Mitch
Crawled Through 5 FB Fields
Whomever the new Cardinals' Head Coach turns out to be, I hope the rhetoric we hear in his introductory press conference is along these lines:
1. No playoffs promises...no predictions...just a vow to do everything possible to promote excellence.
2. A cogent explanation of what the plan is for the offense, defense and special teams.
3. A promise to all current and future players to give them every opportunity to compete for significant playing time...in other words, starting jobs will be earned on the field in practice and games.
4. An insight into the coach's philosophy of how to add to the current personnel via the draft and free agency.
The candidate that I would most like to hear these answers from is Norm Chow...for the following reasons:
1. Chow brings an intelligence to the position that we have not seen in a long time.
IMO, the difference between winning and losing in the NFL is in how well the coaches prepare the players...and often times, if the players feel they have been given a strategical edge in preparation, they will do everything they can to execute the game plan. Case in point...how Bill Belichick screwed up the Jets' defense by going into a quick formation whenever the Jets tried to substitute. This tactic clearly frustrated the Jets and their coaches and forced the Jets to have to defend the Patriots with their run defense....which is why Brady threw a plethora of timing passes to a host of receivers....because Brady knew exactly what was readily exploitable in the Jets' defense.
2. Chow has integrity. He's humble and epitomizes the mantra of "keep your feet on the ground and your eyes on the stars."
3. Chow doesn't seem to jump to conclusions or put premature expectations on players. Did you notice how Chow said that Matt Leinart could be an outstanding QB? He didn't use present tense...which shows me that Chow realizes the work Leinart has to put in to be an outstanding NFL quarterback. And it shows how Chow isn't living in the past...where once (at USC) he could say Leinart is an outstanding QB. This may seem trivial to some...but...some coaches come in and immediately start tagging players as Pro Bowlers, and, IMO, the psychology of such rhetoric is all too often counter-productive. See Leonard Davis, for example.
4. Chow brings a special knowledge to the position...he can call the plays and has excelled at that everywhere he's worked. My gripe with the past Cardinal head coaches was that most of them weren't even prolific coordinators, let alone coaches who brought a special knowledge with them.
I think that Chow is the closest coach to Don Coryell that the Cardinals could find. Coryell, lisp and all, wasn't the kind of coach who inspired players to run through brick walls...he was a coach who out-thought, out-prepared and out-worked his opponents...and his players loved him for giving them the edge they needed to win ballgames.
If you look at the most successful coaches in the NFL today...they are the ones who provide the winning edge through schemes and preparation. Charisma or football macho is only effective if it is accompanied by great attention to detail and game planning.
This is why I believe Norm Chow is the right man for the job. I think he's the kind of coach who the players would love because he would engage them through intelligent decision making and game planning.
I would just add two more things: (1) Chow strikes me as a coach who can think fast on his feet, which enables him to make in-game adjustments with alacrity; (2) Of all the candidates we've heard from, he genuinely seems the most excited about the opportunity, and to me that means a great deal. I honestly believe there is no other gig he would rather have.
1. No playoffs promises...no predictions...just a vow to do everything possible to promote excellence.
2. A cogent explanation of what the plan is for the offense, defense and special teams.
3. A promise to all current and future players to give them every opportunity to compete for significant playing time...in other words, starting jobs will be earned on the field in practice and games.
4. An insight into the coach's philosophy of how to add to the current personnel via the draft and free agency.
The candidate that I would most like to hear these answers from is Norm Chow...for the following reasons:
1. Chow brings an intelligence to the position that we have not seen in a long time.
IMO, the difference between winning and losing in the NFL is in how well the coaches prepare the players...and often times, if the players feel they have been given a strategical edge in preparation, they will do everything they can to execute the game plan. Case in point...how Bill Belichick screwed up the Jets' defense by going into a quick formation whenever the Jets tried to substitute. This tactic clearly frustrated the Jets and their coaches and forced the Jets to have to defend the Patriots with their run defense....which is why Brady threw a plethora of timing passes to a host of receivers....because Brady knew exactly what was readily exploitable in the Jets' defense.
2. Chow has integrity. He's humble and epitomizes the mantra of "keep your feet on the ground and your eyes on the stars."
3. Chow doesn't seem to jump to conclusions or put premature expectations on players. Did you notice how Chow said that Matt Leinart could be an outstanding QB? He didn't use present tense...which shows me that Chow realizes the work Leinart has to put in to be an outstanding NFL quarterback. And it shows how Chow isn't living in the past...where once (at USC) he could say Leinart is an outstanding QB. This may seem trivial to some...but...some coaches come in and immediately start tagging players as Pro Bowlers, and, IMO, the psychology of such rhetoric is all too often counter-productive. See Leonard Davis, for example.
4. Chow brings a special knowledge to the position...he can call the plays and has excelled at that everywhere he's worked. My gripe with the past Cardinal head coaches was that most of them weren't even prolific coordinators, let alone coaches who brought a special knowledge with them.
I think that Chow is the closest coach to Don Coryell that the Cardinals could find. Coryell, lisp and all, wasn't the kind of coach who inspired players to run through brick walls...he was a coach who out-thought, out-prepared and out-worked his opponents...and his players loved him for giving them the edge they needed to win ballgames.
If you look at the most successful coaches in the NFL today...they are the ones who provide the winning edge through schemes and preparation. Charisma or football macho is only effective if it is accompanied by great attention to detail and game planning.
This is why I believe Norm Chow is the right man for the job. I think he's the kind of coach who the players would love because he would engage them through intelligent decision making and game planning.
I would just add two more things: (1) Chow strikes me as a coach who can think fast on his feet, which enables him to make in-game adjustments with alacrity; (2) Of all the candidates we've heard from, he genuinely seems the most excited about the opportunity, and to me that means a great deal. I honestly believe there is no other gig he would rather have.
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. I also think he's getting too much credit for the QB's he been associated with. I think those players were going to be successful no matter who was coaching them. Having a butt load of talent sure makes a coach look better.
