DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum The Interviews......continued

What is Lerner really doing?

Lets see, he interviewed his potential General Manager. Pioli is still considering it, since I have not yet read he turned it down and is staying in NE or going to sign with KC.

While Pioli is checking out KC, and continue to negotiate with Lerner, what is Lerner doing,Lerner is interviewing potential head coaches. A few Head Coaching candidates are limited to interviews because of the playoff game schedule.

He has interviewed a number of head coaching candidates and even included Mel Tucker who took care of the Rooney Rule. I heard that the Jets interviewed Mel Tucker also, so they took care of the Rooney Rule.

Lerner interviewed the Savage second in command to become the general manager, it is said in the news. Token gesture..I wouldn't want that goof as a GM..heard he really like the signing of Hadnot..anyway Lerner might have just had a conversation with him and said he really has liked the work he performed on the last few college drafts and gave him a vote of confidence to let him know he liked his work.
Get the heck outta Dodge!


So now it is Sunday night, January 4th and where are the Browns on their process?

They have an offer outstanding to the GM they want. They have a few candidates for GM, which are being discussed in the news. What else is new?

The number of head coaches being discussed is about what has been expected.

There are no new news on these situations, one week after the season.

He is doing his due dilegence.

I hope he has a GM and Head Coach signed prior to the Senior Bowl week. That is the first deadline that is waiting in the near future. There is no one that requires waiting for the first week of February.

So we have to wait..it appears Mangini and Kokinis..sounds like a new Klingon or Romulan to me

As teams drop from playoffs we will be hearing more and more interviews are happening. Heckert and Polian are two i suspect we will be interviewing.

I think we will see some more coaches lining up as well.

I still think Pioli is Lerner's first option, but we will have to see if SP is willing to give in on some of the demands we keep hearing about. I basically see this going one or two ways, and it depends on what Pioli wants to do...........

1. GM - Pioli.
HC - Mcdaniels

2. GM - Kokinis
HC - Mangini

I don't see Pioli coming here if he insists on Farentz, but if he could comprimise with Mcdaniels I think it's possible. If he turns it down I think the Mangini/Kokinis duo is probably a given

Imo we will know who we have by the end of next week.................that should give Pioli plenty of time to crap or get off the pot.

I think it was somewhere in this thread but not sure. But I made a mistake in a post and want to correct myself. I know this may be the 1st time in the history of this message board that someone admitted to being wrong Somewhere I stated that I thought I heard that TJ McCreight was a salary cap guru. In actuality it was Trip McCracken. My bad

I still would leave McKay in there..he might be intrigued..but I think Pioli's punch is Ferentz..and someone tell me why?
Whats he done at Iowa that is so outstanding?

I said I'd rather have a experience HC..and I'm keeping that stance..all the GM needs to do is get good college kids..be cunning and bold to make good moves and not jepordize the team..

I thought there were several reports that said McKay is happy where he is at??

Also if we are going with Mangini I think I would prefer the Kokinis guy, because you have less chance of a Opie/RAC situation..........they are good friends and come from the same tree. I'll honestly be shocked if McKay get's the job.

I really like the ideah of Mangini becoming our new HC, and feel he brings a lot of what we need to the table. But, on the other hand, his choice of GM kinda scares me. I know RL isn't going to just settle on any ol GM just because Mangini wants him. Maybe this guy is just what Randy's looking for. If he is, great! We got a great commodity that we might have overlooked. But if he's anything less than what Randy is wanting I don't see him as part of the equation.

j/c

One of the things I've been fascinated with over the past week or so is the interview process. What kinds of questions are asked, what prospective coaches bring to the meetings, etc.

The GM candidate that is already w/ the Browns.... Any good information about him?

I really don't want to bring another Raven in here.

