Tuesday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

Tony Dungy always found it strange that so much was made of his calm, quiet demeanor.

“The worst thing a coach can be is something that he’s not,” Dungy said several years ago. “As a coach you can’t be an actor. You have to be a man.”

And there have been few better men working as an NFL head coach over the last quarter-century than Dungy.

He announced his retirement on Monday as head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, bringing an end to his 28-year NFL coaching career and changing the AFC landscape for those teams at the top of the conference.

“Don’t shed any tears for me,” Dungy said during a press conference. “I’ve gotten to live a dream that most people don’t get to live. What phase two is, we’ll find out, but phase one has been awful special and awful sweet and I’m thankful for it.”

The Colts have seemingly done everything an organization can do to prepare for the moment when their leader stepped aside. Assistant coach Jim Caldwell is now the head man, designated several years ago to be the one to replace Dungy.

That attempt at continuity is admirable, but ultimately the biggest factor in the equation will no longer be around. That would be Dungy himself. A new chemistry and style will have to be created by Caldwell.

He’s got tough shoes to fill because Dungy’s coaching numbers are impressive:

• His Buccaneers and Colts teams had a regular and post-season record of 146-75, a winning percentage of .661. That was the best winning percentage among active NFL head coaches in 2008.
• Those 146 victories rank him among the top 20 winning head coaches in league history.
• His teams went to the playoffs for 10 consecutive seasons, three years in Tampa Bay and seven years in Indianapolis.
• The Colts had six consecutive seasons with 12 or more victories, an NFL record.
• The team he built in Tampa Bay won a Super Bowl without him in 2002, and the team he helped build with Indianapolis won a Super Bowl with him in 2006.

Somewhere, someplace in those years with the Steelers, Chiefs, Vikings, Buccaneers and Colts, Dungy may have raised his voice in anger. But that moment is long forgotten after years of watching him calmly handle the intensity and pressure of the NFL sidelines.

That’s why the title of his best-selling book was perfect: “Quiet Strength.”  It didn’t take people, players, other coaches and the media long with Dungy to find out that his good nature should never be confused with painting him as a push-over.

Dungy’s coaching philosophy was built on what he learned as a player and assistant coach for Chuck Noll.

“Champions don’t beat themselves,” Noll told his players according to Dungy who wrote about it in his book. “If you want to win, do the ordinary things better than anyone else does – day in and day out. We’re not going to fool people or out-scheme them. We’re just going to outplay them, because we’ll know what we’re doing. When we get into a critical situation, we won’t have to think. We’ll play fast and fundamentally sound.”

The Colts offense with Peyton Manning pulling the trigger at the line of scrimmage and the Tampa Two defense with the Buccaneers has been studied by others for years now. But the concepts of what the Bucs and Colts have accomplished on the field go back to the simple statement: if you want to win, do the ordinary things better than anyone else does.

“He coached his way,” Chiefs head coach Herm Edwards said on Monday. Edwards has been a friend, confidante and former assistant coach for Dungy. “He had a certain style and at times people thought he wasn’t forceful enough. They couldn’t see how competitive he was.

“Tony felt he was a teacher. He comes from a family of teachers. He always was big on teaching fundamentals and techniques, about playing the game smart and not doing things that cause you to beat yourself.”

Why did Dungy leave now? He said it was just time.

“You don’t always get to go out on top,” Dungy said. “It’s hard to go out on top because it’s so much fun winning. When you’re winning, you don’t want to stop. But I think I’ve got a chance to do some other things down the road. I think I’ve got a responsibility to be home a little bit more, to be available to my family a little bit more, and to try to do some things to help make our country better. I don’t know what that’s going to be, but I hope to do that.”

THE GM/COACHING FRONT

In Denver on Monday the Broncos introduced their new head coach Josh McDaniels (right).

The 32-year old McDaniels comes to the Rockies after serving as the Patriots offensive coordinator for the last three years. He has coached with New England for eight years. A native of Ohio, McDaniels has just nine years in the coaching profession. After playing college football at John Carroll University in Cleveland, he spent the 1999 season working as a graduate assistant at Michigan State under Nick Saban.

McDaniels told the Denver media that he would be calling the plays on offense, something he’s done the past two years with the Patriots.

Here’s what else is going down on the employment front:

BRONCOS – The question now is who will fill out McDaniels staff. Reportedly former San Francisco head coach Mike Nolan is the favorite to fill the defensive coordinator role and former Carolina-Houston head coach Dom Capers has been mentioned as well. Capers coached this past season with the Patriots.

49ERS – A couple of guys out of work will interview this week for the offensive coordinator’s position. Former Broncos offensive coordinator Rick Dennison interviewed for the job with San Francisco on Monday and they are expected to also talk with former Boston College head coach Jeff Jagodzinski.

JAGUARS – Owner Wayne Weaver shook up his organization on Monday, elevating personnel man Gene Smith to the position of general manager. Smith will have final say so on personnel matters, which is a blow to the power of head coach Jack Del Rio.

