Post Gazette: Skins to interview strength & conditioning coach.

[RWJ]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10026/1031228-42.stm?cmpid=pitt.xml

Pitt assistant a candidate for Redskins job

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Paul Zeise, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Pitt strength and conditioning coach Buddy Morris is a strong candidate for a similar position with the Washington Redskins. He is expected to interview for the position Wednesday.

If Morris gets the job, it wouldn't be the first time he has worked in the NFL. He was Pitt's strength and conditioning coach from 1980-90 and from 1997 to 2001 before he took a job with the Cleveland Browns. He was hired by coach Dave Wannstedt to return to the Panthers in December 2006.

If he is hired by the Redskins, he would be the third assistant coach to leave the Pitt football team this off-season.

[Sawyer5500]

Good our players are weak.

[Jeff in D.C.]

Pitt looked like a strong, well-conditioned team this season, something that has been lacking here.

I can remember several games the last few seasons where guys have been out of shape and started cramping up late in games (or just sucking wind like Al). I'm all for it if this guy knows how to whip guys into shape, don't underestimate the impact of a great strength & conditioning coach, Dan Riley was a great one here and his presence had a major impact on the success of the team.

[paloffs]

Good our players are weak.

It sure does seem like the only ones in serious shape are the ones that are self-motivated (Andre Carter, Brian Orakpo, London Fletcher).

[Santana_89]

Wow Bruce Allen was NOT kidding when he said the Redskins 2010 season started the day Jim Zorn was fired. He and Shanny,Sr. have quietly and effectively gone about handling business.... I could get use to this .

[rk3025]

We have several new coaches with conditioning background and that starts with Kyle Shanahan and includes Sean McVay along with others.

Good our players are weak.

[edgun88]

Good our players are weak.

They should start with D.Hall. My grandma could have tackled Jake Delhomme on that 4th down play against the Panthers.

[Spartacus87]

Keeping guys conditioned in the NFL is so much harder than college. In college they're on organized and mandatory nutrition programs, set workout programs, etc.

In the NFL, a guy can work out with the team if he wants his incentive bonus, or just skip it to work out on his own with "his guys," or simply go MIA like Landry. Plus nobody really knows what guys are putting into their bodies to supplement their conditioning (although there are guys like Chad Johnson who get away with eating McDonalds all the time somehow).

I don't know if our team is "weak" or "poorly conditioned" so much as they're just not that talented in some areas (the o-line), and as a team, they're not that disciplined when it comes to following the off-season training schedules.

[Santana_89]

We have several new coaches with conditioning background and that starts with Kyle Shanahan and includes Sean McVay along with others.

This is something I did not know. It certainly sounds as if Shanny's hire was more than Dan Synder wanting a big name.Shanahan has come in more prepared than Gibbs 2.0. Everyone he brought in fits a specific purpose in his overall plan....when have we been able to say that:D??

[jsteelz]

let me add to RWJ's great find here .. The Post said about Scott Campbell being there on the field which is true now the follow up to that ......the scouts contracts run through the draft, expire in May, after that they bring in the goodman boys or bill kuharic. thats why SC is on the field... Also they mention McCardell ... he worked with the Giants young guys this last offseason as a intern type

[THUNDERDOME]

let me add to RWJ's great find here .. The Post said about Scott Campbell being there on the field which is true now the follow up to that ......the scouts contracts run through the draft, expire in may, after that they bring in the goodman boys or bill kuharic. thats why SC is on the field... Also they mention McCardell ... he worked with the Giants young guys this last offseason as a intern type

So is SC gonna be staying around?

[jsteelz]

So is SC gonna be staying around?

i would not bet on it

[Sweet Sassy Molassy]

i would not bet on it

Dun-dun-dunnnnnn and the plot thickens.

[ArmchairRedskin]

I'm iffy about replacing Campbell. Is there a knock on him or is it just a matter of familiarity with other guys?

[SMOSS89]

i would not bet on it

Then why not let him go now and bring in the new people?

[THUNDERDOME]

i would not bet on it

I don't get why they would let him scout, go through the draft, and then bring in people who had nothing to do with what we just did draftwise.

[Gibbs Hog Heaven]

GREAT news, and a GREAT find RWJ man. :applause:.

TY also, as per, to js on the scouting update. .

