| ProFootballWeekly.com asks
contributing editor Joel Buchsbaum for his thoughts on news from around the league. 
Packers GM Ron Wolf to retire
Ron Wolf, the architect of the Packers' Super Bowl runs in the mid-’90s, will
retire as executive vice president/general manager today. The Packers scheduled a 2 p.m.
EST news conference in which the Packers will reportedly make the announcement. Wolf, 62,
will announce his retirement after nearly 10 years with the Packers. Wolf will reportedly
remain in charge through the NFL draft in April.
Buchsbaum: Ron Wolf was one of the greatest personnel men, one of the best GMs football
has ever known. And he is an even better person and friend, with great loyalty. He did a
phenomenal job of drafting for Al Davis and the Raiders and was the key behind many of the
Raiders’ successful drafts. It’s interesting that when Wolf went to Tampa Bay as
GM, during that period the Raiders’ drafts fell off. And they also fell off after (he
left Oakland a second time and) he went to the Jets as player personnel director. Wolf
built the great Raider teams along with Davis. He built the Buccaneer team that went to
the NFC championship game in their third year, and he built a Super Bowl winner in Green
Bay. In New York, he may have helped Dick Steinberg turn things around if not for one very
unfortunate incident. In New York, the Jets had Brett Favre rated as the top player —
absolute top player — on their draft board (in 1991). They had a deal made with the
Cardinals to move up to get him. The Cardinals, at the last minute, backed out of the deal
and Atlanta picked him one pick later. However, Wolf recouped that in Green Bay by trading
his first-round pick to Atlanta for Favre the next year. (It was) what many people
considered a ludicrous deal since Favre was a second-round pick who Jerry Glanville (the
Falcons head coach) wanted absolutely nothing to do with. He felt (Favre) was a playboy, a
big drinker and not the type of player he wanted around his team. Wolf was one of the few
front-office people in the NFL who would admit a mistake, like he did with Ray Rhodes as
head coach and with some of his draft picks, and cut his losses instead of trying to prove
himself right. He overall had a keen eye for selecting coaches and a keener eye for
talent. And everyone that worked with him only has the highest praise for him. He’s
going to be sorely missed, and if the NFL ever wanted to do something smart, they would
start putting people like Ron Wolf and George Young into their Hall of Fame.
Lions hire Vince Tobin
Former Cardinals head coach Vince Tobin was expected to be hired as the Lions'
defensive coordinator, the team said. Tobin, 57, was in the final year of a five-year
contract with the Cardinals when he was fired following a 48-7 loss to Dallas on Oct. 23.
Buchsbaum: I thought Vince Tobin is an outstanding hire for the Lions. He was an
outstanding coordinator wherever he was. Marty Mornhinweg is a very good offensive coach,
and now (the Lions) have a top defensive coach in Tobin.
Texans make Palmer their offensive coordinator
Former Browns head coach Chris Palmer has agreed to join the expansion Houston Texans
as offensive coordinator, according to reports on Wednesday. Palmer is scheduled to visit
Houston on Friday to sign the contract and start working immediately with general manager
Charley Casserly and coach Dom Capers.
Buchsbaum: I think the Texans hiring Chris Palmer as offensive coordinator is a superb
move because he’s always been known as a top offensive coordinator and an excellent
developer of young quarterbacks. Plus he has had the experience of two years of head
coaching with an expansion club, so he knows all the pratfalls along with Dom Capers. So I
think that’s a great move for them.
Schottenheimer hires brother Kurt to be Redskins defensive coordinator
Redskins head coach Marty Schottenheimer hired younger brother Kurt as defensive
coordinator of the Redskins on Wednesday. Kurt got the job over former Bills head coach
Wade Phillips, who interviewed on Monday.
Buchsbaum: It’s a little bit debatable that Marty Schottenheimer hired his own
brother, Kurt, to be defensive coordinator in Washington. I mean, it just creates a
difficult situation and if he doesn’t do well, it puts immense pressure on both of
them. Plus you had some very highly capable candidates available, such as Wade Phillips
and Gunther Cunningham.
Bills still up in air about head coach
Gregg Williams has emerged as the leading contender to become the Buffalo Bills' next
head coach — and could be hired as soon as today. A Buffalo TV station reported
Wednesday night the Titans' defensive coordinator is the choice of Bills president and
general manager Tom Donahoe. All that's left is for Williams to meet with Bills owner
Ralph Wilson and for the two sides to work out a contract agreement.
Buchsbaum: I think Ted Cottrell is out. I think Gregg Williams had a tremendous
interview, which puts him very much in the picture. But there’s still a very good
chance that Marvin Lewis will get it. And John Fox is a darkhorse. I think one of
Donahoe’s biggest concerns is what assistant coaches the head coach will be able to
bring with them, and who will end up being the offensive coordinator for them. |
