikings for only last season, and prior to that he was defensive backs coach at Tampa for 5 seasons. Like Kane, he has no head coaching experience at any level. The Steelers have always had success at picking young coaches though and letting them maintain continuity and stay in their positions for a long time.
NOTE: Dallas and San Diego brought back coaches who have already failed in the past (Wade Phillips and Norv Turner). They are technically not freshman coaches who are new to the NFL so I have omitted them from this article.
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Meet Your 2006 NFL Rookie Coaching Class
I feel like it’s been a long time since 7 NFL head coaches with no prior NFL head coaching experience have taken over at the same time. With all of these new coaches, I feel like it would only be educational to provide some information about each, and propose a nickname for each of the rookie head coaches.
1. New York Jets
Coach Eric Mangini
Proposed Nickname: Coach Mangina
I know I shouldn’t make fun of people’s names, but this one was too easy to pass up. Plus, all season long we can have the running plot-line of Coach Mangina dealing with his inner struggle between acting “Man”-like and acting ‘gina-like.
Mangini is a Belichick disciple, and also was a “23-year old ballboy and a public relations intern for the Cleveland Browns.” http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/jets/2006-07-06-mangini-cover_x.htm
2. Houston Texans
Coach Gary Kubiak
Proposed Nickname: The Understudy
I couldn’t really think of a good nickname for Gary Kubiak. Whenever I hear his name though, I don’t think “offensive genius,” I think “goofy backup to John Elway.” Kubiak backed up John Elway from 1983-1991.
3. Detroit Lions
Coach Rod Marinelli
Proposed Nickname: Sensei
A great quote here: "There's one voice for discipline. Mine," the Vietnam veteran said during his introductory news conference. "There's one voice for leadership. Mine." Wow. I'm guessing this guy is like another Vietnam veteran, the leader of the Cobra Kai in Karate Kid. I picture him running the Lions practices in a whole new way.
Sensei: Fear does not exist in Ford Field, does it?
Detroit Lions: NO, SENSEI!
Sensei: Pain does not exist in Ford Field, does it?
Detroit Lions: NO, SENSEI!
Sensei: Defeat does not exist in Ford Field, does it?
Detroit Lions: NO, SENSEI!
4. Green Bay Packers
Coach Mike McCarthy
Proposed Nickname: Packer Person
McCarthy has one of the worst resumes of any rookie coach. He was the Packers QB in 1999, when the Packers went 8-8. He was the 49ers offensive coordinator then from 2000-2004. Last year, the 49ers were 30th in scoring. I have no idea how he got a head coaching job now, as opposed to earlier in his career. However, I did find his mission statement, at http://www.packers.com/news/stories/2006/01/12/1/ , His mission statement for the Packers focuses on 3 components: “Packer People,” “Stable Structure” and “Character and Chemistry.” I don’t know what “Packer People” are. Are they fans? Are they draft picks? I guess we’ll find out.
5. Minnesota Vikings
Coach: Brad Childress
Proposed Nickname: B-Rad
Brad’s credentials are fairly solid, having been the offensive coordinator at Philly. More importantly, it looks like Brad takes the cake for “Best Moustache in the 2006 NFL Rookie Coaching Class.” Congratulations.
6. New Orleans Saints
Coach: Sean Payton
Proposed Nickname: The Apprentice
Credentials include serving under Bill Parcells and being an assistant on the Giants 2000 NFC Championship team. I also liked this added bit of random knowledge provided on NFL.com : “In addition to coaching quarterbacks, Payton had a very brief pro playing career at that position in the CFL and as a Chicago Bears replacement player in the 1987 strike season.”
Also turns out that he made a pit-stop at Miami University, my alma mater. As said on the Sporting News: “By 1994 he was an assistant at Miami University of Ohio, the school that has earned the nickname "Cradle of Coaches" by virtue of having served as a training ground for legends, among them Paul Brown, Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler, Ara Parseghian and Weeb Ewbank. By 1997, he was coaching quarterbacks in Philadelphia for Ray Rhodes.” Other than the Ray Rhodes comment, it’s a damn good resume!
