01/05/2009 12:14 AM
Source: Easton Express-Times
bu NICK FIERRO
Two straight Super Bowl victories in the late 1990s had Mike Shanahan flying a mile high in Denver. Three straight seasons out of the playoffs in this decade had him seeking new employment as of Dec. 30. That's the way it goes for even the finest NFL coaches.
The most successful coach in the history of the Broncos franchise was fired last week, following a New York Mets-like collapse that saw the Broncos lose their last three games and squander an AFC West title that was theirs for the taking all season.
Shanahan will land somewhere soon, providing he still wants to work. He's too good to be out of a job for very long.
His sudden availability placed him at or near the top of the unofficial "hot list" of head-coaching candidates for the positions that either are open or might pop open soon because he's now on the market.
For example, Dallas Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones, despite the promise he made to bring Wade Phillips back as head coach next year before his team's ghastly loss to the Eagles in the season finale, would be foolish not to openly court Shanahan.
Not having an accomplished head coach in place before moving into its new stadium next season could prove to be disastrous for a franchise that will begin hemmorhaging money if it doesn't begin to sell the many personal seat licenses still available. As it is, Jones has applied for another loan to help with construction costs that have exceeded $1 billion.
Same goes for the Kansas City Chiefs, who are expected to cut Herm Edwards loose any day now; and the Jacksonville Jaguars, who have won just one playoff game in six seasons under Jack Del Rio, who is coming off a last-place finish in the AFC South.
Shanahan, who will make $21 million over the next three years from the Broncos if he doesn't find another job, is understandably not ready to jump at the first offer. He told the NFL Network after his firing that he would take a two-week vacation before speaking to any prospective employers.
Among the other names on the hot list are New York Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo (who already has interviewed with everyone except the Pope), former Pittsburgh coach Bill Cowher and New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. Even Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, who's been promised the head-coaching job down the road by Jones, would be on the move.
The New York Jets, who fired Eric Mangini, have interviewed Spagnuolo after making unsuccessful runs at Cowher and Shanahan.
01/05/2009 12:11 AM
Source: Bloomberg News
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones might pursue former Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan for the 2010 National Football League season, ESPN reported.
Shanahan, who was fired Dec. 30 as the Broncos coach and vice president of football operations, would be the leading candidate to replace Cowboys coach Wade Phillips if Jones makes a move for the 2009 season, though 2010 would be more likely, ESPN said, citing unidentified people with the team.
He was fired when Denver missed the playoffs for the third straight season after losing its final three games to finish 8-8. Shanahan yesterday told NBC that he plans to take a couple of weeks to consider his options, and would only return to football in 2009 if he found a perfect situation.
Jones on Dec. 26 said his coaching staff was "in place" for 2009, indicating Phillips's job was safe regardless of how the Cowboys played in their final regular-season game against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles won that game 44-6 to qualify for the playoffs and knocked the Cowboys out of postseason contention.
01/05/2009 12:10 AM
by Todd Archer, The Dallas Morning News , The Dallas Morning News
Jan. 4--IRVING -- During a portion of a two-hour interview in August, Jerry Jones reflected on his mistakes in his first 19 years with the Cowboys.
He wishes he had handled the Tom Landry dismissal better and said he should not have been so cavalier about his friendship with Jimmy Johnson.
And?
"I regret just giving Chan [Gailey] two years," said Jones, the Cowboys' owner and general manager. "When you really look at what he's done since he's left here and look at what he had done here -- he took us to the playoffs twice. And I'm not talking about the fairness of it. I'm just talking about how I should have worked hard on some things where we could've made adjustments that were meaningful."
Gailey is a footnote in Cowboys history: the fourth coach in franchise history, one with an 18-14 record, an NFC East title in 1998 and no playoff wins.
But as the Cowboys move into 2009 with Wade Phillips for a third year, Jones' misgivings about his decision to fire Gailey cannot be overlooked.
A week ago, after the Cowboys' season ended with the biggest loss of his tenure -- 44-6 at Philadelphia -- Jones stood inside the visitors' locker room and talked about continuity.
"I like what we're doing and what we're trying to do offensively," Jones said. "I like what we're trying to do defensively.
"I know the first thing when I look back having had four or five head coaches, I don't know that change was necessarily the answer. Maybe having them address change might have been the better answer."
Only Barry Switzer (24-8) has a better two-year record than the 22-10 mark Phillips has had with the Cowboys.
