http://www.newsday.com/sports/footba...4140365.column
Bob Glauber
January 11, 2009
Memo to Woody:
Stay home next time!
Everyone's entitled to a vacation, but when you're an NFL owner and you've just fired your head coach, it's not the time.
Woody Johnson high-tailed it out of the country after firing Eric Mangini and wasn't around for the team's first round of interviews. There also was speculation that his vacation short-circuited any chance to hire Bill Cowher. Then again, if Cowher couldn't have waited a few more days to talk about a job that would have paid him a gazillion dollars, I don't think the former Steelers coach's heart was in it anyway. That said, it was in Johnson's best interests to stick around. After all, look at Broncos owner Pat Bowlen's itinerary since he fired Mike Shanahan: He flew to New York to interview Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, flew to Providence to interview Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and returned to Denver to talk to Bucs defensive coordinator Raheem Morris, Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, Broncos offensive coordinator Rick Dennison, Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, and Dolphins secondary coach Todd Bowles. Bowlen also hasn't ruled out Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops
Herm's time almost up
The Chiefs are still looking for a new general manager - Scott Pioli, anyone? But regardless of who is hired, it doesn't look good for coach Herman Edwards.
Even outgoing president and general manager Carl Peterson, who brought Edwards to the Chiefs three years ago, doesn't sound optimistic. Peterson said the situation reminds him of 1988, the year he took over as the Chiefs' general manager. Frank Gansz was the coach at the time, and one of Peterson's first moves was to fire Gansz and his staff.
"I feel for Herm and his staff," Peterson told reporters. "You know, we had a plan, we put it in progress, a lot of things happened that were not good. But at the end of the day, you have to win football games. It's not my decision anymore, and I'm pleased that it's not."
Quarterback upgrade for Vikings?
The Vikings clearly are in need of an upgrade at quarterback, as underscored by Tarvaris Jackson's woeful performance in a playoff loss to the Eagles last week. Coach Brad Childress appears willing to at least consider the possibility. While not outright dismissing the idea of giving up on Jackson, he's at least warming to the idea that another quarterback might be needed for a team that has a quality defense and an elite running game. Veteran Gus Frerotte, who thought he should have been reinserted into the lineup after recovering from a back injury, isn't anxious to return to the team unless he's guaranteed the starter's job.
Getting defensive in Green Bay
Packers coach Mike McCarthy gutted his defensive staff in the wake of a 6-10 season in which the Packers vastly underachieved on defense. The two leading candidates to replace defensive coordinator Bob Sanders: Mike Nolan, the former 49ers coach and Giants defensive coordinator, and Gregg Williams, the Jaguars' defensive coordinator.
Another chip off Buddy Ryan's block?
Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier is getting a look-see for some head-coaching vacancies - particularly in Detroit and Denver. And if he does get a job, it would be the third player from the vaunted 1985 Bears to get one.
The defense was coached by Buddy Ryan, who eventually got head-coaching jobs in Philadelphia and Arizona. Two of Ryan's players - Jeff Fisher with the Titans and Mike Singletary with the 49ers - are head coaches. Frazier, a starting cornerback with the Super Bowl champs, could be next.
One too many concussions
for Romanowski? And now, ladies and gentlemen, the most absurd coaching development of the week: Former Broncos linebacker Bill Romanowski, who hasn't spent one second as an NFL assistant coach - or any other kind of coach, for that matter - wants to become the Broncos' head coach.
He even sent team owner Pat Bowlen a PowerPoint presentation outlining his credentials and ideas for getting the Broncos back on track after the Mike Shanahan era.
Romo, who had a history of concussions and a series of altercations with opponents and teammates alike, called himself "the best person in the country for the job."
Right.
McDaniels on coaching radar
Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is getting lots of face time in the head-coaching search currently under way. The baby-faced McDaniels, 32, already has drawn interest from the Broncos, Rams and Browns, who wound up hiring Eric Mangini. If he doesn't get a job in this go-round, it probably is only a matter of time before he gets to run his own show. McDaniels did a bang-up job getting journeyman Matt Cassel up to speed in the Patriots' offense. Filling in for the injured Tom Brady, Cassel overcame some early-season jitters and led the Patriots to an 11-5 record. It wasn't good enough to make the playoffs in the ultra-competitive AFC, but it was good enough to get McDaniels on the radar for an eventual head-coaching job. Maybe sooner rather than later.