NFL Coach of the Year Runners-up

BUTCH DAVIS
When the Cleveland Browns hired Butch Davis as the second head coach in the three-year history of the new Browns franchise, Davis was told to beef up the defense and the running game and field a team that resembled the aggressive, hard-nosed kind of football Browns fans have been accustomed to back in the old days.

More important, he was instructed to take the core of a team that had gone 5-27 over its first two seasons and turn the Browns into winners.

“Everyone needed to stop seeing themselves as losers here. Everyone told them what bad players they were,” Davis said. “We probably spent the first six months on the mental approach and attitude as much as on football X’s and O’s.”

Davis and his coaching staff obviously did something right. The Browns not only instilled a winning attitude in the Browns, but they produced tangible results by improving from 3-13 to 7-9 and finishing third in the rugged AFC Central Division.

“We took huge steps,” cornerback Daylon McCutcheon said. “We were able to go out there and be confident and have fun, and I think that’s one of the biggest things. We wanted to build some respect. We wanted respect from the rest of the league, and I think we got that.”

Of course, winning almost always makes playing more fun, but the Browns also learned how to put the fun into football on the front end.

“He wants you to go out and have fun,” said Browns wide receiver Jammi German, who also played for Davis at the University of Miami. “It’s a college atmosphere in professional football.”

When Davis came to Cleveland in February after five seasons at Miami, where he inherited a program riddled with NCAA probation and penalties and turned it back into a national power, NFL analysts weren’t universally convinced he could get the job done in the NFL. But Davis, who was a defensive assistant and later defensive coordinator with the Dallas Cowboys from 1989-94 under Jimmy Johnson, knew he could get the job in the pros and his confidence soon became obvious to the players.

“He’s a disciple of Jimmy Johnson, and he took this job to prove to people ‘I am a great coach’ and ‘I can be a great coach at any level,’” cornerback Corey Fuller said. “It takes a lot for a man to say that, especially when they give you $15 million. That’s what life is about – it’s a challenge.”

The next challenge for Davis and his players is to earn a winning record and reach the playoffs in 2002.

“We definitely made some terrific strides this year,” wide receiver Kevin Johnson said. “We went from 3-13 to 7-9, also knowing there were two or three more games we could have won.

“It’s definitely different walking out of here than it was last year. But the bottom line is getting to the postseason and we didn’t accomplish that goal. Hopefully we can go back to the drawing board and try to get there next year.”

DICK JAURON
It’s been a long time since Dick Jauron played for his favorite football coach, but that coach still had a big impact on the Chicago Bears in 2001.

That coach just happens to be Jauron’s father, Bob, a former high school and college coach who taught his son more than just X’s and O’s. According to Jauron, his father also taught him about having a positive attitude and treating people with respect.

“He was the best coach I ever had,” Jauron says, “and I try to use many of his lessons as I coach.”

Those lessons helped Jauron turn the Bears into winners in 2001. Just one year after going 5-11, the Bears came together under adversity last fall and made a habit of winning close games. With a defense that led the NFL in scoring, allowing only 203 points, the Bears went 13-3, won their first NFL Central Division title since 1990 and made it to the playoffs for the first time since 1994. At the end of the regular season, The Associated Press chose him as the NFL coach of the year.

“You could see how much the players and coaches wanted to succeed in the past, but we weren’t quite good enough or fast enough,” Jauron says. “This year, I had a strong sense were going to be a much better team when we went to mini-camp. There was clear evidence that our players were getting better and that they understood what we were trying to do. It kept on building and building and once we got to the regular season, I knew we were going to be a good team.”

Even more impressive is the fact that Jauron entered the season on the hot seat, with an 11-21 record in Chicago, a new general manager, a young, unproven team and an abundance of questions to answer.

“I’d be lying if I said I never wondered about it. But I never worried about it,” Jauron said. “There are some things that you should worry about, that are worth worrying about, but I would say a job is not one of them. Because all you can do in that regard is the best you can do. All you can do is keep working at it.”

Jauron not only proved he could win games, but also proved he could win over young players and pull them together as a team.

“I’m happy for Coach Jauron,” safety Mike Brown said. “People have been really hard on him. He’s the main reason we’re here. He told us at the beginning of training camp that we weren’t going to lose anymore. And we believed in him.”

Added center Olin Kreutz, a Pro Bowl starter: “Coach Jauron hasn’t changed. Even when we were losing, he didn’t change. This year, he came in and his job was on the line and he didn’t change. We took that key from him. And we play for him.

