Kiffin, Marinelli face challenge in Dallas

[Gryphon]

Kiffin, Marinelli face challenge in Dallas

By Ira Kaufman |
Published: April 6, 2013
TAMPA - After a seven-year absence, the firm of Kiffin & Marinelli is back in business.

During their decade together in Tampa, defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin and defensive line coach Rod Marinelli forged an impressive résumé, highlighted by the 2002 championship season. Now, they're back together in Big D, where the Cowboys are hoping their version of the Cover 2 can work effectively deep in the heart of Texas.

Some say the NFL is a young man's game, but that maxim will be tested this fall. Kiffin is 73 and Marinelli turns 64 shortly before the Cowboys open training camp.

Since they parted company, Marinelli and Kiffin have found mixed success.

Marinelli left the Bucs in 2006 to become the head coach in Detroit, where he won 10 games in three years, capped by an 0-16 slate that left the Lions with little choice but to fire him. When Bears head coach Lovie Smith reached out in 2009, Marinelli was eager to rejoin a former Bucs assistant and close friend.

After one year as defensive line coach, Marinelli assumed defensive coordinator responsibilities in Chicago and the Bears led the NFL with 44 takeaways last season. After Smith was dismissed, Marinelli had an opportunity to remain on the staff of new coach Marc Trestman, but he declined, citing his loyalty to Smith.

LINK: http://tbo.com/sports/bucs/kiffin-m...feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+tbo/bucs+(TBO+>+Bucs)

 

[jobberone]

We'll see. One things for sure...teams have plenty of film on those two so they'll know how to attack it. Of course, as in any scheme, it's only as good as its players. If they can get 30+ turnovers then I'm going to at least be a little happy. That and make some big stops when needed.

 

[TheRomoSexual]

I don't think people are giving JJ enough credit for the coup of landing Marinelli.

 

[DCBoysfan]

I don't think people are giving JJ enough credit for the coup of landing Marinelli.

I agree, I'm still not on board with Kiffin, but Marinelli is and excellent coordinator.

 

[jnday]

I don't think people are giving JJ enough credit for the coup of landing Marinelli.

Maybe it was because Kiffin is the reason for him being in Dallas, not JJ.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

Maybe it was because Kiffin is the reason for him being in Dallas, not JJ.

Either way.... Jerry hired both. If no Kiffen here there would be no Rod. And there would be no Kiffen here if Jerry did not hire him.

 

[TheRomoSexual]

Maybe it was because Kiffin is the reason for him being in Dallas, not JJ.

And who hired Kiffin?

 

[DeaconBlues]

We'll see. One things for sure...teams have plenty of film on those two so they'll know how to attack it. Of course, as in any scheme, it's only as good as its players. If they can get 30+ turnovers then I'm going to at least be a little happy. That and make some big stops when needed.

30+ and I'll be dancing in the streets. I'll be happy if we just average 1.5 turnovers per game. And the ability to make late second quarter and fourth quarter stops.

 

[CowboyMcCoy]

We'll see. One things for sure...teams have plenty of film on those two so they'll know how to attack it. Of course, as in any scheme, it's only as good as its players. If they can get 30+ turnovers then I'm going to at least be a little happy. That and make some big stops when needed.

They're going to have a hard time living up to Rob Ryan's defense, in my mind. I think Ryan was completely underrated.

 

[AmericasTeam81]

They're going to have a hard time living up to Rob Ryan's defense, in my mind. I think Ryan was completely underrated.

Are you being facetious?

 

[xwalker]

We'll see. One things for sure...teams have plenty of film on those two so they'll know how to attack it. Of course, as in any scheme, it's only as good as its players. If they can get 30+ turnovers then I'm going to at least be a little happy. That and make some big stops when needed.

I think they have more options with Carr/Claiborne than they've had with many of their other Cornerbacks.

 

[CowboyMcCoy]

Are you being facetious?

No, not at all. I'm hoping they can get it done. I'm cautiously optimistic, but I have to admit I was/am a Rob Ryan fan. I didn't see defense as a huge problem last year. In fact, I thought they played really well given the cards they were dealt. We were in it until the very last game, mostly because the defense allowed that.

 

[Idgit]

No, not at all. I'm hoping they can get it done. I'm cautiously optimistic, but I have to admit I was/am a Rob Ryan fan. I didn't see defense as a huge problem last year. In fact, I thought they played really well given the cards they were dealt. We were in it until the very last game, mostly because the defense allowed that.

I hate the whole Ryan family. And I'm glad he's gone. But it was pretty well established that his defense took more than one season to install and wort effectively. We were on the path of being a better defensively this last season, and then the unreasonable rash of injuries struck. The lack of takeaways was pretty telling, though.

Not particularly a fan of the Kiffin hire. I think it was an odd hire. I was envious as heck of the Bears defense this last season, and very impressed with them when we played them. They were opportunistic. Not entirely sure that the coaching is responsible for that. It might just be they've got some unique players over there to make it work, but that defense dragged a team with a much weaker OL than our own to 10-6 last season, and they're not particularly stacked across the board.

 

[Cowboy06]

We'll see. One things for sure...teams have plenty of film on those two so they'll know how to attack it. Of course, as in any scheme, it's only as good as its players. If they can get 30+ turnovers then I'm going to at least be a little happy. That and make some big stops when needed.

I agree with you 100%. Other posters and even others reporters and coaches in the league have said that they never had above average corners. I think they will look at Seattle and then adjust for what they have here in Dallas. I personally hope to see a VERY VERY VERY vanilla defense early in the season. I want the players to play and not merely react.

This will serve two immediate purposes: first, we will see what the players can do without trying to overly scheme; secondly, it allows the coaches to know later in the season when there is film on this team to know how far they can go this season.

