TK Posted November 5, 2003 Share Posted November 5, 2003 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A427-2003Nov4.html Assistants Come Into Focus Redskins' Young Coaching Staff Is Among NFL's Least Experienced By Mark Maske Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, November 5, 2003; Page D01 Many people around the NFL are convinced the Washington Redskins have a coaching problem, and some of them maintain that it doesn't necessarily center on head coach Steve Spurrier. One of Spurrier's biggest disadvantages, they say, is the lack of highly-seasoned, widely respected assistant coaches to help show him the way. Spurrier this week defended his staff, which on average has the least NFL experience of any team, and said he doesn't plan to fire anyone. But he indicated in a recent interview that he would consider adding a coach with more NFL experience "down the road." And there is considerable sentiment, both inside and outside Redskins Park, that Spurrier should make changes following the season, when the contracts of most of his current assistants will expire. "I'm not saying I'm really in position to judge these things, but I will say that I'd never heard of any of these guys when they came in, except for [former defensive line coach] Ricky Hunley and [current assistant defensive line coach] Ken Clarke," said former Redskins guard Tre Johnson, who was with the team in training camp before being released prior to the season. "It makes it harder. Who's going to coach Bruce Smith, LaVar Arrington and Champ Bailey? Of course they're going to do what you tell them to do schematically. But coaching is more than that. It's commanding respect and inspiring that little extra in a player's performance, and your résumé does mean something in that regard." Spurrier's assistants average 4.5 years of NFL coaching experience, including the first eight games of this season. Six assistants -- quarterbacks coach Noah Brindise, defensive and special teams assistant DeChon Burns, outside linebackers coach Jim Collins, tight ends coach Lawson Holland, assistant offensive line coach John Hunt and wide receivers coach Steve Spurrier Jr. -- had no previous NFL coaching experience before joining Spurrier last season. All had worked for him at the University of Florida. Spurrier has two first-year coordinators. Running backs coach Hue Jackson was promoted to offensive coordinator late last season, and linebackers coach George Edwards was elevated to defensive coordinator in January. "His coordinators have been around very intelligent people, but they're not in position to throw their weight around because they're in their first year," said former Redskins tight end Rick "Doc" Walker. "They're in bite-their-lip syndrome. I think he has talented people, but bite-the-lip syndrome can kill an organization. He has no officers." Defensive backs coach George Catavolos, special teams coach Mike Stock and offensive line coach Kim Helton had the most NFL coaching experience before joining Spurrier's staff. Edwards, who played for Spurrier at Duke and coached for him at Florida, spent four seasons as the Dallas Cowboys' linebackers coach before being hired by the Redskins prior to last season. Several players -- most notably linebackers Arrington, Jeremiah Trotter and Jessie Armstead -- endorsed Edwards for the coordinator's job after Marvin Lewis left to become head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals. But the linebackers have been caught out of position often this season after being granted more freedom by Edwards, and the Redskins rank 25th in the NFL in total defense after finishing each of the last three seasons in the top 10 (including fifth last season under Lewis, then the highest-paid assistant coach in the league). Owner Daniel Snyder has had a penchant for hiring big-name defensive coordinators. Before Lewis, he lured Ray Rhodes, who oversaw the league's fourth-ranked defense in 2000 and is the defensive coordinator for this week's opponent, the Seattle Seahawks, who are now 14th in the NFL. In an interview during the Redskins' recent bye week, Spurrier said: "I do have some young coaches, but I don't really believe that is the biggest problem we have here. George Edwards has been in the NFL about seven or eight years. If we think it would help to add a more seasoned coach, we may do that down the road. I think George Catavolos is in his 18th year in the NFL, and I wouldn't say the secondary is playing a whole lot better than the other positions. I think we're all about the same right now, to tell you the truth. So I don't really believe that how many years you've had in the league determines how well your players play." Helton has been under intense scrutiny because of the routine poundings being received by quarterback Patrick Ramsey, who has been sacked 26 times this season and has been knocked from a portion of each of the past three games. Spurrier and Helton dismissed a report last weekend that Spurrier temporarily fired Helton after the two clashed during the bye week, although a source familiar with the situation said that Spurrier did inform Helton he was dismissed and then changed his mind a few hours later. Helton said after last Sunday's loss at Dallas that he would not resign. Joe Bugel, the offensive line coach for two Super Bowl-winning Redskins teams under former head coach Joe Gibbs, delivered a report to Spurrier about the club's pass-protection schemes after being enlisted, with Spurrier's approval, to serve as a consultant by Snyder and Vinny Cerrato, the team's vice president of football operations. "I just looked at their Dallas tape, and a lot of things are obvious if you know what you're looking for," said former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Merril Hoge. "The principles of pass protection, I don't know if they're being taught. And if they're being taught, they're not being executed. I think their running backs are the worst in football. I've never seen a group so poor in pass protection. When you see it week after week, you have to wonder about the coaching." Said Walker: "To me, they do not know what to do. They're confused in their assignments . . . . That hasn't been drilled into them until they're sick of hearing it. Maybe they need to have a two-hour practice of just pass protection. If I have a group that makes mental errors, I'd make them come in for walk-throughs at 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. . . . Nobody can hide in this scenario. If you miss a blitz pickup, I blame the position coach. I blame the head coach. I blame the player. I blame the person who acquired the player. . . . All this comes back to the question: What are your goals? If your goal is to win a world championship, act like it. It starts from the top down. If you want to do that, you surround yourself with the top minds in the industry." Hoge, now a studio analyst for ESPN, said he isn't