First and foremost on my mind today, is the health of Jim Skane, Damien Anderson and his brothers. I wish all of you a rapid recovery. Get well soon, men.
Here's this week's article:
The recent word from the Cardinal front office is that they have a clear-cut plan for the off-season. Rod Graves and Michael Bidwill have alluded to such a plan in their post-season interviews with the media.
While talk of a clear-cut plan is encouraging, it already appears from the Cardinals' initial short list of head coaching candidates that the front office's plan is not particularly well thought out.
One would think that with young quarterbacks Josh McCown and Preston Parsons already in the mix and with the potential opportunity to draft either Eli Manning or Ben Roethlisberger in the 2004 draft, that the Cardinals would be best served to hire an established offensive guru, to not only accelerate the progress of these young quarterbacks, but to address the fact that the Cardinals posted the worst scoring average in the NFL this past year.
Interviewing Jim Fassel and Dennis Green can be seen as a positive, especially in the sense that both candidates bring many years of NFL head coaching experience to the table and both coaches are offensive oriented. Hiring an experienced head coach would break the Cardinals' trend of hiring unproven and untested coordinators (4 of the past 5 head coaches have fit this mold: Stallings, Bugel, Tobin, McGinnis). Fassel is an astute teacher and play caller...and is the kind of offensive guru the Cardinals really need.
The problem is...why would Fassel choose Arizona over the tradition rich franchises in Buffalo or Washington? First of all, Fassel must know that his next head coaching job will almost certainly be his last. It would therefore behoove him to make the most prudent decision.
In Buffalo Fassel would be working with one of the game's most dynamic general managers in Tom Donohoe...Fassel would be inheriting an offense featuring Travis Henry and Eric Moulds and a much improved defense led by Takeo Spikes...if he can turn the offense around, he can win immediately in Buffalo...and, regardless of whether the Bills win immediately or not, Fassel would never have to worry about selling out Ralph Wilson stadium. It will be loaded to the gills for years to come...just as FedEx Field will always be jam packed in Washington...where Fassel would have to deal with the meddling, overzealous Dan Snyder...but Snyder is an owner who will do everything in his power to bring the best available talent to Washington...which to Fassel would be a refreshing change from the ultra-conservative management in the Meadowlands.
As for Dennis Green, give him credit for saying all the right things at his recent press conference at Cardinal headquarters. However, Green is far more desperate than Fassel, having been out of a coaching job for the past two seasons....and quite frankly, Green hasn't received much interest from teams looking for a head coach the past two years...the most curious of which was the snubbing he received from the San Francisco 49ers...where Green was once an assistant to Bill Walsh. When the 49ers turned to controversial college/ex NFL head coach Dennis Erickson, this did not reflect well on Green's candidacy.
One must wonder just how stigmatized Green has become around NFL management circles. If so, what caused such a stigma? Was it the utter chaos and turmoil surrounging the Viking franchise when Green departed the scene? Was it Green's threat to sue Viking ownership even while he was employed in Minnesota? Was it Green's egomaniacal demeanor?...or Green's reputation for playing favorites? Some of the above? All of the above?
Like Fassel, Green must believe that his next coaching assignment will be his last. Sure, Green would love to land on his feet in Washington or Oakland, but in light of team's consistently tepid interest in his candidacy the past two years, Green is ready to hop on any opportunity....and will likely try to do his best to erase any past stigmas...which may be a plus...yet...one has to wonder what kind of a staff he can piece together. His last offensive coordinator in Minnesota was Sherman Lewis, the ex-Packer offensive coordinator who rarely if ever called the plays in Green Bay. Mike Tice did not retain Lewis as offensive coordinator when Tice took over the head coaching reins two years ago, electing instead to turn to Scott Linehan, a play-caller with no NFL experience.
Can Dennis Green take over the play-calling if his system is struggling?...the way Fassel did two years ago in New York, subseqently leading the Giants to seven wins in the last nine games and a playoff berth...which ended on Trey Junkin's errant field goal snap in San Francisco. Green is far more comfortable as a delegator. Therefore, can we as Cardinal fans be assured that the development of the Cardinal offense will be in the right hands? Will the Cardinal offense be run by yet another novice play-caller? Or, perhaps even worse, by an over-the-hill offensive coordinator like Sherman Lewis?
