Bleacher Report - Articles by Chris S

The Philadelphia Phillies Are Everything We Want The Eagles To Be

Chris S — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:50:56 -0400

In the last 96 hours, we have witnessed the Phillies advancing to their second World Series. As many years—and with an Eagles loss to a team run by a man who still uses an overhead projector at press conferences—never has it been more clear.

The Phillies are everything the Eagles are not.

They are clutch.

They break the hearts of other team’s fans, rather than the hearts of their own.

They realize they have to play both small ball and long ball.

They don't act like every time someone boo's around them, let alone at them, that it is a personal affront to both them and their family. They encourage it especially when they are playing poorly.

They come up large in big spots; they don't vomit.

They know the rules of extra innings and probably know NFL games can end in ties and there are limits to timeouts in a half.

The Phillies schooled J.P. Richardi while aquiring Cliff Lee.

The Eagles were stunned by the news of losing Brian Dawkins to Denver and told the fans Kevin Curits and Todd Pinkston were a number one wide receivers.

Charlie Manuel outwitted a legend with four rings, the winningest manager in postseason baseball history, for the second straight year.

Andy Reid got out-coached by a guy who was the afterthought choice of the most dysfunctional team in the NFL, and who is being investigated for felony assault against an assistant.

They embrace the fans, they don't tolerate them.

They win and let everyone call them Champions; they don't lose and try to convince everyone that they are the "Gold Standard."

Philadelphia Eagles Go for Tie, Clip Wings on Season

Chris S — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 12:37:02 -0500

Who knew that a smile could be heard?

As Donovan McNabb’s Hail Mary hit the freezing turf in Cincinnati on Sunday afternoon, the confusion on both sidelines gave way to the realization that no more football was to be played.

Both confused coaches still had their head sets on, and were ready to coach until someone explained to them they had played to the first NFL tie since 2002.

Their confusion, and the game, is a microcosm for the organizations that employ them.

The game was a battle of offensive futility, as the Eagles’ five-time Pro Bowl quarterback was out-played by a 25-year-old backup who graduated from the “famed” Harvard football factory.

The player who couldn’t cut it as the St. Louis Rams backup somehow went 29-for-44 and threw for his eighth career touchdown against Jim Johnson’s secondary.

McNabb, who almost had as many completions to Bengals players as Fitzpatrick, was clearly the Bengals' most potent offensive weapon. With two interceptions in the Eagles' red zone, a fumble within the Eagles 20 yard line and a delay-of-game call on third down in the closing minutes of overtime, once again, all-too-common mistakes from his rookie year still plague the 10-year veteran.

All 13 of the Bengals points came off of McNabb turnovers and had nothing to do with his oft-criticized wide receiver corps, or lack thereof, as Jerry Rice in his prime would not have helped the situation in Cincinnati on Sunday afternoon.

At least there is a bright side: McNabb did not let clock run for 24 seconds to the two minute warning during crunch time because he was out of breath, like last week.

At least he did not vomit.

Of the two red-zone interceptions McNabb threw, one probably would have turned into three points and boosted the chances for an Eagles victory. Instead, with their fate in their hands, the team conceded the season and played for a tie by punting on 4th-and-1 from their own 13.

Rather than risk losing for the possibility of winning, they guaranteed a loss, because a tie, in this division, this year, is the same thing.

Now, if all of the players knowing chose to do so or not remains a bit question—multiple players, including the quarterback himself, admitted after the game that they did not know that NFL games could end in a tie.

That might explain the lack of urgency or fight for the ball by the wide receivers on the game's final play.

In a season where not being able to gain one yard or not having the quarterback execute a fundamental hand off has cost the team three games, a tie and naïveté on basic NFL rules is just a cherry-on-top proverbial sundae of disappointment for the season.

A week after an NBC commentator, who has been retired from football for a year and a half, was sharing, in-studio, the plays the Eagles were going to run on critical third and fourth downs against a division rival, predictable has turned to bleak.

This coach, quarterback, and organization have been so busy patting themselves on the back for being the self-described “gold standard” of the NFL that they have turned consistency into complacency, and turned that into mediocrity.

They have now been passed by all three division rivals, and sit alone in the cellar of the NFC East with little if any hope of climbing out.

At least after Sunday’s tie, they have their sister to kiss for company.