Switzer took over a team that won back-to-back Super Bowls under Johnson and suffered through an agonizing loss to San Francisco in the 1994 NFC Championship Game before winning Super Bowl against Pittsburgh to end the 1995 season.
Phillips took over a team that appeared ready to make a jump from playoff team to Super Bowl contender and produced a 13-3 record in 2007. But the Cowboys failed to win a playoff game, then failed to make the postseason in 2008, finishing 9-7 after the collapse to the Eagles. After a 12-1 start, the Cowboys are 10-10 in their last 20 games under Phillips, including the postseason loss to the New York Giants.
At his season-ending news conference, Phillips promised change but did not provide any specifics. He talked about being more demanding if necessary and said he would look at how he conducted everything from the off-season program to training camp to regular-season practices.
Does Phillips think it will be difficult for the players to believe in the message that will be delivered?
"No, I don't," he said. "I think once we come together and work the whole off-season together and the mini-camps, the OTAs [organized team activities], all those things, we'll be pointed in the right direction."
When he came to the Cowboys, Phillips signed a three-year deal with an option for a fourth, which would indicate there will be even more pressure on him in 2009. Phillips said he would not think about job security.
But in a win-now league, even a two-time Super Bowl winning coach like Denver's Mike Shanahan can be fired.
Switzer said an NFL coach has only four years at the most to prove himself.
"If the arrow isn't pointing up, then he's going to be gone," Switzer said.
Even before the season ended, Phillips spread the continuity message, talking about the benefit that teams like Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay have had in keeping their systems in place despite head coaching changes.
"If you keep changing every year or two, it's a problem," Phillips said during a Dec. 15 news conference. "I'd rather just keep the coaches, myself."
The remark drew chuckles. While the Cowboys were ranked eighth defensively and led the NFL with 59 sacks, they went from 13th in points allowed in 2007 to 20th. The Cowboys had the third-ranked offense and were No. 2 in points in '07, but in 2008 they finished 13th in total offense and were 18th in points.
"Continuity is good if you've got the right people," Johnson said. "If you've got the wrong people, continuity just means bad stays bad."
01/05/2009 12:09 AM
by Gary West, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas , Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Jan. 4--In his 13 seasons, Joe DiMaggio was never thrown out advancing from first to third base. And that, nearly as much as the lifetime batting average of .325 and the famous hitting streak, hints at the source of DiMaggio's greatness: intelligent judgment, which he made vivid with athleticism.
Frequently, it's intelligence that distinguishes the great from the good athlete. Frequently, it's intelligence that distinguishes the championship teams from the ruck.
And, more than anything, it was intelligence the Cowboys lacked this year. They weren't gutless; they were dumb. The Cowboys' playoff hopes crashed ignominiously on the shoals and their embarrassment in Philadelphia, indeed their entire season, should have reminded them that intelligence and judgment remain just as necessary to winning as athletic talent.
Years ago, George Will cited as evidence of DiMaggio's "genius" the Yankee Clipper's perfect record of success in moving from first to third. Consistently good judgment made DiMaggio, in Will's words, the "consummate professional" and one of baseball's greatest players. But it's true in every sport.
Why is Peyton Manning, named the NFL's Most Valuable Player again, the best quarterback in the game? (Don't say because of Tom Brady's injury.) And why was Manning able to lead the Colts into the playoffs with nine consecutive victories?
Manning doesn't have the best arm in the league. He's never the best athlete on the field. But in terms of Football judgment, he's the smartest. And it's his intelligence that enables him to control games.
What makes Dustin Pedroia of the Red Sox an outstanding player and an MVP? It's not just his .326 batting average; it's his judgment. He struck out only 52 times last year in 653 official at-bats, and his stolen-base percentage was 95.2.
And is it coincidence that the quarterbacks who succeed in the NFL are generally the guys who stayed in school four or even five years -- e.g., Brady, Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco, Eli and Peyton Manning? Probably not.
Intelligent judgment has always trumped mere athleticism. Tom Glavine simply knew how to pitch, Tony Gwynn how to hit, and Bart Starr how to pass, which is to say they played with intelligent judgment made vivid by athleticism.
Bill Russell wasn't the most talented basketball player ever to lace up his sneakers. But he was the most successful, playing on 11 championship teams with the Celtics.
At 6-10, he might not have been the most physically imposing player on the floor, but he blocked shots and gathered rebounds by the bushel partly because of his anticipation. He had infallible instincts. And, as Tony La Russa once pointed out, instincts are derived from an accumulation of knowledge.