The same questions can be asked about the other two Cardinal coaching candidates, Romeo Crennel and Joe Johnson. Sure, Crennel and Johnson would most likely get the defense back on track, but whose hands will the offense be in? The answer is, most likely another position coach who has never called a play in an NFL game. This would be a major gamble...the same gamble the Cardinals took with Rich Olson and Jerry Sullivan.
Here's where Charlie Weis, the offensive coordinator of the Patriots comes in. Weis is a proven, innovative play-caller and strategist, who isn't afraid to open a game with seven straight passes, if that's what it means to keep the defense off-balance.
While Weis does not have NFL head coaching experience, he has as good an idea of how to prepare an NFL team to win as any assistant coach in the NFL right now, having served as both Bill Parcell's and Bill Bilichick's offensive coordinator. Weis completely won Parcell's and Bilichick's esteem and trust...and, believe-you-me, that in itself is a ringing and clinching endorsement.
This year the Patriots have had problems starting the same two wide receivers in any game, due to a swarm of injuries...yet, the Patriots have won twelve straight games in a row. Weis' development of quarterback Tom Brady has been masterful...and amazingly fast, considering that Brady led the Patriots to a Super Bowl win in just his second year as a pro. Not bad for a sixth round draft pick...not bad at all.
Imagine what Weis could do with Ben Roethlisberger...with Josh McCown...with Preston Parsons. Imagine what kind of an impact an experienced and highly successful NFL play-caller can have on the Cardinals' potentially high powered offense. With Charlie Weis the Cardinals would be putting the progress of the offense in the right hands. Even if Weis hires an offensive coordinator...Weis can always grab the reins and call the plays. That's the coaching edge the Cardinals have so desperately lacked and so desperately need more than anything else at this point.
Ironically, Jim Fassel may wind up doing the Cardinals the best favor...by taking the Buffalo job. If Fassel goes to Washington...the Cardinals will lose Weis to Buffalo. Tom Donohoe loved his recent interview with Weis and has been trying not to tip his hand. If Donohoe can't land Fassel, Weis is his man.
Rod Graves and Mike Bidwill say there's a plan in place. How about a plan to develop a franchise quarterback?...and if that's the case...why not get the best developer of young quarterbacks they can get? A Weis decision is needed...now...more than ever.
Here's this week's article:
The recent word from the Cardinal front office is that they have a clear-cut plan for the off-season. Rod Graves and Michael Bidwill have alluded to such a plan in their post-season interviews with the media.
While talk of a clear-cut plan is encouraging, it already appears from the Cardinals' initial short list of head coaching candidates that the front office's plan is not particularly well thought out.
One would think that with young quarterbacks Josh McCown and Preston Parsons already in the mix and with the potential opportunity to draft either Eli Manning or Ben Roethlisberger in the 2004 draft, that the Cardinals would be best served to hire an established offensive guru, to not only accelerate the progress of these young quarterbacks, but to address the fact that the Cardinals posted the worst scoring average in the NFL this past year.
Interviewing Jim Fassel and Dennis Green can be seen as a positive, especially in the sense that both candidates bring many years of NFL head coaching experience to the table and both coaches are offensive oriented. Hiring an experienced head coach would break the Cardinals' trend of hiring unproven and untested coordinators (4 of the past 5 head coaches have fit this mold: Stallings, Bugel, Tobin, McGinnis). Fassel is an astute teacher and play caller...and is the kind of offensive guru the Cardinals really need.
The problem is...why would Fassel choose Arizona over the tradition rich franchises in Buffalo or Washington? First of all, Fassel must know that his next head coaching job will almost certainly be his last. It would therefore behoove him to make the most prudent decision.
In Buffalo Fassel would be working with one of the game's most dynamic general managers in Tom Donohoe...Fassel would be inheriting an offense featuring Travis Henry and Eric Moulds and a much improved defense led by Takeo Spikes...if he can turn the offense around, he can win immediately in Buffalo...and, regardless of whether the Bills win immediately or not, Fassel would never have to worry about selling out Ralph Wilson stadium. It will be loaded to the gills for years to come...just as FedEx Field will always be jam packed in Washington...where Fassel would have to deal with the meddling, overzealous Dan Snyder...but Snyder is an owner who will do everything in his power to bring the best available talent to Washington...which to Fassel would be a refreshing change from the ultra-conservative management in the Meadowlands.
