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AFM Magazine

AFM Magazine


Class of 2000

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BACK TO THE FUTURE

For many newly-hired college head coaches, it's a new job in an old place

Chuck Amato waited more than 20 years to return home to North Carolina State. And, so far this season, it appears the wait was worth it for both Amato and Wolfpack fans.

Amato, who toiled as an assistant coach under Florida State's venerable Bobby Bowden for 18 years, isn't the only member of the Division I head coaching class of 2000 that is returning to his roots.

Like Amato, who was a linebacker when N.C. State reached No. 3 in the polls and won the Liberty Bowl in 1967, Tom Cable is returning to coach at a university where he once played. Cable, who replaced University of Idaho head coach Chris Tormey, played guard at Idaho and was all-Big Sky Conference in 1985.

While Cable and Amato traveled a long way to get back where they started, others who began new head coaching jobs this year merely had to walk down the hall to get to their new offices. Bobby Willliams, became head coach at Michigan State after spending nine years marshalling the school's running backs. Gary Nord became head coach at the University of Texas at El Paso after spending three years as offensive coordinator, and Vic Koenning moved from defensive coordinator to head coach at the University of Wyoming after three-year coach Dana Dimel was named head coach at Houston.

Overall, it was a fairly stable year for Division 1 coaches. Only 14 of the 112 schools (12.5 percent) replaced their head coaches, down from 1999 when there were shake ups at 19 schools, accounting for 17 percent of the total.

So who are the new head coaches? Here's a look at them, by the numbers.

17.8 Average number of years of experience. (North Carolina State's Chuck Amato has the most with 31 years of experience and University of Idaho head coach Tom Cable has the least with 10.)

42.9 Average age of the class. (At 54, Amato is the senior member of the class and Cable, 35, is the baby.)

13 Are white males. (Bobby Williams, of Michigan State, is an African-American.)

1 Has a doctorate degree. (Texas Tech's Mike Leach has a law degree and a master's of sports science/coaching.)

2 Played in the NFL. (Wyoming coach Vic Koenning played for the Packers, the Broncos and two USFL teams, Cable suited up for the Indianapolis Colts for one year. Houston's Dana Dimel attended the Minnesota Vikings training camp in 1987 and Nevada's Chris Tormey tried out for the Redskins in 1978.)

5 Have been college head coaches before. (Dennehy has seven years of head coaching experience, LSU's Nick Saban has six, Army's Todd Berry has four, Dimel has three years and Tormey has five years.)

3 Worked in the high school ranks. (Dennehy spent 13 years coaching preps while Eastern Michigan's Jeff Woodruff took a break from college coaching in 1996 to coach high school ball. Amato began his career as a high school coach.)

2 Were standouts in another sport. (Amato had two undefeated seasons as a wrestler when he attended NC State and Saban was a two-year letterman as a shortstop for Kent State.)

2 Left the country to coach. (Leach coached in the European Football League and Berry spent a summer as an assistant coach in the Canadian Football League.)

2 Played for Kent State University. (Woodruff played for the Golden Flashes for four years and was named the team's top scholar-athlete in 1978. Saban preceeded him as a defensive back, graduating from the Ohio school in 1973.)

GENERATION NEXT

The gods of the NFL coaching world are replaced by their one-time students


Jimmy Johnson is gone. So are Bill Parcells, Dick Vermeil and Mike Ditka. In their places are a group of mostly untested head coaches, some whom they helped train.

There's Dave Wannstedt, Johnson's right-hand man and heir apparent, in Miami. There's Al Groh, who served under Parcells and got the top job in New York when Parcells' hand-picked successor, Bill Belichick, said he didn't want it. Belichick, to the shock of more than a few, headed for New England.

Meanwhile, Vermeil's retirement, announced at a teary press conference after he finally got a Super Bowl ring, opened the door for Mike Martz to move up after spending last year as offensive coordinator for the Rams.

Dave Campo also was rewarded for his loyalty and longevity. When Chan Gailey left the Cowboys after two seasons, Campo parlayed his 11-year tenure in Dallas into the head-coaching job.

Jim Haslett, meanwhile, was hired in the aftermath of the Saint's abysmal 3-13 season that cost Ditka and team president and general manager Bill Kuharich their jobs. When Haslett's longtime friend, Randy Mueller, was hired as general manager, Haslett was named head coach.

So, who are the seven head coaches who are now halfway through their inaugual season with their new teams? Here's a look at the NFL's Class of 2000, by numbers:

49 The average age of the group. (New York's Al Groh, at 55, is the senior member of the class, and the Saint's Jim Haslett, who will turn 45 in December, is the baby.)

26 The average number of years of coaching experience. (Again, Groh, with 33 years of coaching behind him is the senior, and Haslett, who began his career in 1988, is the youngster.)

2 Have been NFL head coaches before. (Miami's Dave Wannstedt was with the Chicago Bears for six years and New England's Bill Belichick spent five years as head coach of the former Cleveland Browns.

1 Spent his entire coaching career in the NFL. (Belichick)

1 Spent his entire NFL coaching career with one team. (Dave Campo with the Cowboys.)

3 Began their careers as high school coaches (Groh, Green Bay's Mike Sherman, and the Ram's Mike Martz)

2 Played in the NFL (Wannstedt was drafted by Green Bay in 1974 but was sidelined the entire season with a neck injury. Haslett played eight seasons with the Buffalo Bills, ending his career in 1987 with the Jets)

7 Are white men.

2 Were born in Pittsburgh (Wannstedt and Haslett)

3.2 average number of children (Campo tips the scales with six.)

5 Have Super Bowl rings. (Wannstedt, Belichick, Campo, Martz, and Groh)

2 Haven't coached with teams that went to the Super Bowl (Sherman and Haslett)






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