Chief
"Friggin Joke Monkey"
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On the likely eve of Jerry's big hire, I felt the urge to drop in and share some thoughts. I was going to use the word "musings" but Webster's defines muse as "a state of deep thought or dreamy abstraction" and I don't think I'm capable of either.
First, a complaint: I think it was very inconsiderate of the NFL to interrupt Jerry's search by playing this Super Bowl.
I've enjoyed the thoroughness of Jerry's search, but I'm not sure I'm going to like the conclusion (My Les Miles prediction of three of months ago didn't come true).
Norv Turner is the Gerald Ford of coaches. He's a solid guy who knows the business and has virtually no enemies. Everybody likes Norv. He's a good No. 2 man, and maybe that's one of the things Jerry likes about him. Jerry, the stretched-out face of this franchise, is just looking for a co-pilot to help pull him out of his tailspin. Jerry views himself as the inspirational, motivational, charismatic leader of the team. He just needs a X's and O's guy and teacher to serve as the head coach.
After three years of the condescending bully from New Jersey (and I sorta like Parcells), I think Jerry, the media and many fans are ready for some relief. The rising tensions at Valley Ranch had put everyone on edge. It's like when that edgy, irritable relative comes and stays for a few days at your house and relief pours over you when he leaves. Norv is the coaching version of comfort food for Jerry and other people close to the organization.
While his presence would no doubt aid the continued growth of Tony Romo, I don't see great things coming from the Norv Turner Era. I think he could be solid. Ford-like.
My preference would be for a young coach who has the potential for greatness. I want a charismatic young coach who will be in Dallas a long time. Jerry has or will interview three that potentially fall into this category -- Mike Singletary, Jason Garrett and Ron Rivera (whose stock probably dropped last night).
Sure, they're more risky than Norv and the payoff may not be immediate (or maybe it will be, like it was for New Orleans and Sean Payton). But I think one of these guys -- especially Singletary -- would be worth the risk, especially for a franchise that hasn't won a playoff game since Tony Romo was 16 years old.
And while Garrett and Rivera as coordinators looks good initially, it would be painful to watch them both leave in a year or two and have the success that Payton had. If Jerry thinks one of the three young guys will be a great head coach, he needs to pull the trigger now.
If it's Norv, the hope would be that he does a Belichick and becomes a guy who may lack charisma and leadership skills, but makes the most of another chance by X'ing and O'ing other teams to death.
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Some other thoughts ......
The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that Jerry pulled an Al Davis and called in Wade Phillips and Gary Gibbs simply to pick their brains about how to fix his defense -- Phillips for his 3-4 knowledge, and Gibbs because he knows the personnel so well. I still like the 4-3 better and think Ware would be a great RDE, Fergy, Spears and Ratliff are capable DTs and Canty and Ellis would be solid at LDE. At LB, James could play the middle, Burnett (who is better suited to the 4-3 IMO) would play the weak side and Carpenter, Ayodele, etc., could battle on the strong side.
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While Jerry can take his time on hiring a head coach, some are worried that all the good assistant coaches already have jobs and it will be hard to put a good staff together. My answer to that would be to go to the college ranks. There are many outstanding college assistant coaches who are ready to be NFL assistants. They relate well to the younger players and often times can bring a fresh, new approach. Jimmy Johnson brought his Hurricane staff to Dallas and they did OK.
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I realize that when Jerry signed Owens and faced the inevitable concerns, he vowed that "nobody will burn this place down as long as I'm here." But No. 81 spent much of the 2006 season playing with matches. We've seen what Owens does with nice-guy head coaches like Norv. Here's hoping that guys like Troy Aikman, Roger Staubach, Tony Dorsett, Kevin Gogan and the others in the Cowboy family who have publicly said they wouldn't have Owens around, come together and call Jerry in for an intervention.
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Two weeks after spotting and meeting the great Alan Page in a Las Vegas hotel lobby, I saw Ryan Leaf at a barbecue place in Sunland Park, N.M., near El Paso. His former coach, Mike Price, coaches UTEP and Leaf, who is the QB coach at West Texas A&M, was in town for some football all-star game at the Sun Bowl. It was weird seeing him down here in the middle of nowhere at the same time that his former draft counterpart (Peyton Manning) was in Miami prepping for the Super Bowl. I wish Leaf the best. It would be pretty funny if he turned out to be a great coach.
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Speaking of that all-star game, it was a first-time event and billed as "Texas vs. The Nation." While Price coached the Texas all-stars, the coach of the other team was none other than Buddy Ryan. In a promotional radio spot for the game, Buddy said, "Im used to beating up on Texas teams." We all know who he was talking about. In the days leading up to the game, I entertained some John Wilkes Booth-like thoughts. I thought about putting in a call to "some people I know" in El Paso and placing my own bounty. I thought about getting a sideline pass and kneeing him in the groin after the game. In the end, it's probably best that he lives a long, sufferable life and is known more for his classless antics and getting fired twice.
