At the pigskin summer carnival, there are many popular attractions. Crowds excitedly walk the preseason midway and check out all that has changed since the previous year.
Experience the ride of optimism! Throw darts to pick the new playoff teams! Guess the weight of the bloated rookie tackle!
Of course, one of the traditional favorites is the coaching dunk tank, which is always filled with the water of high expectations. When a team falters, the coach goes under.
Throughout the country, considerable change has been seen on NFL sidelines. Seven firings, two resignations and a retirement produced a total of 10 head coaching vacancies. Just three of the new hires had held the position before:
- Herman Edwards moved directly from the Jets to the Chiefs.
- Art Shell resumed his duties with the Raiders after a 12-year absence.
- Dick Jauron took over the Bills after formerly leading the Bears.
The remaining seven men are taking their first spin on the coaching carousel. They have all been assistants in the league, but they are now getting an opportunity to run the show.
As the barker for the gridiron fairgrounds, the Cold, Hard Football Facts would like to call your attention to these seven rookie coaches. Each of them will be asked to step right up and deliver a winner. Hurry, hurry, hurry...
Brad Childress, Minnesota
Age: 50
Background: Childress briefly played quarterback and wide receiver at Illinois, and the school gave him his first coaching opportunity. His longest college stint was at Wisconsin, where he served as offensive coordinator, and he was an NFL assistant for eight seasons. He joined the Eagles as offensive coordinator when the Andy Reid regime came to power.
NFL résumé:
|
Tenure |
Team |
Position |
|
1985 |
Colts |
quality control/ QBs |
|
1999-2005 |
Eagles |
quarterbacks/
offensive coordinator |
Career highlight: With Childress calling the plays, Philly advanced to four straight NFC title games and played in Super Bowl XXXIX, a 24-21 loss to New England.
Career lowlight: The transition from former coach Ray Rhodes to the Eagles of Reid and rookie QB Donovan McNabb was a rough one. With Childress running the offense as a rookie coordinator, Philly went 5-11 and scored just 17.0 PPG.
Rod Marinelli, Detroit
Age: 57
Background: Marinelli was an offensive and defensive tackle at Utah before serving a one-year tour of duty in Vietnam. Upon returning, he played at California Lutheran and then embarked on a career as a defensive line coach. After stops at Utah State, Cal, Arizona State and USC, Childress spent 10 years in Tampa Bay.
NFL résumé:
|
Tenure |
Team |
Position |
|
1996-2005 |
Buccaneers |
defensive line/
assistant head coach |
Career highlight: Marinelli worked with the league's best defense in 2002, and the Bucs went on to win Super Bowl XXXVII. The team ranked first in both scoring and total defense that season.
Career lowlight: Tampa Bay's playoff hopes came crashing to an end in back-to-back wild-card losses to Philly in 2000 and 2001.
Mike McCarthy, Green Bay
Age: 42
Background: McCarthy was an all-conference tight end at Division II Baker University in Kansas. He was an assistant at the University of Pittsburgh for four years before advancing to the NFL, where he has been coaching for the last 13 seasons.
NFL résumé:
|
Tenure |
Team |
Position |
|
1993-1998 |
Chiefs |
quality control/QBs |
|
1999 |
Packers |
quarterbacks |
|
2000-2004 |
Saints |
offensive coordinator |
|
2005 |
49ers |
offensive coordinator |
Career highlight: In his first season with New Orleans, McCarthy was named NFC Assistant Coach of the Year by USA Today.
Career lowlight: Future Hall of Famer Brett Favre had one of his worst statistical seasons with McCarthy as Green Bay's QB coach (74.7 passer rating), the physically gifted Aaron Brooks failed to develop in New Orleans with McCarthy as his coordinator and
Alex Smith then had a disastrous season as San Francisco's rookie QB under McCarthy – all of which led to a big promotion in Green Bay.
