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COPYRIGHT 2006 Sporting News Publishing Co.
Wanted: head coach for NFL team. Experience not necessary.
Unbelievable? Well, seven of the 10 men hired to be coaches this offseason had no previous head coaching experience at any level. One of them, Detroit's Rod Marinelli, had never been a coordinator at any level. Another, Eric Mangini of the Jets, had been a coordinator for one year.
Traditionally, the head coaching pool includes coordinators who have been on Super Bowl teams. Men such as Gary Kubiak, who was hired by the Texans after 11 years as offensive coordinator of the Broncos, and Brad Childress, hired by the Vikings after four years as offensive coordinator of the Eagles. But there aren't enough candidates like Kubiak and Childress because the turnover rate is so high.
As coordinators, Mangini, the Saints' Sean Payton, the Packers' Mike McCarthy and the Rams' Scott Linehan have only four playoff victories among them. Does that make them bad hires? Not necessarily. Jon Gruden had only one playoff victory as a coordinator, and Jeff Fisher was 0-3 in the playoffs as a coordinator--and they became two of the league's most successful and respected head coaches.
Having success as a coordinator isn't necessarily a precursor to having success as a head coach. A coordinator's perceived success often is a byproduct of issues out of his control--including the players he has to work with, injuries, the influence of his head coach, the other...
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