This team is the epitome of how cruising in neutral is, in reality, throwing the car into reverse in professional sports.

The fanbase, who is so dedicated that that the Eagles are one of the only NFL teams to get booed on the road because of poor performance, should feel reassured though.

Once again, Donovan McNabb will tell Philadelphian’s that this team is better than the teams they have lost to, just like he did after losses to the Bears and Redskins.

Andy Reid, as has been is pattern since day one, will arrogantly answer questions at his press conference on Monday about how he knows the answers to the questions that plague the Eagles, just as he has after all four losses this season.

Reid needs to come to the realization that a diagnosis is short of successful treatment and nothing on the field has proven that his answers have been effectively communicated to the players he coaches.

It is a slim possibility that at some point reality will set in and the organization will realize, they are what they are, which is a 5-4-1 football team.

A group who just struggled for a tie against a team whose most recent success has taken place in the race for “most dysfunctional NFL franchise” against the Oakland Raiders.

Donovan McNabb closed his mouth Sunday afternoon, he finished gasping for air and slapped on his traditional post loss smile. The sound you heard was not caused by the meeting of his teeth; it was the window closing on the Reid and McNabb era.

Rest assured they will go into the locker room and emerge convinced that they are the gold standard of the NFL as delusions of grandeur run wild in the NovaCare complex.

In reality though, the true gold standard is not located in the mirror, it is located across Broad Street, by guys who wear red, by guys who did not tell the city how good they were until they won, by guys who actually have championship rings.

Tyrone Willingham: All Words, No Action

Chris S — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 03:09:26 -0500

Within the last week the Black Coaches & Administrators (BCA) released its report grading the institutions which make up the NCAA. Once again, the overall numbers are poor, and with the termination of Coach Ron Prince at Kansas State University and Coach Tyrone Willingham at The University of Washington at season’s end, the number will be 4; before any coaching vacancies have been filled.

Willingham has been outspoken on this topic. As one of the few African American head coach’s in the NCAA and as the current President of the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), he has a right to be. He is in the position to lead and has a platform as President of the AFCA in which he can deliver a message.

This summer, in an interview as President of the AFCA, Willingham said, “the numbers are the numbers, they don’t lie,” when asked about the number of African-American head coaches in Div. I NCAA football.

In a recent article by the associated press, Willingham, before his Huskies, the only winless major college team, practiced for Saturday night's game against UCLA, stated in light of the recent BCA Report Card on minority hiring practices:

"Obviously, it should be a great concern to all of us because there's a pool of resources in our country that's not being tapped. We've battled this for some time. At no time has that number been where it should be. In my estimation, that hurts all of us."

The 54-year-old coach was elected president of the American Football Coaches Association last winter and still has a few months left on his one-year term. Willingham has said he hasn't ruled out coaching somewhere next season, and he wants to make it easier for him and others to get hired.

Willingham wants to at least increase the odds of hiring by expanding the minority pool. He said the AFCA is looking at a plan that would seek compliance from university presidents, athletic directors, prominent boosters and others most influential in a school's big-business football program. That ambitious goal is why something like a "Rooney Rule" won't become reality in college football for at least a few years, he said.

Coach Willingham is interested in “expanding the minority pool”. One can debate the logistical applicability of a “Rooney Rule” in the Div. 1 football, with different conferences, and each school governed independently, it is not one body, like the NFL. What one cannot debate is that increasing the profile of qualified African American assistant coaches so that they are head coaching candidates would be a good thing.

Most first time head coaches are hired either hired within the program or are hired from an offensive or defensive coordinator position, it is, after all, the most logical stepping stone to a position as a head coach.

Ask Coach Lane Kiffin, who was the offensive coordinator at USC before becoming a first time head coach for the Oakland Raiders. Ask Coach Brad Childress who was a long time offensive coordinator with the Philadelphia Eagles before becoming the Head Coach of the Minnesota Vikings. Ask Coach Romeo Crennel who was a defensive coordinator with the New England Patriots before becoming the Head Coach for the Cleveland Browns. Ask Coach Ron Prince who was an offensive coordinator with The University of Virginia before becoming the Head Coach for Kansas State University.

