Jerry Gray, Bobby Mitchell, and the Redskins Rooney Rule

The one thing we are going to miss about Jim Zorn is his unusual candor. We could use a lot more candor in Washington from Capitol Hill to Redskin Park. Take Jerry Gray. Can we get some candor please?

As a black guy who attended his first Redskins game in 1962 because his dad thought it important that his son see in person the first black guy, Bobby Mitchell, to play in a Redskins uniform, I have conflicting feelings about Washington’s implementation of the Rooney Rule and Jerry Gray’s role in it.   

Coaches come with networks of assistants. I get it. We want coaches to come with their assistants so they can make the biggest impact on their new team the quickest. I get that, too.

Yet somehow that old boy network failed to include minority coaches in any number approaching their proportion as players, especially at the coordinator position where fresh head coach candidates arise. (that’s improving, however. Gray is part of Gregg Williams’ coaching network.)

Enter the Rooney Rule that required that owners at least talk to one minority candidate when making a head coach hire. That action breaks the cycle of hiring by name recognition and brings to the surface a list of very good assistants who are not otherwise considered.

Can we at least talk to these guys?

In a 40-year business career where I had access to senior executives, I saw the value of management bench strength. Unless the business has crashed and burned, you are better off promoting from within than outside.

Teams are better off if their Rooney Rule candidate is already in-house rather than from the outside. Jerry Gray represents management bench strength.

So why the discomfort? Because no one is being candid here.

The Washington Redskins are a train wreck. The coaching staff will be swept out, as they should be.

Carry-over coaches of four-win teams are not going to get the top job. Jerry Gray is not going to be the next Redskins head coach. Instead, he has become the Bobby Mitchell of the coaching staff.

Mitchell spent the 1962 through ’68 seasons playing for the Redskins, then from 1968 through 2003 in Washington’s front office. He ended his career as assistant general manager when black front office executives were a rarity. 

Mitchell made the Hall of Fame as a player, but never got a sniff from any team as a real GM. He could have used the Rooney Rule. When he retired, Mitchell lamented the pretense of it all.

The pretense of interviewing Gray to satisfy (subvert) the intentions of the Rooney Rule insults me.   

If Daniel Snyder had any inclination to hire from within, he would have made Joe Bugel, if not Gregg Williams or Gray, head coach last season.

If Daniel Snyder had any inclination to find the next bright outside candidate, he would be lining up a list names now, and Rooney Rule candidates would be one or two of those prospects.

By all reports, Gray and Mike Shanahan are the only two people to interview for the job. Shanahan is the potential outside hire.

Daniel Snyder has revealed himself to be the Snyder of 2000. That Snyder has a track record of hiring a famous name to coach the team to a .500 record over the following three years. Jerry Gray isn’t famous enough.

I just wish someone was candid enough to tell us what we already know.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Looking Towards the Future: 2010 NFL Mock Draft

Some teams have locked up playoff berth,some are still in the hunt, and yet some are reserving their offseason vacations. But all 32 teams are looking forward to April 22, where their franchises next stars will be selected in the NFL Draft. This year is heavy on lineman, particularly pass rushers, but after going through each team’s needs, I decided to put most of them off to the second round (because of their abundance and lack of top-end talent, teams could wait and get one in the second round).

Begin Slideshow

NFL End of the Year Awards

It’s that time of year again. The football season is just about over and it’s time to decide who are the best players in the league and most deserving of these awards. I have included: defensive rookie of the year, offensive rookie of the year, coach of the year, breakout player of the year, defensive player of the year, offensive player of the year and of course MVP.

Begin Slideshow

Mile High Meltdown: Josh McDaniels Gets An “F” As Head Coach

After reading this morning that Brandon Marshall is being benched by Coach McDaniels, I couldn’t help but wonder; what the “hell” is going on in Denver.

In the first place, Mike Shanahan never should have been fired. He’s a Hall of Fame coach and an offensive genius. Besides from winning two Super Bowls, he revolutionized the game with his use of zone blocking with an undersized offensive line. It was so effective, that for a long time it seemed like any running back could be put in the backfield and he was guaranteed at least a 1,000-yard season.

In Shanahan’s last year in Denver, he put together an offense that was ranked second in the league and poised to take the next step to elite status. Had he stayed, the Broncos might have had the number one offense in the league this year.

It is true that he made some mistakes over the past few years. The worst sin he committed in Denver, was firing Larry Coyer, who is quietly working miracles in Indy this year, just like he did in Denver.

