Wednesday, January 11, 2006

With Greatness Comes Opportunity….




This is what you expect from the NFL when a teams defense (Buccaneers of Course) was ranked No. 1 in the NFL for the second time in three years this season.
Coach Tony Dungy and Defensive Coordinator Monte Kiffin started something that will live on in the NFL for many years to come. That is the Tampa 2 defense. With this defense that has made the Buccaneers successful for the past decade, in fact the Buccaneers have been one of the top 10 defense in the NFL for over a decade now.
When you are this successful it gives your personal a chance to succeed in the NFL. Many people think of Bill Walsh, Bill Parcells and Mike Holmgren as coachs that have greated a coaching tree in the NFL. Well now it looks like we will be talking about Tony Dungy and or Monte Kiffin as starting a new NFL coaching tree.


Herman Edwards was the first assistant coach to get hired away from Tampa. Edwards spent five seasons serving as assistant head coach/defensive backs coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, before the New York Jets hired Edwards as their Head Coach. Now Edwards is the Head Coach of the Kansas City Chiefs.



Lovie Smith was with Tampa Bay Buccaneers for five seasons as the linebackers coach. In 2001, Smith was hired by the St. Louis Rams as their Defensive Coordinator, and he helped them return to the Super Bowl after missing the playoffs the previous year. In 2004, Smith was hired as the Chicago Bears Head Coach.


Mike Tomlin has been with Buccaneers for 5 year as the defensive backs coach. On Tuesday Tomlin was named the Defensive Coordinator in Minnesota. Another great Bucs coach headed out to keep the Monte Kiffin tree alive. Tomlin will be a Head Coach in the NFL with in a few years. Some think that he will return to Tampa Bay after Gruden has finished coaching.



Rod Marinelli has been with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for over ten years. He has been the Assistant Head Coach and Defensive Line Coach with the Bucs. Rod Marinelli's coaching services has emerged. The St. Louis Rams have expressed interest in possibly making Marinelli their new head coach. Marinelli, 56, was interviewed by the Lions on Monday in connection with their head coaching job, and the Chiefs have expressed interest in possibly making Marinelli their defensive coordinator. New Chiefs coach Herman Edwards said he intends to talk to Marinelli about a post with his team this week. If the Kansas City job does not work out expect Marinelli to becomes Chicago Bears Defensive Coordinator after Ron Rivera (Bears Defensive Coordinator) gets a Head Coaching job. Marinelli and Lovie Smith are reported as best friends and both are experts of Dungy’s Tampa 2 Defense.

Where will the Bucs and Kiffin find coaching replacements? Defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin said “I anticipated losing Tomlin and Marinelli after the Bucs were eliminated from the playoffs by the Redskins on Saturday.” Kiffin did not mention potential replacements, but if he follows the pattern he did after losing Edwards and linebackers coach Lovie Smith following the 2000 season, he'll look to the collegiate ranks. Kiffin prefers teachers as coaches.

2 comments:

j merlino said...

One of the things which makes it hard to be successful over the long haul in football is that it makes your assistants more likely to go elsewhere as other teams are willing to pay top $$$ for good assts.

Cutthroat Pirates said...

Colorado..
You are so right. You can add free agents to that list as well. Both of these things can kill a team fast.