"Athleticism and intelligence are both important for success," said Gil Brandt, the longtime vice president of the Cowboys who's now with NFL.com. "We always tried to draft smart players, and I think that's one of the reasons our teams were so good."
Charlie Waters, Brandt said, was the epitome of a smart player. A Cowboys safety throughout the 1970s, Waters played in five Super Bowls, making up for any deficiencies in athleticism with his intelligence.
That's what a smart player does, Brandt said. The smart player adjusts to circumstances; when he loses one tool, he finds another that will enable him to do the job. And in that, the Cowboys of the time were a reflection of an intelligent coach, Tom Landry.
But the Cowboys of 2008 reflected something quite different. DiMaggio was the consummate professional and Waters the epitome of a smart player, but the Cowboys of 2008 were something else entirely.
Adam Jones reminded everyone that lapses in judgment off the field are frequently mirrored by lapses on the field. Flozell Adams sometimes played as though lost in a childish daydream. Tony Romo often played as if he considered the Football a Christmas ornament, something to be brandished and dangled. Or maybe a Christmas present.
And so the Cowboys were the most frequently penalized team in the NFL -- 119 times for 952 yards. And they were among the most generous, giving the ball away 33 times, surpassed only by the 49ers' 35 turnovers.
A challenge such as the Cowboys faced in Philadelphia can elicit evidence of a team's true character -- its determination, its solidarity, its toughness, its voluntas, its intelligence or, in the case of the Cowboys, something else entirely.
01/02/2009 04:49 PM
by Barry Horn
The New York tabloids all but had Bill Cowher signed sealed and delivered to coach the New York Jets earlier this week. But now comes word that he has decided not to interview for the Jets job or the Browns job.
It looks like he isn't in the Cowboys non-mix, either. The Cowboys, you may have heard, are sticking with Wade Phillips. Imagine this headline: "Coach Cowher not interviewing for non-vacant Cowboys coaching job." Wow, sports journalism is sure changing.
And to top it all off, CBS and Cowher have agreed to a contract extension that will keep him the network's pre-game studio for another year.
01/02/2009 03:22 PM
Posted by Matt Loede on January 2nd, 2009 filed in News
From: Yahoo! Sports
The Cowboys don’t have any must-haves as far the unrestricted free agent class. Kevin Burnett, Chris Canty and Keith Davis are players they would like to have back at the right price, but they are not going to break the bank for them. Zach Thomas and Tank Johnson are free agents who likely will be allowed to walk and Miles Austin is a restricted free agent who will get the high tender of $2 million.
01/02/2009 02:51 PM
Source: http://bugleobserver.canadaeast.com
Thumbs up to fans of the Dallas Cowboys, who had to put up with one of the most frustrating NFL seasons in the franchise's history. They were battered emotionally at every turn, but nearly all of them stayed the course. The troops of Jerry Jones had four opportunities down the stretch to either solidify or clinch a playoff berth, but poor signal calling by QB Tony Romo, and a lack of tackling strength by a depleted defense, sealed the deal for Dallas. Where have you gone, Danny White? At least you lost your big games in the NFC Championships!
Jeffrey Bento-Carrier
Sports Editor
-------------
Thumbs down to Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones for refusing to fire coach Wade Phillips. Jones says he doesn't want to make a mistake and fire Phillips prematurely. Well, after the embarrassing collapse (again) of America's team, it seems like it would be a mistake to NOT fire Phillips. He's not the only problem with the team, but you can't fire all the players, so you might as well start with the man in charge.
Bryan Tait
Staff Journalist
01/02/2009 02:48 PM
Jones unlikely to keep coach with big-name talent available
By JOHN McCLAIN
The criticism of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, coach Wade Phillips and the players by the Metroplex media is vicious.
Without change on the coaching staff and on the roster, just about every Cowboys fan knows it’ll be almost impossible to sell the 2009 edition of America’s Team as a legitimate Super Bowl contender.
Getting blown out at Philadelphia and missing the playoffs isn’t the ending Jones planned before the Cowboys move into the Taj Mahal of stadiums next season.
No matter how hard Jones tries to convince us that he’s keeping Phillips, every Cowboys fan worth his star knows the owner is maneuvering behind the scenes and is at least talking to Bill Cowher, Mike Shanahan and/or Mike Holmgren — none of whom may coach next season.