However, those aren’t the kind of mistakes that you fire a Hall of Fame coach for is it?

My take has always been that Mr. Bowlen should have taken the general manager duties away from Shanahan and kept him as head coach. Instead, the Broncos’ shocked the world when they fired Shanahan and took a huge risk hiring another one of Belichick’s coordinators.

If you stop and think about it, every coordinator that has worked for the Patriots has been successful, that is until they went to another team.

In fact, name one coordinator that has gone from the Patriots to be the head coach of another franchise, or college team, and been successful? That’s right you can’t, because there haven’t been any. Everyone of them has been unsuccessful and been fired.

Maybe Mr. Bowlen should have paused and thought about the success rates of ex-Patriots coordinators before he capriciously fired Shanahan and hired McDaniels.

From the minute McDaniels arrived in Denver, there has been nothing but drama from the Mile High City. From the way the Jay Cutler incident was handled, to Tony Scheffler, and now Brandon Marshall just to name a few, it has felt like the Three Stooges were running the show.

There is more to coaching a team then practicing, game planning, and being an “offensive genius.”  Part of being a successful coach, is getting the team to believe in you and your vision. It doesn’t matter what style you use to achieve it, it must happen, or all of the other stuff is for not.

This quality is something Bill Belichick has and it’s been a big contributor to him being one of the most successful coaches in the history of the game. It’s also the one quality that seems to be lacking in his underlings when they leave the roost.

Tony Scheffler, after the Broncos loss to the Eagles, expresses his frustration about his reduced role this season and then a few days later, without notice from the coach, without a man-to-man talk, the guy is sent to the practice squad?

Brandon Marshall is accused of exaggerating his injury and so he gets benched? This is the same Brandon Marshall that is going to the Pro-Bowl, is only the fifth wide receiver with 100 catch seasons, and who set a record in Indy with 21 catches in the game against the Colts.

This is also the same wide receiver who played all of last year with a tear in his hip and still put up 1,265 yards and six touchdowns. This year his stats are almost the same except that he has scored 10 touchdowns.

Now, all of a sudden, Brandon Marshall is not a team player? After all that happened in the offseason, all that unnecessary drama. All that belongs squarely at the feet of management because of the way they handled the Jay Cutler situation. This guy has done nothing but go out there and produce for his team.

Coach, Brandon Marshall is right when he says don’t blame me because of the way the season is unfolding.

The Broncos are heading into a game that they need to win to have a shot at making the playoffs. They are going into that game without Brandon Marshall and Tony Scheffler because the coach of the Denver Broncos doesn’t know how to deal with people.

McDaniels has created a working environment based on fear. Don’t think for a minute that doesn’t effect how the players perform on Sunday.

It is very likely that the Broncos will end up 8-8 again this season, not for a lack of talent mind you, but for a lack of a coach that knows how to treat players. Daniels doesn’t understand that to lead men into battle, they have to believe in you. They have to know when things get tough,their coach has their backs.

Nobody wants to fight for a guy that doesn’t take personal responsibility for his actions and his part in things. Who wants to put their life on the line (and in football that is not hyperbole), for a guy who isn’t man enough to even come talk to them when there is a problem.

Coach, if you want to turn this franchise around, then you better learn to be a man, like your mentor Bill Belichick, or guys like Tony Dungy, Mike Tomlin, or Jim Caldwell.

There is a reason certain teams are successful year in and year out; it has a lot to do with how they treat their players.

If you want to return the Broncos to their glory days, you better learn that soon, otherwise you’re just going to be another failed Belichick protégé.

 

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Bengals Become Cincinnati’s Last Hope as Bearcats Fall

As the Florida Gators celebrated victory in the face of adversity, the Bearcats miserable conclusion to a perfect season was complete in its “so close but yet so far” conclusion.

Yet as much as there were coaching questions with Brian Kelly’s departure to Notre Dame and the suffering play calling that followed on the Bearcat’s offense, the Bengals are suffering from either magnificent subterfuge on offense or facing a similar fate with the post season dawning on the horizon.

Let’s face it, Bob Bratkowski is no Bruce Coslet (Offensive Coordinator from 1986-89, 1993-95, Head Coach 1996-2000) as an offensive coordinator.  Sure, Bengals’ fans still remember him in his later stint as a inept coach of an inept franchise—but the franchise was long inept before Coslet had a chance to right the ship—and with little or no resources. 

Yet in 1988—the last Super Bowl season for the Bengals—Coslet put together a dynamic offensive scheme that ran hard with two productive running backs (James Brooks and Ickey Woods) and a wide receiving group that clearly was more open ended than the current limitations (Eddie Brown, Tim McGhee, and Chris Collinsworth). 