As for Dennis Green, give him credit for saying all the right things at his recent press conference at Cardinal headquarters. However, Green is far more desperate than Fassel, having been out of a coaching job for the past two seasons....and quite frankly, Green hasn't received much interest from teams looking for a head coach the past two years...the most curious of which was the snubbing he received from the San Francisco 49ers...where Green was once an assistant to Bill Walsh. When the 49ers turned to controversial college/ex NFL head coach Dennis Erickson, this did not reflect well on Green's candidacy.
One must wonder just how stigmatized Green has become around NFL management circles. If so, what caused such a stigma? Was it the utter chaos and turmoil surrounging the Viking franchise when Green departed the scene? Was it Green's threat to sue Viking ownership even while he was employed in Minnesota? Was it Green's egomaniacal demeanor?...or Green's reputation for playing favorites? Some of the above? All of the above?
Like Fassel, Green must believe that his next coaching assignment will be his last. Sure, Green would love to land on his feet in Washington or Oakland, but in light of team's consistently tepid interest in his candidacy the past two years, Green is ready to hop on any opportunity....and will likely try to do his best to erase any past stigmas...which may be a plus...yet...one has to wonder what kind of a staff he can piece together. His last offensive coordinator in Minnesota was Sherman Lewis, the ex-Packer offensive coordinator who rarely if ever called the plays in Green Bay. Mike Tice did not retain Lewis as offensive coordinator when Tice took over the head coaching reins two years ago, electing instead to turn to Scott Linehan, a play-caller with no NFL experience.
Can Dennis Green take over the play-calling if his system is struggling?...the way Fassel did two years ago in New York, subseqently leading the Giants to seven wins in the last nine games and a playoff berth...which ended on Trey Junkin's errant field goal snap in San Francisco. Green is far more comfortable as a delegator. Therefore, can we as Cardinal fans be assured that the development of the Cardinal offense will be in the right hands? Will the Cardinal offense be run by yet another novice play-caller? Or, perhaps even worse, by an over-the-hill offensive coordinator like Sherman Lewis?
The same questions can be asked about the other two Cardinal coaching candidates, Romeo Crennel and Joe Johnson. Sure, Crennel and Johnson would most likely get the defense back on track, but whose hands will the offense be in? The answer is, most likely another position coach who has never called a play in an NFL game. This would be a major gamble...the same gamble the Cardinals took with Rich Olson and Jerry Sullivan.
Here's where Charlie Weis, the offensive coordinator of the Patriots comes in. Weis is a proven, innovative play-caller and strategist, who isn't afraid to open a game with seven straight passes, if that's what it means to keep the defense off-balance.
While Weis does not have NFL head coaching experience, he has as good an idea of how to prepare an NFL team to win as any assistant coach in the NFL right now, having served as both Bill Parcell's and Bill Bilichick's offensive coordinator. Weis completely won Parcell's and Bilichick's esteem and trust...and, believe-you-me, that in itself is a ringing and clinching endorsement.
This year the Patriots have had problems starting the same two wide receivers in any game, due to a swarm of injuries...yet, the Patriots have won twelve straight games in a row. Weis' development of quarterback Tom Brady has been masterful...and amazingly fast, considering that Brady led the Patriots to a Super Bowl win in just his second year as a pro. Not bad for a sixth round draft pick...not bad at all.
Imagine what Weis could do with Ben Roethlisberger...with Josh McCown...with Preston Parsons. Imagine what kind of an impact an experienced and highly successful NFL play-caller can have on the Cardinals' potentially high powered offense. With Charlie Weis the Cardinals would be putting the progress of the offense in the right hands. Even if Weis hires an offensive coordinator...Weis can always grab the reins and call the plays. That's the coaching edge the Cardinals have so desperately lacked and so desperately need more than anything else at this point.
Ironically, Jim Fassel may wind up doing the Cardinals the best favor...by taking the Buffalo job. If Fassel goes to Washington...the Cardinals will lose Weis to Buffalo. Tom Donohoe loved his recent interview with Weis and has been trying not to tip his hand. If Donohoe can't land Fassel, Weis is his man.
Rod Graves and Mike Bidwill say there's a plan in place. How about a plan to develop a franchise quarterback?...and if that's the case...why not get the best developer of young quarterbacks they can get? A Weis decision is needed...now...more than ever.