The only way the Cowboys are going to make the kind of splash in the NFL swimming pool that Jones demands is to hire a big-name coach with a Super Bowl victory on his résumé.
We may never know what Jones is doing behind the scenes, but refusing to make major changes after such a bitter ending isn’t his style. Never will be, either.
It won’t be surprising if Phillips ends up resigning with an impressive golden parachute because Jones has convinced one of the big-timers to bail him out.
And if you doubt his ability to sell his team to a big-time coach, just remember how he lured the Tuna to Valley Ranch, and they managed to coexist.
Shanahan could be a fit
Shanahan might be better off waiting a year — doing a little television studio work and playing a lot of golf — but it’s no secret that he and Jones like and respect each other.
It might not be a perfect marriage, but how many are? Jones and Shanahan have similar styles. Shanahan didn’t mind acquiring and coaching players with baggage, and Jones already has enough to fill the luggage bin in a 747.
Most coaches would tell Jones to get rid of Terrell Owens because he’s a cancer who divides a locker room. Shanahan would embrace Owens because T.O. still has talent.
Jones wants a coach who can help Tony Romo become a big-time quarterback and not the one who committed 21 turnovers, including 14 interceptions, in 13 games.
Shanahan’s specialty is quarterbacks. He’s also the kind of disciplinarian who could fill the divide in the locker room.
If Super Bowl-winning coaches turn their backs on Jones, he’ll go into next season with Phillips coaching his third season.
Phillips will be 62. He’s never had a losing season, but he’s never won a playoff game. He’s one of the all-time great guys, one of the best defensive coaches in history. Asking Phillips to be more demanding with his players is a recipe for disaster. Players will see through his new get-tough policy.
Phillips needs more pull
If Phillips does, indeed, return to the Cowboys, he needs the freedom to clean out his combustible locker room, but he’s not going to get it because Jones runs the show.
No matter who coaches the Cowboys, they need to get rid of Pacman Jones and Tank Johnson, among others. Bringing back Owens is inviting more trouble because Roy Williams won’t be happy again.
Linebacker Bradie James, one of the Cowboys’ leaders who had a terrific season, put it best.
“There were a lot of personalities put on this team, and we didn’t jell,” he said. “This past game, you could see it. When you know you’ve got something on the line, and you’re playing to go into the playoffs, you know what you have to do, and you go out there and stink it up like that? That just speaks for itself.”
And if Jones preserves the status quo with a team that needs a heart transplant, he’s inviting more of the same.
America’s line McClain’s pick
Atlanta (11-5) minus-2 at Arizona (9-7) Cardinals 27-24
Indianapolis (12-4) minus-1 at San Diego (8-8) Chargers 30-27
Baltimore (11-5) minus-3 at Miami (11-5) Dolphins 20-17
Philadelphia (9-6-1) minus-3 at Minnesota (10-6) Eagles 24-17
Last week: 11-5 straight up, 7-7-2 against spread
Season: 173-82 straight up, 128-116-11 against spread
01/02/2009 02:45 PM
By Mike Klis
The Denver Post
http://www.denverpost.com/popular/ci_11350685
The search for Mike Shanahan's replacement will start in full swing this weekend.
The Broncos have confirmed they will meet with New York Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and Tampa Bay defensive backs coach Raheem Morris.
The interview road trip will take them to New York to talk with Spagnuolo on Saturday, then to the Boston area on Sunday to interview McDaniels. The team will then interview Morris on Monday.
The Broncos have also sought — but not yet been given — permission to interview offensive coordinator Jason Garrett of the Dallas Cowboys.
Denver also reached out to University of Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, to gauge his interest in the coaching
Raheem Morris. (Getty Images)job, according to two NFL sources.
Spagnuolo, 49, is considered the No. 1 head coaching candidate in the NFL. He was the only defensive coach who frustrated the previously undefeated New England Patriots in 2007, helping the Giants upset them in the Super Bowl.
Spagnuolo became the Giants' defensive coordinator in 2007 after eight years with the Philadelphia Eagles. After being courted by the Washington Redskins last year, the Giants rewarded him with a three-year contract for more than $2 million a year.
Morris, 32, has gradually risen through the coaching ranks after playing at Hofstra and working his way up from graduate assistant at the school in 1998. He broke in with the Tampa Bay Bucs in 2002 as a defensive quality control coach and also spent a season as defensive coordinator at Kansas State.
