The Final Tally from the Coaching Purge

[Patler]

A week ago, MM had a direct staff of 20 in coaching positions:

1 assistant head coach/linebackers
4 coordinators (offense, defense, special teams, strength & conditioning)
9 position coaches (QB, RB, WR, TE, OL, DT, DE, Secondary, Nickel/corners)
4 assistant coaches (OL, ST, 2 for strength & conditioning)
2 quality control positions (offense, defense).

3 of 4 coordinators are gone, 2 fired and 1 "retired"
4 of 9 position coaches are gone, all fired
1 of 2 quality control persons is gone, fired.

Yet to be determined - whether the assistant head coach/linebackers will remain in that position, become the DC or go to another team.

Great head coaches assemble great staffs. Much has been said about the quality of the staffs put together by guys like Lombardi and Holmgren in Green Bay, Walsh, Belichick and certainly others too. MM really flopped in his first attempts with his staff, especially with the 4 coordinators. Firing 3 of your 4 coordinators after just 3 years, the guys picked to implement your philosophies, is really rather astounding to me.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Patler obviously doesn't like the decision. He could have stood pat, and then others would be bitching about that.

[sharpe1027]

Re: The Final Tally from the Coaching Purge

Let's hope that the mistake was with the initial hiring and not with these firings.

While he is not the first head coach to clean house, I have a suspicion that it seldom worked out well in the past.

[Noodle]

I don't read Patler as banging on MM for firing the guys, I think his point is that MM should have never hired these limp richards in the first place.

I agree. I've also been underwhelmed by the caliber of assistants that MM has brought in, especially on the defensive side of the ball (where he has far less expertise).

No one is saying you have to hire "names." When the Giants hired Spagnuolo as their DC, a lot of people in the NY media trashed the move because the guy wasn't a name at all. But here's the deal -- Spagnuolo had been a position coach under Eagles defensive wizard Jim Johnson for8 years. He had coached up pro bowlers like Brian Dawkins, Troy Vincent, Lito Sheppard, and Jeremiah Trotter, and the Eagles had gone to a number of NFC Championship Games and a SB.

I don't need a name, but I do want a guy who has coached great players, has worked for great mentors, and who has had some success.

Is that so damn much?

[sheepshead]

Good point I guess. There isnt going to be a "McCarthy Tree" anytime soon. TT and MM are feeling the pressure to be sure. This team is much better than their record imo. MM wasnt going to get canned this year anyway. This is an unusual move in unusual circumstances.

[Pugger]

If I remember correctly MM kept the DC that was here because he wanted some stability there. Didn't Sherman have a revolving door with DCs before Sanders? I have no problem with MM getting his own guy as a DC and fixing this defensive mess we had last year. I'd be a hell of lot more disapointed if MM did nothing and kept the status quo.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Good point I guess. There isnt going to be a "McCarthy Tree" anytime soon.

Does Jags count?


I think there are some good coaches on the roster, but they are all on the offensive side of the ball. I like Philbin. I'd stack Edgar and Jimmy Robinson up against anybody at their positions. In retrospect, it was a mistake for McCarthy to emphasize stability on the defensive side of the ball, but I can't fault him for it. After Slowik, Bates' scheme looked pretty solid. I still don't think there's anything terribly wrong with the scheme, but you need a good DL and good corners. If you don't have that, you need to be able to adjust.

[pbmax]

Great staffs are a must, but it isn't that easy to identify by the fabled coaching tree. Jimmy Johnson has a coaching tree that produced two main branches called Wannestache and Norv Turner. Not exactly lighting the world on fire there.

Lombardi did not have assistants that went on to great things either.

Tony Dungy has produced Rod Marinelli and Herm Edwards. Three coaches, six Super Bowls and not much of a shrub. I might be missing a name or two.

What you need to see is improvement from year to year as players become veterans. M3 has seen that at WR, QB, LB (two years of improvement then back to square one), CB and possibly safety (Collins at least).

I think the OL has progressed and Colledge really came on this year, but the overall performance is hard to gauge as the tackles struggled this year.

\\whoops, forgot about Lovie Smith. Dungy has a good sprout there.

[Fritz]

Good point I guess. There isnt going to be a "McCarthy Tree" anytime soon.

Does Jags count?


I think there are some good coaches on the roster, but they are all on the offensive side of the ball. I like Philbin. I'd stack Edgar and Jimmy Robinson up against anybody at their positions. In retrospect, it was a mistake for McCarthy to emphasize stability on the defensive side of the ball, but I can't fault him for it. After Slowik, Bates' scheme looked pretty solid. I still don't think there's anything terribly wrong with the scheme, but you need a good DL and good corners. If you don't have that, you need to be able to adjust.

Good points, and didn't Jags leave of his own accord, to become BC's head man?

I think MM's mistake was in thinking continuity was more important than any other consideration, and though in retrospect we can see that was not necessarily so, at the time it made a lot of sense. A Bates defense seemed a lot better than a Slowik defense, and the Bates defense had worked fairly well.

So this round of firings is McCarthy's mulligan. His only one. We'll see if he gets it right this time.

[Patler]

Patler obviously doesn't like the decision. He could have stood pat, and then others would be bitching about that.

On the contrary, I have absolutely no problem with the decision at all. I hated his staff when he put it together. I am astounded that he did such a poor job originally, and I am astounded that he is attempting to correct it now all at once. The only thing he missed is getting rid of Campen. I hope he does better this time.

[Fritz]

If MM hires coaches that Patler likes, then they don't do great next season but MM decides to stay with those coaches, you could then say he would be standing Patler.

[sheepshead]

If MM hires coaches that Patler likes, then they don't do great next season but MM decides to stay with those coaches, you could then say he would be standing Patler.

http://www.instantrimshot.com/

[Patler]

Sorry, originally posted in the wrong thread!