Merge Dolphips Coaches List

[Jdub561]

Merge Dolphins Coaches List

New Coaches

Cam Cameron (Offensive)

Cam Cameron has put a charge into San Diego’s offense. For the first time since 1980-81, the Chargers scored more than 400 points in consecutive seasons. After the Bolts scored 446 points in 2004, Cameron was named Offensive Assistant Coach of the Year by SportsIllustrated.com.
In 2005, Cameron oversaw an offense that produced a 3,500-yard passer (Drew Brees), a 1,000-yard rusher (LaDainian Tomlinson) and a 1,000-yard receiver (Antonio Gates). It was the second time in team history that it happened and the first time since 1981. The Chargers were one of only six NFL teams to feature such a trio.
Also in 2005, the trio of Brees, Tomlinson and Gates was one of only four in the league to combine for 20 touchdown passes, 10 rushing touchdowns and 10 touchdown catches. It marked the second-consecutive year that the trio achieved that feat and the fifth time in team history.
All three players were selected to the Pro Bowl after the 2004 season.
Cameron’s play-calling in 2003 led to a record-setting year for Tomlinson, who became the first player in NFL history to rush for more than 1,000 yards and catch 100 passes in the same season. Tomlinson racked up 2,370 yards from scrimmage, second-most in NFL history, and rushed for 1,645 yards, second-most in team history.
In 2002, Cameron’s first season as offensive coordinator, Tomlinson rushed for a team-record 1,683 yards.
Cameron joined the Chargers after five seasons (1997-2001) as the head coach at Indiana University. In 2000, Indiana averaged 266.4 rushing yards per game, tops in the Big Ten and seventh in the nation.
One of Cameron’s prize pupils at Indiana was quarterback Antwaan Randle El, a 2001 first-team All-America selection. Randle El finished his career as the NCAA Division I-A rushing leader among quarterbacks and was the only player in major college football history to rush and pass for 40 touchdowns.
From 1994-96, Cameron was the quarterbacks coach for the Washington Redskins, where he was credited with the development of quarterback Gus Frerotte, who was selected to the Pro Bowl following the 1996 season.
During Cameron’s 10 seasons (1984-1993) as an assistant coach at Michigan, the Wolverines won six Big Ten titles and played in 10 bowl games, including five Rose Bowls. Cameron helped cultivate future NFL talents such as Jim Harbaugh, Elvis Grbac, Desmond Howard, Derrick Alexander and Amani Toomer.
For Cameron, the move into coaching was a natural fit. His stepfather, Tom Harp, was a head coach at Cornell (1961-65), Duke (1966-1970) and Indiana State (1973-77). Cameron and Harp each have the unique distinction of coaching a Heisman Trophy winner. Cameron coached Desmond Howard at Michigan, and Harp was an assistant coach at West Point when Pete Dawkins claimed the trophy in 1958.
Cameron had a successful collegiate career as a two-sport letterman in football and basketball at Indiana. He lettered two years at quarterback and three in basketball before a football knee injury during his senior year ended his playing career. Cameron graduated from Indiana in 1983 with a degree in business.
Cameron was born Feb. 6, 1961 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. While his stepfather coached at Indiana State, Cameron was a prep standout at South Vigo High School in Terre Haute, Indiana. He was an All-America selection in football as a senior and earned all-state honors twice and all-county honors three times. He was named Vigo County’s Athlete of the Year in 1978 and 1979. Cameron led his team to three consecutive state basketball finals, and in 1979 he was named the winner of the state’s prestigious Trester Award for mental attitude. Also in 1979, he was named National Athlete of the Year by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes

Ken Whisenhunt (Offensive)

Ken Whisenhunt enters his third season as the Steelers' offensive coordinator and has earned high praise for installing a balanced offensive attack while adding a slice of trickery into the weekly game plan.
Promoted to his new position on Jan. 20, 2004, after serving the previous three years as the team's tight ends coach, Whisenhunt begins his 10th season as an NFL coach.
Last year, the Steelers averaged 26.8 points per game in the playoffs, posting 34 points in the AFC Championship Game at Denver, who finished the regular season among the best in scoring defense (16.1 avg.). Additionally, Pittsburgh averaged nearly 140 yards rushing per game during the regular season to rank fifth in the NFL.
The Steelers showed significant improvement in 2004 under Whisenhunt while re-establishing their proud running attack. Overall, the Steelers' offense improved from 22nd in the NFL to 16th in 2004, and the rushing attack finished second in the NFL compared to 31st from the previous season.
Whisenhunt, 44, joined the Steelers coaching staff as tight ends coach in January, 2001, when Mike Mularkey was promoted to offensive coordinator. He spent the 2000 season as tight ends coach for the New York Jets and was closely involved in offensive game-planning.
Prior to the Jets, he spent the 1999 season coaching special teams for the Cleveland Browns. Whisenhunt's first NFL coaching job was with the Baltimore Ravens in 1997, when he coached tight ends for two seasons.
Whisenhunt began his coaching career at Vanderbilt University, where he coached special teams, tight ends and H-Backs for the Commodores from 1995-96. In 1996, he oversaw Bill Marinangel, who led all NCAA Division I punters with an average of 46.6 yards-per-punt and finished third in the nation with a 42.7 net punting average.
A graduate of Georgia Tech, Whisenhunt played nine seasons as a tight end/H-Back for the Atlanta Falcons (1985-88), Washington Redskins (1989-90) and New York Jets (1991-93). He caught 62 passes for 601 yards and six touchdowns and earned a reputation as a well-rounded tight end and special teams player.
Whisenhunt finished his Georgia Tech career ranked second on the Yellow Jackets' all-time receiving yardage list (1,264 yards) and fourth in career receptions (82). He was a consensus All-Atlantic Coast Conference and honorable mention All-America selection as a senior in 1984 when he averaged 19.1 yards-per-catch.
Born Feb. 28, 1962, in Atlanta, Ga., Whisenhunt and his wife, Alice, live in Pittsburgh with their son, Kenneth Jr. (15), and daughter Mary Ashley (13).

Norm Chow (Offensive)


In his first NFL season last year, Chow adapted to the pro game with ease despite an offense that relied on a youthful cast of players and encountered numerous injuries. Tennessee ranked ninth in the NFL in passing and overall the offense ranked 17th. The group of rookie receivers (WR Brandon Jones, WR Roydell Williams, WR Courtney Roby and TE Bo Scaife) became the first quartet of rookie receivers since the 1968 Buffalo Bills to each record at least 20 receptions in a season. Scaife would also establish a new rookie tight end franchise mark for receptions with 37.
Quarterback Steve McNair was on pace to have the highest yardage total of his career, before missing the final game and half with injury. He still averaged 225.8 yards passing per game, the second highest average of his career and had the fourth lowest sack to attempt ratio of his career.
With the selection of QB Vince Young as the third overall pick in this year’s draft, the Titans have their quarterback of the future to groom and who better to lead him there then Chow. In his college coaching career, Chow has groomed three Heisman Trophy winners (Ty Detmer, Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart), six first round picks (Palmer, Leinart, Philip Rivers, Steve Young, Jim McMahon, Marc Wilson) and one Pro Football Hall of Fame member (Young).
In 32 years of coaching at the collegiate level, Chow tasted every form of success, including three national titles (BYU, 1984; USC 2003, 2004), tutoring three Heisman Trophy winners, 27 bowl games, and three times being named assistant coach of the year. He left an indelible mark on the college game as he worked with eight of the NCAA’s top 30 career passing efficiency leaders.
Chow has been associated with some of the best quarterbacks and offensive minds in the college and pro ranks. Among the quarterbacks associated with his teams are Pro Football Hall of Famer Steve Young, Jim McMahon, Marc Wilson, Gifford Nielsen, Ty Detmer, Robbie Bosco, Philip Rivers, Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart. Many of the NFL’s most noted NFL minds have coached alongside Chow, including Mike Holmgren, Andy Reid, Brian Billick, Ted Tollner, Mike Sheppard and Doug Scovil.
Chow joined the Titans on February 9, 2005, after spending four seasons as offensive coordinator at the University of Southern California. At the helm of USC’s offense, Chow directed an attack that ranked in the nation’s top 20 in total offense in each of his final three seasons, tutored two Heisman trophy winning quarterbacks (Palmer & Leinart) and won two national titles.
In his final season at USC, the Trojans ranked seventh nationally in scoring offense, ninth in passing efficiency and 15th in total offense. Quarterback Matt Leinart was the Heisman Trophy winner, Walter Camp Player of the Year, repeated as a first team All-American and was the Pac-10 Co-Offensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. In 2003, Leinart set Pac-10 season records for touchdown passes (38) and consecutive passes without an interception (212). He also had the highest passing efficiency rating (164.5) of any USC quarterback in history. USC was fifth nationally in passing efficiency and scoring offense, and the Trojans set Pac-10 season records with 534 points and by scoring 40-plus points in seven consecutive games.
In 2002, quarterback Carson Palmer won the Heisman Trophy and Unitas Award en route to becoming the NFL’s number one overall selection and the Pac-10's career leader in passing yards and total offense, while USC led the Pac-10 in total offense and scoring offense.
Chow spent the 2000 season as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at North Carolina State.The NCSU passing offense was ranked 15th nationally (292.6). His quarterback, Philip Rivers, was a Freshman All-American who completed 53.7% (237 of 441) of his passes for 3,054 yards with 25 touchdowns and was 12th nationally in total offense (269.9).
Prior to joining the Wolfpack, Chow spent 27 years (1973-99) at BYU. At various times, he was the Cougars' assistant head coach, offensive coordinator, co-offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach, receivers coach, recruiting coordinator and graduate assistant (1973 and 1974). While at BYU, the Cougars posted a 244-91-3 record during his time in Provo, appeared in 22 bowls and saw 21 offensive players earn All-America honors. In 12 of his 18 years as offensive coordinator at BYU, Chow led the offense to a place in the NCAA’s top 10 in total offense. Chow was with coach LaVell Edwards at for all but two (1972 & 2000) of his 29 years at BYU.
Chow began his coaching career as the head coach at Waialua (Hi.) High, where he led for three seasons (1970-72) before leaving for BYU.

Al Saunders (Offensive)