During his time at Tampa Bay, Morris worked with assistants Kyle Shanahan, now with the Houston Texans, and Jeremy Bates, now the Broncos quarterback coach.
McDaniels, 32, directed a Patriots offense that set an NFL record with 589 points in 2007 and finished fifth in the league this season in yards gained, despite losing all-pro quarterback Tom Brady in the first quarter of the first game to a season-ending knee injury.
Garrett, 42, was the league's hottest head-coaching candidate last year. But he turned down offers to lead the Baltimore Ravens and the Atlanta Falcons, who both made it to the playoffs this year. Garrett instead stayed with the Cowboys where he became the league's highest-paid coordinator at $3 million a year, with the understanding he would eventually replace Wade Phillips as head coach.
01/02/2009 02:42 PM
by Brian Davis, The Dallas Morning News
Jan. 1--IRVING -- When Cowboys defensive players reflect on the season, they will probably think about one overriding question:
Why was the defense so inconsistent?
On paper, this unit should have been one of the NFL's best. DeMarcus Ware was one of the league's best pass rushers. Terence Newman was a top-flight cornerback. Greg Ellis and Ken Hamlin were coming off career years in 2007.
Zach Thomas wanted to prove he still had gas in the tank after 12 years in Miami. Chris Canty came into the season motivated in hopes of landing a big contract. And Adam Jones wanted to show the world he was ready to put his troubled past behind him.
In the end, the Cowboys defense made no major improvements.
The rankings indicate otherwise. The NFL's ninth-best defense in 2007 finished eighth best in 2008. But the points per game went up (22.8 from 20.3 in '07). The offense put the defense in bad situations because of 33 turnovers. The special teams were awful, which also hurt field position.
"It's funny how things wind up, you know?" Newman said as he was cleaning out his locker.
"We've had a lot of talent, but that doesn't necessarily guarantee you're going to win. Cowboys teams in the past had talent. Some of them won Super Bowls and some of them didn't. It doesn't guarantee anything."
How does a defense lead the league in sacks (59) but get only eight interceptions, the team's lowest total since 1997?
How does the run defense stuff Green Bay's Ryan Grant (54 yards on Sept. 21) and Washington's Clinton Portis (68 yards on Nov. 16) and then give up the longest back-to-back rushing plays in NFL history against the Ravens?
"It didn't come down to just one game," Thomas said. "You can go all the way back to St. Louis if you want or the first Washington game. There are a lot of reasons we're not in the playoffs."
Coach Wade Phillips knew something had to change after the lowly Rams steamrolled their way to 325 total yards in a 34-14 win Oct. 19. After that game, Phillips said he wanted more control over the defense but never outlined what that meant.
Multiple players said Phillips was going to start calling the defensive plays. But Phillips went the extra mile never to publicly rip defensive coordinator Brian Stewart.
Whoever was in charge, the defense improved. Ware was busy accumulating 20 sacks. Jay Ratliff was building a Pro Bowl resume at nose tackle with eight sacks. Bradie James was compiling a career year at inside linebacker. Anthony Spencer was showing that he is ready to supplant Ellis as a full-time starter.
All of this happened while Jones sat out six games for getting into an altercation with his bodyguard at a Dallas hotel.
As the defense improved, Phillips casually mentioned that he was calling the plays. Suddenly, Phillips wanted credit for the defensive turnaround.
But too many big plays turned the tide in December.
Santonio Holmes beat Newman for a 47-yard catch that flipped the field position in a tight game at Pittsburgh. Willis McGahee and Le'Ron McClain ran into Texas Stadium history with 77- and 82-yard touchdown runs. Then, Donovan McNabb hit Correll Buckhalter for a 59-yard catch-and-run that ignited the Philadelphia rout.
Defensive players were arguing with each other in the huddle in Philadelphia. Afterward, they had few answers.
"We didn't execute," Hamlin said in robotic fashion.
James said the team had a lot of different personalities in the locker room, and obviously they didn't jell. Somehow, they've got to figure it out during the off-season.
"When you know that you've got something on the line, and you're planning to go into the playoffs, and you know what you have to do," James said, "and you go out there and stink it up like that, that just speaks for itself."
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James Harrison won the Associated Press' Defensive Player of the Year Award. He had an excellent season with 16 sacks, a franchise record, and seven forced fumbles. I can't say the voters made a mistake, especially considering Pittsburgh has the NFL's best defense.
If you listen to some folks, it's a foregone conclusion that Tony Romo will never, ever win a playoff game.