Like Mangini, Kokinis broke in with Cleveland in the early 1990s while Bill Belichick was coach. He moved with the Browns to Baltimore and has spent the past five years as the team's director of pro personnel under GM Ozzie Newsome.
Interestingly, Kokinis has spent the past five years working in a similar role to the one Phil Savage had with the Ravens before he joined the Browns in 2004. Savage was fired following Cleveland's season-ending loss last month in Pittsburgh.

Lerner's top choice to replace Savage is Scott Pioli, the New England Patriots' director of player personnel. The Browns have remained in contact with Pioli, who's still weighing his interest in the Cleveland job and reportedly will interview with the Kansas City Chiefs in the next few days.

This is from NFL.com.......doesn't tell you a whole lot.......

Yea, but didn't Lerner interview someone that is already with the Browns organization?

George Kokinis, in his 5th year as director of pro personnel and his 17th season as a member of the franchise, works closely with GM Ozzie Newsome in analyzing NFL rosters and coordinating and evaluating each year’s free agency market. Along with personnel recommendations, Kokinis assists vice president of football administration Pat Moriarty in negotiating contracts for some of the Ravens’ draft picks.

1996-2007: (with Baltimore) 2007: Ravens acquired Pro Bowl alternate RB Willis McGahee from the Bills in exchange for future draft choices...Team retained OLB Jarret Johnson, who re-signed with the team during the spring. 2006: Negotiated the contracts of draft picks S Dawan Landry (5th round) and DE Ryan LaCasse (7th round)...Ravens acquired QB Steve McNair in exchange for an ‘07 draft pick, re-signed OLB Bart Scott and also signed a number of significant free agent contributors: DE Trevor Pryce, who led the team with 13 sacks, RB Mike Anderson, DT Justin Bannan, CB Corey Ivy and OLB Gary Stills. 2005: Negotiated the contracts of draft picks FB Justin Green and LB Mike Smith...Ravens signed 3 current starters: WR Derrick Mason, CB Samari Rolle and G Keydrick Vincent. 2003: Became the team’s director of pro personnel, overseeing all aspects of the pro personnel department. 2000-02: Promoted to the Ravens’ assistant director of pro personnel in 2000...Conducted the advance scouting of Ravens opponents and provided reports to the coaches. 1996-99: Kokinis was the Ravens’ Northeast area scout for 4 years, and also conducted “the box” workouts of college prospects before moving over to pro personnel...Moved to Baltimore with the Modell franchise.

1991-95: (with Cleveland) Began his NFL scouting career with the Browns in 1991 after serving an internship in the team’s operations department.

COLLEGE: Graduated from Hobart College with a B.A. in psychology and earned his master’s degree in sports management at the University of Richmond (1991), while working as a graduate assistant coach for the Spiders’ baseball team...He played both football and baseball during his collegiate career, earning ECAC Baseball Player of the Year honors in 1989 as a pitcher for the Statesmen, and was selected to represent the conference in a New York vs. New Jersey All-Star Game played at Yankee Stadium.

PERSONAL: A 2-sport athlete at Wethersfield (CT) HS, George received the John Warren Potter Memorial Award, which recognizes competitiveness, school and team spirit and outstanding character...He currently serves on the board of directors of the Carmine, Frank, Mangini Foundation, which provides grants and scholarships to underprivileged youth...George and his wife, Elizabeth, have a daughter, Marissa (8), and twins Peter and Ella (3)...The family resides in Owings Mills, MD.

PERSONNEL BACKGROUND: 1991-95 (Cleveland Browns); 1996-2007 (Baltimore Ravens)

Ravens Site

How the Chiefs are viewing him.


Career

Kokinis has been the Ravens Director of Pro Personnel for 5 years, which means, as his bio states, that he "works closely with GM Ozzie Newsome in analyzing NFL rosters and coordinating and evaluating each year’s free agency market." Eric DeCosta, the Ravens Director of College Scouting and a GM candidate we've reviewed, also works closely with closely with Newsome and Kokinis.

