AFM RSS Feed Follow Us on Twitter       
AMERICAN FOOTBALL MONTHLY THE #1 RESOURCE FOR FOOTBALL COACHES
ABOUT |  CONTACT |  ADVERTISE |  HELP  



   User Name    Password 
      Password Help





Article Categories


AFM Magazine

AFM Magazine


The Saints Go Marching In

When Jim Haslett came marching into New Orleans last year, few expected him to turn around the most bedeviled team in the history of pro sports. But despite a hellish start, he did a heavenly job.
© More from this issue

Click for Printer Friendly Version          

Some people in the NFL and the media thought Jim Haslett was so desperate to be a head coach that he'd simply taken the first offer he got. After all, he'd interviewed for openings in Seattle, Chicago, Philadelphia and Baltimore and come up empty.

Others thought the New Orleans Saints were the desperate ones that they had no idea what they were doing when they hired Haslett last year. After all, this is the same franchise that had never, ever won an NFL playoff game, one of the most frustrated franchises in the history of pro sports.

Not that Haslett cared. He knew the franchise, having spent the 1995 and 1996 seasons with the Saints as defensive coordinator. He knew the owner, Tom Benson, from working for him, not from hearing about his eccentric reputation. Haslett knew the new general manager, Randy Mueller, and he knew they thought alike. He knew he was ready to be an NFL head coach. He knew the time was right.

"Having been here before, I kind of knew the situation, I was familiar with some of the players we had here, and I knew the ownerships and the struggles they've had in the past," Haslett says. "Plus, when Jim Mora was here (as head coach from 1986-96), they won 12 games one year, 13 games another, so it's not like it couldn't be done - it just hadn't been done on a consistent basis.

He also knew not to believe everything he heard."When I came here, the big thing I heard from people was that the owner wouldn't spend money, the owner wouldn't do this, the owner wouldn't do that, but I really thought that was a false statement, because during the time I was here it was obvious Tom would do anything it took to win, but the people in charge didn't always make the right decisions. The owner was the least at fault for what was going on."

If his first season as an NFL head coach was any indication, Haslett obviously knew what he was getting into when he became the Saints' head coach on Feb. 3, 2000. The Saints overcame potenially season-busting injuries to key players and still went 10-6, won the NFC West Division and beat the defending Super Bowl champion St. Louis Rams 31-28 in the first round of the playoffs before bowing out in the conference semi-finals.

In one season, Haslett transformed the Saints into a hard-nosed, tough-minded bunch willing to do whatever it takes to win, mirroring the spirit of their aggressive 45-year-old coach, a western Pennsylvania native who went from Indiana University of Pennsylvania to become a Pro Bowl linebacker with the Buffalo Bills.

And that is why Haslett is American Football Monthly's NFL Coach of the Year for 2000.

"He's mean. He's nasty," Saints defensive tackle Norman Hand says. "This team is a reflection of Haslett's toughness and arrogance as a player."

Assistant head coach Rick Venturi adds, "Jim coaches with a swagger. He doesn't coach scared. I think that's the single biggest thing that's happened emotionally to this team."

When Haslett took over the Saints early last year, he found a team in desperate need of swagger - or at least some self-esteem, a sense of direction and some new faces. After losing 23 of their previous 29 games under former coach Mike Ditka, it was a team that was mentally beat.

"We were just so disorganized," recalls Saints safety Darren Perry, a former Steeler who played for Haslett from 1996-99. "[Haslett] had this look on his face, 'What are we doing?' We were just running around, we had no idea. We get in there the first game, if you didn't know, you would have said 'same old Saints.' He's a stickler for details, organization and doing it right, with his notes and everything. And we looked like a bunch of high schoolers."

Haslett's first move was to work with Mueller to hire a quality coaching staff. It's a staff with roots deep in western Pennsylvania toughness, with defensive coordinator Ron Zook, offensive coordinator Mike McCarthy and assistants Sam Clancy, Frank Cignetti Jr., Phil Pettey and Jack Henry all bringing their own share of Pittsburgh to New Orleans.

Next, Mueller and Haslett worked to rebuild the roster. Starting with $15 million worth of salary cap room, they added skill players to solid offensive and defensive lines, but also set their sights on smart, disciplined players such as former Steelers Chris Oldham, Donta Jones, Fred McAfee and Perry, who would prove to be strong team leaders and teammates.

"Here's what he did," Venturi says, "he and Randy together totally reshaped the face of this football team, put a tremendous staff together, brought in good players and good people. Jim was so well-prepared from the day he walked in, what you saw was preparation unfold daily and come to fruition on the field."

After building his staff and roster, Haslett turned his attention to the returning players. While personnel decisions, free agent additions and the draft are paramount for any head coach, Haslett also placed considerable emphasis on rebuilding the Saints' fragile psyche.

"I didn't think it was a very good football team," Haslett says. "The personnel wasn't that good. There were some good spots, some good areas, but obviously, if you've been losing over a long period of time you're confidence level and your knowledge of what it takes to win are low. None of that was there, and that was a rebuilding process from the start.

