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Wish upon a star Redskins owner Snyder aiming high in head coach search
You think your Christmas wish list is a little too extravagant, with a slim chance of coming true? Take a peek at Daniel Snyder's. According to sources in Washington, the Redskins' owner still intends to take a strong run at talking Bill Parcells into taking his team's head coaching job. Or Joe Gibbs. Or Steve Spurrier. Parcells, of course, has said repeatedly that he's done coaching in the NFL, and he even wrote a book called The Final Season: My Last Year as Head Coach in the NFL. Parcells has described the kind of owner he would never work for, and he might as well have put Snyder's picture above the description. No matter. Snyder apparently plans to tempt Parcells with a blank check in terms of his salary demands. Money has gotten Parcells' ear before, but this time it's not going to happen. As for Gibbs, Snyder dreams of a restoration of the Redskins' teams he followed in his youth, with the three-time Super Bowl winner returning in a blaze of glory. But it's just that, a dream. Gibbs' retirement is now eight years in the making and he has withstood the temptation of returning to the game on several occasions. In addition, Gibbs and fired Redskins general manager Charley Casserly remain close. Casserly was fired by you-know-who, and wouldn't recommend Snyder to his worst enemy. Spurrier has all but ruled out leaving Florida, but he loves to be flirted with and has a little time remaining in his yearly month-long window to listen to NFL offers. Who are Snyder's fallback candidates? One of them may be San Francisco assistant general manager Terry Donahue, who is being pushed by Snyder groupie Pepper Rodgers. But Donahue is in line to become the 49ers' GM if Bill Walsh steps down and may not be going anywhere. University of Miami head coach Butch Davis remains a possibility, but Davis wants the Houston Texans job first and foremost and is said to be too smart to go to work for Snyder if he has any other choice. Who's left? Don't be surprised if Stanford's Tyrone Willingham's name gains momentum at some point. But Willingham does not want to interview as a token gesture and would have to feel he is the real front-runner. Baltimore defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis and Tennessee defensive coordinator Gregg Williams are both considered "hot" assistants. Either one could surface in the hunt. Snyder is said to be talking to several league insiders in an attempt to assemble a list. Determined that the fired Norv Turner was too lenient, Snyder is looking for a disciplinarian who will crack the whip and get his underachieving bunch back into the playoffs in 2001. Snyder now realizes what an embarrassment to the organization the Rodgers-for-interim-head-coach idea was, and is cognizant of avoiding another public relations disaster. Interim head coach Terry Robiskie has no shot at the full-time job -- thanks to his players laying down like dogs for him against Dallas and Pittsburgh. But one guy who apparently has made something of a comeback in Snyder's eyes is director of player personnel Vinny Cerrato. When Rodgers was basically installed above Cerrato in a newly created position earlier this month, it was seen as a sure sign that Cerrato's days were numbered. They still may be, but the freezing out of Cerrato that existed from mid-season on has thawed somewhat, as Snyder realizes the need to surround himself with football people a little more up-to-date than dinosaurs Rodgers and Sonny Jurgensen. Lastly, the fate of defensive coordinator Ray Rhodes, who has lifted the team's defense into the league's top five, remains up in the air. Rhodes has another year on his contract and can't just up and leave. He doesn't want to move for the third time in three years, but he also doesn't want to stay if the circus-like atmosphere continues in Washington. Rhodes will see what develops in D.C. before making any decision, but he's a decent bet to seek greener pastures. He has no interest in becoming the team's head coach.
