Five assistant coaches who will impact their new teams
By Clark Judge | CBSSports.com Senior Writer Follow ClarkIt's not just free-agent players who can make a difference in the NFL. Free-agent coaches can, too, and I offer Mike Nolan as evidence. Tell me the Broncos would have been 8-8 without Nolan calling their defenses. They wouldn't, and you get to find out how much they miss him now that he's gone.
My guess is that Nolan makes a difference in Miami, too, but he's not alone. There are plenty of assistants out there who could have impacts on their new teams, and five of the most significant –- including Nolan –- have my attention. Here's why:
Mike Martz, offensive coordinator, Chicago
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| Mike Martz's top concern is improving the Bears' passing attack. (US Presswire) |
The problem for Martz, of course, is time. He doesn't have a lot of it. Essentially, coach Lovie Smith is on a one-year contract. He either wins this season or finds another job. And to win he's decided to throw everything in with Cutler, a dangerous move considering the guy hasn't won since high school.
But Martz is all about risk, and Smith knows it. The two were part of the high-wire act that was "The Greatest Show on Turf," with Martz calling the plays and Smith the defenses. Martz runs a high-risk, high-reward offense, and there was nothing rewarding about the Bears or Cutler a year ago.
So why not take a chance? Cutler has an abundance of talent but lacks leadership, personality and charisma. Oh, yeah, he throws way too many interceptions, too. People tell me he needs better receivers, and I'll buy that. But he could use some common sense, too, and that's where an experienced tutor comes in -- with Martz one of the best in his field.
But my question is this: What can Martz do with Cutler that Mike Shanahan could not? Shanahan is a marvelous offensive coach and was Cutler's biggest cheerleader. Still, the guy was 17-20 with a Broncos club that had Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal. It had Ryan Clady, too, and Martz's history is that he doesn't protect his quarterbacks -- preferring to spread the field and take his shots, while his quarterbacks take theirs.
Martz showed me something in San Francisco when he made a winner out of gritty Shaun Hill, but Cutler is the anti-Hill -- more flash than substance. The temptation has always been to give him the keys to the car, but beware: Another season like 2009, and Martz is gone, too. Chicago lost its identity a year ago. With the hiring of Martz it may try to establish itself as one of the league's most formidable passing offenses, and good luck. You win in Chicago with good defense and tough, physical play; not with Jay Cutler's arm. Mike Martz will try to change all that.
Perry Fewell, defensive coordinator, N.Y. Giants
Once upon a time the New York Giants stood for rock-solid defense, with aggressive, attacking defensive linemen and linebackers who buried opposing quarterbacks and running backs. Then they switched defensive coordinators in 2009 and suddenly went in reverse -- unable to get to the pocket, unable to make key stops and shredded by just about everyone they met the second half of the season.
Tony Romo completed a team-record 41 passes on them. Philadelphia put 40 or more points up on them twice. Three of their last four opponents scored 40 or more each, with Brett Favre hitting four touchdown passes in the season finale. In short, the Giants stunk, and defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan suffered for it -- fired shortly after the season.
Now it's Fewell who steps in the batter's box, with the Giants stealing him out from under Chicago, and, just a hunch, but he makes things work. Fewell had inferior talent in Buffalo but made the most of it -- with the Bills ranking second in the AFC in 2008 in negative yardage plays and fourth in the NFL in red-zone stops. Fewell also was liked by his players, a contrast to what was going on between Sheridan and defensive end Osi Umenyiora, who went to their corners before the season even began.
Fewell's job is clear: Restore the Giants' defense to what it once was, which was a formidable unit that won ballgames by squeezing the pocket. The resurrection of Umenyiora is one project. He was a non-factor last season. The return of Justin Tuck as a premier player is another. And getting something, anything out of Chris Canty and Michael Boley and shaping up the secondary is yet another.
The Bills last season ranked 19th in overall defense but second against the pass. They also had 28 interceptions, second in the NFL and 15 more than the Giants. What's more, when Fewell coached Chicago's defensive backs in 2005 the Bears led the NFC in interceptions with 24. When you're in a division with Donovan McNabb and Romo it's probably a good idea to find someone who can teach players how to defend the pass. Fewell may be that guy.
Mike Nolan, defensive coordinator, Miami
There are few people who did more with less last season than Mike Nolan. The Broncos not only ranked seventh in overall defense; they were third against the pass and tied for 12th in points allowed, and that's downright remarkable considering what Nolan had -- Elvis Dumervil, Brian Dawkins, D.J. Williams, Champ Bailey and not much more.
