Next coach will need skilled sidekicks
01:54 AM CST on Wednesday, February 7, 2007
It took Bill Parcells a full two weeks to decide to leave.
It has taken Jerry Jones more than two weeks to decide what to do about it.
What if, after all this time, all that he comes up with is Norv Turner as head coach, Jason Garrett as offensive coordinator and Todd Bowles as defensive coordinator? How much is that going to inspire the ticket buyers for 2007?
It's not like I think Turner is a terrible choice. Given the limited field of candidates and the priority that has to be placed on developing Tony Romo (and doing more than just hammering him about not making mistakes), Turner may be the best Jones can do.
But it's comical to see some of the fawning longtime members of the media are doing over Turner as if this is the offensive version of Bill Belichick coming to town.
The fact that Turner is a good guy and a familiar face and he returns phone calls has nothing to do with what kind of direction he might bring to a franchise that still needs plenty.
We know he was a successful coordinator here. We know how much credit Troy Aikman gives him for his development.
Pardon me for just a moment while I make a guess that a lot of coordinators would have made out all right with Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin, Jay Novacek, Daryl Johnston and four linemen who ended up in Pro Bowls.
Maybe even 500 coordinators.
What counts most is what coordinators and head coaches can do when they are missing a few pieces – like the current state of the Cowboys – not when they have everything in place.
And need we keep reminding people that it's the Cowboys' offense that was pretty good at the end of the season and the defense that was pretty awful?
That's why Cowboys fans have to hope that Bears coordinator Ron Rivera, at Valley Ranch to interview Tuesday, will be Cowboys coordinator Ron Rivera in 2007.
This team at least appears to need new coaching blood on both sides of the ball.
That's not to say I can tell you that Bowles would be a disaster as a coordinator. Who knows, he might be the next Mike Tomlin.
But when you coach under Parcells, your individual talents as a coach will never be known until you leave.
Consider Sean Payton as Exhibit A.
I just don't think that when Jones holds the news conference to announce his sixth coaching change (didn't this franchise represent stability at one point?), he can bring in a head coach with a losing record and two coordinators who have never been coordinators.
Where does the experience come from? As far as we can tell, head personnel man Jeff Ireland has not been heavily involved in the coaching interview process. Maybe not involved at all.
How do we know what the model is for what kind of player the team is looking for? Is that going to be dictated solely by Turner or whomever Jones chooses to be the head coach?
I know that after spending four years of tiptoeing around his head coach, Jones is looking for comfort. Turner brings that. And that's not a bad thing because Parcells' approach of keeping everyone in the building on edge has a limited shelf life.
Turner could have the kind of impact on Romo he seemed to have on the 49ers' Alex Smith. And that would make the Cowboys the kind of team that could actually win a playoff game.
But it's late in the game to be building a staff. The other teams made their coaching changes weeks ago.
Don't bring in Turner and expect a miracle worker. Give him some more experienced help on at least one side of the ball.
In that way, you're at least giving him a chance.
It took Bill Parcells a full two weeks to decide to leave.
It has taken Jerry Jones more than two weeks to decide what to do about it.
What if, after all this time, all that he comes up with is Norv Turner as head coach, Jason Garrett as offensive coordinator and Todd Bowles as defensive coordinator? How much is that going to inspire the ticket buyers for 2007?
It's not like I think Turner is a terrible choice. Given the limited field of candidates and the priority that has to be placed on developing Tony Romo (and doing more than just hammering him about not making mistakes), Turner may be the best Jones can do.
But it's comical to see some of the fawning longtime members of the media are doing over Turner as if this is the offensive version of Bill Belichick coming to town.
The fact that Turner is a good guy and a familiar face and he returns phone calls has nothing to do with what kind of direction he might bring to a franchise that still needs plenty.
We know he was a successful coordinator here. We know how much credit Troy Aikman gives him for his development.
Pardon me for just a moment while I make a guess that a lot of coordinators would have made out all right with Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin, Jay Novacek, Daryl Johnston and four linemen who ended up in Pro Bowls.
Maybe even 500 coordinators.
What counts most is what coordinators and head coaches can do when they are missing a few pieces – like the current state of the Cowboys – not when they have everything in place.
And need we keep reminding people that it's the Cowboys' offense that was pretty good at the end of the season and the defense that was pretty awful?
That's why Cowboys fans have to hope that Bears coordinator Ron Rivera, at Valley Ranch to interview Tuesday, will be Cowboys coordinator Ron Rivera in 2007.
This team at least appears to need new coaching blood on both sides of the ball.
That's not to say I can tell you that Bowles would be a disaster as a coordinator. Who knows, he might be the next Mike Tomlin.
But when you coach under Parcells, your individual talents as a coach will never be known until you leave.
Consider Sean Payton as Exhibit A.
I just don't think that when Jones holds the news conference to announce his sixth coaching change (didn't this franchise represent stability at one point?), he can bring in a head coach with a losing record and two coordinators who have never been coordinators.
Where does the experience come from? As far as we can tell, head personnel man Jeff Ireland has not been heavily involved in the coaching interview process. Maybe not involved at all.
How do we know what the model is for what kind of player the team is looking for? Is that going to be dictated solely by Turner or whomever Jones chooses to be the head coach?
I know that after spending four years of tiptoeing around his head coach, Jones is looking for comfort. Turner brings that. And that's not a bad thing because Parcells' approach of keeping everyone in the building on edge has a limited shelf life.
Turner could have the kind of impact on Romo he seemed to have on the 49ers' Alex Smith. And that would make the Cowboys the kind of team that could actually win a playoff game.
But it's late in the game to be building a staff. The other teams made their coaching changes weeks ago.
Don't bring in Turner and expect a miracle worker. Give him some more experienced help on at least one side of the ball.
In that way, you're at least giving him a chance.
posted by The Gryphon at 7:21 PM
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