JETS – Talked on Sunday morning (7 a.m.) with Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan and he’s now jumped to the top of the charts in New York.

LIONS - They talked on Monday in Detroit with Titans defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz and he now appears to be the top candidate in Motown.

RAMS – Interviewed Ryan on Sunday, will talk on Tuesday to Frazier, Wednesday to Garrett and then on Thursday to Spagnuolo.

COULD ANOTHER LARRY JOHNSON BE ON THE MOVE?

We all know that Larry Johnson is looking for a change of address and wants out of the Chiefs and Kansas City.

Turns out his father Larry Johnson Sr. may be on the move even before his son.

The long-time defensive line coach at Penn State University, Johnson has been offered a big contract to go to the University of Illinois to work for Ron Zook.  Reportedly that offer cannot be made officially until Tuesday, but Zook has thrown a contract at Johnson for double the money he’s making with Joe Paterno plus the title of defensive coordinator.  The deal is reportedly for $400,000 a season.

Zook wants Johnson as a coach and a recruiter.  The Washington D.C. area is the spot where Johnson has many high school connections and has scored very good players for the Nittany Lions.  Johnson helped recruit and secure two of the biggest names on the Penn State roster this past season, WR Derrick Williams and RB Evan Royster.

Interesting choice for Johnson, not only in whether he wants to leave Joe Patrno and the Penn State program, but go to a Big 10 Conference rival like Illinois.

Supposedly the decision will be made this week.

UNDERCLASSMEN UPDATE FOR 2009 NFL DRAFT/DEADLINE IS THURSDAY

Today in Lubbock, wide receiver Michael Crabtree is expected to announce he’s leaving Texas Tech early for the NFL Draft.

If Crabtree follows through with that decision he’ll be a top 10 pick in April and possibly as high as the top. Next to quarterbacks Sam Bradford and Matthew Stafford, Crabtree is the highest rated offensive skill position player on just about every team’s draft board.

Also leaving Texas Tech is defensive end Brandon Williams. He’ll declare his intentions today as well.

Another big name DE is coming out for the draft and that’s Penn State’s Aaron Maybin. He’ll announce today. He’s considered a top half of the first-round prospect by most scouts.

Also a pair of Utah players has decided to leave early: DE Paul Kruger and CB Sean Smith. Right now both players are considered late first-early second round picks.

Not everybody is making the jump, as a number of players have decided to stay in school. That group includes Oklahoma defensive lineman Gerald McCoy, Texas LB Sergio Kindle, Nebraska DT Ndamukong Sah and Kentucky DE Jeremy Jarmon.

CHIEFS INK INGLE

As they continue to sign reserve/future free agents the Chiefs re-upped with quarterback Ingle Martin for the 2009 season.

Martin joined the Chiefs after the season’s first game, when Brodie Croyle was injured at New England. He ended up spending seven weeks on the active roster, but did not get on the field. He then finished out the season on the practice squad.

He’s a former fifth-round choice of the Green Bay Packers in the 2006 NFL Draft.

FROM THE PAGES OF SUPER BOWL HISTORY

On January 13, 1974, Super Bowl VIII was held at Rice Stadium in Houston and the Miami Dolphins grabbed their second consecutive championship, beating the Minnesota Vikings 24-7.

The Dolphins came right out and grabbed this game by the throat, scoring touchdowns on their first two possessions, with Larry Csonka going in from five yards out and Jim Kiick from one-yard. The Miami defense was hammering the Vikings, who had only seven plays in the first period. A 28-yard FG gave Miami a 17-0 lead at half-time and they pushed that to 24-0 in the third quarter on another Csonka scoring run, this one from two yards. Csonka ended the game with 33 carries for 145 yards and two touchdowns. Dolphins QB Bob Griese only threw seven passes on the day, completing six for 73 passing yards.

Csonka was named the game’s most valuable player, becoming the first running back to win that honor in eight games.

SAY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO …

Former Chiefs RB and jailbird Bam Morris. He was born on January 13, 1972 in Cooper, Texas. Morris played for four different teams (Steelers, Ravens, Bears and Chiefs) over six seasons in the NFL. He was a third-round pick of the Steelers in 1994 out of Texas Tech. That pro career included 22 games for the Chiefs over two seasons (1998-99) where he rushed for 895 yards on 249 carries with 11 TD runs.

In August 2000, Morris pleaded guilty to two charges of federal drug trafficking. As part of his plea agreement, he admitted to distributing some 100 kilos of marijuana in the Kansas City area from 1998 through 2000. He was sentenced to 30 months in the federal prison in Leavenworth. The next year he was given a 10-year sentence by the state o f Texas for violating his parole conditions on an earlier charge.

Morris was released from custody on July 31, 2004. The last time he was heard from he was playing for the Katy (TX) Copperheads of t he National Indoor Football League.