A very short game of musical chairs this yearLast offseason there were seven NFL head coaching vacancies filled, with Super Bowl winners like Bill Parcells, Jimmy Johnson, Mike Ditka and Dick Vermeil leaving the league. But this year's hiring market has a chance to be among the least active in recent memory. With Washington looking like the only team certain to be in the market for a head coach, it would mark the first time since the 1970 merger that less than two teams made a switch at the top during an offseason. The current low is 1988, which featured just two head coach openings. Why all the stability? Because many of the losing teams already made their moves during the season. Dick LeBeau and Dave McGinnis recently had the interim tags removed from their titles in Cincinnati and Arizona, respectively, and Gary Moeller was given a long-term deal in Detroit when he replaced Bobby Ross, who resigned. San Diego already has said Mike Riley will return in 2001, and Chicago's front office is giving Dick Jauron at least another year on the job. Cleveland is debating Chris Palmer's future as we speak, but from early indications, Palmer will survive if he agrees to modify some things and maybe make a change or two in the structure of his coaching staff. The Redskins definitely will have a new chief next season. Buffalo's Wade Phillips also looks to be in real trouble, but he could be spared if the Bills' new general manager is hired from within and wants to maintain the team's current staff. Another team that bears watching is Dallas. Some have speculated that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones will be tempted to hire Norv Turner in some capacity, as either offensive coordinator or head coach. Current head coach Dave Campo might have a one-year reign, or he might be asked to add Turner to his staff. The other opening, of course, is in Houston, where the Texans now appear almost certain to wait until after the 2001 season to name their head coach. Butch Davis and University of Pittsburgh head coach Walt Harris have been interviewed, and Jacksonville defensive coordinator Dom Capers will be after the season. Other coordinators like Marvin Lewis, Gregg Williams, and Denver's Gary Kubiak also may get an interview. Cut-down day in Minnesota is comingBetween them, John Randle and Todd Steussie have eight Pro Bowl selections, including seven starts. But Minnesota's two most decorated linemen might also have something else in common: They're both in jeopardy of becoming ex-Vikings. Minnesota's current roster projects to almost $20 million over the salary cap in 2001, and there are a host of veterans who will be approached and asked to significantly restructure or down-size their contracts. Randle, whose cap number is in the range of $8.2 million next season, and Steussie, who carries a cap value of about $7.2 million, will be the logical places to start looking for savings. Randle's production has decreased in the past two years -- he has just eight sacks and 30 tackles -- and he is no longer the dominating force he once was. When he refused to re-negotiate his contract last year, saying he had already accomodated the Vikings twice before -- head coach Dennis Green was fit to be tied. The club was forced to release quarterback Randall Cunningham in response to Randle's intransigence. This time, Green and the Vikings won't be so understanding. Randle either re-negotiates or risks having to end his illustrious career wearing different colors. Steussie is in the same boat. He made the Pro Bowl in 1997-98, but had a rough season in 1999, and still struggles at times with committing key penalties. Some believe Steussie will have to accept a substantial pay cut in order to remain in Minnesota, and others believe that because of the club's cap concerns, even that may not assure him of a future as a Viking.
The House of Green effect in the playoffsBill Walsh gets credit for having the mother of all coaching family trees, but consider this: Tampa Bay head coach Tony Dungy served as Dennis Green's defensive coordinator for four seasons in Minnesota (1992-95). Baltimore head coach Brian Billick was Green's offensive coordinator for parts of six seasons with the Vikings (1993-98). For the first time jointly, all three of them will lead their teams into the playoffs this season, comprising 25 percent of the 12-team field. The threesome are a combined 32-13 (.711) this year entering the season's final week. Green has qualified for the playoffs eight times in his nine seasons in Minnesota, including an NFL-high five in a row. Dungy's Bucs are making their third trip in the past four seasons, and Billick's Ravens are playoff-bound for the first time. All told, the three men have a combined 16 seasons as head coaches in the NFL, with 12 playoff teams. One footnote: Walsh can take credit for helping mentor all of them. Both Green and Billick worked for him with the 49ers, and Dungy played for him in 1979, Walsh's first season as head coach in San Francisco.
OK, we made a mistakeThe Bills will go with Doug Flutie instead of the brittle Rob Johnson this week at quarterback. The Bears will go with Shane Matthews in place of Cade McNown. The Falcons have turned back to Chris Chandler, replacing Doug Johnson. And the Redskins are restoring Brad Johnson to the No. 1 job, in place of the banged up Jeff George. What is this, come-to-your-senses week in the NFL? The charmed life of RileyQuestion: With a loss this week at home against Pittsburgh, what feat will San Diego Chargers head coach Mike Riley apparently accomplish that has only been done one other time in league history? Answer: He'll survive a 1-15 season with his job intact. If San Diego's front office can be trusted, Riley will return in 2001. Only Jimmy Johnson in Dallas in 1989 went 1-15 and lived to tell. The other four teams that went 1-15 since the advent of the 16-game schedule in 1978 canned the head coach who started that season. That list includes the 1980 Saints, who fired Dick Nolan and hired Bum Phillips; the 1990 Patriots, who fired Rod Rust and went with Dick MacPherson; the 1991 Colts, who canned Ron Meyer and demoted interim Rick Venturi in favor of Ted Marchibroda; and the 1996 Jets, who pink-slipped Rich Kotite in favor of Bill Parcells.
Those all-important undecidedsWith just one regular-season weekend remaining, we know four of the six division titles and three of the 12 playoff spots are still up for grabs. But how much uncertainty really remains in the races? In the NFC alone, there are still 64 different playoff scenarios regarding the identity and seeding of the six postseason qualifiers.
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