Roots of Cardinals Coaching Staff Have Steel Feel

The term “coaching tree” has become as common in NFL dialect as “first down” or “off sides.”

Think about it. Just about every week we get another mentor-protege match-up, and we get to listen to a commentator give us insightful commentary like, “Coach X learned under Coach Y. They used to eat donuts together every morning.”

Sometimes I wonder if Coach Y knew that he was supposed to separate whites from darks when he did the laundry before he met Coach X.

All joking aside, where there’s smoke there’s usually fire. Coaching trees really are very prominent in football. There are many reasons for this, but the most basic one is that there are so many members of a football team’s coaching staff as compared to other sports. That means there are more opportunities for promotion in football, and more opportunities for a group of coaches to be bonded by the principals they learned from previous jobs.

The Cardinal’s coaching staff falls under the tree of Bill Cowher (who himself belongs to the Marty Schottenheimer tree). The three key decision makers on the Cardinals coaching staff (Ken Whisenhunt, Russ Grimm and Bill Davis) worked under Cowher for multiple seasons during his 15-year reign as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers.   

Although both Head Coach Ken Whisenhunt and (deep breath) Assistant Head Coach/Running Game Coordinator/Offensive Line Coach Russ Grimm have claimed to be disciples of former Redskins coach Joe Gibbs, each spent six seasons as assistants under Cowher. Defensive Coordinator Bill Davis began his coaching career in Pittsburgh, working there for three years. In addition, Passing Game Coordinator Mike Miller (Five seasons), Linebackers Coach Matt Raich (Three seasons) and Special Teams Coach Kevin Spencer (Five seasons) also worked in one capacity or another in Pittsburgh during Cowher’s tenure.

Though Ken Whisenhunt has quickly turned heads during his two-year run as the Cardinals head coach, he was hardly a household name when he got the job. Some are surprised he has been able to find a way to instill a disciplined, winning attitude in a place where so many seemingly more-accomplished coaching predecessors have failed. That seems fitting, given the way his football career started. He was a walk-on at Georgia Tech. He was a surprise there too. By the time he was done playing tight end for the Yellow Jackets, he ranked second in school history in receiving yards and fourth in career receptions. He also garnered All-ACC honors during his senior year and was an honorable mention All-America selection.

He carved out a respectable nine-year career in the NFL (including a two-year stint with the Redskins, where he was a teammate of Russ Grimm), retiring after the 1993 season.

Whisenhunt has stressed his desire for a tough, disciplined team since he became the Cardinals head honcho. The coach himself has had to be tough and disciplined to rise through the ranks of coaching in his post-playing career. He began coaching in 1995 at Vanderbilt University, a school that was in the midst of a 26-year stretch of posting losing records (a streak which just ended last year). Whisenhunt coached special teams, tight ends and H-backs for the Commodores for two seasons.

Whisenhunt’s NFL coaching career began in Baltimore in 1997, where he coached tight ends for two seasons. He had one-year stops in Cleveland (special teams) and New York (tight ends) before finally landing a job in Pittsburgh.

For whatever reason, Whisenhunt’s rise in Pittsburgh was directly correlated to Mike Mularkey’s. In 2001, Mularkey, who had been the team’s tight ends coach, was promoted to offensive coordinator, paving the way for Whisenhunt to become the team’s tight ends coach. The two held those respective titles until 2004, when Mularkey was hired as head coach of the Buffalo Bills. That move again paved the way for Whisenhunt to rise, as he was promoted to the offensive coordinator position (Coinicidentally, Mularkey, who resigned as coach in Buffalo in 2006, is now the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons. Whisenhunt was born in Atlanta.).

Whisenhunt’s promotion to offensive coordinator coincided with the Steelers drafting of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. The rookie wound up setting an NFL record with wins in his first 13 starts as a pro, and the running game, which was ranked 31^st in the league the year before, ranked 2^nd that season. The following season, the Steelers won the Super Bowl.

Whisenhunt’s career in Arizona has been brief but extremely noteworthy. Now entering his third season as the team’s head coach, he is the only coach in Arizona history to post back-to-back non-losing seasons. As the team’s primary play-caller during his first season, Whisenhunt forged a great working relationship with quarterback Kurt Warner. Though the coach has often spoke about the need for a balanced offense, he has also shown a willingness to recognize that, due to the team’s current personnel, the team’s passing game is far and away a greater weapon than the ground attack. The Cardinals have had one of the league’s most prolific offenses over the last two years despite being extremely imbalanced.

Last season, Whisenhunt handed the play-calling duties to Todd Haley, the team’s offensive coordinator last season who is now the head coach in Kansas City. The move allowed Whisenhunt to become more of a traditional head coach, overseeing all aspects of the game but allowing his specific coaches to handle their assignments.

With Haley’s departure, however, Whisenhunt will again begin this season as the team’s primary play-caller. He has professed a desire to eventually hand the reigns over to Mike Miller, who is currently the team’s passing game coordinator. Miller’s eventual ascension seems to be following the same pattern of that of Haley’s, who despite holding the title of offensive coordinator in 2007 was not given play-calling responsibilities right away. For now though, the 2009 Cardinals offense will be orchestrated by three men, Whisenhunt, Miller and Russ Grimm.