"That's where we started. When we got here, we said we were going to do three things: we were going to learn how to win things, learn how to overcome adversity, which you have to do in this league all the time, and once you start winning, learn to deal with success. That's the area where we are now."

For that to happen, Haslett and his staff concentrated first on teaching players how to trust themselves, each other and their coaches during times of adversity.

"Winning games is hard enough to do, but one thing we stressed is the ability to win games in the fourth quarter," Haslett says. "We talked about not worrying about what happens during the game, because something bad is going to happen. Don't worry about it, just move onto the next opportunity. That was the most important thing."

No NFL team learned more lessons last fall about overcoming adversity than the Saints. In the pre-season opener, New Orleans lost three starters - cornerback Steve Israel, safety Rob Kelly and tight end Cam Cleeland - to season-ending injuries. In the next pre-season game, the Saints lost linebacker Charlie Clemons to an injury.

In all, the Saints went on to lose eight starters to the injured reserve by the end of the season, including starting quarterback Jeff Blake and starting tailback Ricky Williams. Yet, despite a 1-3 start, a raw, rookie quarterback (Aaron Brooks) and a team filled with players viewed as cast-offs by other organizations, the Saints won six consecutive games and put themselves in playoff contention.

"Everybody in this league has injuries," Haslett says. "These guys stuck together and really became a family. The way they feed off one another - that's the biggest thing I'm proud of. They'll do anything for one another.

"That attitude really helped us when we got hit with a rash of injuries. We said, 'We're not worrying about these things. We have other players on this team, other players will step up and we'll be fine.'"

That quality is also evident in Haslett, who was known for doing whatever it took to get the job done as a player. Of course, this is also the same guy who, on the night he was drafted, was allegedly stripped naked and left out in the cold by his drunken teammates on Main Street in Indiana, Pa. Haslett simply "borrowed" a nearby bicycle and rode home wearing nothing but his socks, shoes and a determined scowl.

Ultimately, the Saints' ability and their willingness to overcome injuries proved to be the most rewarding aspect of the season for Haslett. "Guys stepped up," Haslett says. "We had some young guys step up and play well and we had some other guys who believed they were good. The main thing was that our offensive and defensive lines played so well and we didn't have a lot of injuries in those areas."

There you have it. In an age where the media and the fans seem to latch onto every gimmick and circus act that flashes across the television screen, the Saints' success was built on some of the most fundamental elements of football: solid line play on both sides of the ball, the character to overcome adversity and a combination of positive attitude and confidence.

"It all starts up front," Haslett says. "If you can build strong offensive and defensive lines and then form your team around those areas, you've got a shot, and that's what we did."

Haslett's adherence to the basics, to the fundamentals of hard work, intelligence and toughness, allowed him to last nine seasons in the NFL, earning All-Rookie and Associated Press Defensive Rookie of the Year honors in 1979 and going on to earn Pro Bowl honors in 1980 and 1981.

When his career ended following the 1987 season, Haslett wasn't entirely sure what he wanted to do. He had a degree in elementary education from Indiana, but being a cerebral player with experienced insight into the inner workings of football, Haslett decided to at least give coaching a try.

He didn't have to look very far for a job, and spent the next two years coaching at the University of Buffalo. During those two years, Haslett decided coaching was the right direction.

"A lot of ex-players really don't want to coach," Haslett says, "because of the time restraints on it, and there's not a lot of money in it compared to the money you make as a player. If you do it, you really have to want to do it. A lot of people don't want to. I did."

Not every coach wants to be a head coach, either. Others simply don't have the overall combination of experience, skills, talent and personality to be a head coach. Early on in his career, Haslett decided if he was going to be a coach, he was going to be the boss.

With that goal in mind, he left Buffalo for the World League of American Football in 1991 and spent two season as the defensive coordinator of the Sacramento Surge, the 1992 World Bowl champions. He moved onto the NFL in 1993 as linebacker coach for the Los Angeles Raiders under Art Shell, and then became an NFL coordinator for the first time in 1995 with the Saints, working for Jim Mora. During his stint with the Saints, Haslett took a young defensive unit that had ranked 25th and 22nd in 1994 and 1995 and transformed it into the NFL's 13th-ranked defense in 1996.

Haslett moved on to Pittsburgh in 1997 and spent three years as the Steelers defensive coordinator and led one of the NFL's most dominating defenses during that time. During those three years, Haslett did everything he could to prepare himself for the day when he would become a head coach, attending clinics, meeting with scouts and accumulating experience and knowledge with a purpose.

"He and I would talk extensively," says Charlie Bailey, the Saints assistant general manager of football operations and a former member of the Steelers personnel department.

"He was always asking questions about player evaluation and the salary cap and free agency," says Tom Donahoe, the Steelers former director of football operations. "He was always getting prepared."

