NFL Hot College Coaches 2001

The Heirs Apparent... the next group of head coaches for NFL teams
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What does it take to get to the throne of an NFL franchise? It is not a secret formula. The men making the decisions on who will lead a NFL team are not by nature risk-takers. They want the safe choice, either a proven winner or a hot assistant on the rise.

For the proven winners like Dick Vermeil or Marty Schottenheimer, their records are clear and unambiguous. Owners can look at what they have done and choose to seek their leadership for their floundering franchises. However, the choice of a non-tested assistant is a little more risky, but the path is still well charted.

The road to the land of big paychecks for the up-and-comer is easily defined: A coach must earn his stripes as a college or NFL assistant; thereafter get a job as a coordinator for a successful and hopefully a Super Bowl team; then, general managers and team presidents looking for a new leader will summon the worthy coach to the alter and anoint him the next monarch of the realm (at least until half way through his contract).

In 2001, there were eight jobs filled in the NFL (actually nine with the 2002 expansion Houston Texans naming Dom Capers their coach): Buffalo, New York Jets, Kansas City, Cleveland, Washington, Detroit, Arizona and Cincinnati. Two positions (Kansas City and Washington) were filled with known commodities in Schottenheimer and Vermeil. Four were filled with coordinators (Detroit, Buffalo, Cincinnati and Arizona), and two were filled with non-traditional choices (New York by choosing an assistant who was not a coordinator in Herman Edwards, and Cleveland's choice of college head coach Butch Davis).

Mornhinweg, Williams, LeBeau and McGinnis were all coordinators in the leagues for years. Although, LeBeau and McGinnis do not fit the role of being associated with big winners, they both benefited from being with their respective teams at the time of the head coach's dismissal. They were both respected by the players on the squad and promoted.

Both Edwards and Davis are not all together unusual choices since Edwards was the assistant head coach for Tampa Bay and is considered a clone of the highly regarded Tony Dungy. Davis is a former coordinator in the league, a Jimmy Johnson disciple, and was credited with a great job with the University of Miami.

In 2001, virtually every fan can name his favorite team's full roster of assistant coaches. And, most assuredly, they know each and every fact about the team's coordinators. The days of assistants toiling in anonymity are forever gone. The top assistants now ride in the front seat with opportunity, fame and notoriety, and can be set out on the curb very quickly to stand alongside disgrace, ignominity scorn and unemployment.

So, in the world of the NFL as we open the 2001 season, who are the next batch of hot coaches who will get the calls from desperate team owners and general managers? Here is the Professional Services Group's look at the best of the best for the 2002 hiring season (in no particular order).

Al Saunders, OC/AHC, Kansas City Chiefs
By joining Dick Vermeil in Kansas City, Saunders has placed himself on the fast track to getting another shot to run an NFL club (he was the Charger head coach from the mid-point of the 1986 season through 1988 posting a 17-22 record). Known as one of the brightest and hardest working offensive coaches in the league, he was a part of the high-flying aerial circus in St. Louis in 1999 and 2000, coaching the Rams WRs (Bruce, Holt and Hakim) and serving as the associate head coach. He has learned the Martz offense and mentored under Vermeil during the resurrection of the Rams franchise. He also has been in KC before, serving for 10 years on Marty Schottenheimer's staff. If the Chiefs get it turned around and replicate the Rams offense, an owner looking for a veteran coach who can fill the seats by filling the air with passes, will call Saunders' Arrowhead office.

Gary Kubiak, OC, Denver Broncos
It seems as if we say this every pre-season, but, if the NFL didn't have the no-tampering rule for assistants on teams still in the playoffs, Denver offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak would more than likely already be a head coach. In 1998 and 1999, he was on everyone's short list. Consider his resume: nine years as a player in the NFL (John Elway's back up); first coaching job at Texas A&M (his alma mater) as RB coach (he turned down Bill Walsh's offer to go to Stanford) and he tutored Greg Hill and Leeland McElroy during a two-season 22-3 run by the Aggies; 1994 QB coach with the 49ers - winning the Super Bowl with Steve Young as his pupil; and six years with Mike Shanahan at Denver with two Super Bowl victories. Reportedly one of the highest paid assistants in the game; Kubiak can literally afford to wait for the right job. Since no one is more respected than Shanahan, why not go after his top man?

Brad Childress, QB, Philadelphia Eagles
As is always the case, winning will bring attention. The Eagles are poised to make a serious run under Andy Reid. The national awareness of this success will shed light on one of Reid's best assistants: Childress. Other teams pursued him as a coordinator after last season when he helped QB Donovan McNabb have a breakout campaign, but he choose to stay put. He was hired one day after Reid became HC. He had been with Barry Alvarez as the OC for the Wisconsin Badgers, helping UW to five bowls in eight years. If all goes according to plan and McNabb continues his ascension to the top of the QB heap, Childress will be gone to his own team (maybe in college where he spent 13 years before coming to Philly).