Regarded as one of the most accomplished and innovative offensive minds in all of football with experience as both a head coach and offensive coordinator, Al Saunders enters his first season directing the Washington Redskins offense.
Saunders owns 24 years of NFL coaching experience and recently finished his 15th coaching campaign with the Kansas City Chiefs. He served the past five seasons as assistant head coach and offensive coordinator under head coach Dick Vermeil. He also coached with Vermeil in St. Louis, leading their offense to a Super Bowl title in 2000.
Saunders previously served a 10-year stint as assistant head coach-wide receivers Coach under then head coach Marty Schottenheimer from '89-98. During that 10-year span, he was part of a Chiefs' coaching staff which helped guide Kansas City to three AFC West titles and seven playoff berths. In total, Saunders has been associated with 11 postseason appearances, five division crowns and a World Championship during his NFL tenure. Saunders was named USA Today's Offensive Coach of the Year in 2005.
Saunders had tremendous success in 2005 leading the Kansas City Chiefs offense to a number one overall ranking in the NFL for the second consecutive season. Overall, the Chiefs' offense supplied five 2006 Pro Bowlers on offense: offensive lineman Willie Roaf, offensive lineman Will Shields, tight end Tony Gonzalez, running back Larry Johnson and quarterback Trent Green.
In 2005, Saunders coached the most explosive offense in the NFL, leading the League with 70 total plays over 20 yards including an NFL-high 15 touchdowns. Kansas City also led the League in yards per play (5.85) and topped the NFL in eight other offensive categories.
In 2004, the Chiefs led the NFL in total offense for the first time in franchise history, accumulating a franchise-record 6,695 yards or an average of 418.4 ypg. In the process, Kansas City established an NFL record with 398 first downs, breaking the previous mark of 387 set by the '84 Dolphins.
In total, the 2004 Chiefs ranked in the NFL's top five in each of the four major offensive categories for the first time in team history: total offense (1st-418.4 ypg), scoring offense (2nd-30.2 ppg), pass offense (4th-275.4 ypg) and rush offense (5th-143.1 ypg). Last season, Kansas City also led the NFL in 24 different offensive categories, while tying or breaking 18 different single-season team records, including marks for offensive TDs (58), third-down conversion percentage (47.2 percent), most games with 400 or more yards of total offense (nine) and most consecutive 400-yard games (five).
Under Saunders, the Chiefs received unprecedented production in the running game. Kansas City tied a 42-year-old NFL record by registering 63 rushing touchdowns over the 2003-04 seasons, a two-season mark originally established by the '61-62 Packers. Those numbers were bolstered by three-time Pro Bowl running back Priest Holmes who registered an NFL-record 27 rushing TDs in 2003. The 2004 Chiefs owned the distinction of becoming the first team in league history to have three different backs produce a 150-yard rushing game in a season and were the only NFL squad to ever rush for eight TDs in a league contest.
Simply put, Saunders has presided over the NFL's most prolific scoring offense over the last five seasons. During that span, no NFL team has registered more points than the 2,157 accumulated by the Chiefs. In 2004, Kansas City scored 30-plus points in five consecutive games, a first in team history. The Chiefs led the NFL in scoring in both 2002 and 2003, becoming the first AFC team to lead the league in scoring in back-to-back seasons since San Diego in '81-82. During the 2003 season alone, the Chiefs piled up a franchise-record 484 points after registering a league-high 467 points in 2002.
Dating back to 2001 when Saunders took over as offensive coordinator, the Chiefs rank first in the NFL with 30,470 net yards of total offense (379.3 ypg). The Chiefs oppulent numbers during that 80-game span from 2001-05 are also the league's best in the following seven categories: offensive TDs (262), rushing TDs (131), total first downs (1,760), Red Zone TD percentage (64.1 percent), runs of 10+ yards (312), passing yards per attempt (7.83) and passing yards per completion (12.61).
Since Saunders returned to Kansas City in 2001, eight different Chiefs offensive players earned Pro Bowl honors--guard Will Shields, tackle Willie Roaf, tight end Tony Gonzalez, running back Priest Holmes, quarterback Trent Green, fullback Tony Richardson, guard Brian Waters and running back Larry Johnson.
While the Chiefs' ground exploits are well-documented, Kansas City has also developed a prolific passing attack under Saunders' direction. In 2004, Green boasted a franchise-high eight 300-yard passing games as Kansas City rolled up franchise records with 370 completions and 4,406 net passing yards. Kansas City also established team records with 228 passing first downs and an overall 65.95 completion percentage.
Meanwhile, Gonzalez shattered the NFL single-season receiving record for tight ends with 102. The Chiefs also boasted a 1,000-yard receiving tandem for just the second time in team history as both Gonzalez (1,258) and wide receiver Eddie Kennison (1,086) topped that lofty plateau. Green finished the 2005 season with a QB rating above 90 for the fourth consecutive year, joining Brett Favre and Steve Young as the only three quarterbacks in NFL history to do so.
Record-breaking numbers were the norm for Kansas City's offense under Saunders. In 2003, the Chiefs led the league in 18 different offensive categories, including virtually every red zone category. That season, Kansas City owned NFL-high marks in red zone points (324), red zone TDs (42), red zone scoring percentage (98.1) and red zone TD percentage (77.8). The Chiefs also paced the NFL with a +19 turnover differential during the 2003 campaign.
In 2002, Kansas City broke or tied 22 single-season team offensive records. Most notably, Kansas City turned the ball over a franchise-low 15 times (non-strike season) and broke two long-standing NFL records by fumbling just seven times and losing only two of those fumbles. The Chiefs averaged 148.6 rushing yards per game to rank third in the NFL as Holmes finished the year with 2,287 yards from scrimmage, 1,615 ground yards and nine 100-yard rushing games, all figures which established team single-season records.
The foundation for Kansas City's offensive onslaught was established in 2001 when Kansas City finished the year ranked in the NFL's top 10 in rushing, passing and total offense for just the second time since the AFL-NFL merger. That season, Holmes led the NFL in rushing with 1,555 ground yards becoming the first Chiefs back to pace the league since running back Christian Okoye in '89.
Prior to rejoining the Chiefs, Saunders spent two seasons with St. Louis where he coached wide receivers and also served as associate head coach in 2000. During that two-year span, Saunders helped revitalize a Rams offense as the club steamrolled its way to a 13-3 regular season record in '99 and a triumph over Tennessee in Super Bowl XXXIV.
Presiding over high-flying offenses is nothing new for this veteran coach. In 2000, Saunders was part of a St. Louis coaching staff which helped the Rams score 540 points (33.8 ppg), the third-highest single-season total in NFL history. The club also led the league with an NFL-record 442.2 yards of total offense per game and paced the NFL in passing offense (327.0 ypg) for the second straight season, setting another league record in the process. St. Louis amassed 7,075 yards of total offense and 5,232 passing yards, breaking the previous marks established by the '84 Miami Dolphins.
En route to their World Championship in '99, the Rams paced the NFL with 6,412 yards of total offense, good for a remarkable 400.8 ypg average. St. Louis also led the league in passing offense with 272.1 yards per game and topped the NFL in scoring by averaging 32.9 points per contest. The 526 total points amassed by the '99 squad ranked as the fourth-highest tally in NFL annals.
Before initially joining the Chiefs in '89, Saunders served as San Diego's head coach from the midpoint of the '86 season through the '88 campaign. In his first full season as head coach in '87 he guided the Chargers to an 8-7 record, a four-game improvement from the club's 4-12 finish the previous year. That 8-7 record represented San Diego's first winning season in five years and included a perfect 3-0 record in replacement games, a feat matched only by Washington Redskins head coach Joe Gibbs that season.
Under Saunders' direction in '87, the Chargers also won eight straight games, the club's longest winning streak in 26 seasons. He joined San Diego in '83 as receivers coach in what was one of the most exiting and prolific pass offenses in NFL history. Behind Hall of Fame QB Dan Fouts and the Chargers electrifying receiving corps coached by Saunders, San Diego led the league in passing and total offense in both '83 and '85.
Saunders began his career as a graduate assistant under John McKay at Southern California ('70-71). He then coached receivers at Missouri ('72) before heading the offensive backfield at Utah State ('73-75). He was an assistant head coach, quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator at California from '76-81, leading an offense that set 32 national, conference and school records. In '82, he served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Johnny Majors at the University of Tennessee.
Born in London, England, he became one of only four foreign-born head coaches in NFL history after becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen in '60. A three-year starter, team captain and Academic All-America pick as a defensive back at San Jose State ('66-68), Saunders also played wide receiver for the Spartans and is enshrined in the school's Hall of Fame. As a recipient of California's State Graduate Fellowship for Academic Excellence, he earned a Master's degree in education from Stanford and was a doctoral candidate in athletic administration and sports management at USC.

Jim Caldwell (Offensive)

Jim Caldwell enters his second season as assistant head coach/quarterbacks coach of the Colts after serving the prior three seasons as the club's quarterbacks coach. Caldwell joined Indianapolis from Tampa Bay, where he served in the same capacity during the 2001 season. Caldwell assists an offense that has been among the NFL's most prolific attacks since 1999. Coming off consecutive seasons as the NFL's Most Valuable Player, QB-Peyton Manning was 305-453-3,747, 28 TDs/10 ints., 104.1 rating in 2005 to help guide the club to a 13-0 start and a 14-2 mark, the franchise seasonal record for victories. The offensive tone helped the club trail in only four games during the season. The Colts won a league-record 13 consecutive games by seven or more points, and the club amassed 439 points to rank second in NFL scoring offense. Manning combined with WRs-Marvin Harrison (1,146) and Reggie Wayne (1,055) for 1,000+-yard reception seasons. Manning extended his own NFL record with his eighth consecutive 25+-TD season. Manning and Harrison established the finest quarterback-receiving tandem numbers in NFL history (783 completions, 10,542 yards, 94 touchdowns).
From 1999-04, Manning threw for 4,000+ yards in an NFL-record six consecutive seasons. In 2004, Manning had one of the NFL's finest seasons, completing 336 of 497 passes for 4,557 yards and 49 touchdowns for a 121.1 rating. His 67.6 completion percentage, yards, touchdowns and rating set Colts seasonal-bests, while his touchdowns and rating established NFL seasonal records. Manning (49 touchdowns, 121.1 rating) broke the prior NFL records of Dan Marino (48, 1984) and Steve Young (112.8, 1994). Manning opened the season with multiple touchdown passes in a league-record 13 consecutive games. Manning directed the club to a franchise seasonal-best 6,475 net yards, while helping the Colts (522) amass the fifth-highest NFL seasonal point total and become only the 10th team to score 500+ seasonal points. The club also became the first in league history to produce three 1,000+-yard, 10+-TD receivers (1,210 yards, 12 TDs, Wayne; 1,113, 15, Harrison; 1,077, 10, WR-Brandon Stokley). Manning had six games with 4+ touchdown passes, tying Marino's NFL seasonal record (6, 1984). Manning had five consecutive 4+-TD games, besting Marino's prior NFL mark in that category (4, 1984). The 2004 season marked the third straight year Manning set the club's seasonal completion percentage record. His 67.0 mark in 2003 bested his own seasonal mark of 66.7 in 2002. In 2002, Manning's 392 completions and 591 attempts also set Colts seasonal records. Manning has 128 consecutive starts, the second-longest QB streak in NFL history (221, Brett Favre). Manning has a club-record six double-digit victory seasons. His 80 starting wins rank second among Colts quarterbacks, while his 77 wins from 1999-05 lead the NFL.
In 2001 at Tampa Bay, Caldwell assisted with an attack that saw WR-Keyshawn Johnson post a franchise seasonal-best 106 receptions for 1,266 yards, while QB-Brad Johnson set a club seasonal mark with 340 completions.
Caldwell has more than 20 years of collegiate experience. Caldwell spent 1993-2000 as head coach at Wake Forest. In 1999, Caldwell led the school to its first winning season and bowl game since 1992. Wake Forest defeated Arizona State, 23-3, in the Aloha Bowl. During Caldwell's tenure, Wake Forest ranked among the nation's Top 25 teams in passing offense on four different occasions, including 10th in the NCAA in 1995. That season, QB-Rusty LaRue established seven NCAA passing records. Caldwell served as an assistant coach at Southern Illinois (1978-80), Northwestern (1981), Colorado (1982-84), Louisville (1985) and Penn State (1986-92). Caldwell joined Penn State as wide receivers coach. He then coached quarterbacks the following season and added passing game coordinator responsibilities in 1988. At Penn State, Caldwell tutored QB-Kerry Collins, who went on to win the Davey O'Brien Award as the nation's top college quarterback and the Maxwell Award as the nation's most outstanding player. Caldwell has coached in six bowl games and won a national championship with Penn State in 1986. Caldwell was a four-year starter as a defensive back at Iowa and worked as a graduate assistant for the Hawkeyes in 1977.

Ron Rivera (Defensive)

Leading the Bears defense to a No. 2-ranking in the NFL (No. 1 in the Aikman Efficiency Rankings) in 2005 while allowing the fewest points in the league, former Bears linebacker Ron Rivera is in his third season as the coordinator of Chicago’s young and aggressive defense. The unit has thrived in Rivera’s two seasons back with the team, featuring improved production in points and total yards allowed as well as opponent third-down and red-zone proficiency. The team’s aggressive philosophy on defense has also produced a dramatic increase in forced turnovers and negative plays, especially sacks. Rivera returned to Chicago on January 23, 2004, after spending five seasons as linebackers coach for the Philadelphia Eagles (1999-2003). Rivera, who played nine seasons for the Bears (1984-92), was a member of Chicago’s Super Bowl championship team in 1985 and began his coaching career as a defensive quality control assistant with the team in 1997.
The Chicago defense leads the NFC (tied for third in NFL) during Rivera’s tenure having allowed 51 touchdowns. During that time the Bears are tied for third and fourth in the NFL, respectively, in rushing touchdowns (18) and passing touchdowns (33) allowed. Chicago led the NFL in 2004-05 by allowing the lowest opponent passer rating (69.4), lowest opponent conversion percentages on third-down (31.2%) and fourth-down (28.4%) as well as the lowest opponent red zone touchdown percentage (38.3%). The Bears are also tied for 13th in the league with 76 sacks over Rivera’s watch after setting a franchise-low with 18 sacks the year before his arrival. Chicago has led the NFL in opponent plays for lost yardage in each of the last two seasons, 132 in 2004 and 118 (tie) in 2005. Rivera has also been a master of halftime adjustments during his time with the Bears as the team held seven opponents to three or less second-half points in 2005 after doing so to six opponents his first season.
With Chicago’s defensive philosophy featuring a strong focus on capitalizing on turnovers, the Bears lead the NFL during Rivera’s tenure by scoring 36.5-percent of their points off turnovers (179 of 491). That figure includes league-highs of nine interception return touchdowns and a total of 10 defensive touchdown returns. The Bears lead the NFL with 1,070 interception return yards over the last two years while tying for third with 41 interceptions and posting a 9-2 record when posting a positive turnover margin. Chicago’s 26.1-yard interception return average during that span leads the NFC and ranks second in the NFL while the team’s 63 takeaways rank sixth in the league.
Rivera’s unit set an NFL record in 2005 by allowing just 61 points in eight home games while holding seven of eight opponents to less than 10 points in games played at Soldier Field. Chicago also compiled a streak of 43 consecutive quarters without allowing more than seven points, the longest in the NFL since 1969. Permitting the fewest points in the league on the year, the Bears defense also led the circuit in fewest yards allowed for six weeks before falling to second in the NFL during the last week of the season. Chicago also allowed the fewest yards per play and yards per pass attempt, the second-lowest third-down percentage, the fourth-fewest first downs per game and the fifth-fewest passing yards per game. The Bears led the NFL in red-zone defense in 2005 (32.5%) and opponent passer rating (61.2) while ranking second in third-down efficiency (31.9%).
In his first season as an NFL defensive coordinator, Rivera presided over an increase of nine takeaways and 17 sacks from the previous year. His unit also recorded a franchise record six defensive touchdowns to lead the NFC and rank second in the NFL to the Baltimore Ravens (7). The Bears thrived in third-down situations as well as inside its own 20-yard line during Rivera’s first season at the helm. Chicago’s defense led the NFL in third-down efficiency and led the NFC (fourth NFL) in red-zone defense.
While in Philadelphia, the Eagles advanced to the NFC Championship game each of his final three seasons while ranking near the top of the NFL in fewest points allowed (15.3 pg), third-down efficiency (32.4%), sacks (189), opponent quarterback rating (73.2) and takeaways (128). In 2001, the Eagles defense allowed fewer than 21 points in each of their 16 games -- just the fourth time in league history that was accomplished. During Rivera’s first year on the job (1999), Philadelphia led the NFL with 46 takeaways including a team record five interceptions returned for touchdowns. Rivera helped develop linebacker Jeremiah Trotter into a two-time Pro Bowl performer with the Eagles. During Rivera’s five years overseeing the Eagles linebackers, he worked with the top tacklers on the team as each of the three starters consistently ranked in the top five on the team in tackles and as a group averaged 129 tackles per starting linebacker each season.
Rivera, a second-round draft choice by the Bears in 1984, played in 149 games with 62 starts (including 12 postseason contests with six starts), posting 392 tackles (190 solos), nine interceptions, five forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries, 15 passes defended and 7.5 quarterback sacks. Playing in all but five regular season games during his nine-year career, Rivera retired after the 1992 season. Following his NFL playing career and prior to joining the coaching ranks in 1997, Rivera spent four years (1993-96) as a television analyst covering the Bears and college football for WGN-TV and SportsChannel Chicago. He joined the Bears as the team’s first defensive quality control coach (1997-98).