Kokinis' career has involved a lot of player scouting and general football scouting. From 1991 to 1995, he was a scout for the Cleveland Browns. In 1996, Kokinis moved with the Browns' franchise to Baltimore, where he served as the Northeast area scout. He was a scout for three years before becoming the assistant director of pro personnel, in which he delivered scouting reports on the Ravens' opponents each week.

For the first ten years or so of his career, George Kokinis was involved in all aspects of scouting- college player scouting, free agent scouting and advanced reporting on the schemes and players of upcoming opponents.

In other words, Kokinis knows football talent at all levels of the game.

If he didn't know talent, Kokinis would have never made Director of Pro Personnel for the Ravens in 2003.

Free Agency and Contract Negotiations

Currently, Eric DeCosta does a lot of the college scouting work and Kokinis is mainly involved in free agency acquisitions and contract negotiations. From his bio, here are a list of his key accomplishments over the last couple of years:

2007

* Ravens acquired Pro Bowl alternate RB Willis McGahee from the Bills in exchange for future draft choices
* Team retained OLB Jarret Johnson

2006

* Negotiated the contracts of draft picks S Dawan Landry (5th round) and DE Ryan LaCasse (7th round)
* Ravens acquired QB Steve McNair in exchange for an ‘07 draft pick
* Re-signed OLB Bart Scott
* Signed a number of significant free agent contributors: DE Trevor Pryce, who led the team with 13 sacks, RB Mike Anderson, DT Justin Bannan, CB Corey Ivy and OLB Gary Stills.

Kokinis hasn't made any career defining free agent moves in my opinion but that's also partly because he hasn't necessarily had to do that. The Ravens rarely miss on 1st day picks.

Naturally, Kokinis, Newsome and DeCosta are all making decisions on the draft, so we can't really pin anything tangible on Kokinis, except to say that he's part of a great drafting team.

Negotiation Track Record

So, if Kokinis is mainly involved in free agency and contract negotiations, how do we measure his success?

One way is to see how effective Kokinis is at signing his draft picks in time for training camp. Let's take a look at how he did.

In 2008, training camp opened on July 22nd and Kokinis had all ten Raven draft picks signed by that date. First round choice QB Joe Flacco signed the week before. Also, DE Terrell Suggs held out of training camp to protest his franchise tag tender. Suggs returned by the beginning of the regular season though.

In 2007, the team reported to camp for the first practice on July 30th and Kokinis had all seven of his draft picks signed in the two weeks leading up to leaving for camp.

In 2006, Kokinis again had all ten draft picks in camp on time.

2005 training camp saw some bad luck for the Ravens. First round pick Mark Clayton held out for five days into training camp. A couple of other first day picks got injured early in OTAs as well, prompting the Ravens to hold off on their contracts.

Overall, Kokinis has done a solid job of retaining his best players as well as quickly signing his draft picks. He hasn't done anything extraordinary in Baltimore but he's been consistently on target.

One worry about Kokinis' tenure is the lack of franchise quarterback. The Ravens have noticeably struggled at that position, which doesn't bode well for advising the Kansas City Chiefs.

Is Kokinis the right fit for the Chiefs?

Let's take a look to see if George Kokinis fits Clark Hunt's criteria for a new GM.

* "Shrewd Evaluator Of Talent" - Indeed. Like I mentioned before, Kokinis has been involved with scouting at all levels of the game and he's put together a consistently great Ravens' defense. One worry is on the offensive side of the ball, where the Ravens have missed on some major positions over the years.
* Experience With Winning Teams - Yes. Kokinis was with the Ravens during their 2000 Super Bowl run. And despite some rocky years, the Ravens have for the most part been a winning ball club in the last decade.
* Strong Leader - Not sure. No evidence either way on this, unless you want to consider a director position as a major leadership role.
* Effective Communicator - I'd assume this is true. Kokinis was responsible for delivering scouting reports and opponent reviews before games so he's able to communicate his thoughts as well as required for that job.
* Blends Into The Chiefs Culture - Coming from a no frills, defense first Baltimore franchise, I'd say Kokinis could easily blend into the Chiefs' culture.
* Someone Outside The Organization -Yes.