While some may argue that the addition of a consistent tight end in the 1988 Bengals (Rodney Holman) along with the three consistent wide receivers, they would be mistaken to say that 1988 had more advantages than this year’s 2009 Bengals.

Why? For one, lets look at what the Bengals brought to the table this season.  By all appearances, the trio for this year’s team was Chad Ocho Cinco, Chris Henry, and Laverneus Coles. 

Yet when Henry went down, the depth that the 1988 team lacked in the wide receiving corps were ready to fill the void—and yet: nothing.  Andre Caldwell has been inconsistent and inconsistently used.  Quan Cosby—a very productive college athlete who has shown promise—has not yet been established as the “Chris Henry replacement” though by all signs from the San Diego game—he should be.

This leaves Ocho Cinco and Coles.  Ocho Cinco has worked harder than ever—and opposing defenses have adjusted their coverage packages accordingly.  Yet with Palmer’s favorite target blanketed there has also been inconsistent signs from Coles—a veteran with a pedigree that Bengal Nation was hoping to see more utilization.

At the tight end position, one that took a tremendous amount of damage in the preseason—with the early loses of veteran stalwart Reggie Kelley and acquisition (now free agent) Ben Utecht—no single replacement has emerged in either J.P. Foschi or Ben Coats.

It would seem—from this analysis—that 1988 had the advantages at tight end but that is far from the case.  The depth enjoyed this year was not seen in ’88 and yet a spectacular run was had.

This leaves the question if the aforementioned is at least some what accurate—what is wrong or rather what are the Bengals doing and—more specifically—what is Bratkowski doing?

All fans applaud touting a strong running game and exploiting those teams that cannot stop the run—but where is the pass?  Where is it being developed?  Is there a plan b?  Why are the the passing schemes seemingly only developed for Caldwell and Foschi on the between the hash marks and Ocho Cinco outside of the hashes?  Where is Cosby after a spectacular game against San Diego?

The real question, though: Is Bratkowski saving the best for last—holding his cards—in a veritable chess match that leads to the Super Bowl?

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Tom Cable On Life Support As The Ravens Begin Their Circle Into Oakland

Nine weeks into the season, Al Davis, Tom Cable, and the 2-7 Raiders had finally seen enough of quarterback Jamarcus Russell’s impotent attempts to execute…well…anything.  

In a season and a half Jamarcus Russell managed to provide the Oakland Coliseum with plenty of elbow room with his poor play behind center.  With the season circling the drain, Cable announced that Russell would be benched.

That decision started what could only be described as a deadly game of quarterback Russian Roulette. Russell’s backup, Bruce Gradkowski, provided the quarterback position with the spark it needed, but two and a half games and two sprained knees later, third-string QB, journeyman Charlie Frye took over.

In his first game against a suspect Cleveland Browns secondary last Sunday, Frye threw for 333 yards, but had no touchdowns and three interceptions. The Raiders lost 23-9.  Yet it wasn’t so much a black mark against Frye as it was on Tom Cable’s playcalling ability.

Cable’s refusal to allow Raider running backs any opportunity to score inside the redzone doomed what was a very winnable game. Regardless, the Raiders still have a chance to finish at .500 in the second half of the season when the Baltimore Ravens come to town on Sunday for the season finale.

The Ravens come in with a deceiving 8-7 record. A victim of a brutal schedule, their losses have come at the hands of the Steelers, Vikings, Colts, Patriots, as well as being swept by the Bengals. 

Baltimore has a balanced attack that keys on all-everything running back Ray Rice. Behind Rice’s 1,269 rushing yards the Ravens are seventh in the league in rushing. Rice also leads the team in receiving with 74 grabs.

If the Raiders want to finish on a good note, Rice will have to be accounted for every second that he is on the field. Some say that the Ravens defense is a shadow of what it has been in the past, but despite being pitted against five of the top rated offenses in the league this year, they still managed to rank sixth overall in total defense.

The Ravens are coming to Oakland needing a win to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Luckily, the Raiders have made it a habit of upsetting potential playoff teams, knocking off the Eagles, Bengals, Steelers, and Broncos, respectively. Despite that fact, they may also be playing for Cable’s future.

After losing to Cleveland (a game that they should have and could have won), Davis has to be questioning Cable’s ability to return the Raiders to their former glory days.  Decades after being blessed with watching the likes of Stabler, Biletnikoff, Casper, Allen, and Long, Davis must ponder every night (or late afternoon) before he goes to bed “how did this franchise fall so far?”