Russ Grimm (Offensive)

Russ Grimm is in his sixth season as the Steelers offensive line coach and serves as Bill Cowher's assistant head coach.
Grimm, 46, joined the Steelers Jan. 10, 2000, as only the second offensive line coach in Bill Cowher's 15 seasons and has made an indelible impact in developing the Steelers' offensive line. Grimm's value to the coaching staff was recognized by Cowher, who promoted Grimm to assistant head coach prior to the 2004 season, the only coach to hold that title in Cowher's 15 years.
In his 25 years in the NFL, Grimm has only been associated with two teams. He spent 19 years as a player and a coach with the Washington Redskins prior to his appointment with the Steelers.
Under his guidance in 2005, the Steelers averaged nearly 140 yards rushing per game during the regular season to rank fifth in the NFL and they also grinded out 181 rushing yards in their Super Bowl XL victory over the Seattle Seahawks.
Grimm has molded a formidable and tough offensive front anchored by All-Pro guard Alan Faneca, who earned his fourth Pro Bowl start in 2006 in five appearances, and center Jeff Hartings, who made his second Pro Bowl appearance in 2006 and has developed into one of the best centers in the NFL in just five seasons.
Grimm also has tutored seventh-year offensive tackle Marvel Smith, who has blossomed into a Pro Bowl player, and guard Kendall Simmons, who has entrenched himself as a starter since the second week of his rookie season in 2002. He also has been instrumental in the development of third-year tackle Max Starks and center Chukky Okobi.
A native of Scottdale, Pa., and a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, Grimm coached the Redskins' offensive line from 1997-2000. He is credited with the development of Washington tackles Jon Jansen and Chris Samuels, who each earned starting spots as rookies on the Redskins' offensive line. Prior to coaching the offensive line, Grimm spent five seasons (1992-96) as Washington's tight ends coach.
Grimm started 11 seasons at guard for the Redskins (1981-91) and helped lead the team to four Super Bowl appearances and three victories. He was voted to four consecutive Pro Bowls (1983-86) and was a first-team selection to the 1980s all-decade team. He was among the 10 finalists for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006.

Rex Ryan (Defensive)

Replaced Mike Nolan as the defensive coordinator in 2005 (Nolan went to the 49ers as head coach)...Under Rex Ryan's tutelage, the Ravens' defense has improved steadily since 1999, when Ryan joined the team, and Baltimore finished 2nd in the NFL in overall defense and 2nd against the rush...Baltimore's defense did not permit a 100-yard rusher in 50-straight games, including the playoffs (from Game 16 in '98 to Game 14 in '01)...On their way to Super Bowl XXXV, Rex coached an impressive veteran lineup: DEs Michael McCrary, Rob Burnett, and DTs Tony Siragusa and Sam Adams, who enjoyed their best years under Ryan...Launched pro career in 1994 with the Arizona Cardinals as the DL coach under his father, Buddy...Rex returned to college ranks before coming to the Baltimore Ravens.
1999-2005: (with Baltimore) 2005: The Ravens' defense again stood out, finishing 2nd in the AFC and 5th in the NFL and allowing just 284.7 yards per contest (see box, next page)...Seven-time Pro Bowler Ray Lewis (thigh surgery) missed 10 games after starting the 1st 6...Lewis was on pace for a 205-tackle season prior to his injury after posting 77 tackles, 1 sack, 1 INT, 3 PD and 1 FR...Pro Bowl S Ed Reed missed 6 games (ankle)...Against the rush, Baltimore ranked 6th in the AFC and 9th in the NFL...LB Bart Scott started the 1st 10 games of his career, finishing 2nd on the team with 119 tackles and 4 sacks...LB Tommy Polley led the Ravens with a career-high 134 tackles in his 1st season with the team...Despite being double and sometimes triple teamed, "T-Sizzle" (Terrell Suggs) posted a career-high 82 tackles, finished 2nd on the team with 8 sacks and tied a career-high with 6 FFs..."A.D." (Adalius Thomas) set a new career high with 9 sacks and set a franchise record with 3 defensive returns for TDs...Adalius was voted team MVP by Baltimore media...LB Peter Boulware remained the Ravens' sack king, reaching 70 for his career and hitting the 500-tackle milestone...LB Roderick Green played in 16 games, subbing on defense (posting 2 sacks), but finished 2nd in special teams tackles (17)...Baltimore allowed the 4th-fewest 1st downs in the AFC (17.7 per game)...Ravens defense allowed just 284.7 yards per contest, and the best effort came against the Jets (10/2), giving up only 152 yards on 48 attempts...Opponents' starting RBs were held to under 100 yards 12 times and under 65 yards 8 times...Ravens defense finished 3rd in the AFC in 3rd-down efficiency allowing opponents to convert on just 36.1% of their opportunities...Baltimore allowed 4.56 yards per play, closing the year behind the Steelers (4.55), ranking 2nd in the AFC and 3rd in the NFL...Against the pass, Baltimore ranked 4th in the AFC and 8th in the NFL...The 5.63 yards allowed per pass play was tops in the AFC and 2nd in the NFL...Missing from the lineup for a total of 11 games were starting safeties Reed (ankle), who, in 58 career games, posted franchise records of 22 INTs and 680 INT return yards and Will Demps (knee)...CB Chris McAlister led the team with 20 PD, missing 2 games (hamstring and shoulder)...CBs Samari Rolle finished 2nd on the team with 14 PD, while Deion Sanders tied for the team lead with 2 INTs...S Chad Williams recorded career highs with 47 tackles and 2.5 sacks. 2004: Baltimore's defense allowed the 6th-fewest points in the NFL and ranked 6th in defense (total yards)...Was 1st in the AFC and 2nd in the NFL with 3.6 yards allowed per rush...Defensively, the Ravens scored 7 TDs (5 INTs and 2 FRs), including 1 by DE Jarret Johnson, who scored the 1st TD of his career vs. Miami (1/2/05)...Marques Douglas ranked 3rd on the team with 92 tackles, plus 5.5 sacks, 2 PD and 1 FF...Kelly Gregg (1.5 sacks, 2 PD, 1 FF, 1 FR) tied with Reed for 4th on the team with 89 tackles...Suggs produced 10.5 sacks and earned his 1st Pro Bowl...Anthony Weaver recorded 61 tackles, 4 sacks, 1 INT (1st of his career in Game 16), 5 PD and 1 FR...Ravens "D" was 1st in the AFC and 2nd in the NFL in opponent QB rating (68.0), and 1st in the NFL in the number of 3-and-outs (59 - NFL average was 43). 2003: Ravens defense was among the NFL's best, finishing 3rd (4th vs. rush and 6th vs. pass)...Led the NFL in sacks (47) and tied for 1st in the AFC and 2nd in the NFL with 41 take-aways...Ravens ranked 1st in the AFC with 17 FR...Allowed the fewest yards per play (4.2) and the 4th-fewest passing yards (175.3 per game) in the NFL...Suggs had a Ravens' rookie-record 12 sacks as a 3rd-down DE and earned NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors...Gregg had the most tackles (104) in the NFL for a defensive lineman. 2002: Defense held opponents to AFC-best 3.7 yards per carry...Linemen averaged 2 years of experience and 24 years of age...Then-rookie DE Tony Weaver proved to be a new fixture on the line (65 tackles, 3.5 sacks)..."A.D." logged 68 tackles, 3 sacks, 1 FR and 2 INTs, including 1 for a TD...Despite being double-and-triple-teamed, sometime-DE Peter Boulware was voted to the Pro Bowl as LB (his 3rd) and produced a team-high 7 sacks. 2001: Finished 2nd in the NFL in defense, 4th against the run...Defense finished in the NFL's top 4 in several important categories, including 1st in total yards allowed per play (4.4), 2nd in total yards allowed per game (277.9), and 3rd in rushing average allowed per play (3.4)...Was 4th in the NFL in fewest points allowed with 265...Record-setting defense did not permit a 100-yard rusher in 50 straight games, including the playoffs. 2000: Finished 1st against the run, 2nd in the NFL in defense...Set a 16-game NFL record by allowing only 970 yards rushing and 2.68 yards per rushing attempt...Defense gave up the fewest points (165) in NFL history in a 16-game season...Ravens won Super Bowl XXXV with an impressive lineup: DEs Michael McCrary, Rob Burnett, DTs Tony Siragusa and Sam Adams. 1999: Joined Brian Billick's staff...Ravens were 2nd in the NFL in overall defense, 2nd against the rush.
1998: (with Oklahoma) Named defensive coordinator...Defense ranked 6th in the nation in total defense.
1996-97: (with U. of Cincinnati) Spent 2 seasons as defensive coordinator. 1997: Team finished 8-4...Defense ranked 5th vs. the rush and 13th in overall defense in the nation...Held opponents to 930 rushing yards. 1996: Team posted a 6-5 record.
1994-95: (with Arizona Cardinals) Spent 2 seasons coaching under his father, then-head coach Buddy Ryan. 1995: In 2nd season, he coached the LBs. 1994: Rex coached the DL...Cardinals ranked in the NFL's top 5 in every major defensive statistical category, including 3rd in overall defense.
1990-93: (with Morehead State) Named defensive coordinator.
1989: (with New Mexico Highlands) Assistant head coach and defensive coordinator.
1987-88: (with Eastern Kentucky) Launched collegiate coaching career as DE coach.
_________________________________________________________________
College Coachs

Bobby Petrino (Offensive)