Site

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I really don't want to bring another Raven in here.

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What's with u guys and this "No Raven" stuff???...Noone from the "Tree" of Bellichick???

The only possible reason I can think of is the fact that u don't want anyone who came from the same place as Savage and Crennel...How can anyone possibly come to that conclusion???...I'm seeing this all over the place and not just here...

Same with Mangini...He came from New England also...

In one breath some drool over Pioli and Mcdaniels...And in the same breath they don't want anything to do with Mangini...ALL of whom come from that said "Tree"...This makes absolutely ZERO SENSE...

Just because Savage was at Baltimore makes no difference...It doesn't reflect in the least what a Kokinis would bring to the table...

Just because Crennel was at NE makes no difference...It doesn't reflect in the least what a Pioli/Mcdaniels or Mangini would bring to the table...

U guys are all over the place with this thing...And this is the best one..."Hire a Kokinis and Mangini and Lerner's making the SAME mistake he made last time"...HOW???...Because they worked with Savage and Crennel in the past???...Cause they come from the same team they were with in the past???

As far as GM goes...We WILL NOT be able to find a GM who is a GM with another team NOW...Lateral moves ain't gonna happen...And NOONE including ME wants an Ex-Head Coach who had FULL Control over an organization...It's way 2 much for one individual to take on and still concentrate on the most important part...RUNNING THE TEAM ON THE FIELD...

Parcells ain't comin' here...

What we need is a GM and a HC who WORK WELL TOGETHER...It does not matter what team or tree they fall from...

The MISTAKE Lerner would make is bringing in 2 guys who DON'T WORK WELL TOGETHER...Bringing in Pioli and FORCING A HC on him would be a mistake...That's setting up doom from the get go...Lerner ain't gonna do that...

The GM's gonna be hired and a HC that the GM is interested in will be brought in...It does not matter what team or tree they come from...

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The GM candidate that is already w/ the Browns.... Any good information about him?

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T J McCreight (sp) is the internal candidate.. everything I know of him is on the Browns main site...

What we need is a GM and a HC who WORK WELL TOGETHER...It does not matter what team or tree they fall from...

It's why I made the remark..if Lerner likes Kokinis..he would be hired first..and then Mangini..but I still want no part of Ferentz..and Lerner doesn't either.
Spectre ..It was Opie's management style that Lerner wanted to blow up..he actually (for a lack of a better word..) sabotaged Rac..who was still over his head in being a HC...the whole roster doesn't need to be blown up..it needs to be reloaded..unit by unit..and you start with keeping the 34 , but you add quality linebackers..then corners , then work on the dline..
Mangini runs a 34(which I like)..so I would think all he needs to do is analize the units and he should see our LB's are the weakest link..

Quote:

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What's with u guys and this "No Raven" stuff???...Noone from the "Tree" of Bellichick???

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Yeah .... I don't get that either.

Speaking of trees ....

I found this interesting ..... in a 20 degrees of seperation kind of way ......



http://www.sports-central.org/sports/2008/02/22/the_nfl_coaching_tree_2008_pt_1.php

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. Parc³lls' 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.


The Mike Holmgren Coaching Tree
Bill Walsh's Coaching Tree is legendary, but most of the people who worked directly for Walsh have retired by now. With the exception of a nod in Mike Shanahan's direction, Walsh's legacy effectively runs through Holmgren now.

Mike Holmgren, SEA — It doesn't get much easier than this: Holmgren's roots are with Walsh. He was an offensive assistant for San Francisco from 1986-91, serving under Walsh and George Seifert, before bringing Walsh's "West Coast" Offense to Green Bay and then Seattle.