The Broncos didn't jump to a 6-0 start because of Kyle Orton or Brandon Marshall; they won because of Nolan's defenses, with the Broncos allowing an average of 9.3 points per game. Then the roof collapsed, with eight of their remaining 10 opponents scoring 20 or more each and the Broncos losing to all eight.
People in Denver tell me Nolan tired of coach Josh McDaniels and needed a change. Well, he has it, and say goodbye to Philip Rivers as your arch enemy and hello to Tom Brady. For the Dolphins to return to the top of the division they must get through Brady and New England, and lots of luck. When Brady has been healthy, he and the Patriots have won the division all but one season.
Nolan's Denver defense was aggressive, with Dumervil leading all pass rushers in sacks. That was good, but this is not: Joey Porter, the team's leading pass rusher the past two seasons is gone, and Jason Taylor is at or near the end of a storied career. Furthermore, the Dolphins were dead-flat ordinary last season, and that's kind. They ranked 22nd in overall defense, 25th in points allowed and surrendered a franchise-record 140 points in the fourth quarter.
But that is why Nolan is the right man for this job. He just went through a reconstruction project with a porous Denver defense that ranked 29th in 2008, and he made it work. Furthermore, he made it work by going to a 3-4, a defense that coach Tony Sparano favors. Make it work here, and you might make Brady and the Patriots sweat for a change.
Bobby April, special teams coordinator, Philadelphia
I don't care how good your special teams are. Hiring Bobby April will make them better. The guy has been one of the pre-eminent special teams coaches for years, and Buffalo's loss is the Eagles' gain. The Bills always were threats with their return and coverage units, with April the brains behind both. But when they changed head coaches they lost April, who was scooped up immediately by Eagles coach Andy Reid.
It's easy to see why. Under April, Buffalo led the Dallas Morning News' special teams rankings in 2004, 2005 and 2008 and finished in the top five the past six seasons, including third in 2009. Philadelphia was 17th last season.
Yes, the Eagles ranked first in punt returns and third in punt coverage, but they fell down on kickoff returns, ranking 30th. In all fairness to former coach Ted Daisher, they lost returner Ellis Hobbs midway through the year, so that explains some things. But April is still an upgrade.
I've seen his special teams steal games in Buffalo, and if they can make a difference in two or three for the Eagles that's two or three wins that could push them over the top in the NFC East.
"Bobby is a terrific coach," said one AFC assistant, "but in Buffalo the special teams were a priority. He got the players he wanted. That might not be the case elsewhere."
Maybe, but if Bobby April is a free agent, I'm interested. There are a handful of extraordinary special teams coaches out there, and if one comes loose you jump to hire him. Hiring April was not an indictment of Daisher, who put two players in the Pro Bowl; it was a sign of how much they value April, whom the club did not expect to find on the open market.
April comes into a good situation, with punt returner DeSean Jackson and kicker David Akers two of the best in the business. But the Eagles could improve their kickoff return and coverage units, and that will be April's first project. Buffalo was top 10 in both departments, and that was after it lost returner Leodis McKelvin after three games.
Bobby April will make the Philadelphia Eagles a sounder, more complete team, and that qualifies as a good hire.
Hue Jackson, offensive coordinator, Oakland
I don't know which is more difficult -- brokering peace in the Middle East or making JaMarcus Russell into a credible quarterback. It's not that Russell struggles; it's that he stinks. And it is Jackson's job to find something, anything, in the guy to develop.
Go ahead and laugh, but I think the Raiders are on the right track. Russell has talent. He just needs someone to mine it. I don't know that Jackson can improve Russell, but I do know that it's worth a shot.
Look, the Raiders invested a gazillion dollars in someone who, so far, looks like the Venus De Milo. He may well be the worst draft pick since Ryan Leaf, but if I'm the Raiders I'm not ready to concede. Not yet. Which is why Jackson is here.
He did a nice job with Joe Flacco in Baltimore, but Flacco worked hard to improve himself. The word on Russell is that he does not. That must change, and Jackson may be the guy to change him. All I know is that it's worth a shot. If I sank $32 million of guaranteed money in a quarterback I'd want to do everything I could before writing him off as another wasted draft pick.
Jackson will tell the Raiders if Russell is beyond repair. If he can get through, maybe Oakland salvages a draft choice and finds a quarterback; if he doesn't, the Raiders can't say they didn't try.