Hiring a qualified African American coach to a coordinator position is would be a huge stepping stone for first time head coaches. For current minority head coaches would be a great way to improve the profile of qualified minority candidates. With that said it is interesting that in 14 years as a Head Football Coach in Div 1 NCAA football, Coach Willingham not hired one African American coordinator; not one. Hardly the logical actions of a man who states his intention is to, “expand the minority pool”.

He has been in an unbelievably rare position in the last 14 years as a minority head coach and has not once groomed a minority coaching candidate by hiring them as a coordinator.

Coach Dana Bible, Coach Bill Diedrick Jr. and Coach Tim Lappano, all white coaches, have been his offensive coordinators.

Coach Bill Harris, Coach Kent Baer and Coach Ed Donatell, all white coaches, have been his defensive coordinators.

In the last year Coach Willingham fired and replaced Coach Kent Baer with Coach Ed Donatell, replacing a white coach with a white coach. According to some, Coach Willingham did offer Coach DeWayne Walker, defensive coordinator at UCLA the defensive coordinator position. However, according to Coach Willingham, an interview is different than actually hiring someone.

If one would take a brief look at the staff of the 6 African American head coaches, there are 10 official coordinator positions, (as according to the official Miss St. website, Coach Croom does not have official coordinators) only two are African American They both work with Head Coach Tuner Gill at the University of Buffalo, who was hired within the staff from the offensive coordinator position.

When you analyze the racial makeup of the staff of the six coaches, only 33% are African American 25 of 75.

Buffalo 50% of staff are African American

Houston 33%

Kansas State 24%

Miami 50%

Mississippi St. 41%

Washington 18%

Coach Willingham’s University of Washington Football Staff employed only two African American coaches of the nine (18 percent) assistant on staff going into the season. Coach, “The numbers are the numbers, they don’t lie”, these are not the actions of a man who says he wants to do his part to “expand the minority pool”.

This does not take away from the low numbers in the rest of the NCAA, but a leadership by example approach, especially from a man who has said so much, done so little and is in such a position would not hurt.

After all, actions speak louder than words.

Excerpts from AP writer, Gregory Bell’s November 14, 2008 article were used in this report.

Tyrone Willingham and The Myth of "The Molder"

Chris S — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 16:58:09 -0400

The reputation of coach Tyrone Willingham is a myth built by those in the media that selectively ignore his 76-84 overall record. They choose to overlook the fact that if he loses one more game this year, he will accomplish in 14 years what it took Paul "Bear" Bryant to do in 39—reach 85 career losses.

They disregard the fact that the Coach who replaced him at Notre Dame has two more wins against the Pac-10 then he does in the last four years. Rather, they cling to the two “feathers in his cap”: taking Stanford to the Rose Bowl and winning 10 games in his first season at Notre Dame; neither of which is as impressive as the media would have you believe.

The facts behind each myth on which the foundation of this "great reputation" is built are below. The author apologizes in advance that they get in the way of the fairy tale.

The Myth of the Rose Bowl Success

Coach Willingham did lead Stanford to the Rose Bowl; however, the Pac-10 of 1998 was equivalent to the Big East of 2004, when Pitt went 8-4 and made it to the Fiesta Bowl. All ESPN could talk about for a month was if the Big East should still have even have an automatic bid because the conference was so bad.

It was not like they navigated the Pac-10 of today or even the Pac-10 of 2001, which was drastically different. Stanford got to the Rose Bowl when the Pac-10 was beyond mediocre. The league was pre-Pete Carroll and only had three teams with winning records, Stanford, Oregon and Washington. Stanford avoided Oregon on their schedule and lost to Washington.

Stanford opened up the season with a 69-17 loss at Texas and then proceeded to lose at home to San Jose State later in the year. The season was not exactly barn-burning.

The Myth of the 10-win season at Notre Dame

Coach Willingham won 10 games at Notre Dame in his first year—10 wins largely because of a Bob Davie-built defense.

The double standard is glaring: Coach Weis did it with Coach Willingham's players, the media constantly reminds its audience, but somehow that logic does not carry over to Coach Willingham. He won with his brilliant coaching, not with Bob Davie’s players.

Coach Willingham brought his West Coast offense to Notre Dame yet did not score an offensive touchdown until Game Four and still won the first four games, all on the backs of special teams and defense.

The Myth of the Five-Year Standard Notre Dame Contract

It is often reported that Coach Willingham did not get the standard five-year Notre Dame contract, implying that Notre Dame did not honor its own standards. The five-year initial contract was offered; however, it was rejected by Coach Willingham.