Jon Gruden, TB — He spent three years as Holmgren's wide receiver coach before moving to Philadelphia as offensive coordinator for another Holmgren assistant, Ray Rhodes. Former Raiders coach Bill Callahan, if he were still around, would be on Gruden's branch.

Dick Jauron, BUF — Aside from three years as Holmgren's defensive backs coach in Green Bay, he also worked for Holmgren disciple Steve Mariucci. I nearly listed Jauron under the Bill Parcells Tree, though, because of his four years as Tom Coughlin's defensive coordinator in Jacksonville. Both Coughlin and Jauron worked for Forrest Gregg in the late 1980s.

Jim Zorn, WAS — Washington's new head coach spent the last seven seasons as Holmgren's quarterbacks coach. It's probably fair to say that Jack Patera, Zorn's first coach in the NFL, also deserves some credit.

THE ANDY REID BRANCH

Andy Reid, PHI — Worked with Holmgren at BYU in the 1980s and again at Green Bay through most of the 1990s before taking Holmgren's version of the West Coast Offense to Philadelphia.

Brad Childress, MIN — Reid's offensive coordinator in Philadelphia, he was also part of the legendary Northern Arizona coaching staff that included Childress, Reid, Bill Callahan, and Marty Mornhinweg. He also has spent eight years at Wisconsin as an assistant for Badgers coach Barry Alvarez.

John Harbaugh, BAL — It's more than a little counter-intuitive, but the most dynamic wing of the Walsh Tree seems to run through Andy Reid at this point. Harbaugh spent nine years as an assistant to Reid. He also has roots with the University of Cincinnati, under head coaches Tim Murphy and Rick Minter.

Rising Star: Steve Spagnuolo — The sought-after defensive coordinator for the New York Giants, Spagnuolu spent eight years working for Reid with the Eagles.

Fired or Retired — Former Eagles and Packers HC Ray Rhodes, 49ers and Lions HC Steve Mariucci, Packers HC Mike Sherman, and Lions HC Marty Mornhinweg were all Holmgren disciples. Mornhinweg is Reid's top offensive assistant in Philadelphia. Former Raiders HC Bill Callahan is also in this tree via Jon Gruden, for whom he worked in Philadelphia and Oakland.


The Marty Schottenheimer Coaching Tree
In my original article three years ago, I named Schottenheimer's Coaching Tree the largest and most impressive in the NFL. It's lost that designation now, because I gave Bill Cowher and Tony Dungy their own trees. I think they've earned them, but both coaches were heavily influenced by Schottenheimer.

Herm Edwards, KC — Spent the early 1990s in Kansas City with Schottenheimer before following Dungy to Tampa Bay. Edwards also has roots with Dick Vermeil, who was his coach during Edwards' playing career with the Eagles.

Mike McCarthy, GB — Served as an assistant to Schottenheimer for six years before joining Jim Haslett's staff in New Orleans as a coordinator. I think Marty — and his top offensive assistant, Al Saunders — had the bigger influence.

Other Notables — Dallas HC Wade Phillips was Schottenheimer's defensive coordinator in San Diego.

Fired or Retired — Former Chiefs HC Gunther Cunningham was Schottenheimer's defensive coordinator in Kansas City. He now holds the same position on Edwards' staff.

The Bill Cowher Coaching Tree
Many of Cowher's assistants have gotten head coaching gigs, but most of those have been short and unsuccessful. Cowher played and coached for Marty Schottenheimer in Cleveland, and he was also on Schottenheimer's staff in Kansas City.

Ken Whisenhunt, ARI — Six years under Cowher make putting him on this branch a no-brainer, but Whisenhunt also worked for Ted Marchibroda, and he played for Joe Gibbs.

Fired or Retired — Former Bengals HC Dick LeBeau, Bills HC Mike Mularkey, Cowboys HC Chan Gailey, Panthers and Texans HC Dom Capers, and Saints HC Jim Haslett all worked for Cowher.