All this said, injuries notwithstanding, I expect a sound, but not over the top good defense. I just want to see a team that is in and can keep the overall points allowed under 20 a game. Get this team to 10 games won and even one playoff win and I'll want to walk the 1800 miles to Dallas to pay homage.

 

[Idgit]

I agree with you 100%. Other posters and even others reporters and coaches in the league have said that they never had above average corners. I think they will look at Seattle and then adjust for what they have here in Dallas. I personally hope to see a VERY VERY VERY vanilla defense early in the season. I want the players to play and not merely react.

This will serve two immediate purposes: first, we will see what the players can do without trying to overly scheme; secondly, it allows the coaches to know later in the season when there is film on this team to know how far they can go this season.

All this said, injuries notwithstanding, I expect a sound, but not over the top good defense. I just want to see a team that is in and can keep the overall points allowed under 20 a game. Get this team to 10 games won and even one playoff win and I'll want to walk the 1800 miles to Dallas to pay homage.

Assuming Claiborne adds a bit of weight, it's safe to say we're going to play a lot of press-bail coverage this season.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

No, not at all. I'm hoping they can get it done. I'm cautiously optimistic, but I have to admit I was/am a Rob Ryan fan. I didn't see defense as a huge problem last year. In fact, I thought they played really well given the cards they were dealt. We were in it until the very last game, mostly because the defense allowed that.

No matter how much of a Rob Ryan fan you are you can't be serious in saying they will have a hard time living up to what he did here. And I like Rob. I do agree with his firing but I can also say his unit due to the circumstances probably overachieved. But his defense was not very good here. That's just fact at this point. Its not hard to live up to average to poor defensive play. I pray things don't get any worse because its virtually impossible I would think.

 

[ROUSH8692]

No, not at all. I'm hoping they can get it done. I'm cautiously optimistic, but I have to admit I was/am a Rob Ryan fan. I didn't see defense as a huge problem last year. In fact, I thought they played really well given the cards they were dealt. We were in it until the very last game, mostly because the defense allowed that.

Defense sucked. Offense kept us in it. Romo's near 5000 yards passing kept us in it. Did you watch any of the games?

 

[ROUSH8692]

No matter how much of a Rob Ryan fan you are you can't be serious in saying they will have a hard time living up to what he did here. And I like Rob. I do agree with his firing but I can also say his unit due to the circumstances probably overachieved. But his defense was not very good here. That's just fact at this point. Its not hard to live up to average to poor defensive play. I pray things don't get any worse because its virtually impossible I would think.

Even Rob Ryan would admit he sucked after many games

 

[Eskimo]

They're going to have a hard time living up to Rob Ryan's defense, in my mind. I think Ryan was completely underrated.

Really? The same defense that was in the bottom 8 in QB rating allowed in back to back years. The same defense that he claimed just needed CBs to succeed so we brought in Carr and then traded up for Mo so he could run it how he wanted? The same guy who has not yet coached a top 10 defense in 3 different DC jobs? The same guy who led us to ~ 10 INTs last year?

Kiffen has coached how many top 5 defenses? Marinelli has coached how many top 5 defenses? These guys generate how many turnovers per year (44 for Marinelli's Bears last year)? There is no contest between the resumes of the current guy in charge and the guy who is now in NO.

IMO, we are in a great spot with two of the all-time greats in Kiffen and Marinelli here. They can install their defense and teach Eberfluss so he can become the next great defensive mind in line when these guys decide they want to retire. Marinelli can help us build a quality DL and hopefully groom his own replacement.

One of the big advantages we now have in going to this system is not many people are running it right now. The Hawks and Bears were the only ones last year so it may make it a bit easier to find the players we want. Part of our problem in building our 3-4 is that so many teams were running it by the end that it was getting harder and harder to find the DLs and LBs to run it. In comparison 4-3 LBs are easy to find and cheap. 4-3 DTs are reasonably easy to find and can usually be found at reasonable salaries. The hardest player to find are the DEs but with all the passing and less running now you can get by with some of those tweeners that had to play 3-4 OLB in the past. Ware is an example of such a player who can play DE in Kiffen's system.

Anyhow, it'll be interesting to see how much Kiffen can improve Ryan's defense with a single offseason and very little money available to rebuild the defense. He'll have to do it mostly with 3-4 players brought in to play Wade's one-gap 3-4 and Ryan's defense. We may be able to add a bit to the defense in the draft but you usually only get much impact from your first rounder in the rookie year and we only have one mid-round pick which we may use on the OL. Last year the first five picks were dedicated to Ryan's defense.

I honestly think Ryan is very overrated. He is overrated because he is colourful, he is the son of Buddy, he is the brother of Rex, he looks like a pirate, he curses a ton and he is constantly talking a big game to the media. I think he is an okay DC and did an okay job with a unit that had some fundamental weaknesses but he got a chance to invest in his defense and he couldn't put together a decent unit after 2 years. We were still bad and we were not showing much signs of improvement.

 

[Szczepanik]

I hate the whole Ryan family. And I'm glad he's gone. But it was pretty well established that his defense took more than one season to install and wort effectively. We were on the path of being a better defensively this last season, and then the unreasonable rash of injuries struck. The lack of takeaways was pretty telling, though.

Not particularly a fan of the Kiffin hire. I think it was an odd hire. I was envious as heck of the Bears defense this last season, and very impressed with them when we played them. They were opportunistic. Not entirely sure that the coaching is responsible for that. It might just be they've got some unique players over there to make it work, but that defense dragged a team with a much weaker OL than our own to 10-6 last season, and they're not particularly stacked across the board.

He had hardly an offseason to install his defense for his first year.. and second year most of his defense watched the game from the bench...

How can you judge him after that? Seems unfair to me.