He insisted on a six-year deal in two separate three-year parts. The contract was executed fully with the buyout clause at end of year three.

Many point to Coach Faust getting five years and having a lot of trouble on the field. However, he had recruiting success—see the talent Coach Holtz inherited—and embraced the alumni and the tradition, which is important at any big school, this helped his case in getting the full five years.

Coach Davie could recruit, especially on defense (again, see Coach Willingham’s first year at Notre Dame) and had a successful year after a bad year, which kept him around for year five. He was on the hot seat going into year three and led the Irish to a BCS bowl.

Coach Weis would probably have been fired last year if he did not have such success in recruiting, but they were all true freshmen and true sophomores.

Coach Willingham’s on-field record was failing, as were his recruiting rankings. He treated alumni much like he is treating them at UW (see below), and a clause in the contract he negotiated was executed, which is why according to Notre Dame’s July 2006-June 2007 tax forms, he was still the highest-paid football coach on the Notre Dame payroll while coaching for Washington.

The Myth that the University of Washington was a Mess in 2004

The school was never sanctioned by the NCAA, as was the fear when Coach Willingham arrived in Montlake. The talent pool, according to Rivals.com, was there, as the three classes preceding Coach Willingham at Washington were ranked 19, 23, and 19 for an average ranking of 20. The Willingham-recruited classes at Notre Dame were 24, 12, and 32, averaging 23.

The argument can be made based on those numbers that Coach Willingham walked into a better situation at UW than he created for himself at ND. In the years that Coach Willingham has been at UW, he has done little to improve the situation, recruiting the 35th, 36th, and 24th-ranked recruiting classes, for an average of 32.

The 2008 Washington Schedule Refocused

Early on the excuse makers were out in force, saying, “It is a crucial year for UW, but look at their schedule.” People chalked up losses to Oregon, BYU, and Oklahoma, but not a home loss to a .500 Stanford team and a blowout loss at Arizona.

To make matters worse, Stanford and Arizona both had players quoted by local media stating that the Husky players looked like they had quit in the second half of their respective games.

There was a borderline excessive celebration call at the end of the BYU game, but it made the extra point to force overtime equivalent to a 32-yard FG, and it was blocked. It was not missed one foot to the right or left; it would not have been good from 31 yards or even 17...it was BLOCKED.

The ball never passed the line of scrimmage as an unblocked BYU player practically took the ball from the holder's hands. That is a lack of execution on special teams, and that falls on the coaching staff's ability to re-focus the young men after a controversial call.

The Myth That the Washington Debacle Is Not Coach Willingham's fault

Coach Willingham has recruited poorly, coached poorly, banned boosters from practice, and shunned alumni. Washington has a great football tradition—one would think that a coach would want to embrace that tradition.

Steve Emtman is arguably the best player in school history, and he has only been allowed one sideline pass this season. His requests for more have been rebuffed.

Another former five-year player requested a sideline pass for the UW-ASU game, but he was rebuked by the UW coaching staff. However, he was welcomed by the ASU staff and the opposing coach granted a sideline pass.

In the NFL offseason, two former Huskies wanted to come work out at UW. They were told “NO,” and no reason was given.

Most recently, Coach Willingham did not allow UW’s legendary 1978 Rose Bowl team to address the current team because he did not have “enough notice” that they were going to be present. After the game he stated in an interview that he would need three to four months notice to allow the 1978 team to address his team.

Those kinds of things just are not smart. Then again, neither is being the face of African-American college football coaches in the country and not having an African-American coordinator. This summer he said in an interview “the numbers are the numbers, they don’t lie,” when asked about the number of African-American head coaches in Div. I NCAA football.

Football is just like any other business—you have to work your way up. Most head coaches are hired from a coordinator position. Coach Willingham has a white offensive coordinator, and after firing his white defensive coordinator last year, he hired Ed Donatell, another white defensive coordinator. In fact, in 14 years as a head coach, Coach Willingham has never hired an African- American offensive or defensive coordinator. That does not seem to be a trend that is going to change any time soon as of now the nine assistants Coach Willingham currently employs at UW, only two are African-American.

The numbers are the numbers—they don’t lie.

Talk about leadership by example.

Ultimately, his leadership is a myth.