One of the brighest young coaches in the game today, head coach Bobby Petrino has put his stamp on the University of Louisville football program.
Entering his third season as head coach of the Cardinals, Petrino's widely considered one of the top offensive coaches in the game and it's hard to argue with the numbers. Petrino's high-octane and open offense has helped the Cardinals garner their highest ranking in school history at No. 6. Petrino, 20-5, in two seasons, has directed an offense that led the country in scoring and total offense. His team has captured the 2004 Conference USA and Liberty Bowl titles by going 11-1 overall and 8-0 in the league. For his efforts, he was named the league's Coach of the Year.
The 2004 season, one of the best in school history saw the Cardinals set an NCAA record for scoring 55 or more points in five straight games. The Cardinals surpassed the 40-point barrier nine times and went over 50 in seven games.
Hired on December 23, 2002, Petrino has lifted the Cardinal football program to national heights, as the Cardinals have made 12 appearances on national television.
In 2003, Petrino brought all that to the table and more, guiding the Cardinals to a 9-4 record, the school's sixth-straight bowl appearance and winning season and led an offense that set numerous offensive records. Petrino's nine wins were the most-ever by a first-year head coach at U of L, but more importantly, he gave fans an entertaining product that brought Cardinal fans to their feet. Louisville was 5-1 at home, averaging a staggering 36.2 points per game and 489.2 yards of total offense.
In his first season as a head coach, Petrino's no-nonsense style and emphasis on teaching has catapulted the Cardinal program into the national spotlight.
The Cardinals raced out to one of their fastest starts in school history, running to a 7-1 start that gave the program its first national ranking since opening the 2002 season at No. 17.
Known as one of the top offensive minds in the country, Petrino upheld his reputation, as the Cardinals led Conference USA in total offense, rushing and scoring. Nationally, the Cards were just as high, finishing fifth in total offense, 10th in rushing and 15th in scoring offense.
Petrino and his offense also re-wrote the record book, setting 10 school records. The Cardinals scored a school-best 450 points, rushed for a team-record 2,966 yards and totalled a school mark for total offense with 6,355 yards.
Petrino oversaw an offense that set sixth Conference USA marks, including the record for most total yards in a season and game, average yards per play, yards per carry, rushing touchdowns and all-purpose yards. In a win over Houston on November 22, the Cardinals amassed a school record 779 yards of total offense, which was also the second-highest total in the country.
Several individual accolades were also accomplished in 2003, as Stefan LeFors J.R. Russell and Ronnie Ghent were each first team All-Conference USA selections. A new chapter in the proud history of Cardinal football and the beginning of what is sure to be a memorable second run for Petrino at U of L was kicked into high gear on December 23 when Jurich introduced the offensive mastermind as the 19th head football coach at the University of Louisville before a capacity crowd in the press box at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium.
Petrino's first priority when hired was to sign players and assemble a staff. Hired late December, Petrino managed to land a talented recruiting class to join the Cards this season, and a young, but experienced staff that will help the Cardinal football program reach their ultimate goals.
The 43-year-old Petrino is no stranger to the Derby City, having served as the Cards' offensive coordinator during the 1998 season when U of L led the nation in scoring and total offense.
During that season, Petrino's high-octane offense rewrote the Cardinal record book, establishing school records for scoring, scoring average, touchdowns, passing touchdowns and total yards while helping the Cards post the top turnaround (six games) among Division I-A schools.
The 1998 squad scored 444 points and reached 60 or more points on three different occasions. U of L defeated Cincinnati, 62-19, Western Kentucky, 63-44, and East Carolina, 63-45.
Petrino returns to U of L after a four-year hiatus in which he spent two seasons coaching the quarterbacks and another as the offensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the NFL.
During his tenure with the Jaguars, Petrino tutored Mark Brunnell to three of his best passing seasons in his illustrious career. Brunnell threw for 3,640 yards in 2000, which was the second-highest total in team history, and 3,309 yards in Petrino's only term as the offensive coordinator with the Jaguars in 2001.
After his three seasons in the NFL, Petrino took over as the offensive coordinator during the 2002 season at Auburn University.
It did not take long for Petrino to put his stamp on the Auburn offense as the Tigers improved to No. 31 nationally in scoring average (31.25 ppg) and No. 38 in scoring offense (396.67 ypg) after ranking No. 86 nationally in scoring offense (22.18 ppg) and No. 73 in total offense (358.82 ypg) during the 2001 campaign.
The Tigers finished the 2002 season with an 9-4 mark and led the Southeastern Conference in pass efficiency and third down conversions while also ranking third in the league in scoring offense, rushing offense and total offense en route to 13-9 victory over Penn State in the Capitol One Bowl.
Before taking the reigns of the Cards' offense in 1998, Petrino served as the offensive coordinator at Utah State from 1995-97, transforming a program which averaged a little more than 300 yards per contest into an offensive juggernaut which established a USU record with 468.5 yards of total offense per game during the '96 season.
Prior to joining the USU staff, Petrino spent the 1994 season at the University of Nevada as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. His one season with the Wolfpack saw his unit rate second nationally in passing and total offense, averaging more than 330 yards passing and 500 yards of total offense per game. Nevada also averaged 37.6 points per game to finish third nationally in scoring offense.
Petrino spent two years at Arizona State as quarterbacks coach from 1992-93, working with former Heisman Trophy candidate and current Denver Bronco Jake Plummer. Before ASU, he spent one season as quarterbacks coach and another two as offensive coordinator at Idaho.
Prior to the stint at Idaho, he spent a pair of seasons tutoring wide receivers and tight ends at Weber State in '87 and '88. He also coached quarterbacks as a graduate assistant in 1984.
The Helena, Mont., native began his coaching career at his alma mater, Carroll College, in 1983 as a graduate assistant. Following his one-year stint at Weber State, Petrino returned to Carroll as offensive coordinator and produced the NAIA's top-ranked offense in both '85 and '86.

Pette Carroll (Defensive)

It didn't take energetic and charismatic sixth-year USC head football coach Pete Carroll long to restore the glory of the Trojan football program and return Troy to national prominence.
He is 54-10 (84.4%) in 5 years (2001-2005) as a college head coach (all at USC), the second best winning percentage of any current Division I coach with at least 5 years of experience. He got to 50 career USC wins faster than any head coach in Trojan history. His losses were by a total of 45 points (4.5 average) and only 1 was by more than a touchdown (it was by 11 points). After starting off his Trojan career 2-5, he has gone 52-5 (91.2%). He is 35-5 in Pac-10 games, giving him an 87.5% winning mark (a league record). He is 16-0 in November. His teams have posted 6 shutouts and have scored at least 20 points in the last 52 games (a school record). USC's 13, 25 and 37 wins over the previous 1, 2 and 3 years represent the winningest periods in Trojan history. USC, which had a since-broken Pac-10-record 34-game overall winning streak (as well as since-snapped streaks of 16 consecutive non-conference games and 16 straight against AP Top 25 teams), is riding wins in a Pac-10 record 27 consecutive home games, a Pac-10-record 23 straight overall Pac-10 games, a Pac-10 record 19 consecutive league home games and a school-record 15 road games in a row (not including 4 neutral site games). USC was AP's No. 1 team for a national-record 33 straight polls (including 2 pre-season polls). In 2005, he won at least a share of his fourth consecutive Pac-10 title (tying a school record) and a trip to a fourth consecutive BCS bowl (including a second straight BCS Championship Game). Under Carroll, USC is the first school to have 3 Heisman Trophy winners in a 4-year span. He also served as USC's defensive coordinator in his first 5 seasons at Troy.
In 2005, his Trojans held AP's No. 1 ranking for the entire regular season. USC went 12-1 overall (while facing 6 AP Top 25 teams) to advance to the BCS Championship Game in the Rose Bowl, where it barely fell to Texas, and 8-0 in the Pac-10 to win its fourth straight league title. The Trojans played the nation's ninth most difficult schedule, according to the NCAA. USC swept rivals Notre Dame and UCLA for an unprecedented fourth season in a row. Troy's offense was in the national Top 6 in every offensive category, including tops in total offense (579.8) and second in scoring offense (49.1), and set Pac-10 records for total offense yardage, points scored, touchdowns and PATs. The Trojans won games by an average of 26.2 points. USC became the first school to have a 3,000-yard passer, a pair of 1,000-yard runners and a 1,000-yard receiver in a season. And USC was second nationally in turnover margin (+1.6). For the second year in a row, USC set Pac-10 records for total home attendance and home attendance average and school marks for overall attendance and overall attendance average. The Trojans also set school standards for the second straight year for home sellouts (4), regular season sellouts (9) and season sellouts (10). For the second consecutive year, a school-record 6 Trojans were All-American first teamers. He was the 2005 Playboy Pre-Season All-American team Coach of the Year and was named by The Sporting News as the top coach in the nation. He received the United States Sports Academy Amos Alonzo Stagg Coaching Award. He was the 2005 Pac-10 Co-Coach of the Year, as well as the American Football Coaches Association Division I-A Region 5 Coach of the Year. He was 1 of 5 finalists for the 2005 Bear Bryant Coach of the Year Award, 1 of 6 finalists for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award and 1 of 12 semifinalists for the George Munger Award.
In 2004, he guided No. 1-ranked USC to its second consecutive national championship with a convincing win over Oklahoma in the BCS Championship Game in the Orange Bowl. USC became only the second team ever to hold its AP pre-season No. 1 ranking all the way through a season. It was only the 10th time that a team won back-to-back AP crowns. His team was 13-0 (a school record for wins) and went 8-0 in the Pac-10. He also led the Trojans to their third consecutive Pac-10 title and their third straight season sweep of traditional rivals UCLA and Notre Dame (a first at Troy). Troy was in the national Top 10 in every defensive statistical category (its total defense average was USC's lowest in 15 years), including first in rushing defense (for the second year in a row) and turnover margin and third in scoring defense. USC outscored opponents by 25.2 points (including a school-record 8 games with a margin of at least 30 points). USC played before 3 home sellouts, 7 regular-season sellouts and 8 season sellouts, all school marks. And Troy set a USC and Pac-10 record for home attendance average, as well as school records for total home attendance, overall attendance average and total overall attendance. A school-record 6 Trojans (Heisman Trophy quarterback Matt Leinart, tailback Reggie Bush, defensive linemen Shaun Cody and Mike Patterson, and linebackers Matt Grootegoed and Lofa Tatupu) were named All-American first teamers. He was the 2004 National Quarterback Club College Coach of the Year and a finalist for the 2004 Bear Bryant Coach of the Year Award, the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award and the ESPY Best Coach of the Year Award and a semifinalist for the George Munger Coach of the Year Award. He was the 2004 ESPN.com Pac-10 Coach of the Year.
The 2003 season-his third at Troy-was one of the best in USC history. The Trojans won the AP national championship (USC's first national crown since 1978) and entered the Rose Bowl also ranked No. 1 in the USA Today/ESPN poll but weren't allowed to keep the top spot after winning that bowl because of a contractual agreement which required the coaches to vote the Sugar Bowl winner as their poll's champion (USC ended up second). USC was 12-1 overall (the only loss was by 3 points at California in triple overtime) and, at 7-1 in the Pac-10, Troy won its second consecutive league title for the first time since 1988-89 (and its first outright crown since 1989). His Trojans won their last 9 games and posted back-to-back seasons of double digit wins for the first time since 1978 and 1979. For just the second time in history (the other time also was 1978 and 1979), USC swept traditional rivals UCLA and Notre Dame in consecutive years. His 2003 squad featured a potent offense, a stingy defense and productive special teams. USC had a stretch of 11 consecutive 30-point games (also a school mark) and 7 straight 40-point contests (a Pac-10 record). USC's 534 points was a Pac-10 record. The defense led the nation in rushing defense and was second in turnover margin, forced 42 turnovers and scored 8 touchdowns. And the Trojans topped the nation in net punting. Five Trojans-wide receiver Mike Williams, offensive tackle Jacob Rogers, defensive end Kenechi Udeze, punter Tom Malone and quarterback Matt Leinart-were first team All-Americans (Leinart and Williams finished sixth and eighth, respectively, in the Heisman Trophy voting).
For all this, Carroll was named the 2003 American Football Coaches Association Division I-A Coach of the Year, Home Depot National Coach of the Year, Maxwell Club College Coach of the Year, ESPN.com National Coach of the Year, Pigskin Club of Washington D.C. Coach of the Year and All-American Football Foundation Frank Leahy Co-Coach of the Year. He also was the Pac-10 Co-Coach of the Year (USC's first honoree since Larry Smith in 1988), a finalist for the Paul "Bear" Bryant Coach of the Year, 1 of 6 semifinalists for the Eddie Robinson/Football Writers Association of America Coach of the Year and American Football Coaches Association Division I-A Region 5 Coach of the Year. In early 2004, he received the Chuck Benedict Founders Award (for special achievement) from the Southern California Sports Broadcasters Association, the Orange County Youth Sports Foundation Sportsman of the Year Award, the Spirit of Los Angeles Award from the Los Angeles Headquarters Association and the Vincent T. Lombardi Hall of Fame Award from the Boy Scouts of America San Gabriel Valley Council.
In 2002, just his second season at USC, his Trojans thrived despite playing what was ranked by the NCAA, Sagarin and the BCS as the nation's most difficult schedule (facing 9 AP-ranked teams and 11 bowl squads). USC-which beat Iowa in the Orange Bowl-posted an 11-2 overall record and a No. 4 ranking in the final polls, and won the Pac-10 championship while going 7-1. The Trojans also won their last 9 home games. It was USC's first 11-win season since 1979 and its highest ranking since 1988. Troy won its final 8 games (scoring at least 30 points in each), including blowouts of traditional rivals UCLA and Notre Dame (the first time USC beat both in the same season since 1981 and the first time in back-to-back games since 1978). USC led the Pac-10 in total offense (449.3) and total defense (284.9), as well as scoring offense (35.8) and scoring defense (18.5), and was in the NCAA's Top 25 in nearly every team statistical category on both sides of the ball. Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Carson Palmer and safety Troy Polamalu were first team All-Americans. Carroll was 1 of 8 finalists for the 2002 Paul "Bear" Bryant Coach of the Year Award and was 1 of 4 runners-up for the 2002 American Football Monthly Schutt Sports Division I-A Coach of the Year Award.
Carroll brought big doses of experience, enthusiasm and leadership in his quest to revive the USC football program when he was named the Trojans' head football coach on Dec. 15, 2000 (he signed a 5-year contract). After USC started off his opening 2001 season slowly at 1-4, Carroll stayed the course and got his troops to rally by winning 5 of their last 7 games (including the final 4 regular season contests) to finish at 6-6 overall. USC, which won its last 5 Pac-10 games after beginning league play at 0-3, placed fifth in the conference at 5-3 and earned a berth into the Sega Sports Las Vegas Bowl. Putting an exclamation point on the regular season was a 27-0 blanking of No. 20 UCLA, USC's first shutout in the crosstown rivalry since 1947 and the series' biggest margin of victory since 1979.
The 54-year-old Carroll has 31 years of NFL and college experience, including 15 on the college level. He was the head coach of the NFL's New England Patriots for 3 seasons (1997-99) and New York Jets for 1 year (1994). He guided the Patriots into the playoffs in his first 2 seasons, winning the AFC Eastern Division title at 10-6 in 1997 and advancing to the second round of the playoffs, then posting a 9-7 regular season mark in 1998. His overall record in New England was 27-21 in the regular season (including 8-8 in 1999) and 1-2 in the playoffs. He owns the franchise's second-best winning percentage (54.9%).
After serving as the Jets' defensive coordinator for 4 seasons (1990-93), he became the team's head coach the following season. His 1994 Jets went 6-10. Only 3 other Jets head coaches won more games in their rookie campaign.
He spent the next 2 years (1995-96) as the defensive coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers, who won the NFC Western Division title both seasons. The 49ers were 11-5 in the 1995 regular season when they had the NFL's top-ranked defense and then went 12-4 in 1996.
Carroll began his coaching career at the college level, serving as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Pacific, for 3 years (1974-76), working with the wide receivers and secondary. He then spent a season as a graduate assistant working with the secondary at Arkansas (1977) under Lou Holtz as the Razorbacks won the 1978 Orange Bowl, and then a season each as an assistant in charge of the secondary at Iowa State (1978) under Earle Bruce (the Cyclones played in the 1978 Hall of Fame Bowl) and at Ohio State (1979) under Bruce. That Buckeye squad lost to USC in the 1980 Rose Bowl. He next spent 3 seasons (1980-82) as the defensive coordinator and secondary coach at North Carolina State, then returned to Pacific in 1983 as the assistant head coach and offensive coordinator.
He entered the NFL in 1984 as the defensive backs coach of the Buffalo Bills, then held a similar position with the Minnesota Vikings for 5 seasons (1985-89). The Vikings advanced to the playoffs his last 3 years there, getting to the NFC Championship game in 1987. The 1988 team was 11-5 in the regular season and the 1989 squad won the NFC Central Division crown with a 10-6 mark. His secondary averaged 25 interceptions a season and led the NFL in passing defense in 1989.

