Quote:
Originally Posted by Mecca
Considering the history of Belichicks assistants I think the opposite of his assistant coaches.
|
The NFL Coaching Tree 2008 (Pt. 1)
Don't miss The NFL Coaching Tree 2008 (Pt. 2)
Three years ago, I wrote The NFL Coaching Tree, examining the roots of every head coach in the league. Since that piece was published, 18 of the NFL's 32 teams have changed head coaches, several of them more than once. In this column, I've updated the original article and taken the roots even deeper. When you read a coach's summary, you can now learn not only his immediate influences, but the less direct ones, as well.
The Bill Parcells Coaching Tree
Parcells, as the new Executive Vice President of Football Operations for the Miami Dolphins — and more importantly, the man at the root of Bill Belichick's coaching tree, has had a lot of influence on the NFL's head coaches.
Tom Coughlin, NYG — The head coach of this year's Super Bowl champ traces his roots to Parcells and the New York Giants. Coughlin was an assistant for Parcells in the late 1980s and early 1990s, including the team that won Super Bowl XXV. Parcells' influence remains clear in how Coughlin runs his team. Coughlin got his start in NFL coaching from Marion Campbell in Philadelphia, later spending two years under Forrest Gregg before working for Parcells.
Sean Payton, NO — The 2006-07 Coach of the Year, Payton's most immediate influence is Parcells, for whom he worked in Dallas. Payton also has roots with Jim Fassel and a connection to the mighty Bill Walsh/Mike Holmgren Tree through Ray Rhodes and Jon Gruden in Philadelphia.
Tony Sparano, MIA — The new head coach of the Dolphins, hand-picked by Parcells, spent five years as an assistant in Dallas while Parcells was the head coach there. It is not apparent that anyone else has had significant influence on his coaching philosophy.
The three coaches already assigned to the Parcells Tree are impressive enough — Coughlin is the reigning Super Bowl champ and Payton was the 2006 Coach of the Year — but we've yet to reach the Tuna's most impressive pupil. So successful has this coach been that he has his own, fairly large, branch on the Parcells Tree.
THE BILL BELICHICK BRANCH
Bill Belichick, NE — Where to begin? Spygate notwithstanding, Belichick has established himself as a surefire Hall of Famer, and probably one of the five or six best coaches of all-time. Although his father was a football coach, Belichick's primary influence is Parcells, for whom he spent over a decade as defensive coordinator. Like Parcells, he was an assistant to Ray Perkins in the early 1980s.
Romeo Crennel, CLE — Which coaching staff was the greatest ever? I don't think there's a clear answer to that question, but one of the leading candidates is the New York Giants in the 1981 and '82 seasons. Those teams were coached by Perkins, with Parcells, Belichick, and Crennel all on board as assistants. Crennel spent most of his career as an assistant for Parcells before joining Belichick's staff as defensive coordinator from 2001-04.
Eric Mangini, NYJ — These days, no love is lost between Mangini and Belichick, but it's clear whose tree — and in this case, whose branch — he belongs on. Belichick gave Mangini his start in the NFL, brought him to Parcells' staff from 1997-99, and hired him in New England when Belichick became head coach there in 2000. Mangini also spent one year working for Ted Marchibroda.
It is noteworthy that all three coaches on Belichick's branch also worked directly with Parcells at some point.
Rising Star: Josh McDaniels — As a new feature this year, I'm also profiling some of the league's most prominent assistants. McDaniels, who coordinated last year's record-setting offense in New England, is a very hot head coaching prospect. His foremost mentor is Belichick, but he got his start in coaching from Nick Saban at Michigan State. Notably, Saban is also part of the Belichick Branch; he spent four years on Belichick's staff in Cleveland.
Fired or Retired — Former Browns HC Chris Palmer was an offensive assistant for Parcells in New England and Dallas. He also worked for Coughlin in Jacksonville and is currently Coughlin's quarterbacks coach in New York. Former Chargers HC Kevin Gilbride traces his roots to Tom Coughlin, and former Dolphins HC Nick Saban was once an assistant to Belichick.
The Tony Dungy Coaching Tree
Last season, Dungy's Tree was as hot as can be. The master was fresh off a Super Bowl victory, and his assistants were in high demand. That's only slightly less true in 2008.
Tony Dungy, IND — Dungy himself traces his coaching roots to Chuck Noll, Marty Schottenheimer, and Dennis Green — probably in that order. Dungy worked for Noll as both a player and a coach before joining Schottenheimer's staff in 1989. He was Green's defensive coordinator in Minnesota for four years before becoming head coach of the Buccaneers.
Rod Marinelli, DET — He spent 10 years in Tampa Bay working for either Dungy or Monte Kiffin, who has continued to run Dungy's defense in Tampa. Marinelli spent four of those years with Jon Gruden, and nine seasons as an assistant at the University of California, working under Joe Kapp and Bruce Snyder.
Lovie Smith, CHI — Dungy's most famous disciple, with the possible exception of Kiffin. After five seasons as Dungy's linebackers coach in Tampa, he spent three seasons as defensive coordinator for Mike Martz in St. Louis.
Mike Tomlin, PIT — Hired by Dungy in 2001, he spent another four years working under Gruden and Kiffin before one season as defensive coordinator in Minnesota.
Other Notables — Herman Edwards was Dungy's assistant head coach for five years.
Rising Star: Jim Caldwell — Dungy's successor-in-waiting is very much a product of Dungy himself, but he also spent seven years as an assistant to Joe Paterno at Penn State.
THE MONTE KIFFIN BRANCH
Lane Kiffin, OAK — This is actually kind of complicated: Tony Dungy to Monte Kiffin to Pete Carroll to Lane Kiffin. This isn't even an NFL-based tree, it's from USC, but it's the right answer. But Carroll himself owes his roots to the elder Kiffin (plus Bum Phillips, Jim Mora, Bruce Coslet, and George Seifert). The younger Kiffin also worked for Jeff Tedford at Cal.
Rising Star: Monte Kiffin — Okay, fine, I don't believe Monte Kiffin is really a "rising star" who is about to get a head coaching job. But he is without a doubt the most influential current NFL assistant never to be a head coach in the NFL. I believe Dungy is his primary influence, but Kiffin has also worked with Bud Grant, Tom Osborne, Lou Holtz, and of course, Jon Gruden. Kiffin's own tree includes connections to Edwards, Marinelli, Smith, Tomlin, Lane Kiffin, and USC head coach Pete Carroll.
(continued)