Colts name Coyer defensive coordinator
INDIANAPOLIS -- When the time came for Indianapolis Colts first-year head coach Jim Caldwell to find replacements to be the team's new coordinators for defense and special teams, he didn't have to look too far.
After weeks of speculation, the Colts formally announced Friday that former Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Larry Coyer would take over in that role while longtime college assistant Ray Rychleski would be the new special teams coordinator.
Coyer and Rychleski both have long backgrounds with Caldwell on the collegiate level, working with him at Iowa (Coyer) and Wake Forest (Rychleski). Prior to coming to Indianapolis, Coyer was an assistant coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the past two seasons and has worked as an assistant with the Broncos and the New York Jets. He also has extensive college coaching experience at the University of Pittsburgh, Iowa State, Ohio State, East Carolina, Oklahoma State, and Bowling Green.
Ex-Indianapolis assistant coach Ron Meeks, who had served as the Colts' defensive coordinator, recently resigned and has since been hired as the new defensive coordinator with the Carolina Panthers.
Rychleski, meanwhile, has 29 years of overall coaching experience, 27 on the collegiate level at Maryland and Temple. In his only season on Steve Spurrier's staff at South Carolina last year, the Gamecocks ranked second in the Southeastern Conference in kickoff coverage. Rychleski replaces Russ Purnell on Caldwell's coaching staff. Purnell was recently named as the new special teams coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
In another coaching staff move, longtime receivers coach Clyde Christensen - who had interviewed to be the offensive coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers - has been given the additional duties of assistant head coach with the Colts.
"I am pleased to announce the promotion of Clyde Christensen to assistant head coach, in addition to his role of working with the wide receivers, and I am pleased as well to add Larry Coyer as defensive coordinator and Ray Rychleski as special teams coordinator," Caldwell said in a team press release.
"Many people know the contributions Clyde has made to the organization during the past seven years. He has helped the Colts function as one of the NFL's top offenses. His coaching manner and personal style exemplify the attention to detail and demand for performance we require at all times. I welcome his expanded role with our staff."
"Larry and Ray will be valuable additions in key areas for the club. Both have a wealth and wide range of experience that will benefit our players," he continued. "Larry and Ray have been successful in every stage of their careers, and their talents and input will show in our on-field performance."
No other coaching staff changes are expected with the team's focus now turning to the annual National Football Scouting Combine, which is scheduled for Feb. 19-22 at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Unlike past years, where fans had an opportunity to get autographs from college players and NFL personnel attending the combine at the RCA Dome and the Indiana Convention Center, everything associated with the combine will now take place at the Colts' new stadium and will be closed to the public.
Indiana college players invited to the combine are Nate Davis, quarterback, Ball State; Curtis Painter, quarterback, Purdue; Kory Sheets, running back, Purdue; Andrew Means, wide receiver, Indiana; Greg Orton, wide receiver, Purdue; Robert Brewster, offensive tackle, Ball State; Alex Magee, defensive end, Purdue; and David Burton, safety, Notre Dame. Former Franklin Central cornerback Donald Washington, Ohio State, will also take part in the workouts.
Associated Press content (c) 2009
Giants, Eli Close On New Deal?
On Saturday night, the National Football Post reported that the Giants and Eli Manning were very close to finalizing a contract extension. The report indicated that Manning would wind up as one of the league's highest paid players and that there would be a formal announcement sometime next week.
That report's being shot down by Mike Garofalo of the Newark Star-Ledger and Ralph Vacchiano of the Daily News, however. Both agree that there will be serious discussion of a new deal for Manning in the near future, but nothing is imminent. Garofalo says that Manning's agent, Tom Condon, is headed to the Pro Bowl for the week which diminishes the likelihood of anything coming together quickly.
Earlier this month, Vacchiano reported that Manning could be in line for an eight-year deal worth $110-120 million. Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers, traded for Manning on draft day in 2004, is also in line to get an extension this offseason. Ben Roethlisberger, the third quarterback taken in 2004's first round, signed an eight-year, $102 million contract with the Steelers before the 2008 season.
(c) 2008, Football Talk, LLC
Former GMs know how tough it will be for Chiefs to find right coach
The Chiefs already had begun to observe, research and contemplate Herm Edwards' replacement by the time the team announced Friday that Edwards had been fired.