Kirk Ferentz (Offensive)

Kirk Ferentz is in his eighth year as head football coach at the University of Iowa. The Hawkeyes, under Ferentz, have put together the greatest four-year run in school history.
Add the 7-5 record of 2005 to 10-2 in 2004, 10-3 in 2003 and 11-2 in 2002 and you end up with the best four-year win total in school history (38-12). Iowa's 25 Big Ten wins in that span are the most ever by a Hawkeye team in any four consecutive years. No team in the Big Ten has won more league championships or games over the past four seasons.
The two-time Big Ten Coach of the Year led the Hawkeyes to a third place Big Ten finish a year ago. With impressive wins over Wisconsin and Minnesota to close the regular season, the Hawkeyes earned a fourth straight bid to a January bowl game in 2005. Iowa is one of four schools to hold that distinction over the past four seasons. Only an overtime loss to Michigan and a last-minute, one point loss at Northwestern kept the Hawkeyes from a second straight Big Ten title.
Ferentz guided Iowa to Big Ten championships in 2002 and 2004, each year earning the Dave McClain Big Ten Coach of the Year honor. He was the national Coach of the Year in 2002. His record is 49-36 in seven seasons at Iowa and his career mark is 61-57 in 10 seasons as a collegiate head coach. His Big Ten record is 32-24 and his contract carries through the 2012 season. Ferentz is one of just seven Big Ten coaches ever to guide a team to 10 wins or more in three straight seasons.
Iowa won a Kinnick Stadium record 22 straight home games before the overtime loss to Michigan last season. The home streak was the fourth longest in the nation. Iowa has won 30 of its last 33 games in Kinnick. The Hawkeyes have sold out their entire home schedule the past two years and have strung together 17 straight home sellouts. The 70,585 average for six home games in 2005 is an Iowa record for average home attendance. Three Iowa players were named to the 2005 first all-Big Ten team and LB Chad Greenway was a first round selection in the 2006 NFL Draft.
Including the last four January bowl games, Iowa has earned five consecutive bowl invitations under Ferentz, winning three of the five. Following a 19-16 win over Texas Tech in the 2001 Alamo Bowl, Iowa appeared in the 2003 Orange Bowl vs. USC, defeated Florida in the 2004 Outback Bowl, defeated defending national champion LSU in the 2005 Capital One Bowl and returned to play Florida in the 2006 Outback Bowl.
The Hawkeyes finished eighth nationally in the final rankings in 2002, 2003 and 2004, joining Southern Cal, Oklahoma and Georgia as the only teams to rank in the top 10 all three seasons. The Hawkeyes were the highest rated Big Ten Conference team at the end of the 2005 bowl season. On a national scale, Iowa's record over that three year span ranked eighth best in the nation.
And while Ferentz has guided the Iowa program to great success on the field, the Hawkeyes have also made their mark in the classroom. In 2005, Iowa tied Southern Cal and Virginia Tech with the best football student-athlete graduation rate (58%) among all Division I teams earning a bowl invitation. Among the teams which participated in bowl games following the 2002, 2003 and 2004 seasons, only Iowa and Southern Cal ranked in the top five in graduation rates in each of the three seasons.
Along with Ferentz earning conference and national Coach of the Year recognition, members of his staff have also been well recognized. Norm Parker, Iowa's defensive coordinator, was a finalist for the 2004 and 2005 Frank Broyles Award, which recognizes the top Division I assistant coach in the nation. Lester Erb, Iowa's receivers and special teams coach, was named by Rivals.com as one of the top 25 recruiters in 2005. Ron Aiken, Iowa's defensive line coach, was the American Football Coaches Association Division I Assistant Coach of the Year in 2002.
Under Ferentz and his staff, Hawkeye players have gathered all-Big Ten and national recognition at a record pace. Four Hawkeye players have earned national Player of the Year honors at their position in the past four seasons. Those include offensive lineman Robert Gallery (Outland Trophy), place kicker Nate Kaeding (Lou Groza Award), quarterback Brad Banks (Davey O'Brien Award and AP Player of the Year) and tight end Dallas Clark (John Mackey Award). Banks was also the runner-up in the Heisman Trophy voting in 2002.
Banks was the Big Ten Conference Player of the Year and conference MVP in 2002 and guard Eric Steinbach was the Big Ten Lineman of the Year in 2002. Gallery, in 2003, became the ninth Hawkeye to earn the Lineman of the Year award.
Another part of Iowa's success under Ferentz is reflected in the four most recent NFL drafts. LB Chad Greenway was a first round pick in the most recent draft, with fellow linebacker Abdul Hodge being selected in the third round. Seven Iowa players have been selected in the top 50 picks. Overall, 17 players have been drafted over the past four years. In addition, Five Hawkeye players signed NFL free agent contracts the day after the 2003 draft, nine signed free agent contracts immediately following the 2004 draft, three signed in 2005 and four players signed immediately following the 2006 draft.
Over the past seven seasons, 46 of 54 senior starters under Coach Ferentz, have been selected in the NFL Draft or signed to an NFL free agent contract.
Robert Gallery was the second selection in the 2004 NFL Draft, while Bob Sanders was selected in the second round as the first pick of the Indianapolis Colts. Nate Kaeding, a third round selection of the San Diego Chargers, became the first kicker since 2000 (and just the sixth ever) to be selected on the first day of the draft.
Iowa ranks among Big Ten leaders in number of players drafted over the past five years, having 20 players selected in that time. In the 2005 NFL Draft, DE Matt Roth and DT Jonathan Babineaux were second round selections and DB Sean Considine was selected in the fourth round.
Iowa, in 2004, earned a share of the Big Ten title for the second time in three seasons. After opening conference play with a loss at Michigan, Iowa won its final seven regular season games, defeating Wisconsin 30-7 in Iowa City on the final weekend to earn the title share.
The Hawkeyes capped the season with their eighth straight victory, earning a 30-25 win over defending national champion LSU. Iowa scored on a 56-yard pass play on the final play of the Capital One Bowl in probably the most exciting, and dramatic, win in Iowa history. Seven of Iowa's 12 opponents were ranked at some point during the season.
Lightly regarded by the so-called "experts" heading into the 2003 season, the Hawkeyes fooled the prognosticators by rising into the nation's top 10 four times during the year, getting as high as eighth in the season-ending poll. Iowa put the topping on the 2003 season by beating a favored Florida team (37-17) in the Outback Bowl in Tampa, FL on New Year's Day.
The 2003 Hawkeyes were the only Big Ten team to beat league champion Michigan (30-27). Five Hawkeyes were named to the 2003 first all-Big Ten team and two were named first team all-America. Offensive lineman Robert Gallery was named winner of the 2003 Outland Trophy, which goes to the nation's top collegiate interior lineman.
Kirk was named 2002 Associated Press and The Walter Camp Football Foundation's Coach of the Year. He was also named Big Ten Coach of the Year in a season that saw his team climb as high as third in the national rankings.
Ferentz led his 2002 Iowa team to its first Big Ten title since 1990 and the most wins (11) in school history. The Hawkeyes also played in the BCS's FedEx Orange Bowl for the first time. Iowa finished the year ranked eighth in both major polls. Iowa posted impressive road wins at Penn State and Michigan on its way to the school's first undefeated Big Ten campaign since 1922. The win over Michigan was the most convincing by a Wolverine opponent, in Ann Arbor, since 1967.
The Orange Bowl appearance at the conclusion of the 2002 season followed a successful 2001 season that saw Iowa win three of its final four games. Iowa earned an invitation to the Sylvania Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, TX, where the Hawkeyes defeated Texas Tech 19-16.
The foundation of Kirk's program at Iowa was established in his first two seasons and began to pay dividends late in the 2000 season when the Hawkeyes won in double overtime at Penn State. Iowa returned home the following week to post a 27-17 win over Big Ten co-champion Northwestern, ranked 12th in the nation at the time. That late-season success carried over into the winning campaign of 2001.
Ferentz was named Iowa's 25th head football coach on December 2, 1998. He replaced Hayden Fry, who retired following 20 years at Iowa. Ferentz has been a collegiate head coach nine years. He joined the Iowa staff after serving as assistant head coach and offensive line coach of the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. He had been a part of the Baltimore (Cleveland Browns prior to the move) organization for six years.
Ferentz was a member of Hayden Fry's Iowa staff for nine years as offensive line coach (1981-89). Iowa appeared in eight bowl games during the time Ferentz was an Iowa assistant. A pair of Rose Bowls (1982 & 1986), two Holiday Bowl appearances (1986-87) and a pair of Peach Bowl visits (1982 & 1988), along with appearances in the Gator (1983) Freedom (1984) highlighted his previous Iowa stay. Iowa's record in those nine years was 73-33-4 and included two 10-win and two nine-win seasons.
Offensive lines under the direction of Ferentz anchored four of Iowa's highest scoring offenses. Five of Iowa's top offensive teams, in terms of yards gained per game, were operating behind Ferentz coached offensive lines. And, seven of Iowa's top 10 passing teams of all time occurred during the Ferentz years of the 1980's.
Kirk's coaching career began as a student assistant (1977) at his alma mater, Connecticut. The next two years (1978-79) were spent at Worcester Academy, where Kirk also taught English literature. He served as a graduate assistant offensive line coach at Pittsburgh during the 1980 season. That Pittsburgh team (coached by Jackie Sherrill) finished with an 11-1 record and a number two national ranking.
He joined Fry's staff in 1981 and the Hawkeyes won their first conference title and Rose Bowl berth in over 20 years. A string of 19 straight non-winning seasons came to an end in 1981. Ferentz continued as Iowa's line coach thru the 1989 season.
Eleven Hawkeyes, coached by Ferentz, went on to play in the National Football League. They were John Alt, Rob Baxley, Dave Croston, Scott Davis, Mike Devlin, Chris Gambol, Mike Haight, Ron Hallstrom, Joel Hilgenberg, Bob Kratch and Brett Miller. Alt, Haight and Hallstrom were first round picks in the NFL draft and five of his players were first team all-Big Ten.
He was named head coach of the Maine Bears in 1990 and held that position for three years before being hired by Bill Belichick and the Cleveland Browns.