Gary Kubiak, Houston
Age: 45
Background: Kubiak was an all-SWC quarterback at Texas A&M, and he backed up John Elway for nine seasons in Denver. He started his coaching career with his alma mater and has 12 years of experience at the pro level.
NFL résumé:
|
Tenure |
Team |
Position |
|
1994 |
49ers |
quarterbacks |
|
1995-2005 |
Broncos |
offensive coordinator |
Career highlight: Kubiak made up for three Super Bowl losses as a player by winning three rings as a coach, including back-to-back titles with the Broncos.
Career lowlight: The world-champion Denver offense stumbled in the statistical rankings and team standings in 1999, its first season without Elway, leading to questions about the Broncos' coaching staff. The Denver offense did become a perennial powerhouse in subsequent seasons.
Sean Payton, New Orleans
Age: 42
Background: Payton was a three-time All-American quarterback at I-AA Eastern Illinois. In 1987, he competed in the CFL, Arena League and as a replacement player for the Bears. Payton was a college assistant for nine years – most notably with San Diego State – and a pro coach for that same amount of time.
NFL résumé:
|
Tenure |
Team |
Position |
|
1997-1998 |
Eagles |
quarterbacks |
|
1999-2002 |
Giants |
quarterbacks/
offensive coordinator |
|
2004-2005 |
Cowboys |
assistant head coach |
Career highlight: The Giants advanced to Super Bowl XXXV in Payton's first year as offensive coordinator, before getting whitewashed, 34-7, by Baltimore and one of the all-time great defenses in NFL history.
Career lowlight: Payton's career got off to a horrific start, as Philly stumbled through its 1997 (6-9-1) and 1998 (3-13) seasons. The 1998 Eagles ranked dead last in total and scoring offense, with the immortal Koy Detmer being its top QB. Detmer that year passed for 1,011 yards, 5 TDs and 5 INTs.
Eric Mangini, N.Y. Jets
Age: 35
Background: As a nose tackle, Mangini was a four-year letterman at Division III Wesleyan University in Connecticut. His relationship with fellow alum Bill Belichick helped him advance from being a public relations intern to a member of the Cleveland coaching staff. Mangini was an assistant coach in the NFL for 11 seasons.
NFL résumé:
|
Tenure |
Team |
Position |
|
1995 |
Browns |
staff assistant |
|
1996 |
Ravens |
quality control/
offensive assistant |
|
1997-1999 |
Jets |
quality control/
defensive assistant |
|
2000-2005 |
Patriots |
defensive backs/
defensive coordinator |
Career highlight: Mangini got the most out of a sometimes-depleted secondary and won three Super Bowl rings with New England.
Career lowlight: Mangini took over the defensive coordinator position in New England in 2005 and the defense for the champs quickly fell apart, though injuries were a major contributor. The defense recovered at the end of the season but still ranked in the bottom half of the league
in most major statistical categories.
Scott Linehan, St. Louis
Age: 42
Background: Linehan was a three-year starter at quarterback for Idaho, then a I-AA school. He returned there as a coach and also had stints at UNLV, Washington and Louisville. For the last four seasons, Linehan was an offensive coordinator in the NFL.
NFL résumé:
|
Tenure |
Team |
Position |
|
2001-2004 |
Vikings |
offensive coordinator/
quarterbacks |
|
2005 |
Dolphins |
offensive coordinator |
Career highlight: In 2003, Linehan directed a Minnesota offense that ranked No. 1 in the league.
Career lowlight: Linehan's first year as a coach was his worst: The Vikings went just 5-11 in 2001 and ranked 24th in scoring offense despite featuring the talents of players such as Daunte Culpepper and Randy Moss.
With carnival season winding down and meaningful games approaching, these seven rookie coaches must start seeing a fair amount of improvement from teams that collectively went 33-79 last season. That's a winning percentage of just .295.
And if they can't get their teams turned around, it won't be long before they're dropped into the cold waters of the coaching dunk tank.