Whispers out of Oakland say that Davis is looking at head coaching candidates like Jim Fassell and John Harbaugh. A few weeks ago, former Raiders coach and current Monday Night Football personality Jon Gruden made an appearance in a local Oakland sports bar, hanging out all night with Raider fans and signing autographs until the wee hours of the morning.

The thought of Gruden coaching the Raiders again has caused nothing but elation among Raider Nation and would without a doubt fill the stadium and boost the financially struggling franchise.  Close friends of Gruden say that he would return to Oakland if given the chance and the conditions were right.

Cable has to be feeling the pressure of possibly of losing his job. His playcalling has been called into question all season long, and so has the curious decision not to use players like Michael Bush and Darren McFadden in the capacity that best utilizes their gamebreaking ability—rather relying on consistent but boring Justin Fargas.   

This has many wondering if Cable has what it takes to be a successful coach in the NFL. Even with the playoffs being in the balance for the Ravens, the pressure is still on the Raiders because this game may just decide Cable’s legacy (or lack thereof) as head coach of the Oakland Raiders.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Miami Dolphins Week 17 NFL Picks

Sportsbook Odds: Steelers -3

The Pittsburgh Steelers may be the reigning Super Bowl Champions but they may not even get a chance to defend their crown unless they catch a number of breaks this Sunday Jan. 3.

Should the playoffs start today, the Steelers would be on the outside looking in but that doesn’t mean that they can’t qualify. The Steelers are on the outskirts right now but first off, they need to defeat the Miami Dolphins to get started.

Topping the Dolphins, who have been feisty but have slipped up in the last few weeks, is likely but they will not some other teams in front of them to lose. The Steelers need either the New York Jets or the Baltimore Ravens—the two teams holding the last two AFC Wild Card spots to lose and they’ll need other help. On top of that, the Steelers will need the Houston Texans to lose as well to qualify for a spot.

For Miami, they are also in the hunt but their situation is far direr. The Dolphins need to win and have to have the Jets, Ravens, Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars lose for them to make it. The Steelers have been up and down all year but this is a spot where they can win. Now they just need some help.

NFL Betting Picks: Steelers -3

Check out our experts’ Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Miami Dolphins Week 17 NFL Picks and come out on the winning side Sunday.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Vikings Coach Brad Childress Grows Back Mustache in Power Play (Satire)

Over the last few weeks, an epic battle for control of the Vikings has raged between Brett Favre’s silver scruff and Brad Childress’s newly acquired beard.

Since Childress became coach of the Minnesota Vikings, he has often ruled with an iron mustache. Until recently, when the coach switched to a more “Minnesota Outdoors” look, the mustache was a staple.

Commentators have been scrutinizing Childress over his decision to grow a full beard, because of the dulling effect it has had on the powerful mustache.

After much speculation, the mustache, which many claim can be seen from outer space, has made an appearance once again on the coach’s face.

When asked about his decision to remove the rest of the beard and groom his mustache, Childress said; “It’s standard operating procedure. This is something we do week-in and week-out.”

Brett Favre, whose audibles have frustrated Childress lately, said of the mustache; “It’s a technique coaches have used for years to exert their dominance. But, man, I’ve been in this game a long time and I’ve never seen a ‘stache like that one.”

Since re-instituting the mustache, Childress has overruled the important decisions of everyone, from the trainers down to the team chef.

Childress has also brought corporal punishment back into the locker room.

After dropping a catch in practice, Vikings receiver Bernard Berrian was given 10 “hand-lashings.”

Scientists have linked the powers of the mustache to a rare strain of hyper-PMS. Renowned human biologist Mike Darwin, said of the ‘stache; “It causes mood swings we have never seen before and exerts complete dominance. The entire array of human emotion is unleashed within that mustache.”

It remains to be seen how the mustache drama will play out in Minnesota. Will it lead the Vikings to victory, or will all of the Vikings be sleeping on the proverbial couch for the rest of the season?

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Pittsburgh Steelers Magic…Where There’s A Will, There’s A Way

The year was 2005. The Pittsburgh Steelers started the season with a record of 7-2, not much different than this season’s 6-2 start. They then went on a three game losing streak to bring their record to 7-5, hurting their playoff chances in the process.

 

Sound familiar?

 

They needed to win their final four games that year to capture the final spot in an extremely tight AFC playoff race.

 

A lot of people doubted it would happen. A lot more said that even if they did get in, they would not go very far.