Charlie Weis (Offensive)

Charlie Weis, a 1978 University of Notre Dame graduate and owner of four Super Bowl-champion rings as products of a stellar 15-season career as a National Football League assistant coach, wasted no time putting his stamp on his alma mater's program in his first year as Notre Dame head football coach in 2005.
Weis quickly transformed the Irish offense into one of the most prolific in the country, as Notre Dame scored more points (440) than in any previous season in school history - and also qualified as the most improved offensive attack in the nation, jumping its total offense production (477.33 yards per game) a national best 131.8 yards per game better than in '04.
That offensive productivity, coupled with an opportunistic, physical defense that forced eight red-zone turnovers, and vastly-improved special teams, equated to a 9-3 mark in '05 that was good for a number-six ranking in the Bowl Championship Series final regular-season standings and a guaranteed at-large BCS berth in the 2006 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl opposite Big Ten co-champion Ohio State. Notre Dame's only losses in '05 came by three points in overtime to then-unbeaten Michigan State, by three points to top-ranked and unbeaten USC on a last-second Trojan touchdown, then to fourth-rated Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl.
Notre Dame finished ninth in the final Associated Press poll for '05 (its first AP top 10 finish since the Irish were runners-up following the '93 season), 11th according to USA Today.
That success helped make Weis winner of the 2005 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award, as national college coach of the year as selected by the Football Writers Association of America. He also was one of three finalists for the `05 Munger Award as the college coach of the year (presented by the Maxwell Football Club of Philadelphia), one of five finalists for the '05 Schutt Division I-A Sports Coach of the Year (presented by American Football Monthly) and finished third in the balloting for the Associated Press college football coach-of-the-year award.
Weis saw his Irish offense flourish right out of the gate in '05, as Notre Dame set a school record by scoring at least 30 points in all but two outings and tied another record by scoring 40 points on six occasions. He helped put a handful of Irish players in contention for major national awards, as quarterback Brady Quinn was a finalist for the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award, one of three finalists for the Davey O'Brien Award presented to the top quarterback in the country - and finished fourth in the '05 Heisman Trophy voting. In addition, consensus first-team All-America wide receiver Jeff Samardzija was one of three finalists for the Fred Biletnikoff Award as the top receiver nationally, as was tight end Anthony Fasano for the John Mackey Award as the top tight end in the country.
Quinn, only a junior in `05, turned into a star under Weis' tutelage, as he broke 25 career, season, single-game and miscellaneous records in 2005. Quinn already is the Notre Dame career and single-season leader in passing yards (3,919 in '05; 8,336 in his career), pass completions (292 in '05; 640 in his career) and touchdown passes (32 in '05; 58 in his career). He ranked third in the country in `05 with 32 TD passes (behind only Hawaii's Colt Brennan with 35 and UCLA's Drew Olson with 34) --- and he also set an Irish single-game record with his six TD passes versus BYU in '05. Meanwhile, Samardzija (an NCAA consensus first-team All-American, based on his selection by The Sporting News and the Football Writers Association of America team) finished as runner-up for the NCAA title in TD receptions with 15.
Weis guided the `05 Irish offense to final national rankings of fourth in passing offense (330.25 yards per game), eighth in scoring (36.67 points per game) and 10th in total offense (477.33 yards per game). On an individual basis, Quinn ranked fifth nationally in total offense (334.08 yards per game) and seventh in passing efficiency (158.40 rating points), and Samardzija stood fourth in receiving yards per game (104.08). Samardzija broke the Notre Dame season marks for receiving yardage (1,249) and TD receptions (15) and tied Tom Gatewood's 35-year-old single-season record of 77 receptions from 1970.
The Irish in 2005 were easily the most productive passing team in Notre Dame history, with their average of 330.25 passing yards per game shattering the previous high of 252.7 aerial yards per game from 1970. Notre Dame set another school record by topping the 500-yard mark in total offense seven times in '05, including a 663-yard performance against Stanford in the regular-season finale that marked the fifth-best single-game effort in the Irish record book. Notre Dame in '05 became the first Irish team in history to boast a 3,000-yard passer (Quinn with 3,919), a 1,000-yard rusher (Darius Walker with 1,196) and two 1,000-yard receivers (Samardzija with 1,249 and Maurice Stovall with 1,149). Notre Dame in `05 set 11 single-season offensive team records, nine career individual records, 14 season individual records, seven single-game individual records, plus six other miscellaneous records. Quinn now holds 30 career, season, single-game and miscellaneous Notre Dame records.
With the season-opening Irish victories at 23rd-ranked Pittsburgh and at third-rated Michigan in `05, Weis became the first Irish head coach to win his first two career games on the opponents' home fields since Knute Rockne in 1918 and the first Notre Dame head football coach ever to open with two victories over ranked opponents. The Irish also won at 22nd-rated Purdue in '05 to post three wins over ranked opponents (all on the road) in their first five games of the campaign.
Weis' impact on the Irish program both on and off the field (for the first time in school history Irish players combined for a better than 3.00 grade-point average in both the fall '05 and spring `06 semesters) proved monumental enough that midway through the '05 season he agreed to a new 10-year contract that takes effect in 2006 and extends through the 2015 season. He ranked 53rd on The Sporting News Power 100 list of the most powerful people in sports, as the highest-ranked individual associated with college athletics (Jan. 13, 2006, issue of The Sporting News).
A widely-respected disciple of professional coaching standouts Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick, Weis concluded his first year at Notre Dame in 2005 (he was hired Dec. 12, 2004, as the 28th Notre Dame head football coach, signing an original six-year contract) - after spending the previous five years as the highly-regarded offensive coordinator of the New England Patriots (under Patriot head coach Belichick). He played an integral role in New England's victories in three of the last four Super Bowls, including a 24-21 victory over Philadelphia in Super Bowl XXXIX in Jacksonville to cap the 2004 season. That run by Weis and the Patriots marked the most sustained Super Bowl success in the history of that event -- matching Dallas' three wins in a four-year period following the 1992 through '95 seasons.
Weis became the first Notre Dame graduate to hold the football head coaching position at his alma mater since Hugh Devore (a '34 graduate) served as interim coach in 1963 (the Irish finished 2-7 that year - Devore also coached the Irish to a 7-2-1 mark as interim coach in 1945). Weis is the first Notre Dame graduate to serve as the Irish football coach on a full-fledged basis since '38 graduate Joe Kuharich did it from 1959 through '62. Now pointing for his 28th season overall in coaching in 2006, Weis spent nine seasons with the Patriots and five as the team's offensive coordinator - plus three seasons each with the New York Giants (1990-92) and New York Jets (1997-99). In those 15 NFL seasons, his coaching contributions helped produce those four Super Bowl championships (Giants following 1990 season, Patriots following '01, '03 and `04 seasons), five conference titles, six division titles and a 15-3 playoff record. Weis has been a winner everywhere he has coached - and he has received widespread notice as one of the most creative and innovative offensive coordinators in football. All along the way, Weis has displayed the ability to develop successful offensive players. He helped advance the careers of New York Jets' running back Curtis Martin, Jets' wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson, Patriots' tight end Ben Coates and, most recently, Patriots' two-time Super Bowl MVP quarterback Tom Brady. Under Weis' tutelage, the former sixth-round draft choice became one of the NFL's premier signalcallers in just four seasons as a starter. Including the playoffs, Brady compiled a 57-14 record as a starting quarterback since stepping in early in 2001, when Weis also was serving as the New England quarterbacks coach, through the end of the '04 campaign.
In addition to his offensive coordinator responsibilities, Weis mentored the Patriot quarterbacks both in 2001 and 2002. In `01, Drew Bledsoe started the first two games of the season before being sidelined with a serious chest injury. By the third week of the season, Weis was preparing Brady for his first NFL start and, over the course of the season, Brady blossomed into a Pro Bowl performer and earned the MVP award in Super Bowl XXXVI. Brady only continued to improve, leading the NFL with 28 touchdown passes in 2002, then turning in a second Super Bowl MVP performance in '03. In recent seasons, Weis' offense permitted youthful Patriot offensive stars such as Brady, Deion Branch, Notre Dame graduate David Givens and Kevin Faulk to flourish. His offense also allowed New England veterans such as Troy Brown, Christian Fauria and David Patten to enjoy resurgences in their careers. Brown established a New England record with 101 receptions in 2001, earning his initial Pro Bowl invitation in his ninth NFL season. Fauria led the Patriots with seven TDs in 2002 (his eighth pro campaign), while Patten's 61 catches in `02 were the most of his seven-year career. Weis also made great use of contributions from a pair of 2002 draft picks to help the team to its second Super Bowl championship in 2003. Branch led the team with 57 receptions in his second pro season, while fellow second-year player Givens paced New England with six receiving TDs. In the postseason, Givens added a pair of scores, while Branch's 10 catches in Super Bowl XXXVIII tied for the third-most in Super Bowl history. Givens, who played for the Irish in 1998-2001, led the `04 Patriots in receptions with 56 for 874 yards and three TDs.
The Patriots finished 2004 with a franchise-record 20 consecutive home field victories (regular-season and postseason combined) over three seasons, the longest current streak in the NFL at that time. Meanwhile, Patriot running back Corey Dillon rushed for 1,635 yards and 12 TDs (ranking third in the league and including nine 100-yard games) in `04 - then added a 144-yard effort versus Indianapolis in the playoffs. New England enjoyed a 21-game unbeaten streak, including the final 15 games in 2003 (including three in the playoffs) and the first six in '04 and had won 32 of its last 34 games overall through the end of the '04 season.
Weis started his professional coaching career with the New York Giants in 1990. After assisting in the Giants pro personnel department while also coaching high school football in `89, Weis a year later was named defensive assistant and assistant special teams coach (under eighth-year Giants head coach Parcells). In his first season on the Giants coaching staff, the Giants claimed the Super Bowl title with a 16-3 overall record. In 1991, Ray Handley took over as coach of the Giants and named Weis his running backs coach. After two seasons on Handley's staff, Weis began a four-year stint in New England - all four of those seasons under Parcells.
In Weis' first tenure with the Patriots from 1993-96, he assisted in the development of some of New England's all-time best individual season performances from Coates, Martin and Terry Glenn, respectively. During his first four seasons in New England, he coached three different positions. In 1993 and `94, he served as the Patriots' tight ends coach and, in his second season at the position, Coates set an NFL record for receptions by a tight end with 96 and earned his first trip to the Pro Bowl. In `95, Weis coached the Patriots' running backs and was credited with developing Martin, a third-round `95 draft pick, into one of the premier running backs in the NFL. That year, Martin won league rookie-of-the-year honors and set franchise rushing records with 1,487 yards and 14 TDs. In `96, Weis coached the New England receivers, with Glenn leading the team and setting an NFL rookie reception record with 90 catches for 1,132 yards and six TDs.
From 1997 to '99 (with Parcells as head coach and Belichick as assistant head coach), Weis called offensive plays for the New York Jets. In his first season, the Jets improved from 1-15 in 1996 to 9-7 in `97. The eight-game improvement ranked as the best in franchise history. In `98, Weis was named the offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach. By season's end, his offense ranked among the greatest in franchise history and led the Jets to their first division title. The team scored 416 points, second-highest total in franchise history (after 419 points in `68) and averaged 357.2 yards per game. It marked the second-best total-offense season average in Jets history (368.5 yards per game in `85). Both of Weis' starting receivers, Johnson (1,131) and Chrebet (1,083), eclipsed the 1,000-yard receiving plateau for the first time in their careers. It marked the first time since `86 that two Jets receivers reached that milestone in the same season.
In `99, Weis' offense produced the NFL's second-leading rusher and the AFC's fourth-ranked receiver. Martin rushed for 1,464 yards, falling only 90 yards shy of the rushing title (won by Indianapolis' Edgerrin James). Johnson led the Jets and established career highs with 89 receptions for 1,170 yards, earning his second consecutive Pro Bowl nod.
Weis has enjoyed tremendous coaching success at all levels, including high school, college and in the NFL. The Trenton, N.J., native began his coaching career in 1979 at Boonton High School in New Jersey, then spent the next five seasons at Morristown (N.J.) High School as a football assistant. In `85, he was hired by head coach Joe Morrison at the University of South Carolina, where he served four seasons -- with the Game****s finishing 8-4 and playing in the Gator and Liberty Bowls, respectively, following the '87 and '88 seasons.
He returned to New Jersey as head coach at Franklin Township High School in `89. That year, he directed Franklin Township to the New Jersey state championship while also assisting in the Giants' pro personnel department. In `90, he launched his professional coaching career with the New York Giants and celebrated the first of his four Super Bowl championships. Weis was born March 30, 1956, in Trenton, N.J. After graduation from Middlesex (N.J.) High School, he earned his bachelor's degree in speech and drama from Notre Dame in 1978. While coaching at South Carolina, he earned his master's degree in education in 1989.
_________________________________________________________________
Old Coachs

Jim Mora Jr (Defensive)

Pro Career: Third-year head coach Jim Mora was hired by the Falcons on Jan. 9, 2004. In 2004, set franchise record for the most wins by a first year head coach and became 11th rookie head coach in NFL history to capture a division title.
Directed team to second NFC championship game in franchise history in his first year. Led the NFL in rushing offense for the past two seasons and the defense led NFL in quarterback sacks (48) in 2004.
In 2003, in his fifth season as defensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers, Mora's unit finished fourth in the NFC in total defense and tied for fourth in the NFL with 42 quarterback sacks. In 2001, the defense ranked sixth in the NFL in scoring defense, allowing only 16.3 points per game. The team also registered three shutouts, the most in 49ers history.
Mora served as the 49ers' secondary coach (1997-98). He was named as the Saints' secondary coach in 1992. During his five years in New Orleans (1992-96), the team twice led the NFL in fewest passing yards allowed (1992-93). Mora spent seven seasons in the Chargers' organization as a member of the pro personnel department (1985), defensive assistant in the secondary (1986-88), and defensive backs coach (1989-1991).