“He’s a great coach. He instills confidence in you. He’s got a quiet confidence about him and that’s what we take from him.”

STEVE MARIUCCI
Following in the successful footsteps of two Super Bowl winning coaches is never easy, especially for a young, unproven head coach inheriting a veteran team.

That’s the challenge Steve Mariucci accepted in 1997 when he took over a San Francisco 49er team in transition. Over the next four years, the 49ers underwent a complete transformation because of personnel turnover. By 2000 the 49ers were starting as many as seven rookies on defense, including five at one time. The starting quarterback, Jeff Garcia, is a former CFL quarterback who had to work his way up the NFL ladder, and Mariucci’s starting tailback, Garrison Hearst, is a surprising reclamation project after suffering through potential career-ending injuries.

Through it all, the 49ers have once again emerged as one of the NFL’s best teams, with plenty of new faces but the same high expectations for new success. With a 12-4 record and an NFC wild card playoff berth in 2001, the 49ers appear to be a team to be reckoned with in 2002.

Mariucci’s success attracted the attention of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who talked to him about becoming the team’s head coach and general manager in February, but Mariucci decided to stay in San Francisco and work toward taking the 49ers to the next level of success.

“My first team here was a very veteran team. I inherited a group of guys that were my age. I really thoroughly enjoyed that,” Mariucci said. “The scenery has changed dramatically here with a bunch of young players. We have about 28 first- or second-year players on this team, which I enjoy, too. They’re hard working guys, they’re eager, they’re coachable, they have such a great upside. I love their energy.

“So within a few years the face of this team has changed. But our goal is the same. Maybe we coach these guys a little differently, with more fundamentals in mind and patience in mind. But the goal is never going to change.”

Mariucci must be doing something right, because the leaders in the 49ers’ locker room were relieved and excited when they learned he would be returning in 2002.

“There is only one Steve Mariucci and I consider myself very fortunate to work with him,” said defensive end Andre Carter, who also played for Mariucci at Cal. “He is a great guy with great character and is always fun to be around.

“All you need to do is look at what he did with us last year, the previous two years we were down and we came back in a big way in 2001. He is the best coach I have worked with and he is the man I want coaching us period.”

Garcia, who recently played in his second consecutive Pro Bowl, added, “Coach Mariucci listened (to the Buccaneers) and decided to stay with the 49ers, which is important for us. We again have the stability of a head coach that helps us to work and focus on becoming a Super Bowl-type team.”

BILL COWHER
The Pittsburgh Steelers final game of the 2001 season left coach Bill Cowher with mixed emotions.

On one hand, Cowher and the Steelers were left with plenty of frustrating “what ifs” after their 24-17 loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game. On the other hand, the Steelers had a lot to be proud of, including a 13-3 record, an AFC Central Division title and a trip to the conference championship game.

The season may not have been everything the Steelers wanted it to be, but for a team that has spent most of the two previous seasons rebuilding from free agent losses, 2001 still has to be considered a big success.

“This has been a football team that has, all season long, answered the challenges and seized the opportunities that have existed and we feel like we let one slip away,” Cowher said. “There’s a lot of disappointment ... but it’s been a very close football team, a very unselfish football team. It’s hard to put into words the disappointment that exists. There’s a lot that this football team has to be proud of. I think this football team far exceeded anyone’s expectations this year even though we feel like we fell short.”

As a team, the Steelers entered the season facing more questions than answers, but they provided their own answers as the season went along with resilient defense, hard-nosed offense and a new game plan designed by offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey to make the best possible use of quarterback Kordell Stewart’s talents.

In many ways, the team reflected the intensity and determination of its head coach.

“We’ve got guys now who really believe in coach Cowher’s ability,” safety Lee Flowers said. “A few years ago, we had a lot of older guys who were stuck in their own ways, but coach Cowher did a good job of getting a lot of young guys willing to win it his way. Some of them really didn’t want to do it coach Cowher’s way before, and I think that’s why they’re not here any more.”

On a personal level, Cowher began the season as one of two longest-tenured head coaches in the NFL, and when the season ended he was the only one left standing. Cowher, who became the Steelers 15th head coach when he took over for Chuck Noll in 1992, has now managed to survive 10 seasons in a profession where most head coaches are lucky to make it three or fours.

At age 44, Cowher is still eager to learn, grow and improve as a head coach, even if he’s been one longer than any current coach in the NFL.

“I’ve tried to keep my eyes and ears open for new thoughts and new ideas,” Cowher said. “I’ve always said that the day you think you’ve got all the answers, the game has passed you by - and you didn’t even know it.”