7. St. Louis Rams
Coach: Scott Linehan
Proposed Nickname: Hanny
He was the offensive coordinator on the Vikings in 2002-2004 when the Vikings ranked in the top 5 every year in yards gained. He then went to the Dolphins last year and got production out of Gus Frerotte! Now, he’s the head coach of the Rams. Should be an interesting experiment, as Linehan has been proven to devise some creative schemes. They posted this real goofy picture of him on the Rams website that needed to be shared with everyone.
1. New York Jets
Coach Eric Mangini
Proposed Nickname: Coach Mangina
I know I shouldn’t make fun of people’s names, but this one was too easy to pass up. Plus, all season long we can have the running plot-line of Coach Mangina dealing with his inner struggle between acting “Man”-like and acting ‘gina-like.
Mangini is a Belichick disciple, and also was a “23-year old ballboy and a public relations intern for the Cleveland Browns.” http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/jets/2006-07-06-mangini-cover_x.htm
2. Houston Texans
Coach Gary Kubiak
Proposed Nickname: The Understudy
I couldn’t really think of a good nickname for Gary Kubiak. Whenever I hear his name though, I don’t think “offensive genius,” I think “goofy backup to John Elway.” Kubiak backed up John Elway from 1983-1991.
3. Detroit Lions
Coach Rod Marinelli
Proposed Nickname: Sensei
A great quote here: "There's one voice for discipline. Mine," the Vietnam veteran said during his introductory news conference. "There's one voice for leadership. Mine." Wow. I'm guessing this guy is like another Vietnam veteran, the leader of the Cobra Kai in Karate Kid. I picture him running the Lions practices in a whole new way.
Sensei: Fear does not exist in Ford Field, does it?
Detroit Lions: NO, SENSEI!
Sensei: Pain does not exist in Ford Field, does it?
Detroit Lions: NO, SENSEI!
Sensei: Defeat does not exist in Ford Field, does it?
Detroit Lions: NO, SENSEI!
4. Green Bay Packers
Coach Mike McCarthy
Proposed Nickname: Packer Person
McCarthy has one of the worst resumes of any rookie coach. He was the Packers QB in 1999, when the Packers went 8-8. He was the 49ers offensive coordinator then from 2000-2004. Last year, the 49ers were 30th in scoring. I have no idea how he got a head coaching job now, as opposed to earlier in his career. However, I did find his mission statement, at http://www.packers.com/news/stories/2006/01/12/1/ , His mission statement for the Packers focuses on 3 components: “Packer People,” “Stable Structure” and “Character and Chemistry.” I don’t know what “Packer People” are. Are they fans? Are they draft picks? I guess we’ll find out.
5. Minnesota VikingsCoach: Brad Childress
Proposed Nickname: B-Rad
Brad’s credentials are fairly solid, having been the offensive coordinator at Philly. More importantly, it looks like Brad takes the cake for “Best Moustache in the 2006 NFL Rookie Coaching Class.” Congratulations.
6. New Orleans Saints
Coach: Sean Payton
Proposed Nickname: The Apprentice
Credentials include serving under Bill Parcells and being an assistant on the Giants 2000 NFC Championship team. I also liked this added bit of random knowledge provided on NFL.com : “In addition to coaching quarterbacks, Payton had a very brief pro playing career at that position in the CFL and as a Chicago Bears replacement player in the 1987 strike season.”
Also turns out that he made a pit-stop at Miami University, my alma mater. As said on the Sporting News: “By 1994 he was an assistant at Miami University of Ohio, the school that has earned the nickname "Cradle of Coaches" by virtue of having served as a training ground for legends, among them Paul Brown, Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler, Ara Parseghian and Weeb Ewbank. By 1997, he was coaching quarterbacks in Philadelphia for Ray Rhodes.” Other than the Ray Rhodes comment, it’s a damn good resume!
7. St. Louis Rams
Coach: Scott Linehan
Proposed Nickname: Hanny
He was the offensive coordinator on the Vikings in 2002-2004 when the Vikings ranked in the top 5 every year in yards gained. He then went to the Dolphins last year and got production out of Gus Frerotte! Now, he’s the head coach of the Rams. Should be an interesting experiment, as Linehan has been proven to devise some creative schemes. They posted this real goofy picture of him on the Rams website that needed to be shared with everyone.
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