Jim Bates (Defensive)
His first head coaching job in the NFL came in 2004 when he was named interim head coach for the Miami Dolphins following the resignation of Dave Wannstedt. He went 3-4 (including a victory over the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots) with the underachieving Dolphins. When new head coach Nick Saban took over the team, it soon became clear that Bates was not part of his plans, and Bates took over the defensive coordinator job with the Green Bay Packers.
When Mike Sherman was fired by Packers General Manager Ted Thompson on January 2, 2006, Bates was offered the opportunity to interview for the head position. He interviewed on January 10 but was informed the next day the organization would be hiring San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinatorMike McCarthy instead.
Bates took the news very hard. McCarthy met with him on January 15 in hopes of convincing him to stay with the organization. However, after two meetings between McCarthy and Bates, the team announced on January 16 that they would be parting ways. Bates currently is pursuing a number of coaching positions within the NFL.
Bates' defensive scheme uses the defensive tackles to plug the middle, with the defensive ends pressuring the quarterback. Special emphasis is on the linebackers, as short, speedy LB's are especially fitted for this format. Linebacker Zach Thomas and defensive end Jason Taylor are among the players Bates developed in Miami. Bates is well-liked among players for being a fiery, energetic, demanding, yet fair and hands-on coach.

Dennis Green (Offensive)

When Green was named the head coach of Northwestern University a school that had only won one of it's last 35 games, in 1981, he was only the second African American head coach in Division I-A history (the previous coach, Willie Jefferies, coached at Wichita State which no longer has a football team) [1]. Green was named the Big Ten Conference coach-of-the-year in 1982. He left Northwestern in 1985, doing a stint as running backs coach for the San Francisco 49ers under his former boss at Stanford, Bill Walsh. In 1989, Green took the head coach position at Stanford University, inheriting a team that had graduated 17 of it's 21 starters from 1988. Green led the Cardinal from 1989-1991, his tenure culminating in an appearance in the 1991 Aloha Bowl, where his team lost to Georgia Tech on a last-minute punt return.
Green was a disciple of Bill Walsh's West Coast offense and was touted by Walsh and other NFL pundits as a likely candidate to be the next African-American head coach in the NFL. Walsh also had his eye on the job at Stanford after a stint in the broadcast booth. On January 10th 1992, Green was named head coach of the Minnesota Vikings, replacing the retiring Jerry Burns. He would be only the second African American head coach after Art Shell in the modern NFL era, and only the third of all time after Fritz Pollard.
In November 1997, Dennis published his autobiography No Room For Crybabies (ISBN 1-57167-175-7) in which he threatened to sue for partial ownership of the team.
The high point was the 1998 season where the team lost only one regular season game, at Tampa Bay. In the playoffs, the Vikings were heavily favored, but lost at home in the NFC championship to the Atlanta Falcons.
In 2001, Denny's final season was marked by problems such as the death of Korey Stringer at training camp, the retirement of running back Robert Smith and star receiver Randy Moss reporting that "he plays when he wants to". The Vikings bought out Dennis Green's contract on January 4, 2002. Assistant coach Mike Tice led the team in their final regular season game against the Baltimore Ravens. Tice was eventually namedAfter spending two seasons as an analyst for ESPN, Green was hired by the Arizona Cardinals on January 7th, 2004.
On October 16, 2006, the Cardinals blew a 20-point halftime lead over the then-undefeated Chicago Bears losing 24-23. The Cardinals blew the lead despite not allowing an offensive touchdown, with the Bears scoring on two fumble returns and an 82-yard punt return by Devin Hester. The Cardinals drove to within field goal range, but Neil Rackers missed from 40 yards out, sealing Arizona's devastating loss. On the following day, Green demoted offensive coordinator Keith Rowen and replaced him with quarterbacks coach Mike Kruczek. It was during a press conference after this game in which Green made his now infamous "If you're gonna crown 'em, then crown their ***" speech[2], refering to the Bears, and how some were already calling them Super Bowl champions after the comeback.
Dennis Green was fired as head coach of the Arizona Cardinals on Janurary 1,2007 after the team's 27-20 loss to San Diego.[3] the head coach of the Vikings.

Jim Fassell (Offeensive)

Fassel began his career with assistant coaching stints at Utah State University and Stanford University, working with John Elway at Stanford. He also served as head coach of the University of Utah.
Fassel has a long record of offensive success. He tutored prominent quarterbacks Phil Simms and John Elway. Prior to becoming New York Giants head coach, Fassel served as an assistant coach with the Arizona Cardinals, Denver Broncos, New York Giants, and Oakland Raiders.
During Fassel's time as Giants head coach, his teams were known for numerous post-season runs in December and for winning big games, such as against the previously undefeated Denver Broncos in 1998. In 1997, he was named NFL coach of the year. He resurrected the career of quarterback Kerry Collins and received acclaim for his "playoff guarantee" in the 2000 season, during which he led the Giants to an improbable Super Bowl appearance.
However, his legacy as head coach for the Giants is mixed. Fassel's Giants were known for their disappointments against inferior teams in the regular season, as well as in the playoffs. The most notable loss was a shocking 39-38 loss to the San Fransisco 49ers in the 2002 postseason, in which they blew a 38-17 second quarter lead. During the 2003 season, injuries decimated the Giants and he was fired amidst some controversy.
Before the 2003 season, Fassel was reunited with a son, John Mathieson, who he and his wife Kitty gave up for adoption in 1969. The couple was unmarried when he was born.
Critics of Fassel have pointed to his lack of success in two seasons with the Ravens. The Ravens have been near the bottom of the league in offense for both the 2004 and 2005 season.
On October 17, 2006 it was announced that Fassel was fired from his post of Offensive Coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens.[1]
It is currently rumored that he is interviewing for head coaching positions at Stanford University and Boston College.

Mike Martz (Offensive)

Mike Martz was hired by Head Coach Rod Marinelli February 8, 2006 as offensive coordinator. He will also coach the team’s quarterbacks. Martz brings to Detroit an offensive philosophy and system that are not only benchmarks in the NFL, but were catalysts for the St. Louis Rams’ five playoff appearances in seven years, four 10-win seasons, three division titles, two Super Bowl appearances and one world championship (Super Bowl XXXIV).
When Martz re-joined the Rams organization as offensive coordinator in 1999, the Rams began one of the most impressive turnarounds in the history of the league. Between 1998 and 1999, St. Louis went from 4-12 to 13-3 and from last place in the NFC West to Super Bowl champions. Offensively, the Rams went from 27th overall (29th in rushing and 22nd in passing) to the best offensive unit in ‘99 (fifth in rushing and first in passing). Since that season, the Rams offense, dubbed "The Greatest Show on Turf," has reigned as one of the most successful offenses in recent history.
As a team, the Rams offense scored 526 points in ‘99, which is the fourth-best in NFL history, and accumulated a 17.8 margin of victory, which was third-best since 1950. The following season, they set a franchise record (third-best in NFL history) with 540 points. After scoring 503 points in 2001, St. Louis became the first NFL team to score at least 500 points in three straight seasons.
Indicative of Martz’s coaching abilities was the dawn of QB Kurt Warner’s career, which would include two NFL MVP and one Super Bowl MVP awards. Prior to his arrival in St. Louis, Warner played in one game and had career passing tallies of 4-of-11 for 39 yards and a 47.2 rating. In ‘99, Warner emerged as one of the league’s stars as he accumulated gaudy totals of 499 attempts, 325 completions, a 65.1 completion percentage, 4,353 yards, 41 touchdowns and a 109.2 passing rating. Warner’s passer rating is the seventh-highest single-season rating for a quarterback in league history.
Overall, St. Louis has been in the top 10 in total offense during six of the past seven years, ranking first over three-straight years (1999-2001). Martz’s passing offense has not ranked below fifth in the league since 1999, and was also first from 1999-2001. In 1999 and 2001, the team’s rushing units were the fifth-best in the NFL in those respective seasons.
Since taking over the offense in 1999, Martz’s unit has ranked high in several key offensive categories. Over the past seven seasons, St. Louis is ranked first in net offensive yards-per-game (380.7), net yards-per-offensive play (7.48), scrimmage yards (rushing and gross passing)-per-game (399.1), scrimmage yards-per-combined rushing and passing attempt (8.3), 20+-yard plays (517), gross passing yards-per-game (292.0) and yards-per-pass attempt (8.01).
In scoring since 1999, the Rams rank second in the NFL in points-per-game (26.9), net points differential (+510) and combined rushing and passing touchdowns (322). Additionally, St. Louis garnered the second-highest passing rating (90.7) since ’99, and was one of only two teams (Indianapolis, 96.7) with a passing rating over 90.0 in that seven-year span.
Martz’s offensive philosophy, focusing on his ideal that "this is a game of speed and attitude," not only exists in passing the football, but also emphasizes the running game as a vital element to offensive production. As offensive coordinator in ’99, Martz’s rushing attack ranked second in the league with a 4.8 yards-per-rush average, and RB Marshall Faulk finished the year ranked fifth in the league with 1,381 yards and had the best yards-per-rush average (5.5). Between 1998 and 1999, the Rams went from 86.6 rushing yards-per-game average to 128.7, and rushing average of 3.5 to 4.8.
From 1999-2005, the Rams have scored the third-most rushing touchdowns in the league with 113. In Martz’s first three seasons (1999-2001), St. Louis scored the most rushing touchdowns (59) and garnered the best yards per rush average (4.7) during that three-year period.
The Rams earned three-consecutive NFL MVP awards (Warner, 1999 and 2001, Faulk, 2000), which was the first time in NFL history that one team had the outright winner in three straight seasons.
Martz’s 2005 season as the Rams head coach was cut short when he missed the last 11 games due to a heart ailment. During his five full seasons (2000-2004) as the Rams head coach, Martz accumulated a record of 51-29 (.638) in the regular season and 54-33 (.621) overall. Only five coaches in NFL history have more regular season wins in their first five seasons. Prior to the 2005 season, Martz had the fourth-best regular season record among active coaches. His 24 wins during his first two seasons (2000-2001) is the third highest in NFL history, and his 43 regular season wins during his first four seasons as head coach is tied for the third highest in league history.
Martz began preparing for this coaching opportunity at San Diego’s Madison High in the 1960s. He spent many Saturday nights at San Diego Stadium watching Don Coryell’s San Diego State offensive powerhouses and Sunday afternoons watching Sid Gillman’s offensively creative San Diego Chargers.
Martz is a Summa Cum Laude graduate of Fresno State, where he played tight end in 1972. He was a tight end at the University of California-Santa Barbara in 1971 and transferred to Fresno when UCSB dropped football. Martz also played two seasons at San Diego Mesa Community College. Martz was sophomore class president at Mesa Community College.
Martz’s first coaching appointment was at Bullard High School in Fresno, California, in 1973. He also coached at San Diego Mesa (1974, 1976-77), San Jose State (1975), Santa Ana College in Santa Ana, California (1978), Fresno State (1979), University of the Pacific (1980-81), and Minnesota (1982). He was quarterbacks and receivers coach at Arizona State from 1983-87 and was the Sun Devils’ offensive coordinator in 1984 and from 1988-91.