Grimm is highly regarded within multiple NFL circles. He was a candidate for the Steelers head coaching job after Cowher retired and was interviewed for the New York Jets head job during the Cardinals playoff run last season. He won three Super Bowls during his 11-year playing career for the Redskins and was a first-team selection to the NFL’s 1980’s all-decade team. Hired by the Steelers in 2001 as offensive line coach after spending eight years as a coach with the Redskins (Four as offensive line coach), his impact was immediately felt in Pittsburgh. During Grimm’s stint there, Alan Fanceca became an All-Pro guard who made five consecutive Pro Bowl starts and center Jeff Hartings made two Pro Bowls. In 2004 Grimm was promoted to assistant head coach, the only person ever given that title under Bill Cowher. In 2005, the Steelers averaged nearly 140 rushing yards per game, and they won the Super Bowl.

Perhaps the best evidence of Grimm’s impact can be found in the career path of Steelers running back Willie Parker. In 2005, Parker rushed for 1,202 yards and averaged 4.7 yards per carry. In 2006, which would end up being Grimm’s last season in Pittsburgh, Parker rushed for a career-high 1,494 yards and a career-high 13 touchdowns, averaged 93.4 yards per game and made his first Pro Bowl. The following year, though he still rushed for 1,316 yards, he scored only two touchdowns, and he saw significant drop offs in both his yards per game and yards per carry averages. 2008 was even worse. He missed five games due to injury, and his yards per carry average dropped below 4 (3.8) for the first time in his career.

Though the Cardinals running game has been mediocre at best during Grimm’s tenure in Arizona, the offensive line has done a tremendous job of pass protection under his watch. The team’s O-line was regarded as one of the worst in the league in 2006, and it sometimes seemed there was a false start penalty every five seconds that season. Cardinals guard Reggie Wells, who has been with the team since 2003, said in a recent Washington Times article about Grimm that the coach has done a tremendous job working with the Cardinals linemen, both young and old.

In Grimm’s first year with the Cardinals (2007), the offensive line gave up only 24 sacks, which ranked sixth in the league. Last year, the unit gave up 28 sacks, tied for ninth in the league. Given the pass-heavy style of offense the team has used during the last two seasons, not to mention the fragile nature of starting quarterback Kurt Warner, such protection is vital.

It is rare to see a team fire a defensive coordinator following a season that ended with a loss in the Super Bowl. But that’s the route the Cardinals decided to take. Clancy Pendergast, who was the teams defensive coordinator for five seasons (2004-2008) and was the lone holdover from the previous coaching staff, was relieved of his duties shortly after last season ended, replaced by Bill Davis, who had served as the team’s linebackers coach for the previous two seasons.

Interestingly enough, Davis was an offensive player during his playing days. Though he never played in the NFL, he spent time in the Miami Dolphin’s training camp as a wide receiver and played quarterback and wide receiver at the University of Cincinnati.

Davis (surprise, surprise) started his NFL coaching career with Pittsburghin 1992, the first year Bill Cowher was the coach there. During his three-year stint there, he learned from numerous current or former NFL head coaches, including Cowher, Dom Capers, Marvin Lewis and Dick LeBeau.

When Capers was named head coach of the expansion Carolina Panthers in 1995, Davis followed him and became the team’s outside linebackers coach. Under his watch, Panthers linebackers Kevin Greene and Lamar Lathon finished first and second in the league in sacks, and each made the Pro Bowl. The team itself surprised everyone by reaching the NFC Championship in just their second year of existence.

After a four-year run with the Panthers, Davis had one-year stops in Cleveland and Green Bay before he settled in Atlanta for three years.

Under Pendergast, the Cardinal defense was considered a hybrid, playing out of both the 4-3 and 3-4 defenses. While such a scheme can be effective at times, it can also be very inconsistent. Whisenhunt has not been shy in his desire for the Cardinals to play a more traditional 3-4 defense, which could be the main reason for Davis’ appointment to defensive coordinator. In Davis’s run with the Falcons, he played an integral role in helping the team’s linebackers adjust to the 3-4 defense implemented by Wade Phillips, who was the Falcons defensive coordinator at the time. Falcons’ linebacker Keith Brooking made the Pro Bowl in all three of the seasons where Davis was a coach in Atlanta.

Davis was the defensive coordinator of the San Francisco49ers in 2005 and 2006, where he again used a 3-4 scheme. Though the team itself was going through some lean years, the defense was respectable. Cornerback Walt Harris made the Pro Bowl in 2006, and linebacker Brandon Moore had a career high 114 tackles and 6.5 sacks that season.

As the Cardinals linebackers coach the past two seasons, Davishas been instrumental in the development of Karlos Dansby, who has set career-highs in tackles in each of the last two seasons (117 in 2007, 119 in 2008). He also helped former Cardinal Calvin Pace, considered a disappointment for much of his tenure with the Cardinals, reach his potential. Pace had 106 tackles in 2007 before departing to the New York Jets because of a lucrative free-agent contract offer, no doubt made possible by his breakout 2007 season.

Though the Cardinals coaching staff is currently part of the Bill Cowher coaching tree, it may only be a matter of time before we start hearing about Ken Whisenhunt’s coaching tree. With Todd Haley already having ascended to head coach and Russ Grimm seemingly a candidate for a head coaching vacancy every year, Whisenhunt’s success in the desert is no doubt leading to many opportunities for members of his coaching staff. Soon enough, we will get to see Whisenhunt on one sideline and Haley/Grimm/Davis on the other, and another lazy commentator will be able to tell us all about the years they spent working together.

I can hardly wait.