Of course, Norv was fired twice, too, but at least he's no Richard Nixon. He's Gerald Ford, dad-gummit, and everybody likes him!
Later guys.
First, a complaint: I think it was very inconsiderate of the NFL to interrupt Jerry's search by playing this Super Bowl.
I've enjoyed the thoroughness of Jerry's search, but I'm not sure I'm going to like the conclusion (My Les Miles prediction of three of months ago didn't come true).
Norv Turner is the Gerald Ford of coaches. He's a solid guy who knows the business and has virtually no enemies. Everybody likes Norv. He's a good No. 2 man, and maybe that's one of the things Jerry likes about him. Jerry, the stretched-out face of this franchise, is just looking for a co-pilot to help pull him out of his tailspin. Jerry views himself as the inspirational, motivational, charismatic leader of the team. He just needs a X's and O's guy and teacher to serve as the head coach.
After three years of the condescending bully from New Jersey (and I sorta like Parcells), I think Jerry, the media and many fans are ready for some relief. The rising tensions at Valley Ranch had put everyone on edge. It's like when that edgy, irritable relative comes and stays for a few days at your house and relief pours over you when he leaves. Norv is the coaching version of comfort food for Jerry and other people close to the organization.
While his presence would no doubt aid the continued growth of Tony Romo, I don't see great things coming from the Norv Turner Era. I think he could be solid. Ford-like.
My preference would be for a young coach who has the potential for greatness. I want a charismatic young coach who will be in Dallas a long time. Jerry has or will interview three that potentially fall into this category -- Mike Singletary, Jason Garrett and Ron Rivera (whose stock probably dropped last night).
Sure, they're more risky than Norv and the payoff may not be immediate (or maybe it will be, like it was for New Orleans and Sean Payton). But I think one of these guys -- especially Singletary -- would be worth the risk, especially for a franchise that hasn't won a playoff game since Tony Romo was 16 years old.
And while Garrett and Rivera as coordinators looks good initially, it would be painful to watch them both leave in a year or two and have the success that Payton had. If Jerry thinks one of the three young guys will be a great head coach, he needs to pull the trigger now.
If it's Norv, the hope would be that he does a Belichick and becomes a guy who may lack charisma and leadership skills, but makes the most of another chance by X'ing and O'ing other teams to death.
-----------------------
Some other thoughts ......
The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that Jerry pulled an Al Davis and called in Wade Phillips and Gary Gibbs simply to pick their brains about how to fix his defense -- Phillips for his 3-4 knowledge, and Gibbs because he knows the personnel so well. I still like the 4-3 better and think Ware would be a great RDE, Fergy, Spears and Ratliff are capable DTs and Canty and Ellis would be solid at LDE. At LB, James could play the middle, Burnett (who is better suited to the 4-3 IMO) would play the weak side and Carpenter, Ayodele, etc., could battle on the strong side.
-------------------
While Jerry can take his time on hiring a head coach, some are worried that all the good assistant coaches already have jobs and it will be hard to put a good staff together. My answer to that would be to go to the college ranks. There are many outstanding college assistant coaches who are ready to be NFL assistants. They relate well to the younger players and often times can bring a fresh, new approach. Jimmy Johnson brought his Hurricane staff to Dallas and they did OK.
-------------------
I realize that when Jerry signed Owens and faced the inevitable concerns, he vowed that "nobody will burn this place down as long as I'm here." But No. 81 spent much of the 2006 season playing with matches. We've seen what Owens does with nice-guy head coaches like Norv. Here's hoping that guys like Troy Aikman, Roger Staubach, Tony Dorsett, Kevin Gogan and the others in the Cowboy family who have publicly said they wouldn't have Owens around, come together and call Jerry in for an intervention.
----------------------
Two weeks after spotting and meeting the great Alan Page in a Las Vegas hotel lobby, I saw Ryan Leaf at a barbecue place in Sunland Park, N.M., near El Paso. His former coach, Mike Price, coaches UTEP and Leaf, who is the QB coach at West Texas A&M, was in town for some football all-star game at the Sun Bowl. It was weird seeing him down here in the middle of nowhere at the same time that his former draft counterpart (Peyton Manning) was in Miami prepping for the Super Bowl. I wish Leaf the best. It would be pretty funny if he turned out to be a great coach.
-------------------
Speaking of that all-star game, it was a first-time event and billed as "Texas vs. The Nation." While Price coached the Texas all-stars, the coach of the other team was none other than Buddy Ryan. In a promotional radio spot for the game, Buddy said, "Im used to beating up on Texas teams." We all know who he was talking about. In the days leading up to the game, I entertained some John Wilkes Booth-like thoughts. I thought about putting in a call to "some people I know" in El Paso and placing my own bounty. I thought about getting a sideline pass and kneeing him in the groin after the game. In the end, it's probably best that he lives a long, sufferable life and is known more for his classless antics and getting fired twice.
Of course, Norv was fired twice, too, but at least he's no Richard Nixon. He's Gerald Ford, dad-gummit, and everybody likes him!
Later guys.