Mike Sherman (Offensive)

A 27-year veteran of the coaching profession, Mike Sherman has coached at every level - high school, college and professional - over his varied career. He was associated in tutoring eight bowl teams during 16 seasons in the college ranks prior to being named to the Green Bay staff in 1997 by Holmgren. Returning as head coach, he brought with him, among other assets, an intimate knowledge of the 'West Coast' offense in which Favre has flourished over the past 13 years, becoming the National Football League's first three-time 'Most Valuable Player' in the process.

Beyond that, however, he came to his responsibilities with a highly developed agenda for returning the Packers to NFL heights following a one-year absence in 1999, when Green Bay fell short of the playoffs for the first time in seven years with an 8-8 record.

"I feel very confident in what I want to get done here," Sherman let it be known from the outset. "Right from the beginning, I wanted to be organized, structured and disciplined, both with the players and coaches. I want to generate a genuine concern with the team for each other. I think that it is important that the chemistry factor on our team is where it should be in order for us to have success.

"Whatever it is, we're going to have a plan. And I think with detailed organization, well thought out plans, and a commitment to discipline, that you can create an aura of confidence in players and coaches - and I think confidence is a necessary component of what it takes to be successful."

From his initial days as head coach - when he wrote, then fully memorized, his first speech to the team, laying out his agenda to the players in a 25-minute presentation at the team's March 2000 mini-camp - to today, there never has been a day when Sherman hasn't been fully prepared, when he hasn't known what the next five things he wanted to accomplish were.

He regularly writes and maintains a journal, referring back to it oftentimes for guidance on how he handled a past situation with his team.

Sherman also is a man who is not afraid of conflict, especially if it's an issue that adversely affects his team. He relishes the opportunity to hit problems head on, to deal with them immediately and to move forward.

Like Holmgren before him, Sherman had taken on his current coaching challenge without benefit of previous head-coaching experience at any level - but with quiet confidence. He made that explicitly clear the day he was hired to succeed Rhodes, posing and answering the key question himself.

"Is Mike Sherman, with limited NFL experience and no head coaching experience, ready to be the head football coach for one of the cornerstone franchises in the NFL," he asked rhetorically at his first news conference. "My answer to that emphatically is, yes, I am...I've been doing this for 21 years. Twenty-one years ago, I was an English teacher and an assistant coach in Stamford, Conn. At that time, I was preparing for this day."


Steve Mariucci (Offensive)

He began his coaching career at his alma mater (1978-79), and moved to Cal State Fullerton (1980-82) and Louisville (1983-84). He joined the USC staff in 1986, then moved to Cal in 1987. In 1990-91, he served as the Bears' offensive coordinator. Mariucci became the head coach at Cal in 1996 and guided the squad to a 5-0 start and a berth in the Aloha Bowl.
Following his success with the Golden Bears, Mariucci was considered a leading candidate for several NFL coaching positions, and was hired to coach the San Francisco 49ers, then one of the top teams in the league.
Mariucci's 1997 team went 13-3 in the regular season and advanced to the NFC championship game before falling to the Green Bay Packers. A year later, the 49ers went 12-4 and returned to the playoffs as a wild-card team, but lost in the divisional round to the eventual NFC champion Atlanta Falcons. Two losing seasons followed, but the 2001 49ers returned to the playoffs after a 12-4 season, only to be eliminated by their old nemesis, the Packers.
His final season in San Francisco was in 2002. The 49ers won the NFC's weak Western Division with a 10-6 record and beat the New York Giants in the first round of the playoffs, but were crushed 31-6 by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the divisional round. On January 15, 2003, the 49ers fired Mariucci, reportedly after the coach lost a power struggle with general manager Terry DonahueHYPERLINK \l "_note-0"[1]. The 49ers have failed to post a winning season or make the playoffs since. Mariucci was named the Lions' twenty-second head coach on February 4, 2003, and was fired on November 28, 2005. He compiled a 15-28 record during that time. The decision to fire him came after a 27-7 loss on national television on Thanksgiving Day to the Atlanta Falcons. However Mariucci wasn't the problem, Matt Millen was and he should have taken the fall, a very long one from the roof of ford field!
Mariucci joined the Lions after spending six years as the head coach for San Francisco 49ers (1997-2002). He compiled a 60-43 (.583) record, while his teams earned playoff berths four times (1997, 1998, 2001 and 2002).
He is one of thirteen head coaches since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970 to lead his team to a division title in his first season. Mariucci established an NFL mark for consecutive wins by a rookie head coach with an 11-game winning streak.
He served as quarterbacks coach for the Green Bay Packers (1992-95), during Brett Favre's early years. His first pro position was as a receivers coach for the USFL's Orlando Renegades in 1985. Later that fall, he had a brief stint with the Los Angeles Rams as quality control coach.
_________________________________________________________________
Inside Coachs

Dom Capers (Defensive)

Dom Capers, a veteran of 20 seasons as a coach in the NFL, was named to the Dolphins’ staff by Head Coach Nick Saban on January 24, 2006. Of Capers’ 20 seasons in the NFL, nine have been spent as a head coach, including the last five with the Houston Texans (2001-05).
Capers was hired by the expansion Texans on January 21, 2001, more than a year before the franchise played its first game. After finishing 4-12 in the club’s inaugural season, the team improved its record from the previous year in both 2003 (5-11) and 2004 (7-9) before falling to 2-14 in 2005.
Taking over an expansion team was nothing new for Capers, who also was the head coach with the Carolina Panthers from 1995-98. He guided that team to a 7-9 record in its first season, as they set an NFL record for most wins by an expansion club. That year, he was the Pro Football Weekly/PFWA Coach of the Year. The following year, the Panthers posted a record of 12-4, captured the NFC West title, and played in the NFC Championship game where they fell to the eventual Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers. For his team’s performance, Capers was a consensus choice as NFL Coach of the Year. Carolina’s four-year record under Capers was 30-34.
Capers got his start in the pro coaching ranks as defensive backs coach with the Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars of the USFL from 1984-85, as the team claimed the league title both years. He followed Jim Mora to the NFL in 1986 and served as the Saints’ defensive backs coach from 1986-91, during which time the team qualified for the playoffs three times – the first three postseason appearances in that franchise’s history. In his final year in New Orleans, the Saints finished second in the NFL in pass defense. Capers was named defensive coordinator with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1992, coinciding with the commencement of the Bill Cowher era. The Steelers won a pair of AFC Central Division crowns during Capers’ three years with the team (1992-94), made the playoffs all three years and played in the AFC Championship game in 1994. Linebacker Greg Lloyd and cornerback Rod Woodson each were selected to the AFC Pro Bowl squad all three seasons. In Capers’ last season in Pittsburgh, the Steelers led the NFL in rush defense as he was named the Assistant Coach of the Year by Pro Football Weekly/PFWA. Following his first stop as a head coach, Capers was named defensive coordinator with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 1999, and manned that spot for the next two years. Under Capers, the Jaguars ranked fourth in the NFL in total defense in his first season there, a 21-spot improvement from the previous year. Jacksonville also led the NFL in scoring defense that year (13.6 ppg), set club records for sacks (57) and interceptions (19), and equaled the team mark for takeaways (30). Following the season, Capers was named Assistant Coach of the Year by several media outlets.
Prior to embarking on his professional coaching career, Capers made stops as a collegiate assistant at Kent State (graduate assistant, 1972-74), Hawaii (1975-76), San Jose State (1977), California (1978-79), Tennessee (1980-81) and Ohio State (1982-83). During his first year as a graduate assistant at Kent State in 1972, Dolphins Head Coach Nick Saban was in his senior season as a defensive back for the Golden Flashes. Capers and Saban then served as graduate assistants together on the Kent State staff the next two years (1973-74).


Mike Mularky (Offensive)

Mike Mularkey joins the Dolphins with an impressive NFL résumé under his belt. This includes ten years as an assistant in the league, and the last two as head coach with the Buffalo Bills. Mularkey was named to his current post by Head Coach Nick Saban on January 22, 2006.
In Mularkey’s two years in Buffalo, the team posted a composite record of 14-18, including a 9-7 mark in his first season there as the Bills reeled off wins in nine of their final 12 games.
Prior to taking over the helm with the Bills, Mularkey spent the previous eight seasons (1996-2003) on the staff of the Pittsburgh Steelers, including the final three as offensive coordinator. Under Mularkey’s guidance, Pittsburgh finished third and fifth, respectively, in the NFL in total offense in his first two years in the post, and led the league in rushing offense (173.4 ypg) in 2001. Also that year, quarterback Kordell Stewart threw for 3,109 yards and was selected to the AFC Pro Bowl squad. The Steelers went 13-3 in 2001, captured the AFC Central Division title and played in the AFC Championship game. In 2002, Mularkey oversaw the resurgence of quarterback Tommy Maddox, who, after having not played in the NFL from 1996-2000, completed 234 of 377 passes for 2,836 yards with 20 touchdowns and 16 interceptions and was named NFL Comeback Player of the Year. Maddox’s 62.1 percent completion mark that year was a franchise single-season record at the time.
Prior to being elevated to offensive coordinator, Mularkey spent his first five years in Pittsburgh as the team’s tight ends coach. During that time, he oversaw development of Mark Bruener, who was regarded as one of the premier run-blocking tight ends over this stretch. In Mularkey’s five years as the Steelers’ tight ends coach, Jerome Bettis shattered the 1,000-yard rushing plateau each time and the Steelers as a team placed in the top ten in the NFL in rushing offense every year, including a No. 2 finish in 1996 and a No. 1 ranking in 1997.
Mularkey got his start in the NFL coaching ranks as a quality control coach with Tampa Bay in 1994. He was promoted to tight ends coach with the Bucs the following year, and in his lone season in that post, tight end Jackie Harris caught a team-high 62 passes for 751 yards, one of only three tight ends in that teams’ history to top the club’s receiving chart.


Charlie Baggett (Offensive)

Charlie Baggett was named to the Dolphins’ coaching staff on January 25, 2005, by Head Coach Nick Saban. Baggett is a veteran of nine seasons as an NFL assistant coach and during this time has tutored five Pro Bowl performers.
This is Baggett’s second stint working under Saban, as he was the wide receivers/associate head coach on Saban’s Michigan State staff from 1995-98. He also worked on the same staff as Saban at Michigan State from 1983-87.
In Baggett’s first year with the Dolphins, Chris Chambers turned in the most productive season of his five-year NFL career with 82 receptions for 1,118 yards and 11 touchdowns, as Chambers became the first Dolphins wide receiver to be named to the Pro Bowl since Irving Fryar in 1994. It marked the ninth time in Baggett’s nine seasons as an NFL assistant that a receiver put forth a 1,000-yard effort (Minnesota 6, Green Bay 2, Miami 1).
Prior to joining the Dolphins, Baggett spent the previous five seasons as wide receivers coach in Minnesota. With the Vikings, Baggett oversaw the development of All-Pro wide receiver Randy Moss. Under the first four years of Baggett’s tutelage (2000-03), Moss caught 376 passes for 5,649 yards and 49 touchdowns, all of which ranked in the top three in the NFL over this four-year stretch. Overall in Baggett’s five seasons with the Vikings, two different receivers made a total of four Pro Bowl appearances (Cris Carter – 2000; Randy Moss – 2000, 2002-03). In 2004, Nate Burleson, a 2003 third-round draft choice, broke through with 68 receptions for 1,006 yards and nine touchdowns.
Baggett joined the Vikings following a one-year stint in the same position with the Green Bay Packers in 1999. In his lone year there, two different Packers surpassed the 1,000-yard plateau, including Antonio Freeman (74-1,074) and Bill Schroeder (74-1,051). Prior to that, he served as wide receivers/associate head coach under Saban at Michigan State for four years (1995-98), his second stint with the Spartans, having also coached at the East Lansing school from 1983-92, during which time he tutored both the wide receivers and running backs under former Pittsburgh Steelers assistant coach George Perles. Overall, in his 14 seasons at MSU, Baggett coached such future NFL stars as Daryl Turner, Mark Ingram, Andre Rison, Lorenzo White, Plaxico Burress, Muhsin Muhammad, Derrick Mason and Courtney Hawkins. In between stints at Michigan State was Baggett’s first stop as an NFL assistant, when he coached the Houston Oilers’ wide receivers from 1993-94. In his first season with the team, Haywood Jeffires, Webster Slaughter and Ernest Givins all ranked among the top 12 in the AFC in receiving, while Jeffires and Slaughter were selected to the AFC Pro Bowl squad.
_________________________________________________________________
Wild Card Coachs

Bill Cowher

Jimmy Johnson

 

[painnotpleasure]

My gut feeling is telling me that Dom Capers will be our Head Coach come next season.

 

[steeda]

How can you actully read something like that?

 

[Raoul Duke]

dude the font is way to big....

 

[The Samurai]

Read a lil bit of it since my eyes could only take so much of the font size. Sounds like Al Saunders would be a nice fit.

 

[BLITZKRIEG]

Love that Petrino offense!!!!!!!!!!!

PHINZ RULE!!!!