Captcoolhand
01-04-2009, 11:02 AM
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09004/939541-66.stm (http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09004/939541-66.stm)
I'll offer some candidates for the many coordinator positions that follow head-coaching openings ... at least they should be candidates.
John Mitchell either has been wrongly overlooked to be a defensive coordinator or he does not want to be one and prefers to coach the Steelers' defensive line as long as
Dick Hoak coached their running backs. Since he was hired in 1994, Mitch consistently turned out some of the best 3-4 lines in the league. Bill Cowher never promoted him, but shortly after Mike Tomlin retained him on his staff, he gave him Russ Grimm's old title of assistant head coach.
Ray Horton, who joined the Steelers as Darren Perry's assistant in the secondary, has coached that group by himself the past two seasons, and they've improved immensely, even unheralded young players such as William Gay and a veteran like Tyrone Carter, who was available for nothing.
Kirby Wilson would make someone a good offensive coordinator. He's worked for four different NFL teams, the past two with the Steelers' running backs, and started coaching in college in 1985. Their ground game is down this season, mostly because No. 1 pick Rashard Mendenhall was knocked out for the season in the fourth game and Willie Parker missed five games, much of two others and not been the same because of two separate injuries. Mewelde Moore has blossomed under Wilson, and last year Parker was leading the NFL in rushing when he broke his leg in the 15th game.
One more Steelers employee, Doug Whaley, works in their personnel department. He is their pro scouting coordinator, a position held by such men as Tom Donahoe and Tom Modrak before him. Both rose to become president and/or general manager in the NFL. Whaley has that kind of talent, yet to my knowledge has never been interviewed by another team since he left Seattle as a scout to join the Steelers in 1997. Whaley, an Upper St. Clair native who played at Pitt and graduated with a degree in business/finance, worked one year as a Wall Street stockbroker before he became a scouting intern with the Steelers in 1995.
All four men are African-American, which brings us to another point. The Rooney Rule, after some initial misgivings in the league and some teams' early attempts to circumvent it, has been successful in not only helping the hiring of minority coaches but in getting interviews to worthy men and getting names out that otherwise might have been overlooked.
The NFL now needs a Rooney Rule II that would require club owners to interview minorities for the executive positions of president, general manager or director of football operations, and for offensive and defensive coordinators.Maybe we should consider trading Arains in on a Kirby! :greengrin:
I'll offer some candidates for the many coordinator positions that follow head-coaching openings ... at least they should be candidates.
John Mitchell either has been wrongly overlooked to be a defensive coordinator or he does not want to be one and prefers to coach the Steelers' defensive line as long as
Dick Hoak coached their running backs. Since he was hired in 1994, Mitch consistently turned out some of the best 3-4 lines in the league. Bill Cowher never promoted him, but shortly after Mike Tomlin retained him on his staff, he gave him Russ Grimm's old title of assistant head coach.
Ray Horton, who joined the Steelers as Darren Perry's assistant in the secondary, has coached that group by himself the past two seasons, and they've improved immensely, even unheralded young players such as William Gay and a veteran like Tyrone Carter, who was available for nothing.
Kirby Wilson would make someone a good offensive coordinator. He's worked for four different NFL teams, the past two with the Steelers' running backs, and started coaching in college in 1985. Their ground game is down this season, mostly because No. 1 pick Rashard Mendenhall was knocked out for the season in the fourth game and Willie Parker missed five games, much of two others and not been the same because of two separate injuries. Mewelde Moore has blossomed under Wilson, and last year Parker was leading the NFL in rushing when he broke his leg in the 15th game.
One more Steelers employee, Doug Whaley, works in their personnel department. He is their pro scouting coordinator, a position held by such men as Tom Donahoe and Tom Modrak before him. Both rose to become president and/or general manager in the NFL. Whaley has that kind of talent, yet to my knowledge has never been interviewed by another team since he left Seattle as a scout to join the Steelers in 1997. Whaley, an Upper St. Clair native who played at Pitt and graduated with a degree in business/finance, worked one year as a Wall Street stockbroker before he became a scouting intern with the Steelers in 1995.
All four men are African-American, which brings us to another point. The Rooney Rule, after some initial misgivings in the league and some teams' early attempts to circumvent it, has been successful in not only helping the hiring of minority coaches but in getting interviews to worthy men and getting names out that otherwise might have been overlooked.
The NFL now needs a Rooney Rule II that would require club owners to interview minorities for the executive positions of president, general manager or director of football operations, and for offensive and defensive coordinators.Maybe we should consider trading Arains in on a Kirby! :greengrin: