Rookie Head Coaches/Part #3 … Friday Cup O’Chiefs

Todd Haley is one of six NFL head coaches who hold that top job for the first time. Over three days we are looking at the recent success rate of rookie head coaches in the league and what that evidence tells us about the kind of start-up season we may see from Haley

Over the last three seasons, NFL owners have shown a willingness to take on as the lead dog coaches that had never been in the role before.

There have been 13 rookie head coaches hired for the 2006-07-08 seasons. That’s out of 21 coaches hired in those seasons. One of them won a Super Bowl championship. Another got his team to the title game. Six others got their teams to the playoffs at least once over the last three seasons.

And four have already been fired.

Such is the life of a head coach. It always helps when you know what’s coming, and that’s something the rookies have to figure out. Sometimes the outcomes are the same: just ask Art Shell and Lane Kiffin, who were both hired to coach the Oakland Raiders. One was an NFL head coaching veteran. Shell lasted 16 games. One was a wet-behind the ears, never been a head coach before on any level. Kiffin was 5-15 before he was fired last year.

Previous head coaching experience guarantees nothing when taking over an NFL team. But it’s sure helpful in making smooth transitions and getting teams up and running and winning more quickly. There’s not on-the-job learning and that allows the coach can take his role to the next level.

We are looking at the results of first-time head coaches in the NFL over the first nine seasons of this decade. There were 29 31 in all and their stories run the spectrum from immediate disaster to appearing in a Super Bowl. Hopefully it will provide a road map to judge/predict the progress and performance of Haley in this first season.

Again, these are first-time head coaches, who did not run a team on any level of the game before taking over their NFL club.

FIRST TIME HEAD COACHES 2005-20008

2005 (one we missed in our Thursday roundup.)

Romeo Crennel, Cleveland – He was the defensive coordinator of the New England Patriots when he was hired to replace Butch Davis/Terry Robiskie as head coach of the Browns. Crennel was 58 in his first season as head coach and was in his 36th season as a coach (11 in college and 25 in the NFL.) The Browns record the season before Crennel took over: 4-12. Crennel’s first-year record: 6-10. Crennel’s record as Browns head coach: four seasons (2005-08), with a 24-40 record and no post-season appearances.. FIRED

2006

Brian Childress, Minnesota (left) – He moved from offensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles to replace Mike Tice as head coach of the Vikings. Childress was 50 years old in his first season and had spent 29 years in coaching (20 years in college football and nine in the NFL.) The Vikings record the season before Childress took over: 9-7. Childress’ first-season record: 6-10. Childress record as Minnesota head coach: three seasons so far (2006-08) with a 24-25 record and one post-season appearance. STILL ON THE JOB

Gary Kubiak, Houston – He was the offensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos when he was hired to replace Dom Capers as head coach of the Texans. Kubiak was 45 years old in his first season as head coach and was in his 15th year of coaching (two years at the college level and 13 in the NFL.) He had a nine-year career in the NFL as a backup quarterback for the Broncos. The Texans record the season before Kubiak took over: 2-14. Kubiak’s first season record: 6-10. Kubiak’s record as Houston head coach: three seasons so far (2006-08) with a 22-26 record and no trips to the playoffs. STILL ON THE JOB.

Scott Linehan, St. Louis – He moved from offensive coordinator of the Miami Dolphins to replace Mike Martz as head coach of the Rams. Linehan was 43 years old in his first season as head coach after 20 years in coaching (two at the high school level, 13 in colleges and five in the NFL.) The Rams record the season before Linehan took over: 6-10. Linehan’s first-season record: 8-8. Linehan’s record as St. Louis head coach: two-plus seasons (2006-08) where he had an 11-25 record with no post-season appearances. FIRED

Eric Mangini, New York Jets – Moved from his role as defensive coordinator of the New England Patriots to replace Herm Edwards as head coach of the Jets. Mangini was 35 years old in his first season as head coach and had been in the coaching business for 12 seasons. The Jets record the season before Mangini took over: 4-12. Mangini’s first-season record: 10-6 and a spot in the playoffs. Mangini’s record as New York Jets head coach: three seasons (2006-08) with a record of 23-26 and one trip to the playoffs. FIRED