Man it's good to be a fan of a PROFESSIONAL football outfit once again. .

Hail.

[Gibbs Hog Heaven]

Then why not let him go now and bring in the new people?

I don't get why they would let him scout, go through the draft, and then bring in people who had nothing to do with what we just did draftwise.

I would guess it's a simple logistics thing.

Our scouting department has been scouting college guys across the Nation all year, so we're up to date there, and for the interim, Shanahan and Allen obviously are happy to work alongside them.

The upgrades as I presume they see it, are simply tied up in there own contracts like ours are until the early summer at a guess.

Hail.

[NewCliche21]

I would guess it's a simple logistics thing.

Our scouting department has been scouting college guys across the Nation all year, so we're up to date there, and for the interim, Shanahan and Allen obviously are happy to work alongside them.

The upgrades as I presume they see it, are simply tied up in there own contracts like ours are until the early summer at a guess.

Hail.

If I knew that I were to be fired, though, then why invest in my future employer's opponent? It's not like draft picks pay off immediately and said future employer would notice.

[Chicken Fried]

Does anyone else feel like the only players who are really jacked (not that means everything, but it means something) are Orakpo, Carter, D. Thomas, and Landry? Everyone else looks skinny and weak.

[icbmayday]

Good I was waiting for an update on this....we need someone to whip the lazier players into shape.

[Warpath11]

I don't get why they would let him scout, go through the draft, and then bring in people who had nothing to do with what we just did draftwise.

because our current scouting department has been at college scouting all year long and have done a lot of the legwork up to this point. Changing it now would be a disaster for the draft so most teams change scouts/personell people after the draft in the May/June (if you recall Louis Riddick). Though as someone mentioned I think Scott Campbell has done a pretty decent job so far.

[SkinsCrushCowboys]

it is a Strength AND CONDITIONING coach...we need some conditioning and get the players fit for the season....avoiding some hammy's would be great. Maybe we can keep big Al vertical and CP (if he's around) in playing shape. A applaud the change if it happens.

[VetMinimum+Incentives]

He seems like he'd be a quality hire with a national reputation.

...Game-changing strength and conditioning levels are what Dave Wannstedt envisioned two years ago when he lured Morris back to Pitt to oversee the Panthers' physical development. His arrival infused the Pitt weight room with a new sense of purpose and dedication, resulting in elevated performance on the field.

Pitt's weight room, dubbed the "Pitt Iron Works" by Morris, was recently honored by Muscle & Fitness magazine as one of the "top 10 toughest gyms in the United States." Pitt Iron Works "is home to a college strength and conditioning program unlike any other," writes Muscle & Fitness.

"Nobody does it like Pitt," says Elite Fitness Systems owner Dave Tate. "I deal with just about every program in the country, and what they're doing there is unique. From what I've seen, Iron Works is the primary reason for Pitt's turnaround, and the work they're doing will keep them among college football's best for years to come."

Morris owns an accomplished history of training elite players at both the collegiate and NFL levels. The 1980 Pitt graduate previously served as the football team's strength and conditioning coach from 1980-89 and 1997-2001.

"Buddy Morris has trained some of the greatest names in college and professional football," Wannstedt said. "He knows what it takes to make a football player -- and a football team -- reach his highest potential in strength training and physical conditioning."

His workout regimens are highly regarded and include a focus on strength training, speed development, conditioning, agility training and flexibility. Morris' take on football strength and conditioning was featured in a February 2009 issue of Sporting News...

http://www.pittsburghpanthers.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/morris_buddy01.html

[Gibbs Hog Heaven]

If I knew that I were to be fired, though, then why invest in my future employer's opponent? It's not like draft picks pay off immediately and said future employer would notice.

I guess it's one of those damned if you do, damned if you don't scenarios.

One would hope, even if they have gotten wind of there contracts not being renewed come May, that they'd still be 100% professional whilst still on the payroll. And it's not as if either Allen's exactly been out of the loop on this years class being as he's come from Tampa to here with no break, and Shanahan's a football nut regardless, even in his supposed "off year" he couldn't help but keep heavily involved in the game; so I'm sure Coach Mike and Bruce will have their targets already identified.

As js pointed out over the page, it's just a simple situation of contracts running through until May that ties our hand.

Hail.