Eventually, Haslett did emerge as one of the hot names in coaching circles, and it seemed if his first head coaching job would be just a matter of time, even if Seattle, Chicago, Philadelphia and Baltimore hired other coaches.

For Haslett, the break finally came when Mueller became the Saints GM in January. Mueller's brother, Rick, had coached with Haslett in Sacramento, and Mueller had kept his eye on Haslett ever since.

"Jim's got that special something that it takes to become a successful head coach in this league," Mueller says. "It's hard to put your finger on - it's a certain kind of presence, really - but you know it when you see it. I've felt that way about Jim for years."

Still, Mueller is quick to admit, "He's been even better than I thought this first year."

Now that he's been a head coach for one season, Haslett can look back with some perspective on the transition from assistant coach to head coach.

There are numerous adjustments that come with being the man in charge, and for Haslett, one of those was the realization that head coaches get to do less actual coaching than the assistants because of all the other demands of the job.

"Everybody wants a piece of your time," Haslett says. "You spend so much time doing everything else but coach, like dealing with the media."

Another adjustment Haslett has made is learning to channel some of his legendary intensity. The reckless abandon of a linebacker works on the field, but a coach can't afford to lose his cool on the sidelines. Haslett is learning how to temper his temper without losing his edge. In fact, he even has a strength coach and an assistant coach stationed nearby on game days to prevent him from getting carried away.

"I'm still intense and I still like the excitement of going out on Sundays and getting ready for the game, so that fire still burns," Haslett says, "but I think you still have to control it because you're managing an entire football team now, and you always have to know what's going on on the sidelines."

Haslett expects to be a better coach next season. He has a better understanding of his job and its demands, his staff and players, the intricacies of the salary cap and the adjustments that come with injuries and other unforeseen changes.

Of course, Haslett and the Saints will also face more outside expectations and pressure to produce this season. That's all part of the game, and he knows it. On one hand, it's easy to assume the Saints will be even better this season with the return of Blake, Williams and the rest of the injured players who missed significant time last fall. On the other hand, it's not going to be easy to repeat last season's success against a tougher schedule and opponents who will treat the Saints with more respect in 2001.

"Expectations will be higher, the schedule will be harder than it's been, and it remains to be seen if we can get the fire burning the same way," Haslett says. "Last year, everyone here had a chip on their shoulders, everybody had a reason to prove they could be successful.

"Can we duplicate that? Can the players step up and play like they did last year? There are some great challenges for this football team this season. Plus, with free agency you won't have everybody back. We'll have a good nucleus of players back, but for the most part you're starting over every year now."

That same challenge to build on last year's success also exists for Haslett.

"You can't judge a coach after one year. You have to do it over time," Haslett says. "Coaches don't last very long in this business, and I know that. The average is probably three or four years. So I need to be judged based on what I do over time and how successful I am over time. I haven't changed any of my routines, and nothing's really changed around here. It's all about how people perceive you."

Beyond the perceptions, the awards and the expectations, Haslett just wants to get back to what he seems to do best: prepare his team to win football games in a manner that reflects the best qualities of the head coach.

"I like the make up of this football team," he says. "They're hard-nosed, they're tough, and they really want to get back to work. It's the hardest-working group I've ever been around, and if we can continue to do that and stay focused, I think we'll be OK."

"Jim's got that special something that it takes to become a successful head coach in this league. It's hard to put your finger on - it's a certain kind of presence, really - but you know it when you see it. I've felt that way about Jim for years."

- Randy Mueller, Saints GM

Jim Haslett at a glance

The 45-year-old Pennsylvania native has spent 17 years in the NFL as a player and a coach. Here's a look at his career.

1975-78 - Was a four-time All-American defensive end while playing for Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

1979-1986 - Played inside linebacker for eight years for the Buffalo Bills. Was named All-Rookie and Association Press Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1979. Went to the Pro Bowl in 1980 and 1981. He made a career-high 170 tackles in 1985.

1987 - Ended his playing career as a linebacker for the New York Jets.

1988-90- Began his coaching career at the University of Buffalo as linebackers coach and was ultimately named the team's defensive coordinator.

1991-92 - Served as defensive coordinator for the Sacramento Surge of the World League, winning the WLAF Championship in 1992.

1995-96 - Went to New Orleans to become the Saints linebackers coach. Became their defensive coordinator in 1996.

1997-99 - Became defensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers, helping the team make it to the AFC Championship game in 1997.

2000 - Named head coach of the New Orleans Saints. Took the team that went 3-13 in 1999 and led them to a 10-6 regular season record and an NFC West championship. Beat defending Super Bowl champion St. Louis Rams in the first-round of the playoffs.






NEW BOOK!

AFM Videos Streaming Memberships Now Available Digital Download - 304 Pages of Football Forms for the Winning Coach



















HOME
MAGAZINE
SUBSCRIBE ONLINE COLUMNISTS COACHING VIDEOS


Copyright 2024, AmericanFootballMonthly.com
All Rights Reserved