 

Mere weeks after being all but counted out, not only did they win their final four games, the Steelers, taking the sixth and final seed into the playoffs, became the first team ever to win a Super Bowl without playing a single home playoff game.

 

After becoming the first sixth seed ever to win both a divisional playoff game and a conference championship, they defeated the NFC champion Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL to secure their league-tying fifth Super Bowl title.

 

In doing so, becoming the very first sixth seeded team to win it all; beating the AFC’s third seed, first seed, and second seed, before beating the NFC’s top rated seed.

 

Doubters plagued that season just the same as this. It’s human nature and it is understandable. But what I can’t understand is how Steelers fans can give up before their team is officially out, with that season still fresh in our minds.

 

Have you forgotten the Steelers magic?

 

They showed flashes of it throughout last season, culminating in their final drive, on their way to their sixth Lombardi Trophy. Santonio Holmes’ touchdown catch was one for the ages, and every bit as magical as the immaculate reception.

 

And no Steelers fan can tell me that Mike Wallace’s game winning touchdown against Green Bay did not bring back memories of the Super Bowl.

 

Nor can they tell me that the Steelers didn’t have luck on their side after watching Baltimore struggle to unsuccessfully keep those six points on the board at the beginning of the fourth quarter a week ago.

 

The pieces are falling into place, one way or another. And I, for one, believe that anything is possible, especially when considering the Steelers, who have proved over and over again that they are more than capable of bucking the odds.

 

I wasn’t surprised to see some “so called” Steelers fans jump ship during their five game slump. Every great team has them; the bandwagon fans.

 

What has surprised me is why so many more fans have given up on the season before the Steelers are mathematically out. Especially now that glimpses of the magic has reappeared.

 

I have seen it time after time, in one article after another. Very well known, and usually supportive Steelers fans have given up hope.

 

And although there is nothing wrong with accepting the inevitable, it is also OK to believe in something that may seem highly unlikely. It’s called having faith. We do it everyday of our lives.

 

What the Steelers need the most right now is support. And if they can’t get it from their own fans, who is going to give it to them? Isn’t that exactly what fans are supposed to be for?

 

Never give up hope, believe it can be done and it may just happen. The Pittsburgh Steelers were certainly down, but they were never out.

 

So what if they are relying on other teams to get in? That is no reason to think they can’t.

 

A holiday miracle is in the works. Keep the faith.

 

UPDATE–

Two people now have misinterpreted this article. They have mixed up fans who think there is a slight chance, but a chance nonetheless, with the “so called” fans of which i speak- who have been saying the season is over.

I just wanted to make that clear beforehand…in case you are thinking about mentioning the same thing in yet another comment.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

The Top 30 NFL Draft Busts of the Decade

Well, now that the decade is over, it’s time to look back and see all those bad decisions that (cough, Matt Millen, cough) all 32 NFL teams, made in the NFL Drafts of this decade. Of course, if you’re talking about this past decade and NFL draft busts, who better to be on the front of the slideshow than a Detroit Lions wide receiver. Can you guess who it is?

Begin Slideshow

« Previous Page — Next Page »

Sponsored Links

StubPass.com has tickets to all football games nationwide! Get your Dallas Cowboys Tickets, Chicago Bears Tickets, Pittsburgh Steelers Tickets, Green Bay Packers Tickets, Oakland Raiders Tickets, New England Patriots Tickets, Tennessee Titans Tickets, Washington Redskins Tickets, New York Giants Tickets, Philadelphia Eagles Tickets, Baltimore Ravens Tickets, Miami Dolphins Tickets, Buffalo Bills Tickets, Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tickets, Atlanta Falcons Tickets, Indianapolis Colts Tickets, Arizona Cardinals Tickets and many more at StubPass.com.

Visit StubPass.com for Wicked Tickets, Nickelback Tickets, Britney Spears Tickets, Elton John Tickets, Billy Joel Tickets, Kenny Chesney Tickets and thousands of other Concert Tickets and Sports Tickets.

Visit MiracleShopper Comparison Shopping for Digital Cameras, Laptop Computers, Cell Phones, LCD TVs and more!

NFL Sport Channel Latest

• Just How Far Would You Go?
• Sorry Rex, But It Isn’t Happening
• Super Bowl Predictions: Five Stat-Free Reasons Why the Eagles Will Reach The Super Bowl
• Seahawks Attempt to Turn Corner With Heavy Pursuit of Pete Carroll
• Bill Cowher Unlikely to Coach in 2010