Rod Marinelli, Detroit – He was the assistant head coach/defensive line coach for the Tampa Bay Bucs when named to replace Steve Mariucci/Dick Jauron as head coach of the Lions. Marinelli was 57 years old in his first season as head coach and it was his 34th year in coaching (three in high school, 20 at the college level and 11 years in the NFL.) Lions record the season before Marinelli took over: 5-11. Marinelli’s first-season record: 3-13. Marinelli’s record as Detroit head coach: three seasons (2006-08) with a 10-38 record and no appearances in the post-season. FIRED

Mike McCarthy, Green Bay (right) – He was the offensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers when he was hired to replace Mike Sherman as head coach of the Packers. McCarthy was 43 years during his first season as head coach and it was his 20th season in the profession (six in the college ranks and 14 in the NFL.) The Packers record the season before McCarthy took over: 4-12. McCarthy’s first-season record: 8-8. McCarthy’s record as Green Bay head coach: three seasons so far (2006-08) with a 28-22 record and one visit to the playoffs. STILL ON THE JOB

Sean Payton, New Orleans – With the Dallas Cowboys, he was assistant head coach/passing game coordinator when he was picked to replace Jim Haslett as the Saints head coach. Payton was 42 years old in his first season as head coach and it was his 19th year in the coaching profession (nine in the colleges and 10 in the NFL.) Saints record the season before Payton took over: 3-13. Payton’s first-year record: 11-7 with two games in the playoffs. Payton’s record as New Orleans head coach: three seasons so far (2006-08) with a 26-24 record and one post-season appearance. STILL ON THE JOB

2007

Lane Kiffin, Oakland – He was the offensive coordinator of the University of Southern California when he was hired to replace Art Shell as head coach of the Raiders. Kiffin was 32 years old and in his 11th season in coaching (nine in colleges, two in the NFL.) The Raiders record the season before Kiffin took over: 2-14. Kiffin’s first-year record: 4-12. Kiffin’s record as Oakland’s head coach: in 20 games he was 5-15 with no visits to the playoffs. FIRED

Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh (left) – He was the defensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings when he was hired to replace Bill Cowher as the Steelers head coach. Tomlin was 35 years old that first season and in his 13th coaching season (six on the college level and seven in the NFL.) The Steelers record the season before Tomlin took over: 8-8. Tomlin’s first-year record: 10-7, with a post-season appearance. Tomlin’s record as Pittsburgh’s head coach: two seasons (2007-08) with a 25-11 and two trips to the playoffs. STILL ON THE JOB.

Ken Whisenhunt, Arizona – Before he was hired to replace Dennis Green as head coach of the Cardinals, he was the offensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Whisenhunt was 45 years old in his first season as head coach and had been in the profession for 13 seasons (two in college football and 11 in the NFL.) He had a nine-year career as a tight end with the Falcons, Redskins and Jets. The Cardinals record the season before Whisenhunt took over: 5-11. Whisenhunt’s first-year record: 8-8. Whisenhunt’s record as Arizona’s head coach: two seasons (2007-08) with a 20-16 record and one post-season where they advanced to the Super Bowl. STILL ON THE JOB

2008

Jim Harbaugh, Baltimore (right) – He was the secondary coach of the Philadelphia Eagles when he was hired to replace Brian Billick as head coach of the Ravens. Harbaugh was 46 years old and in his 25th season as a coach (14 year in college and 11 in the NFL.) Ravens record the season before Harbaugh took over: 5-11. Harbaugh’s first-year record: 13-6, with a trip to the AFC Championship Game. STILL ON THE JOB

Mike Smith, Atlanta – He was defensive coordinator of the Jacksonville Jaguars when he was picked to replace Bobby Petrino/Emmitt Thomas as head coach of the Falcons. Smith was 49 years old during his first season and had been in coaching for 27 seasons (17 on the college level and 10 in the NFL.)The Falcons record the season before Smith took over: 4-12. Smith’s first-season record: 11-6 with a trip to the playoffs. STILL ON THE JOB