certain whether new assistants would be able to convince Spurrier to make the proper adjustments to his offensive approach. "It would depend on how receptive he is to it," Hoge said. "I know that people have suggested things, people who know a lot more about the league and how it works than he does, and it's been ignored. It's become a war, and he's going to win a war because he's the head coach." But former Redskins running back John Riggins said: "It couldn't hurt. Joe Gibbs had Hall of Fame assistants. Steve Spurrier was a new NFL coach and had a learning curve, and the people he had with him were the same sort of thing." © 2003 The Washington Post Company Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RF4L Posted November 5, 2003 Share Posted November 5, 2003 Ouch. They've been hanging here, haven't they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OaktonSkins/BushFan Posted November 5, 2003 Share Posted November 5, 2003 Interesting, after the dust has settled, we're seeing more commentary regarding execution as opposed to systemic shortcomings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurent Posted November 5, 2003 Share Posted November 5, 2003 Originally posted by OaktonSkinsFan Interesting after the dust has settled, we're seeing more commentary regarding execution... Execution? Sounds like a grand idea! Who do we start with, Kim Helton? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OaktonSkins/BushFan Posted November 5, 2003 Share Posted November 5, 2003 Originally posted by laurent Execution? Sounds like a grand idea! Who do we start with, Kim Helton? Works for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavarleap56 Posted November 5, 2003 Share Posted November 5, 2003 Interesting read and it gives a little insight on Spurriers comments that he is determined not to fire any of his assistants. Seems like the plan if you read between the lines is Spurrier will be here through 2004 and hire new assistants folllowing this season. He doesnt have to fire them if there contracts are up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCS Posted November 5, 2003 Share Posted November 5, 2003 Well, no doubt about the fact that the Redskins are new to the NFL from top to bottom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Die Hard Posted November 5, 2003 Share Posted November 5, 2003 Originally posted by PROTECT THE QB Said Walker: "To me, they do not know what to do. They're confused in their assignments . . . . That hasn't been drilled into them until they're sick of hearing it. Maybe they need to have a two-hour practice of just pass protection. If I have a group that makes mental errors, I'd make them come in for walk-throughs at 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. . . . Nobody can hide in this scenario. If you miss a blitz pickup, I blame the position coach. I blame the head coach. I blame the player. I blame the person who acquired the player. . . . All this comes back to the question: What are your goals? If your goal is to win a world championship, act like it. It starts from the top down. If you want to do that, you surround yourself with the top minds in the industry." Summarized perfectly. It starts from the top down. Ultimately, yes, the players have to execute. But if they don't... it's up to the coaches to either GET them to... or to replace them with people who will. Spurrier didn't have any problems last year rotating quarterbacks, linemen and receivers. Where the heck is the accountability this year? Start benching players. Bench them for plays, series, quarters, halves and games. Even if it comes at the expense of winning now. The whole idea is to set the tone that the HEAD COACH IS IN CHARGE. That's how you build a football program. But when HEAD COACHES flap their lips in the sidelines, hang their head in frustration and give post-game quotes like "We don't have all the answers".... you've shown yourself to the entire team that you don't even have confidence in yourself. And the players know it. That's what Tre Johnson is talking about when he said: Of course they're going to do what you tell them to do schematically. But coaching is more than that. It's commanding respect and inspiring that little extra in a player's performance, and your résumé does mean something in that regard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ignatius J. Posted November 5, 2003 Share Posted November 5, 2003 One quick problem with holding backs acountable: Candiate misseda blitz pickup bench him! Put in Betts! (coach canidate is injured, we just put in betts) Okay bench Betts, he made a mistake in a blitz pickup! (coach Betts is injured, we just put in morton) Okay, Morton just missed a block, bench him! (coach, morton's in with the trainer) I mean, it's hard to keep people off the field as a punishment when they aren't staying on the field anyway. -DB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Symbol Posted November 5, 2003 Share Posted November 5, 2003 Said Walker: "To me, they do not know what to do. They're confused in their assignments . . . . That hasn't been drilled into them until they're sick of hearing it. Maybe they need to have a two-hour practice of just pass protection. If I have a group that makes mental errors, I'd make them come in for walk-throughs at 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. . . . Nobody can hide in this scenario. If you miss a blitz pickup, I blame the position coach. I blame the head coach. I blame the player. I blame the person who acquired the player. . . . All this comes back to the question: What are your goals? If your goal is to win a world championship, act like it. It starts from the top down. If you want to do that, you surround yourself with the top minds in the industry." Now that the media is saying, will there be more people that believe what I say when I say you blame the coaches. If my players executed as poorly as the Redskins, and this is only in the high school level, where you have more room for error, I'd be fired today. I'm not saying that I could go out and turn the Redskins in to a winning team, my system wouldn't work in the NFL. The difference between myself and Spurrier is, I know this, he doesn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cskin Posted November 5, 2003 Share Posted November 5, 2003 You'd think Spurrier would be grabbing the Running backs coach by the throat and saying.... "What the hell are they doing? Don't they know who to pickup in blitz protection?" Same with Helton, same with Spurrier Jr. Everyone!!!! Why isn't it happening? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryman of the North Posted November 5, 2003 Share Posted November 5, 2003 SPURRIER HASNT REALISED THAT IN THE NFL YOU HAVE NO MARGIN FOR ERROR ,WHEN YOUR ASSISTANTS SUCK IT MEANS YOU SUCK! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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