Should the Cowboys seriously consider hiring Steve Hoffman kicker coach?

[cowboyjoe]

We all know the trouble we had with our kicking situation last year. So, should we consider hiring steve hoffman again? I got the below off of star telegraph.

Kicker

Sign Steve Hoffman. Steal him from the Chiefs.

No, Hoffman is a not a kicker. He’s a kicker-finder. Formerly a Cowboys’ assistant coach for six seasons, Hoffman was magical in repeatedly locating the right foot.

Very few of these guys hang around long, but the Cowboys are only worried about next season. Kicker is the most desperate need for ’10.

And with that ...

Sincerely yours,

Mr. Cool and Calm.

 

[AbeBeta]

no b/c his real accomplishment was being featured by Dallas beat writers which made everyone think he was something special. like most teams, we got by with UDFA kickers. Look around... that ain't special.

 

[Beast_from_East]

We all know the trouble we had with our kicking situation last year. So, should we consider hiring steve hoffman again? I got the below off of star telegraph.

Kicker

Sign Steve Hoffman. Steal him from the Chiefs.

No, Hoffman is a not a kicker. He’s a kicker-finder. Formerly a Cowboys’ assistant coach for six seasons, Hoffman was magical in repeatedly locating the right foot.

Very few of these guys hang around long, but the Cowboys are only worried about next season. Kicker is the most desperate need for ’10.

And with that ...

Sincerely yours,

Mr. Cool and Calm.

I guess it couldnt hurt, I would be ok with bringing him back.

 

[big dog cowboy]

Isn't he the special teams coach for the KC Chiefs?

 

[cowboyjoe]

Isn't he the special teams coach for the KC Chiefs?

yes he is, but you could hire him as special teams asst etc,

 

[CowboyWay]

Absolutely. We should have never let him go (big bill's decision). I thought the guy was a kicking genius.

 

[Kilyin]

Absolutely. We should have never let him go (big bill's decision). I thought the guy was a kicking genius.

Yeah, because kicking is brain surgery.

This guy has to be the most overrated 'coach' in the history of not just the Cowboys, but the entire NFL.

 

[DanteEXT]

He was decent with finding kickers. To me, his best 'find' would have been Tim Seder. Not the best kicker ever. But the guy was something like 25 or 26 when he got to the Cowboys.

 

[burmafrd]

As a quick and cheap fix temporary for kicking it would probably work. I still think we need to bring back folk- let him get healthy and give him another shot. As was pointed out none of Hoffmans finds ever lasted long. I would love to have a Murray or Carney that lasts 10+ years. I think Folk could still be that.

 

[cowboyjoe]

Absolutely. We should have never let him go (big bill's decision). I thought the guy was a kicking genius.

yep, he sure was, i think it wouldnt hurt.

 

[big dog cowboy]

Yeah, because kicking is brain surgery.

This guy has to be the most overrated 'coach' in the history of not just the Cowboys, but the entire NFL.

:laugh2:

 

[PoetTree]

Unequivocally.

The night & day difference that appeared after Hoffman left was evident. I questioned the move then, thought of it often as our kicking went downhill, and absolutely believe that he should be re-hired to help sculpt our phenom talent at kicker in David Buehler.

Jason Garrett was brought it to mentor Romo, to make him all he can be. It's not a swipe at Coach DeCamillis to say that an athlete like Buehler at kicker deserves some extra attention. We did, after all, spend a 5th round pick on the guy & he just demonstrated his monstrous leg by leading the league in touchbacks this season. Does anyone doubt he can improve on that?

One thing he's outright set to improve on is his field goal accuracy. In my opinion, an elite athlete like Buehler who is accustomed to tuning his body has a higher chance than most of accomplishing this feat. This guy is a beast, and was honestly one of the very best "athletes" at the combine; dude was outrunning defensive backs, out-muscling linebackers and demonstrated more agility than most running backs present.

Does that necessarily make him a good kicker?

No, but someone with that caliber of athleticism has a greater tool-set with which to achieve their goals. Buehler wants to get better, and more to the point, the Cowboys should do everything in their power to harness his gifts. Bringing in Hoffman, who accomplished great things with a rotating handful of free-agent nobodies, to help fine-tune Buehler's every step and making him the best he can be... would be the prudent thing to do, for sure.