Jim Zorn, Washington – He was the quarterback coach of the Seattle Seahawks when he was appointed to replace Joe Gibbs as head coach of the Redskins. Zorn was 55 years old and in his 20th season of coaching (eight in colleges and 12 in the NFL.) He played 12 seasons in the NFL and CFL for the Seahawks, Packers, Blue Bombers and Bucs. The Redskins record the season before Zorn took over: 9-8 with an appearance in the playoffs. Zorn’s first-season record: 8-8. STILL ON THE JOB

TOMORROW: WE WILL POOL THE DATA AND SEE IF WE CAN FORECAST WHAT TYPE OF ROOKIE SEASON IS AHEAD FOR TODD HALEY

CHIEFS FINALLY INK ANOTHER DRAFT CHOICE – THAT’S FOUR OF EIGHT

The Chiefs announced the signing Thursday of seventh-round draft choice RB Javarris Williams. He’s signed a three-year contract with terms still unknown, but based on his position early in the round, it should be in the range of $1.3 to $1.4 million, with a signing bonus around $65,000.

Williams, OT Colin Brown, TE Jake O’Connell and K Ryan Succop are in the fold. Still outstanding are first-round pick DE Tyson Jackson, third-rounder DE Alex Magee, fourth-round CB Donald Washington and WR Quinten Lawrence in the sixth round.

As a reminder, a player must have a signed contract before he can attend training camp.

NFL DRAFT WILL NOW BE A THREE-DAY AFFAIR. WHY? TELEVISION OF COURSE

The NFL announced on Thursday that the league’s annual Draft will become a three-day affair, with the first two days in prime-time.

The first round will be held on Thursday, April 22nd, beginning at 6:30 p.m. CDT.

The second and third rounds will go down on Friday, April 23rd, starting at 5:30 p.m. CDT.

Rounds four through seven will happen on Saturday, April 24th, starting at 9 a.m. CDT.

The 2010 NFL Draft will be held at Radio City Music Hall in New York. 

“We continue to look for ways to make the draft more accessible to more fans,” Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. “Moving the first round to primetime on Thursday night will make the first round of the draft available to fans on what is typically the most-watched night of television.”

This year’s Draft drew a record 39 million viewers on the NFL Network, ESPN and ESPN2.  Viewership of the Draft on TV has increased 66 percent since 2001.

COMMISH AND VICK MET ON WEDNESDAY; NO WORD ON WHAT’S AHEAD

On Wednesday in New Jersey, Goodell met face-to-face with Michael Vick and they had a discussion on the quarterback’s future in the NFL.

ESPN broke the story on the meeting and later reported that the Commish has decided to suspend Vick for the first four games of the 2009 season. But that would allow him to sign with a team and go to training camp before his punishment started.

But late last night, the NFL said via it’s Twitter account that Goodell has not made any type of final decision on Vick’s future.

SIGNINGS & MOVEMENT AROUND THE LEAGUE

BRONCOS – signed second-round draft choice TE Richard Quinn and fourth-round G Seth Olsen.

DOLPHINS – signed second-round draft choice CB Sean Smith.

FALCONS – signed second-round draft choice S William Moore.

JAGUARS – signed DL Montavious Stanley.

PATRIOTS – released WR Robert Ortiz; placed RB Eric Kettani and WR Tyree Barnes on reserve/military list. Both played at the Naval Academy.

SEAHAWKS – signed long snapper Kevin Houser (New Orleans).

REDSKINS – signed third-round draft choice CB Kevin Barnes.

VIKINGS – agreed to a six-year, $34.8 million contract extension with CB Antoine Winfield; signed third-round draft choice CB Asher Allen.

SAY HAPPY BIRTHDAY …

Born on July 24, 1944 in Louisville was G Mo Moorman. He was selected in the first round of the 1968 AFL-NFL Draft out of Texas A&M. Moorman played six seasons for the Chiefs (1968-73), appearing n 72 games with 69 starts. He was in the starting lineup at right guard for Super Bowl IV and spent most of his time at that position.

Born on July 24, 1952 in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey was T Charlie Getty. He was selected in the second round of the 1974 NFL Draft out of Penn State. Getty played nine seasons with the Chiefs (1974-82), appearing in 119 games with 104 starts. He started games at both left and right tackle and left guard during his career, which finished up with one season (1983) in Green Bay.