The search was under way, team chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement. As Hunt and general manager Scott Pioli move toward the next step in retooling Kansas City's tattered football team, the real difficulty begins: They have to identify and hire not only one of football's top coaching minds, but also the right one. And that's not an easy thing to do in today's NFL.
The Chiefs want to win the coaching jackpot - land another Mike Smith or John Harbaugh, coaches who rebuilt Atlanta and Baltimore, respectively, and led their teams to the playoffs in their first seasons. When those coaches were hired, they were seen as gambles. They weren't the popular or logical picks, but they worked. And according to a pair of former NFL general managers, sometimes the worst picks are the ones that, at some point, made the most sense.
One of those former GMs is former Washington and Houston GM Charley Casserly. He says that hiring a coach is about research, chemistry and, sometimes most important, luck.
"There's no magical answer," Casserly says. "Basically, you have to have a feeling of what you want in a coach, and hey, it's a guessing game. It's an absolute guessing game."
Former Miami coach Cam Cameron lasted a year when he succeeded Nick Saban. Former Oakland coach Lane Kiffin lasted a little longer, but his midseason firing last year led to a messy split that still hasn't been resolved. In both cases, Cameron and Kiffin were introduced in enthusiastic news conferences and, at least in public, possessed the confidence of the owners and executives who'd hired them.
They had sold themselves - and then been sold to fans by their bosses - as the best possible candidates. And then they failed.
Casserly has made the same mistake. He hired Richie Petitbon in 1993, after Joe Gibbs retired for the first time with three Super Bowl trophies in Washington's case. Casserly wouldn't say Saturday what compelled him to hire Petitbon, Gibbs' defensive coordinator, but the new coach lasted just one year. Petitbon went 4-12 and was fired. Casserly replaced him with Norv Turner.
"If you don't get it right," Casserly said, "it sets you behind. Then you have to start all over again."
That's the kind of mistake the Chiefs can't afford. They're still nursing the mental wounds of consecutive disaster seasons, with last year's 2-14 record the worst in franchise history. Some Chiefs players think the team is in position to contend next season regardless of who Pioli and Hunt hire as coach.
"The next guy will get a lot of credit," Chiefs guard Brian Waters said Friday night, "but the truth is Herm Edwards built this football team."
Most players are young, and at least the former coaching regime thought some of the youngsters could develop into consistent Pro Bowlers. But that development hasn't yet happened, and that's why hiring the right coach is so important - and why Pioli and Hunt didn't wait until Edwards' office was empty to begin the search to replace him.
Former Tennessee GM Floyd Reese is an ESPN analyst. He has the time and wisdom now to reflect on his victories and mistakes during a 13-year tenure with the Titans and their previous incarnation, the Houston Oilers.
kansascity.com
Giants Promote Bill Sheridan to Defensive Coordinator
Jan. 19 (Bloomberg) -- The New York Giants promoted linebackers coach Bill Sheridan to defensive coordinator, replacing Steve Spagnuolo who became the St. Louis Rams coach over the weekend.
Sheridan, 49, who coached the team's linebackers the past four seasons, left for Mobile, Alabama, today to scout players at this week's Senior Bowl.
"Obviously, I'm thrilled," Sheridan said in a press release. "I'm humbled, but very, very excited and anxious to get going. I've prepared my entire career for this opportunity."
Sheridan helped coach a Giants' defense that improved from seventh out of 32 National Football League teams in 2007, to fifth overall in 2008, allowing 292 total yards a game.
It marked the unit's highest ranking and fewest yards allowed since 2000, when they gave up 281.4 yards per game.
Sheridan said he plans to retain Spagnuolo's defensive scheme because it was so successful. It's one of the reasons Coughlin promoted from within rather then go outside the organization for a new coordinator, Sheridan said in the release.
"It's obviously a proven, excellent system," Sheridan said. "There's a tremendous comfort level with the players."
Coughlin also interviewed Giants' secondary coach Peter Giunta, who was the defensive coordinator for the St. Louis Rams team that won the Super Bowl following the 1999 season.
New York, which was eliminated from the playoffs with a 23- 11 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Jan. 11, was ninth in the NFL in rushing defense, allowing 95.8 yards a game, eighth in pass defense giving up 196.2 yards a game and fifth overall permitting 18.4 points.
