February 4, 2009
NFL head coaches have decisions to make on play-calling duties
More head coaches taking hands-on control over plays
One of the seminal moments in the making of a conference champion for the Cardinals came last off-season when coach Ken Whisenhunt decided to turn over offensive play-calling duties to Todd Haley.
The offensive coordinator has taken the responsibility and mostly passed with it. The Cardinals might never have been in the Super Bowl without Haley's aggressive play calling.
But what the Cardinals did, oddly enough, is counter to the trend in the league. More and more coaches are becoming more involved with play calling, a la the Bears' Lovie Smith.
Cowboys coach Wade Phillips took over the defensive reins during the season and does not intend to let them go. New head coaches Jim Mora with the Seahawks and Rex Ryan with the Jets plan to call plays for their defenses. And after losing offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, coach Bill Belichick likely will take over the Patriots offense. McDaniels, meanwhile, will call the offensive plays in Denver.
It makes sense for the head coach to be involved with play calling at some level. Take it from one of the NFL's most respected men—two-time Super Bowl winner Bill Parcells.
"As the head coach, you are responsible to manage the game," said Parcells, who called offensive plays during some of his coaching career. "I would never, ever put the game totally in the hands of an assistant coach. I don't think it's smart to do that. Bill Walsh and Tom Landry are the two guys who influenced me that way the most. They said look, you might let them run the game, they might be calling the plays, but you need to be right there when you want to get your 2 cents in and how you want the game to go. It may not be specifically—OK, 64 wide right, deep post. But it may be—I want to throw the ball downfield this time. I want a good, hard play-action. We need to try to score on this play. We're going to run it on second-and-short. Things like that."
Belichick says there are different ways to do it, but coaches should look at what's best for their particular team.
"I feel with my experience as a coach—I've coached special teams for eight years, defense and offense, I can go in an area and not feel lost," he said. "So if there is something that needs to be said, I can do that. Or I can tell a coach to say it or we can have a meeting and say it. I don't feel out of my element."
The danger in having the head coach call plays is he runs the risk of becoming so engrossed in play-calling duties that he misses something in another element of the game.
"It's fair to say you might lose a little track of something if you are calling plays," Belichick said. "I don't necessarily think you lose track of game management, but it's possible."
New Lions coach Jim Schwartz was the defensive play caller in Tennessee, but he is assigning coordinator Gunther Cunningham that responsibility in Detroit.
"I'm going to have enough on my plate," Schwartz said according to Mlive.com. "I think the head coach's role is to manage the game and his role is to set a clear vision of what he wants the game plan to be."
According to Parcells' thinking, Schwartz, a rookie head coach, could be doing the smart thing by delegating. Whereas Smith, a veteran of five NFL seasons as a head coach, might be ready to go back to his play-calling roots.
"When you are young, it's too much to do both," Parcells said. "When you get the lay of the land, I don't think it's too much. But the reverse usually happens. Young guys stay in it, they do their half and they don't round themselves out as coaches. Older ones step back because they realize they probably are not coaching the whole team well enough if they are just doing one side."
Dandy Gandy: According to ESPN's Scouts, Inc., the best offensive lineman in the Super Bowl is Cardinals left tackle Mike Gandy.
What a long way Gandy has come since the Bears cut him in November 2004. He sat out the rest of that season before the Bills picked him up and made him their left tackle. He progressively has become a better blocker since then.
Gandy's career path has been anything but typical. He started out at Notre Dame as a 230-pound tight end. Because the position was too crowded, he bulked to 305 his junior year and switched to guard.
The Bears used him at guard until an injury to Marc Colombo forced a move to left tackle late in the 2002 season. The Bills used him at guard and tackle, and he has found a home at left tackle with the Cardinals.
Gandy now is a 30-year-old, eight-year veteran with 96 starts behind him.
"He has evolved into a heck of an offensive tackle," said Cardinals defensive end Bertrand Berry, who helped recruit Gandy to Notre Dame. "I've seen him since he was 18, and I'm very happy for his development. He's playing at a Pro Bowl level. You haven't seen Kurt [Warner] hit from the blind side too much this year, and a lot of that is a credit to Mike."
There isn't much Gandy hasn't seen in his career.
"Experience definitely helps," he said. "The more times you see things the more accustomed you get to them. I've seen a lot of things. You get more accustomed to big games."
There might not be anything in his past that will prepare him for what he will face Sunday—defensive player of the year James Harrison.
"He's a strong guy and a fast guy, which is a good combination," Gandy said. "You have to stay honed in and focused in."
Quick hits: Shrewd move by the Patriots in hiring former Titans GM Floyd Reese as a senior adviser. Reese is a proven talent evaluator, and he has Belichick's respect.
•The Lions are putting together one of the best coaching staffs they ever have had. Now if they can just get some players.
•The Rooney family may be the best ownership group in professional sports, and it is good to see their work rewarded with the Steelers in the Super Bowl.
dpompei@tribune.com
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