Marvin Lewis, DC, Baltimore Ravens
No expert expected this pilot of the NFL's all-time best defense to be back in Baltimore for the 2001 campaign. The Ravens won the Super Bowl not because of the offensive expertise of their HC Brian Billick, but as a result of the tenacious defense led by Lewis. The lone holdover from the previous Ravens regime of Marchibroda, Billick's best hire may have been not dismissing him. Prior to joining Baltimore, he coached with the Steelers and tutored some great LBs (Kevin Greene, Greg Lloyd, Chad Brown, Levon Kirkland). As was the case in the past for coaches like Gary Kubiak, the NFL's no-tampering rule for coaches still in the playoffs undoubtedly cost him his shot at a HC job last year. However, Ravens management showed a great deal of class and made him one of, if not the, best paid coordinators in the league. He is still young (43) and Baltimore will be good again this year. Look for Lewis to run his own team very soon and be a pain to every team he faces.

Norv Turner, OC, San Diego Chargers
Having been let go by Daniel Snyder did nothing to diminish his reputation in the league. Turner posted a regular-season record of 49-59-1 in seven seasons (1994-2000) as the Redskins head coach, including 7-6 in 2000, prior to his dismissal. In 1999, Turner guided the NFL's second-ranked offense that averaged 372.8 total yards per game, second only to the eventual Super Bowl Champion St. Louis Rams (400.8 yards per game). The Redskins' offense featured three Pro Bowlers in 1999, including Stephen Davis, quarterback Brad Johnson and guard Tre Johnson. Prior to joining the Redskins, Turner had a successful three-year run as offensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys from 1991-93. Turner helped turn around a team that finished 7-9 and ranked 28th offensively in 1990, guiding the Cowboys' offense to a ranking of ninth in 1991 and an 11-5 record. His offense continued to produce in Dallas, ranking fourth overall in the 1992 and '93 seasons while capturing back-to-back Super Bowl trophies. He broke into the NFL in 1985 as the receivers coach of the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams advanced to the playoffs following four of Turner's six seasons. If San Diego exceeds expectations and the offense produces (with Doug Flutie and Ladanian Tomlinson it very well may), Turner will get another job.

Chuck Bresnahan, DC, Oakland Raiders
A Naval Academy graduate and three-year letterman he has the essentials and intangibles to be his own boss in the near future. Entering his eighth year in the NFL, Bresnahan is well-respected and given a great deal of credit for the Raiders resurgence (12-4 in 2000) as a dominant force in the AFC. HC Gruden thought so much of his ability he let DC Willie Shaw leave two years ago to keep Bresnahan on the staff. A former college assistant with Bobby Ross at Georgia Tech, he is a great on field coach and gets the absolute most out his unit. He is, also, the son of a former NFL coach as his Dad was an assistant for 17 years in the league.

Greg Knapp, OC, San Francisco 49ers
The latest student in the 49er vocational school for head coaches, Knapp was named the OC immediately after Marty Mornhinweg left for Detroit. He has spent the last six seasons with the Niners, three as QB coach and three as OQC. Prior to arriving in San Francisco, he was the OC/AHC at Sacramento State. QB pupils Steve Young and Jeff Garcia give him high marks for communication and teaching ability. While his coaching background is limited to the 49ers way of doing things, given the organization's reputation for excellence throughout the league, that is not a negative handicap, but rather a positive attribute. If the 49ers are a surprise team in 2001, he will get noticed as all San Fran assistants have in the past. Even though he is a few years away from a HC job, having Bill Walsh as a mentor and a reference is more than a kick-start to a bright coaching career.

Ted Cottrell, AHC/DC, New York Jets
After 18 years in the NFL, he is ready for his own program. Cottrell joined the Jets as the defensive coordinator after spending the previous seven seasons (1994-2000) with the Bills, where he served as Buffalo's defensive coordinator the past 3 seasons, and as a LB coach from 1994 thru 1998. In his 3 seasons as the coordinator of the Bills defense, they ranked 6th (1998), 1st (1999) and 3rd (2000) overall. He was instrumental in successfully guiding the defense through a youth movement. He helped develop young and promising playmakers such as Marcellus Wiley, Antoine Winfield, John Holecek, and Sam Cowart. In 1999, his defense set club records for fewest points allowed (229), touchdowns (23), total yards (4,045) and total first downs (244) allowed in a 16-game season. He has great experience having also performed as the DL coach with Arizona from 1990-93, and the USFL's New Jersey Generals (1984-85). Cottrell had an earlier stint with Buffalo as the defensive line coach 1986-89, and his first pro coaching experience came as the line coach in KC for Marv Levy. He also sandwiched around his KC stop two stints with Rutgers as the defensive coordinator in 1980 and 1983.