(c)2009 BLOOMBERG L.P.
The three phases of Eric Mangini; ex-Jets coach had bigger problems than Brett Favre
This may seem a bit late. After all, it has been nearly two weeks since Eric Mangini was shown the door out of New York, only to find his way through another door leading to Cleveland.
However, in those two weeks there has been a growing sense of acceptance for Eric Mangini as everyone's patience wears thin with Brett Favre.
Much like any great tragedy, there must be a protagonist who's victimized by the malicious actions of the villain. And make no mistakes about it - the story of the New York Jets is one of the NFL's great tragedies.
But this idea - this concept - of turning Eric Mangini into a hero who was unceremoniously dismissed from a job he deserved is a gross misrepresentation of who he really was as the New York Jets head coach.
Brett Favre was dismal in the final five games of the season, but he wasn't the only problem. Yet, this fallacy has reigned supreme amongst NFL fans in recent weeks.
And fans are buying into it. Since being fired, it's reported that Mangini never wanted Favre on the Jets - yet his newborn son has Brett for a middle name in Favre's honor.
"Well, the history behind that is all my kids have middle names that are related to people that have been important to me in my football career," said Mangini after his child was born.
He was just as mystified by Favre as all of his apologists are.
A Cleveland Browns organization starving for consistency may be excited with the prospect of bringing in a coach who's had two winning seasons in three years, but they must know that they're not getting an absolute winner.
They're getting a man of the Parcells-Belichick mold, but in the form of a cheaply made replica. He may present similar qualities to an extent, but when examined closely, it becomes obvious that he's not as well-polished.
The Origin of the Mangenius
When Mangini took over a 4-12 football team in 2006, he led the Jets to a 10-6 record and a playoff berth. He found diamonds in the rough, and helped great players emerge upon his arrival.
Jerricho Cotchery jumped to the no. two receiver spot after riding behind Justin McCareins, and he excelled. Bryan Thomas was looking like another first round draft blunder until Mangini placed him as an outside linebacker. Kerry Rhodes had shown potential, but it was Mangini who discovered how great he was on a blindside blitz.
Chad Pennington was eventually named Comeback Player of the Year, and the entire team was making strides as they adopted new systems on both sides of the ball.
Bringing in the 3-4 defensive alignment, Mangini and company struggled with making it work as the team had been filled with 4-3 personnel throughout the Herm Edwards era. There were undersized players in crucial positions who were thrown around and neutralized.
In order to mask those weaknesses, Jets fans witnessed something they had never seen their team do - motion on the defensive side of the ball. Complex packages were thrown at the offense as linebackers shifted and roamed the field. Were they going to blitz or drop back into coverage? No one knew. It was exciting.
Mangini took chances. New York would go for it on fourth down, and surprise the other team with onside kicks early in the game. He took chances, and refused to be intimidated.
Out-coaching Bill Belichick in New England as the Jets beat the Patriots for the first time in forever cemented his reputation as an NFL prodigy.
The Ego of the Mangenius
After the successful 2006 campaign, Jets' fans were riding high. There were things New York could improve upon, but the speculation was that the team was only a few players away.
In comes Thomas Jones to serve as a true running back in the post-Curtis Martin era. Then came the NFL Draft where we moved ahead to select shutdown cornerback Darrelle Revis and Michigan-product David Harris - two cornerstones of the Jets defensive future.
And then everything went wrong.
Veteran offensive guard Pete Kendall wanted the new contract that was promised to him after taking a paycut, and no one cared. He was eventually traded away and replaced by a nobody who everyone knew wasn't a viable option as a starter. And the Jets fell to 4-12.
It was his impressive season as a rookie coach that led him to believe he could repeat his success with the same misplaced players. DeWayne Robertson was not built to be a nose tackle in the 3-4 alignment. And former Defensive Rookie of the Year Jonathan Vilma wasn't free to be the sideline-to-sideline defender he was in the middle of the 4-3 alignment.
New York suffered, and cleaned house in the offseason. Players who no longer fit were finally released, and the well-documented spending spree began.
His ego would carry through to 2008 when it was reported that Mangini chose to rework his entire strategy after New York dropped a home game to the Denver Broncos.
The Reality of the Mangenius
With an abundance of new players on the roster, New York no longer had any excuses. Mangini brought his personnel to the team, players he selected and wanted. Now it was his turn to bring back the intelligence that made him a candidate for Coach of the Year in 2006.