Jerry, the business man, used to justify the cost of Hoffman's 'specialist' salary by the fact that he was able to save the 'boys money on kickers by producing with bargain basement rookies and/or undrafted Home Depot employees; cap-room shavings. It's time for Jerry to justify his price for a different reason now.

If you thought enough of the guy to spend a precious draft pick on him, it makes sense that you should think enough of him to put the right coaching in place around him. Hoffman has a proven track record of improving kickers with a lot less talent than Buehler.

I seriously doubt it happens. But oh yeah, I would...



:starspin

 

[craig71]

Hoffman was a big asset while in Dallas.I never understood why Bill ran him out of town.People can say he was overrated and there is some truth to that.However Hoffman was good at finding kickers/punters off the street that were good enough to get the job done.The best part of having Hoffman was that those "street players" came on the cheap whick allowed more cap space to be dedicated to skill positions.Whenever a kicker/punter wanted more money you just let him walk and you plugged another one in.

Craig

 

[PoetTree]

As was pointed out none of Hoffmans finds ever lasted long.

The reason Hoffman's "finds" never lasted very long was that after becoming a leading field goal kicker for us their contracts expired and resigning them meant paying more for a kicker than Jerry wanted to pay. It's one of the areas he saved money for the franchise, and against the cap. Hoffman would craft a no-name kicker into one of the league's best, their rookie contract would expire and Jerry would tell Hoffman to go find another cheapie we could get by with. That's why we bounced from the likes of Lin Elliot, to Chris Boniol, to Billy Cundiff (etc.). Jerry didn't like PAYING kickers big free-agent contracts. Hence, Steve Hoffman was responsible for unearthing & sculpting bargain basement kickers into NFL caliber players. And he did so faithfully during his entire tenure with us.

You could make the argument that when Jerry let these kickers leave our organization none of them went on to have pro-bowl seasons anywhere else. And you'd be right. But upon leaving our organization they all had one thing in common: They no longer had Steve Hoffman.


I'd have him on the line right now if I were Jerry. Buehler's worth it.

 

[Hostile]

They should consider it tampering to mess with a coach on someone else's coaching staff and leave well enough alone.

Joe D. is one of the best Special Teams coaches in the NFL and he has all off season now to work with and hopefully nothing will fall on him this year.

No.

 

[PoetTree]

Steve Hoffman can only look from afar... and dream....

http://wearesc.com/media/images/article/1214271721.jpg

 

[lcharles]

He was decent with finding kickers. To me, his best 'find' would have been Tim Seder. Not the best kicker ever. But the guy was something like 25 or 26 when he got to the Cowboys.

Wasn't that Seder that got stepped on by a horse before a game? :laugh2: :laugh1:


maybe not, but it was funny no matter who it was. :horse:

 

[burmafrd]

Like I said which one of Hoffman's finds lasted long as a real good kicker in the NFL. Poet, let me tell you- maybe one or two out of a dozen or more. They might have one or two good years but that was all. Yeah they were cheap but so what? Hoffman was over rated- the way he has bounced around all these years tells you that. I know blaming BP for everything is a cottage industry around here but frankly Hoffman was no big loss. BY the way- do you know how many teams in the NFL keep a kicking coach? Lets just say its not a large number....

 

[DeaconBlues]

Like I said which one of Hoffman's finds lasted long as a real good kicker in the NFL. Poet, let me tell you- maybe one or two out of a dozen or more. They might have one or two good years but that was all. Yeah they were cheap but so what? Hoffman was over rated- the way he has bounced around all these years tells you that. I know blaming BP for everything is a cottage industry around here but frankly Hoffman was no big loss. BY the way- do you know how many teams in the NFL keep a kicking coach? Lets just say its not a large number....

You're missing the point. When with Dallas, which kicker under Hoffman performed as poorly as this year's combo? As stated before, they did well here. No one cares how they did after Dallas.

Coaches bounce around all the time. That's not a sign of being "over-rated" - those types don't last long. Hoffman is in demand because he is very good at what he does.

Blaming BP isn't the issue. Looking at this year, not having Hoffman was a big issue. And unless you are personally responsible for paying a kicker coach's salary, that most teams doesn't have one is irrelevant.

 

[burmafrd]

Point is that few teams have one. IF there was a real need then every team would have one. If Hoffman was so good some team would have locked him up for a long time. Has not happened.