Lovie Smith, DC, St. Louis Rams
As a coach, all you can ask for is a chance. Okay, Lovie Smith, here is your big chance. A veteran coach, with five years in Tampa Bay as the LB coach tutoring under HC Dungy and heralded DC Monte Kiffin, Smith was a college coach for 13 years including stops at Tulsa, Wisconsin, Arizona State, Kentucky, Tennessee and Ohio State. Tabbed by Rams HC Mike Martz to lead a defense that has under-whelmed the past two seasons, if St. Louis returns to dominance and the defense plays well (and it should considering the help from the draft and free agents), Smith will get his name splattered across sports pages all 2001. If Herman Edwards does well in NY with the Jets, this will help as the NFL follows winners and one Dungy disciple doing well bodes well for the others.

Mike Heimerdinger, OC, Tennessee Titans
In the NFL, pedigree counts, and he has it as a result of spending the past six years with two of the best in the game, Shanahan and Fisher. He was the WR coach for the Broncos and won two Super Bowl rings. Thereafter, Fisher called upon him to take controls of the Titans offense and all he did in year one was help the team to an AFC Central Division title, 13-3 regular season record, averaging 335.4 ypg, and 21.6 ppg. He is known for a balanced attack and has been well schooled by Shanahan, his college teammate at Eastern Illinois. Prior to joining the NFL in 1995, he was a 20-year coaching veteran with stops at Johnsburgh (Pa,) High School, Florida, Air Force, North Texas, Cal-State Fullerton, Rice and Duke. If the Titans go all the way or close to it, Heimerdinger will be a name even harder to forget.

Mike McCarthy, OC, New Orleans Saints
There was no better story in the NFL in 2000 than the New Orleans Saints. HC Jim Haslett and 30 brand new players led a metamorphosis that enthralled the league. Things look to only get better for the Saints and everyone associated with the team, especially OC Mike McCarthy. He was chosen by Haslett to run the Saints offense after a one-year stint coaching Brett Favre and the Packers QBs. Prior to that he was the QB coach for Marty Schottenheimer in Kansas City for four years, after two years as OQC for the Chiefs. He worked in college for Paul Hackett at Pittsburgh coaching QBs and WRs. He has had diverse mentors and seems to be a coach on the fast track. His handling of the multi-talented Saints, who have budding problems with a potential QB controversy (Brooks or Blake?) and two good RBs (Williams and McAllister), will go a long way to prove to owners and GMs he is ready now for his own club.

Chan Gailey, OC, Miami Dolphins
His record in Dallas was 18-14 in the regular season and, but for an owner masquerading as a GM, he would still be the coach. Yet, no one blames him for the debacle in Dallas. Moreover, the experience as a HC is good, no matter the circumstances. He is one of the most respected men in the entire NFL. Given the results in 2000 with the Dolphins, his reputation has more than been enhanced. Playing with a QB who missed almost an entire pre-season and a less than stellar group of WRs, Gailey led the Dolphins to 11-5 regular season record and AFC East title. Miami has made an attempt to beef up its offense for 2001 and if the team improves, Gailey may well be back in charge next season somewhere. Alabama and Georgia showed some serious interest in their jobs, but the timing was difficult. This Dan Reeves disciple deserves another shot.

Pete Rodriguez, STC/AHC, Seattle Seahawks
Let's face it, special teams coordinators do not normally get the call for a HC job. But, maybe they should. Who else other than the HC deals with virtually the entire team on a daily basis? Rodriguez is one the most respected coaches in all of the NFL and was offered numerous other jobs after last season. He gets high marks for his player relations and teaching skills. He entered the NFL as the Los Angeles Raiders special teams coach (1988-89). Served in a similar capacity with the Arizona Cardinals (1990-93) before joining the Washington Redskins staff (1994-97). Prior to entering the NFL he worked with the USFL's Michigan Panthers as a defensive line coach from 1983-84. He, also, coached with the USFL's Denver Gold (1985) and Jacksonville Bulls (1986), while spending one year in the CFL with the Ottawa Rough Riders (1987). Has tutored five pro bowl punters, including Washington's Matt Turk, who led the NFL in net punting in 1997. He broke into coaching as a graduate assistant at Arizona (1968-69) and later served as defensive coordinator at Western Illinois (1970-73), Florida State (1974-75) and Iowa State (1976-78) before a four-year stint as head coach at Western Illinois from 1979-82. Also made a stop as defensive coordinator at Northern Iowa in 1986.

