Chargers need a head case I mean coach

[THE KOD]

Zimmer, Mora to talk to Chargers

New Falcons coordinator, former coach candidates to replace Schottenheimer

By STEVE WYCHE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 02/14/07

In a surprise twist, newly hired Falcons defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer will interview for the vacant San Diego Chargers head coaching post, according to an NFL source with knowledge of the development.

San Diego fired head coach Marty Schottenheimer Monday and contacted the Falcons Tuesday to request permission to speak with Zimmer, who was hired in mid-January to head the defense under new coach Bobby Petrino.

The Falcons declined comment and Zimmer could not be reached.

It is not known when Zimmer is scheduled to interview, however the Falcons are not standing in the way of his potential promotion despite possibly being left in a bind so soon after hiring him from the Dallas Cowboys, where he served as defensive coordinator for the past seven seasons.

Former Falcons coach Jim Mora, who was fired New Year's Day and replaced by Petrino, also is scheduled to interview for the Chargers head-coaching job, a league source confirmed. Mora posted a 26-22 record with the Falcons in three season before being fired following a second straight season of not making the playoffs.

Mora, who started his NFL coaching career as an assistant with the Chargers in the mid-1980s, interviewed for the Miami Dolphins head-coaching job, which eventually was filled by former San Diego Chargers offensive coordinator Cam Cameron.

Zimmer, who was with Dallas since 1994, recently said in an interview with Journal-Constitution that he had aspirations of being a head coach. Zimmer was a candidate for the St. Louis Rams head coaching vacancy in 2006 and he turned down the University of Nebraska head-coaching job three years ago.

Zimmer did not interview for any of the previous six head coaching vacancies this offseason. NFL coordinators were hired to fill all the jobs except for the Falcons, who hired Petrino from the University of Louisville.

Petrino made Zimmer his second hire after replacing Mora on Jan. 8. Offensive coordinator Hue Jackson, who coached receivers with the Cincinnati Bengals, was his first hire.

Former coaching colleagues at Weber State, Petrino wanted Zimmer to guide the 4-3 defensive scheme that is his preference and what the Falcons' personnel is best suited for. Zimmer said he was eager to reunite with Petrino and return to coaching the 4-3 scheme, which was abandon in Dallas for a 3-4 front.
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Its hard for me to believe they would hire Mora.

Falcons would miss out on Zimmer though, as I think he is a good candidate for the job.

 

[The Sponge]

Who ever built this team needs to hire the coach. It is stunning to me to think the guy that built this team is now talking to Mora. Something aint right. You can't be a tremendous judgement of talent but when it comes to coaches you are one of the worst judgements of talent.

 

[lostinamerica]

GM A.J. Smith - "Intense". . .

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070107/news_1s7chargers.html

GL

 

[The Sponge]

GM A.J. Smith - "Intense". . .

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070107/news_1s7chargers.html

GL

lost that is a nice story. I always loved the coaches who want total control. They usually all fail. Could u imagine buying something for a billion dollars and now this coach is gonna tell you he is gonna run the show? The number one thing if i owned a team would be to get the best scouts available. Talent evaluation is the key and if the guy stinks who is the evaluator,( like almost everyone in Philly for the last ten years including Andy Reid)the team will stink or someday stink. It starts with the scouts. But if somebody told me they wanted total control id go find someone else who had skills with working with others.

 

[Underbar]

Who do you consider the top talent evaluators, Sponge?

 

[Dead Money]

Jim Mora

Jim Mora

I think any coach in that situation is "Hamstrung" with Vick as a QB.....he just ain't QB material. Atlanta was offensively challenged with Finnerans loss. Stop Vick and they lose, 30 yard scramble side to side is flashy, but the net 3 yard gain does not win many games

Mora's Dreamjob Washington comment cost him dearly....his parting coments included following..


" We've won the most games in the NFC South for three years. We've got the fourth-most wins in the NFC over the last three years. We've played in the NFC championship game. We've won the NFC South. We've been in the hunt through 15 weeks last year and we're still in the hunt through the last week this year."


With all the offensive talent San Diego has, Mora probably would have as good shot as many coaches.

 

[The Sponge]

Who do you consider the top talent evaluators, Sponge?

Besides me Underbar? Jimmy Johnson was very good. I thought Dan Reeves was pretty good. Buddy ryan was very good when he was here in Philly. Im talking about talent evaluation now. Bill Pollian wasn't bad. The guys who work for the Phoenix Suns are excellent. I never liked Parcells but he got a lot better. Say what you want about Parcells but that team is very close to being were they want to be. Belichek staff right now is probably 2nd best next to San Diego's. I know this might not go over well here (cause i got trashed at another site by suggesting this for some reason) black head coaches draft well. Look what Lovie has done in Chicago. Look what Lewis is doing in Cincy. Im not talking about records here or teams im talking about potential pro bowlers. Dungy always pick good talent and believe or not Denny Green knew talent. He didn't pass on Linart or Moss like others. Payton looks like he has picked up a few gems in New Orleans with Colston and the other receiver. I like guys who get gems like Colston in the later rounds. Vermeil did an excellent job everywhere he went. In Philly we haven't had a decent GM until this guy Pat Gullen arrived for years. The guy that does the Sixers now may turn out to be good but for some reason they hired Larry Brown again and he is a control freak and is also one of the worst talent evaluators i ever saw. He won't build crap. Ill never forget the draft Jim Jeffries from Indiana was in Larry Brown said he would have taken him first if he had the pick. he always wants to draft the players and he is terrible at it and i think this is one big reason Detroit got rid of him.

