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Titans head coach
Jeff Fisher
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Pick: Jeff Fisher
If this season has taught us anything it is that it is a lot harder to live up to huge
preseason expectations than it is to take an unsung team and prove the so-called experts
wrong. Everywhere you look you find surprise teams in this age of parity. Almost
everywhere you look, the preseason powers disappointed. Heading into this season, the
Super Six were thought to be Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Tennessee, Washington, Tampa Bay
and St. Louis. Jacksonville and Washington fell way short of expectations. St. Louis,
Indianapolis and Tampa Bay made the playoffs, but all three clubs struggled more than
anticipated. That makes what Jeff Fisher did in Tennessee all the more impressive. The
Titans lived up to the hype and earned the No. 1 seed in the AFC despite getting crushed
by injuries to the WR corps. I’m not aware of any fine print that says great coaching
can’t be done on a team expected to be very good, so I’m casting my vote for
Fisher.
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Pick: Andy Reid
It’s been a very good year for the so-called Mike Holmgren disciples. In fact,
each of these Holmgren-molded head coaches have fared better than the teacher himself. Jon
Gruden has the Raiders sitting pretty. Mike Sherman deserves kudos for keeping the
injury-riddled Packers alive until the final week of the season. And Andy Reid has the
Eagles in the playoffs for the first time since 1996. With all due respect to the many
Coach of the Year candidates, my vote goes to Reid. He has done a masterful job of
developing Donovan McNabb into a star. And Reid has done it with few weapons to support
his young quarterback. When RB Duce Staley went down for the season, I thought this team
would collapse. But Reid kept his players believing that success would be theirs if they
continued to work hard and play together. Reid has also managed to keep his players
focused. It would be easy for a young team such as the Eagles to get caught up in the
excitement of the playoff hunt, but he had them concentrating on the next game.
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Pick: Jim Haslett
In my mind, the rookie head coach of the Saints is a no-brainer selection. From the
very moment Haslett set foot in New Orleans, there was no mistaking he meant business. And
that’s just what the disillusioned Saints players remaining from the down-and-out
Mike Ditka regime such as Pro Bowl OT Willie Roaf needed to see right away. Haslett and
new Saints GM Randy Mueller immediately started making aggressive free-agent moves and
imposing their will on the team, demanding a hardnosed, disciplined approach that the
Saints players instantly bought into. Haslett has also gone out of his way to stress the
"team" concept and has proven quite adept at keeping his troops on an even keel
despite injuries to key players such as RB Ricky Williams and QB Jeff Blake. His faith in
his players is totally genuine and has resulted in surprisingly solid across-the-board
efforts all year. In addition, when it comes to preparation, Haslett and his excellent
staff have been second to none this season.
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Pick: Mike Shanahan
There are so many Coach of the Year candidates this season, it’s silly. While the
Saints’ Jim Haslett surely deserves his props, the Broncos’ Mike Shanahan is the
best coach in football — period. How else can you explain Denver not missing a step
despite injuries to starting QB Brian Griese and top RBs Terrell Davis and Olandis Gary.
Granted, the defense has had its problems, but Shanahan and coordinator Gary Kubiak are
the driving forces behind that offense. Why mention Kubiak? Because Shanahan is wise
enough to surround himself with good people, and the Denver coaching staff is one of the
best. But it’s the brainchild of Shanahan, who formulates good game plans, runs
efficient practices and can flat-out coach. Shanahan has a calm demeanor on the sideline
and is rarely, if ever, frazzled. If you’ve ever listened to him miked up for NFL
Films, you’d agree.
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Pick: Jim Haslett
I thought long and hard about going with the Broncos’ Mike Shanahan, the
Giants’ Jim Fassel, the Eagles’ Andy Reid or the Raiders’ Jon Gruden. I
wanted to consider each one of them for being perfectly capable candidates for this award
in any other year but this one. They have each faced adversity and risen above the
competition to lead their teams to the playoffs, but none of them can quite equal the
mastery of the Saints’ Haslett and what he’s done to bring a winning feeling to
the Big Easy. Haslett stepped into a downright gloomy situation — a demoralized 3-13
team with little confidence and a lack of draft picks thanks to Mike Ditka’s
fascination with RB Ricky Williams. But Haslett and new GM Randy Mueller had the cap room
to make an impact in free agency, and Haslett and his staff have helped make the
Saints’ defense into one of the league’s best and plugged gigantic holes left by
injury to keep his troops marching to the NFC West title. His determination and rapport
with the players is something to marvel at, and his surprise Saints are a bigger success
story than any other team in the league when you look at where they started and what bumps
in the road they had to deal with along the way.
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Pick: Jim Haslett
I wanted to pick Vikings head coach Dennis Green for proving just about every one of us
horribly wrong about the Vikings’ chances this year, and especially about QB Daunte
Culpepper. But Green didn’t turn his team around, he just kept his team up amidst the
rampant skepticism. So I have to go with Jim Haslett of the Saints. I must admit that I
had to ask who replaced "Da Coach" several times at the beginning of the season
before I remembered it was Haslett. That’s about how much faith I had in the coach
that would lead the Saints. I thought they might be improved with free-agent QB Jeff Blake
heading to town. But I can’t say I saw this coming. Not many people did either.
Haslett rejuvenated an already-solid defense and, more importantly, fixed whatever had
been wrong with stud RB Ricky Williams. Then, when Williams and Blake were injured,
Haslett unveiled his backup plans, which have worked out nicely. How can you beat that?
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