Rising Star: Russ Grimm — How he didn't get hired for Washington's coaching vacancy is still beyond me, but Grimm, Whisenhunt's assistant head coach in Arizona, remains a top candidate. He spent six years on Cowher's staff, but Grimm also has significant connections to Gibbs (who coached Grimm throughout an 11-year playing career) and Norv Turner (for whom Grimm spent seven seasons as an assistant).

THE MARVIN LEWIS BRANCH

Marvin Lewis, CIN — He was Cowher's linebackers coach in Pittsburgh, working with the likes of Kevin Greene, Levon Kirkland, and Greg Lloyd. Lewis also has some ties to Ted Marchibroda and Brian Billick, his superiors in Baltimore.

Jack Del Río, JAC — He worked under Lewis on the Ravens' defensive staff. Del Río got his coaching start from Mike Ditka in New Orleans, but was probably more influenced by coaches for whom he played: Jim Mora, Jimmy Johnson, nd Dennis Green.

Mike Smith, ATL — At what point does a branch get so small, or at least so far removed from the original tree, that we call it a leaf? Smith was Del Río's defensive coordinator in Jacksonville. For those of you playing along at home, here's how we got from Cowher to Smith: Mike Smith coached for Jack Del Río, who coached for Marvin Lewis, who coached for Bill Cowher. Atlanta's new head coach also spent a lot of time with Jim Ragland at Tennessee Tech.


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

All diagrams and illustrations of coaching trees that accompany this study were created by Brad Oremland and Lisa Fuller.

Wow,my feeble brain went into shut down mode trying to keep all the branches straight.
I guess you could say I couldn't see the forest for all the trees,yuck yuck.

Good post, 'Peen.

IMO, we see how important it is for the HC and GM to be on the same page. Who knows how the RAC/Savage years may have turned out if they were on the same page. But, they weren't, and we saw what happened.

If we bring in Mangini and Kokinis, and they're able to work well together, we should be way ahead of where we were in the RAC/Savage years.

I mean, c'mon guys, do we really think that Kokinis and the Browns' scouting department wouldn't be able to figure out who was the best player in our positions of need? I really doubt they'd come out and say "let's draft the Ohio State punter to play safety." Heck, most of US know who the best players are.

So, if Mangini and Kokinis come to a consensus on what this team would need to improve, I have to think they'd pick pretty darn good players.

And, this situation isn't what we just went through. We'd be hiring a rookie GM, granted, but we'd be hiring an EXPERIENCED head coach. I think that makes all the difference in the world between our old situation and the current one.

JMHO

jk

What is Pioli doing?

There has been talk that the Chiefs were going to interview Pioli but it has not happened yet, that I know of.

What is the hold up?

I know that I want us to make a decision quickly for selfish reasons in that I get excited about it. But, I'd rather us take more time and make the right decision than satisfy my need for instant gratification.

However, reports came out that Pioli was "very interested" in the Browns job. Then, his name just kind of falls off as other people come up. Was that just the media blowing things up? Possibly (probably?).

But, I'm starting to think that Pioli realizes he can have the best of all worlds. He can stay with NE and continue in work he feels comfortable with with people he knows. And, since he has that, he can pretty much wait to take another job only if he gets everything he wants (big salary, total control, coach he wants, etc.) Frankly, it's a pretty enviable position to be in.

Anybody else see the report that the Jets want to interview Jabakowski (sp?) from Boston College and BC told him that if he interviews with the NFL he's fired?

I do wonder why no other teams have spoken about Mangini..is it just the Spygate thing ?

Quote:

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Anybody else see the report that the Jets want to interview Jabakowski (sp?) from Boston College and BC told him that if he interviews with the NFL he's fired?

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Yeah, I saw that on ESPN last night.... Go figure... some people have no sense of humor.. None...

Beats me. but I see a report on KFFL that indicates Green Bay may be looking to interview RAC for DC.

What all this tree stuff suggests to me is it's not all HC & GM it's equally important to hire top quality assistants.