Others to Watch

Alex Wood, QB, Minnesota, (... if Culpepper continues to progress and the Vikes win the NFC Central, this former college HC may get a chance to run his own ship, he's got all of the intangibles...); Bill Callahan, OC, Oakland, (... to those in the know, he is a real strong candidate... he will be at the controls of one of the league's most talented groups, and being associated with Gruden since 1995 makes him a top Raider to be plucked off by another owner...); Bill Kollar, DL, St. Louis, (... an old-school coach who gets the best out of his players, he will gain in stature if the Rams DL exponentially improves under his guidance, having served with the respected Dan Reeves for years in Atlanta will help too...); Bruce Arians, OC, Cleveland, (... Peyton Manning's mentor in Indy now gets the chance to operate the controls of his own team thanks to Butch Davis, if Tim Couch plays as well as many think and the RB position produces, he will gain a large measure of credit...); Clyde Christensen, OC, Tampa Bay, (... Tony Dungy's latest attempt to breathe life into his moribund offense may be just the ticket, he is well-versed in Buc tradition having been with the team for five years, if the Bucs do dramatically improve and they should, he may gain media exposure as Tampa makes a run at the Super Bowl...;) Ed Donatell, DC, Green Bay, (... this former Bronco assistant with 11 years in the league, is a great technician and helped lead a Packer renaissance last year, if Green Bay's defense improves this season, he may get a huge career boost...); Jeff Jagodzinski, TE, Green Bay, (... a former Boston College OC, he is learning in one of the best situations in all of football, he is gaining valuable experience in the West coast offense and works closely with OC Tom Rosseley, with 14 years in the college game, he has a good background, he may get his own offense next year and after that, who knows...); Jerry Gray, DC, Buffalo, (... hand-picked by new Buffalo head man Gregg Williams to orchestrate the Bills defense, he has been with the ultra-organized Williams and the dynamic Jeff Fisher for four years, as a former player, he gains the respect of his troops and with the success of Haslett in New Orleans, more teams may look at league vets to operate teams...); Jim Schwartz, DC, Tennessee, (... he is young and lacks experience, but no sooner had Williams left for Buffalo when Fisher named him DC, he is widely respected as intelligent and Fisher has said he has what it takes, it may not be for a year or two, but with Tennessee's emergence as one the NFL elite teams, he will get a chance, Gunther Cunningham's presence as his LB coach will speed up his learning curve...); John Fox, DC, New York Giants, (... coordinators from winners are always hot commodities and he is no exception, as thearchitect of a defense that led the Giants to the Super Bowl, he had a few interviews in 2001, if NY has another run at the title and his unit plays well again, he may move this time...); John Harbaugh, STC, Philadelphia (... a great situation for him with a good HC and an up-and-coming team, plus his family name gets him credibility, Andy Reid entrusted the lousy special teams units to him and they responded by becoming one of the NFL's best units, he is personable and more team officials see the value of a coach with ST experience...); Matt Cavanuagh, OC, Baltimore, (... if the Ravens go back-to-back, look for teams to want to catch that kind of lightning in a bottle and this OC is learning from the best in the game at running an offense and a team in Billick...); Maurice Carthorn, RB, Detroit, (... a Parcells' favorite, he interviewed for the Jets top job last year, he is bright, articulate and will now gain experience in the fashionable west coast offense with Mornhinweg, he will need a year or two to get an OC position, but his chance is only a matter of time...); Mike Munchak, OL, Tennessee, (... every expert will tell you he has exactly what it takes to lead a team, this newly elected Hall of Famer is a head coach in-training and benefits from Fisher's tutelage and a good team in Tennessee, he may take over for Joe Pa' in Happy Valley...); Mike Sheppard, OC, Buffalo, (... entering his ninth year in the league, he comes to the Bills after working with Holmgren as QB coach, he has been with Cleveland, Baltimore and San Diego working with Ted Marchibroda and has extensive college experience, if the Bills succeed as many expect them to and Rob Johnson finally reaches his potential, he will get some acclaim...); Mike Tice, AHC/OL, Minnesota, (... 2001 will mark his sixth year with the team, he is one of the most valued members of Green's staff and is respected as a good coach throughout the league, if the Vikes put up huge numbers again, he will be an OC soon, and HC is the next stop...); Sean Payton, OC, New York Giants, (... after the 2001 Super Bowl, he was on many a short list, if Kerry Collins continues his improvement and the Giants win the NFC East or are very competitive, he will get his share of interviews...); Tim Lewis, DC, Pittsburgh, (... a former player, he is the latest Steeler DC to get HC looks, he has worked with Cowher and his staff and gets acclaim for his handling of the secondary in particular, he has six years in the league and several in college prior to that, he is a pro and if the Steelers rebound, his name will get tossed around...).

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