Smaller Trees
That's it. I'm out of the major trees. But you can trace 24 of the NFL's current head coaches to one of the major trees we've already examined: Bill Parcells, Tony Dungy, Mike Holmgren, Marty Schottenheimer, and Bill Cowher.
THE BUDDY RYAN COACHING TREE
Jeff Fisher, TEN — He played for Ryan (and Mike Ditka) in Chicago, and he was on Ryan's staff in Philadelphia. He also worked for George Seifert in San Francisco, and in college he was coached by John Robinson and Norv Turner.
Rising Star: Rex Ryan — I'll assume I don't need to explain why he would be part of his father's coaching tree, but Baltimore's defensive coordinator also has roots with Marvin Lewis and Brian Billick.
Rising Star: Jim Schwartz— Tennessee's defensive coordinator was interviewed for several head coaching vacancies this January. His main influence is Fisher, but he also coached for Ted Marchibroda in Baltimore and Bill Belichick in Cleveland.
Fired or Retired — Former Cardinals HC Dave McGinnis was a defensive assistant for the Bears in the 1980s and '90s, and is now Fisher's assistant head coach in Tennessee. Former Bills HC and new Jacksonville defensive coordinator Gregg Williams was also a Fisher assistant.
THE GEORGE SEIFERT COACHING TREE
Mike Shanahan, DEN — He's first and foremost a member of the Bill Walsh Coaching Tree, via three seasons with Seifert, but he also has strong ties with Dan Reeves, and some connection to both Barry Switzer, with whom he worked at Oklahoma, and Charley Pell, who coached the Florida Gators. Shanahan does not share Pell's and Switzer's reputations for NCAA rule-breaking.
Gary Kubiak, HOU — He spent 11 seasons as an assistant to Shanahan, and one year as Seifert's quarterbacks coach. Like Shanahan, Kubiak has connections to both Seifert and Dan Reeves, the latter having coached Kubiak during his playing career in Denver.
Other Notables — Jeff Fisher and Mike Holmgren were both assistants for Seifert in the early 1990s.
Other Coaches
John Fox, CAR — His first NFL coaching job was for Chuck Noll in Pittsburgh, so I'm putting him with Dungy on the Chuck Noll Coaching Tree. Fox also worked with Jim Fassel and Art Shell.
Scott Linehan, STL — I desperately tried not to do this, but there's no way around it. Linehan is part of the Dennis Green Coaching Tree, and he's on the Mike Tice Branch. Linehan is also connected to Dennis Erickson, Jim Lambright,and John L. Smith, via college playing and coaching ties.
Mike Nolan, SF — I hate to keep assigning coaches to their father's trees, but I don't see any way around planting a Dick Nolan Coaching Tree, so Mike can be on it. This guy has been everywhere, but most notably, he has roots with Dan Reeves and Norv Turner.
Wade Phillips, DAL — Where to put this guy? Phillips was an assistant to Buddy Ryan in Philadelphia. He spent three seasons as Marty Schottenheimer's defensive coordinator in San Diego. He worked for Marv Levy in Buffalo and was promoted to succeed him when Levy retired. Phillips was also a defensive coordinator for Dan Reeves in both Denver and Atlanta. Ultimately, I went in another direction, and I put Phillips on the tree of the man who gave him his first NFL coaching job: Bum Phillips. Wade worked for his dad in both Houston and New Orleans before moving to Denver as an assistant with Reeves.
Norv Turner, SD — The lone remaining head coach who runs the original "West Coast Offense" developed by Sid Gillman and Don Coryell, Turner is part of that esteemed coaching tree through John Robinson and Ernie Zampese. Turner was an assistant to Robinson for seven years at USC and another six with the Los Angeles Rams. More famously, Turner was Jimmy Johnson's offensive coordinator in Dallas from 1991-93.
Rising Star: Jason Garrett — The hotshot offensive coordinator in Dallas, if he becomes a head coach next year, will probably do so as part of the Jim Fassel Coaching Tree. He also has connections to Nick Saban and Barry Switzer.
Rising Star: Jim Mora, Jr. — Yes, he's part of the Jim Mora, Sr. Tree. Little Mora also has connections to Steve Mariucci (Holmgren Tree), Al Saunders, and Don Coryell. He is expected to take over for Mike Holmgren in Seattle, probably at the end of the 2008 season.
Summary
Every major coaching tree in list format. Secondary and indirect connections are italicized. Note that some coaches may appear on more than one list, and "rising stars" are not listed.
The Bill Parcells Coaching Tree — Bill Belichick, Tom Coughlin, Sean Payton, Tony Sparano, Romeo Crennel, Eric Mangini, Dick Jauron
Gone, but not forgotten: Al Groh, Ray Handley, Chris Palmer, Nick Saban
The Tony Dungy Coaching Tree — Tony Dungy, Rod Marinelli, Lovie Smith, Mike Tomlin, Herman Edwards, Lane Kiffin
The Mike Holmgren Coaching Tree — Mike Holmgren, Jon Gruden, Dick Jauron, Andy Reid, Jim Zorn, Brad Childress, John Harbaugh, Mike McCarthy
Gone, but not forgotten: Steve Mariucci, Marty Mornhinweg, Ray Rhodes, Mike Sherman, Bill Callahan
The Marty Schottenheimer Coaching Tree — Herman Edwards, Mike McCarthy, Wade Phillips, everyone on the Bill Cowher and Tony Dungy Trees
Gone, but not forgotten: Cowher, Gunther Cunningham, Cam Cameron
The Bill Cowher Coaching Tree — Marvin Lewis, Ken Whisenhunt, Jack Del Río, Mike Smith, Mike McCarthy
Gone, but not forgotten: Dom Capers, Chan Gailey, Jim Haslett, Dick LeBeau, Mike Mularkey
Those are the big five. Smaller ones are listed below:
The Buddy Ryan Coaching Tree — Jeff Fisher
Gone, but not forgotten: Dave McGinnis, Gregg Williams
The George Seifert Coaching Tree — Mike Shanahan, Jeff Fisher, Mike Holmgren, Gary Kubiak
Gone, but not forgotten: Ray Rhodes
The Jim Fassel Coaching Tree — John Fox, Sean Payton
The Jimmy Johnson Coaching Tree — Jack Del Río, everyone on Norv Turner's tree
Gone, but not forgotten: Dave Campo, Butch Davis, Dave Wannstedt
The Ted Marchibroda Coaching Tree — Marvin Lewis, Ken Whisenhunt, Eric Mangini
The Jim Mora Coaching Tree — Jack Del Río
Gone, but not forgotten: Dom Capers, Jim Haslett, Jim Mora, Jr.
The Chuck Noll Coaching Tree — Tony Dungy, John Fox
The Dan Reeves Coaching Tree — Gary Kubiak, Mike Nolan, Wade Phillips, Mike Shanahan
The Norv Turner Coaching Tree — Mike Nolan
Gone, but not forgotten: Cam Cameron, Mike Martz
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