 

[gjn23]

Besides me Underbar? Jimmy Johnson was very good. I thought Dan Reeves was pretty good. Buddy ryan was very good when he was here in Philly. Im talking about talent evaluation now. Bill Pollian wasn't bad. The guys who work for the Phoenix Suns are excellent. I never liked Parcells but he got a lot better. Say what you want about Parcells but that team is very close to being were they want to be. Belichek staff right now is probably 2nd best next to San Diego's. I know this might not go over well here (cause i got trashed at another site by suggesting this for some reason) black head coaches draft well. Look what Lovie has done in Chicago. Look what Lewis is doing in Cincy. Im not talking about records here or teams im talking about potential pro bowlers. Dungy always pick good talent and believe or not Denny Green knew talent. He didn't pass on Linart or Moss like others. Payton looks like he has picked up a few gems in New Orleans with Colston and the other receiver. I like guys who get gems like Colston in the later rounds. Vermeil did an excellent job everywhere he went. In Philly we haven't had a decent GM until this guy Pat Gullen arrived for years. The guy that does the Sixers now may turn out to be good but for some reason they hired Larry Brown again and he is a control freak and is also one of the worst talent evaluators i ever saw. He won't build crap. Ill never forget the draft Jim Jeffries from Indiana was in Larry Brown said he would have taken him first if he had the pick. he always wants to draft the players and he is terrible at it and i think this is one big reason Detroit got rid of him.

too bad lovie smith hasnt drafted a single player for the bears or your analogy might be correct.....jerry angelo is the bears gm, he is white, he's done an excellent job drafting players (esp players outside of rounds 1-2)........but i do agree, the gm and a great college scouting staff are imperative nowadays and one head coach having total control over that aspect of the team is a reach.

 

[The Sponge]

too bad lovie smith hasnt drafted a single player for the bears or your analogy might be correct.....jerry angelo is the bears gm, he is white, he's done an excellent job drafting players (esp players outside of rounds 1-2)........but i do agree, the gm and a great college scouting staff are imperative nowadays and one head coach having total control over that aspect of the team is a reach.

Its kinda hard trying to figure out who does the drafting unless its my home team but im sure Lovie has a little say on who gets picked. Who ever is doing it for Chicago is doing a good job except for one area that you feel is not that big of a problem but it is. Your quarterback stinks and i don't care how young he is. A good defense can mask a lot of problems and it has done that for years with Mcnab in Philly. He along with mcnab would never cut it for a team like Houston where the defense can't hide a flawed quarterback.

 

[Underbar]

Thanks, Sponge.

 

[IE]

Chargers Hire Norv Turner As Head Coach

 

[AR182]

Norv's no leader

Norv's no leader

got this from the wnbc web site....


Jeff Chiu / AP file

Norv's no leader

Charisma in football is overrated. Case in point: Bill Belichick, about as vibrant and dynamic as an old sweatshirt. Yet as an NFL head coach he has three Super Bowl rings. And each season his New England Patriots are in contention to win again, despite a considerable amount of turnover in personnel.

There are two keys to being a successful head coach, and neither has anything to do with making fiery halftime speeches: 1) You have to know what you?re doing, and 2) You have to be able to get a squad full of young men to buy into what you?re selling.

Norv Turner knows what he?s doing. It?s that second requirement that?s incredibly iffy.

Lots of coaches can gain a command of Xs and Os. Paul Hackett was a prime example. He was a knowledgeable offensive coordinator, but he turned out to be a lousy head coach while at USC. He had few people skills, and therefore had trouble convincing his charges to follow his lead.

Again, I don?t know how Belichick does it, but he does it. Yet a perusal of his track record suggests that Turner?s new venture ? head coach of the San Diego Chargers ? will turn out to be more Hackett than Belichick.

Turner has been an NFL head coach for seven seasons with the Washington Redskins and two more with the Oakland Raiders. He made the playoffs exactly once. His overall record as a head coach is 58-82-1.

Let?s give him the benefit of the doubt. Let?s throw out his two seasons with the Raiders, because that is not so much a team as it is an asylum. But he had been the Redskins? head coach for seven seasons, working for an owner in Daniel Snyder who will spend whatever it takes to put a winner on the field. And Turner produced mediocre results.

Now he?s taking over a team brimming with young talent. Will he and new defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell be able to improve upon the 14-2 record posted by Marty Schottenheimer and his defensive coordinator, Wade Phillips? Will Turner be able to lead the Chargers past teams like the Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts, or the Patriots, or the Steelers (who are due for a return to prominence), or the Ravens, Broncos, Bengals, Jets or some other dark-horse AFC contender?

It?s doubtful. The reason Turner got this job over some others who might have been bolder choices ? especially Ron Rivera or Mike Singletary ? is because he has experience as a head coach, and he?s pliable. He?ll follow orders from general manager A.J. Smith, who helped shove Schottenheimer out.

But Turner is about as uninspired a hire as they come. And unless Turner suddenly discovers some of that Belichick magic ? which is doubtful ? the Chargers will take a step backward.

 

[THE KOD]

I am glad it looks like the Falcons will be able to keep Zimmer.

 

[The Sponge]

Chargers Hire Norv Turner As Head Coach

this is a bad move. this team is destin for greatness and they might win it next year but this guy will eventually destroy the team. This reminds me of when Barry Switzer became coach of the Cowboys. Im not saying Turner is as bad as him but i can see the team falling apart after a year of his games. Looks like Jerry rice already took a shot at him.