The Rest of the Pack

Wait out here please Mr. Snyder will see you one at a time

Suddenly Joe Gibbs seems like a long time ago, we have moved officially into the second half of January and the Redskins still have no head coach. Today The Curly R continues its five part look at the Redskins' coordinators, leading candidates and also rans for the highest profile coaching job in the NFL.

Part One: What A New Head Coach Means for the Redskins
Part Two: Al Saunders
Part Three: Gregg Williams
Part Four: The Rest of the Pack
Part Five: The Case for Russ Grimm

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Transitions are never easy for an NFL team and neither the Redskins' offensive nor defensive coordinators is right for this job. There is no high profile supercoach coming to save the team but there is a deep bench of assistants out there, qualified and interested in the job. All of them have the football sense to lead a team and all of them will, this season or another.

Then why isn't any one of them right for this job? What's the big problem? None of these talented assistants meets the non football criteria for the Redskins job.

You see dear reader Redskins owner Dan Snyder calls the football shots on this team. And he doesn't hire nobodys. In the ivory tower of Ashburn, all these guys are nobodys.

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Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz aka Jim Schwartz Perfigliano. He interviewed Thursday 10 January 2008, this is such an odd pick I have to think this is either a courtesy interview or a little misdirection play. Jim is a Gregg Williams' protege and when Gregg left the Titans for the Bills head coaching job before the 2001 season Jim was promoted from linebackers coach to defensive coordinator, a position he has held since.

He makes sense, because... well I don't know why. Jim has an economics background and has been involved in a number of statistical analyses of football, he is known as something of a wonk. Which might be good I guess, someone with some insight into the factors that determine a winner besides 3rd down percentage and red zone efficiency.

But as a branch of the Gregg Williams coaching tree which is really a limb off the Buddy Ryan hangin tree it does not make sense. If they wanted that defensive philosophy they already got it with Gregg.

So maybe Gregg insisted the Redskins give Jim an interview as a means of establishing Jim's bona fides for future interviews and jobs.

Unless this is strategery. If Jim is not hired for any of the head coaching positions and Gregg is promoted to Redskins coach Gregg will have to replace himself as defensive coordinator. It would be just like Gregg to sacrifice that there continuity in the form of Greg Blache or any of the Redskins current assistants to have quote his guy unquote in there.

Verdict: Jim Schwartz is an unknown and therefore is not invited to this party.


Friday 11 January a quote unnamed assistant unquote interviewed with the Redskins. That assistant's name to date has not been released though it was reported that the unnamed assistant is not former Redskin, former Redskins offensive line coach and current Cardinals assistant head coach and offensive line coach Russ Grimm.

Verdict: unnamed assistants are like fat chicks and mopeds.


Redskins defensive coordinator Gregg Williams interviewed Saturday 12 January (op. cit.) at the palatial and more important than trees estate of owner Dan Snyder. Gregg interviewed a second time Monday 14 January. And a fourth time Tuesday 15 January. There was a third interview in there somewhere.

Verdict: Curly R has covered Gregg extensively here.


Wednesday 16 January former Falcons head coach and current Seahawks assistant head coach and defensive backs coach Jim Mora, not the Saints and Colts Jim Mora the other Jim Mora the Saints and Colts Jim Mora's son Jim Mora who is apparently not actually Jim Mora Junior interviewed.

Jim was successful in Atlanta despite Michael Vick who was also the one that finally ran Jim out of town. Jim has coaching experience on both sides of the ball and is generally an excellent coaching candidate, he will be back as a coach once the sting and stink of the Falcons job has subsided.

If there is any concern about Jim's ability to coach the Redskins it is that Jim comes from the San Francisco west coast system coaching tree. He got his start with the 49ers and after leaving Atlanta went to work for Bill Walsh's direct coaching descendant Mike Holmgren. As Jim was wasting away and winning in Atlanta I used to muse ironically that Matt Schaub looked better in preseason than Micahel Vick ever did in the regular season, Matt having played in an offense at the University of Virginia that was run by former 49ers quarterback, former Redskins quarterbacks coach and George Seifert disciple Bill Musgrave, Jim Mora ran a similar offense.

The Redskins are not built to be a west coast style team and despite the success the Eagles have had in the NFC Beast for nearly a decade under fellow Bill Walsh descendant Andy Reid it will be a long and painful transition if the Redskins were to veer away from the Norval Turner slash Joe Gibbs slash Al Saunders Redskins heritage offense.

Verdict: Jim Mora is not nearly high profile enough; his offensive philosophy is not a good match.


At least one other coach in due for an interview, with several other names in play amusingly. Colts offensive coordinator Jim Caldwell is apparently not among them (op. cit.), the Redskins do not seem too jazzed on him and in any event he is the leading candidate to replace Tony Dungy if Tony decides to retire.

Colts defensive coordinator and former Redskins assistant Ron Meeks however is in line (op. cit.) for an interview. Ron was Norval Turner's defensive backs coach in 2000, the season Dan Snyder took operational control of the Redskins and fired Norval at 7-6 and still in the playoff hunt after making Norval wait for two hours like a child after his last game.

Ron is the interview that satisfies the racist abomination known as the Rooney Rule.

Verdict: Ron has the chops and is in line to be a head coach and likely will do well somewhere. He is however not high enough profile for the Redskins and therefore cannot get the job.


A final note on a coaching candidate whose name has come up exactly twice, here and here, Marty Schottenheimer. After trashing Marty on ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown in December 2000 Marty surfaced as the head coach and president of football operations for the Redskins in January 2001. He came hard with change, unsettled some older players, started 0-5, finished 8-8 and was fired right before Dan Snyder hired Steve Spurrier.

Let me go on record saying I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE MARTY BACK!!!!!!!!!!

According to Mark Maske whose word I trust Marty and Dan have repaired their relationship but sadly Dan would never hire Marty back for two reasons: first it would mean that Dan would have to admit he was wrong the first time, something Dan never does and second Dan holds grudges and even if Dan and Marty can share a cuban and a single malt Dan will never forgive Marty for realizing Vinny Cerrato is terrible for this football team and firing him immediately after taking the job in January 2001. But it would be cool.

Now that the Ravens have lost Jason Garrett I hope they hire Marty, they have talked to him, they need him and I'd love to have him just up the road if'n he can't be here.


Curly R's coach evaluations conclude tomorrow with The Case for Russ Grimm.



Pack of llamas from here.