And his true colors were on display from the onset.
The New York Jets had no fighter spirit. He had the same strategy and gameplan he provided in 2006 when the Jets were surprising everyone.
It became clear that Mangini could evaluate talent - that he could find great players with pure football skills - but he had no idea how to utilize them properly.
Linebackers weighing nearly 270 pounds were inexplicably dropped back into pass coverage as if their role wasn't to rush the quarterback. Kerry Rhodes was left to roam the secondary as protection against being burned by a big play as if he's not exceptional off the edges.
And then came the December debacle. The Jets went to San Francisco and played a reeling 49ers team as if they were the 2007 Patriots.
Mike Singletary and friends made it clear that they wanted to win the second they chose to start the game with an onside kick. Eric Mangini responded by going three-and-out and electing to punt while inside 49ers territory on fourth-and-short. No fighter spirit.
Mangini made a cautious decision against a team who wasn't planning on playing by the book - a team who wanted to win. And it set the tone for the remainder of the game. San Francisco demoralized New York.
Two weeks later, the Jets are in snowy Seattle, marching up the field on their opening drive. They're mixing up the plays, but are powering through the Seahawks' defense with dives to fullback Tony Richardson. And Mangini send the field goal unit on the field on fourth-and-short from Seattle's two-yard line.
His cautious decision against a team with nothing to lose set the tone that Sunday afternoon. New York lost and those three points were the only ones they would record all game. The defense applied no pressure and was gashed by a combination of backups and replacement players.
But his flaws were evident before December. Dropping a game in Oakland sent the signals flaring into the sky early.
The Mangenius was over-thinking the game. The Raiders - a team who couldn't stop the run - had just come off a beating at the hands of the New Orleans Saints, and the Jets couldn't stop them.
On a day where Thomas Jones rushed for nearly 160 yards, Mangini kept trying to surprise the Raiders by going to the air. The first two drives were spent with Favre in an empty backfield, going to the no huddle offense as if Oakland were a powerhouse that needed to be kept off-balance.
The Jets became the team to play when you needed to make a statement. The Chargers wanted to prove they were better than 0-2, the Patriots wanted to prove they could still win without Tom Brady, and the Broncos wanted to prove they were still an offensive powerhouse in rainy weather.
Narrow wins over the reeling Bengals and Chiefs don't help Mangini's case, either. His winning season could've easily been another losing one. And without making the playoffs, it certainly feels like it was.
(c) 2008 Copyright Examiner.com
Eagles soar past Vikings; Panthers to host Cardinals
MINNEAPOLIS All but forgotten as a postseason contender just one month earlier, Andy Reid, Donovan McNabb and the Philadelphia Eagles have a playoff win.
Next up: the Super Bowl champions.
Brian Westbrook caught a short pass out of the backfield and zigzagged through the Minnesota defense for a devastating 71-yard touchdown midway through the fourth quarter, and the Eagles spoiled the Vikings' first home playoff game in eight years with a 26-14 victory Sunday.
Asante Samuel's 44-yard interception return of Tarvaris Jackson's errant pass in the second quarter set a tone for the kind of game most Vikings fans feared from the unpolished quarterback.
charlotteobserver.com
NFL Colts' Manning notches another 4,000-yard season
INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana (AFP) -- Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning extended his National Football League record for most 4,000-yard passing seasons Sunday as he surpassed the mark for the ninth time on Sunday.
Manning played just one series of downs for the Colts in Sunday's regular-season finale against Tennessee, completing seven of seven passes for 95 yards and a touchdown.
The future Hall of Famer went over 4,000 yards with a 55-yard scoring strike to Joseph Addai, his last pass of the game.
He entered the contest needing 93 yards to reach the mark.
In his 11 NFL seasons, Manning has failed to pass for 4,000 yards only twice: in his rookie year in 1998 and again in 2005, when he sat out the final two games and finished with 3,747 yards.
Dan Marino, now retired, is second with six 4,000-yard campaigns.
Adam Vinatieri kicked three field goals for the Colts as they rolled to a 23-0 victory over the Titans, who had already clinched home field advantage and finished the season with a 13-3 record.
With their playoff berths already assured, both teams rested key players.
Copyright (c) 2008 AFP
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