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Fri. Jan 09, 2004

The Coaching Carousel

In a recent column in the AJC, Steve Hummer said, “College football is that much more real, that much more an object of true ardor. College football is your first love. Pro football is your mistress.” And that just gave me another reason to think I’m weird. I never hit it off with that “first love,” but boy-howdy I like that mistress … in alternate years.

I think it has a lot to do with your “roots,” so to speak. I went to Wake Forest Univerity, a school of a mere 3,000 students, stacked up against the rest of the far larger schools in the ACC (UNC, Maryland, NC State, Duke, etc.). But I gave it a shot.

We lost the first game of my freshman year, but the second game of the season was against North Carolina State University, my dad’s alma mater. After we beat them, I called him collect from school, just to tell him the final score. And then hung up. And that was about the extent of the “fun” I got from college football.

One of my first dates in college was on my birthday that same fall of 1975, as it coincided with the “homecoming game.” Teams always try to pick a patsy for that game, and we had scheduled Appalachian State University. But sometimes, you can’t even depend on a patsy. They beat us, 19-17, and the Demon Deacons (the oddly chosen mascot and team name of the Southern Baptist school) went on to a 3-8 record that year (and 5-6 in ‘76, 1-10 in ‘77).

So, what’s to like about college football, eh? In my case, it was a distinctly ugly “first love.”

By 1978, I was living and working in Georgia, and for the first time I had the option of patronizing a “home” pro team, the Atlanta Falcons. My timing was good, as the Falcons went to the playoffs two of the first four seasons I followed them. But 25 seasons later, I’m still hangin’ with that same mistress who can’t put two winning years together back to back, and never has.

The fact that the Most Exceptional Season of 2002 was followed by the horrific quagmire this past season was for the Falcons cost Dan Reeves his job. And thus the Falcons became the first of seven teams to go a Coach Shopping Spree. That means 22% of the 32 NFL teams will have a new head coach next year.

“Not For Long.” That’s what Jerry Glanville once said the letters “N.F.L.” stood for. As in, “you might be able to generate some quick excitement in the fan base with glitz and bombast … but Not For Long.” Judging by the length of Glanville’s stay as head coach of the Falcons, that’s something less than three years.

Could be two. That’s all it took for Steve Spurrier. But, as always, he’s an odd case. It’s pretty rare for a coach to quit, except for the very few that choose to retire at the top of their game. NFL head coaches beat their head against the wall until the owner says, “I’m not going to pay you to do that any more.”

Not Spurrier. The cocky King of College Football made his move to the Big League, and signed a five year contract. He planned to transplant his special brand of football to the NFL. Surely he knew such a transformation would take a bit of time, given the sad state of the team he inherited. Perhaps more than two seasons. After all, wasn’t there a five year commitment?

Apparently not. Two years of winning one out of every three games was all Steve Spurrier could take. And he must have had no confidence that he could turn it around with a little more patience and effort. Instead, he decided to take a year off to play golf, and will surely be popping up in 2006 at a Bowl Game Near You. The pros are a different game, especially for an ego-centric coach. Spurrier couldn’t hack it.

But Joe Gibbs can. He is one of those very few who managed to get out while on top. Of course, since he only had one losing season in his 12 as coach of the Redskins, there was no “valley” to speak of. He was always on top. Despite all the talk of the game passing him by, etc., I have a feeling he’ll be on top again. I feel certain he’ll go down fighting a lot harder than Spurrier did in the effort.

Which brings us back to the Falcons, who have decided that their new head Coach will be Jim Mora, Jr., defensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers, and son of former Saints and Colts head coach Jim Mora. Though being the “son of a coach” means little, as former Falcons interim coach Wade Phillips (son of former Saints coach Bum Phillips) can attest.

Surprisingly, I don’t have strong feelings either way on this one. Part of me wonders at the dumping of one of the few coaches to win 200 games for the 42 year old defensive coodinator of a team that went 7-9 this year. But I have to trust the process and foresight of team owner Arthur Blank, and his new general Manager, Jim McKay (another son of a former NFL coach). NFL coaching personnel issues are not exactly my area of expertise, so I have to trust they see something in this guy.

Just the same, almost all the candidates they floated about were defensive coaches, and that worries me still. I mean, look at the obvious signed talent on the Falcons roster. With the exception of Keith Brooking, all the star talents are on the offense. And judging by this past year’s record (especially when Vick was out), they are tools ill-used. Rumor has it Mora will bring the 49ers offensive coodinator Greg Knapp with him as part of the deal, so I guess I should withhold judgement on that as well.

But no-longer-rookie owner Arthur Blank has now run out of corners to sweep with his new broom. It took him two years, but he finally got the general manager he wanted. And together, they’ve now chosen their new coach.

They’ve made their own bed. I guess in eight or nine months, we’ll see how well it sleeps.