What are the Saints' options?
Tom Benson finally stopped the uncertainty surrounding the New Orleans Saints on Wednesday by making some bold moves. Benson made the right decision on Wednesday by firing head coach Mike Ditka and general manager Bill Kuharich. Salary cap consultant Terry O'Neil was also let go.
Now that these moves have been made, speculation will shift to who will be calling the shots on Airline Drive. Here is a look at a few of the top GM and coaching candidates that the Saints could pursue:
General Manager Candidates
Charley Casserly
Charley Casserly's name has been mentioned for several jobs, including the new Houston franchise's GM post, since he was let go as the Washington Redskins GM by Daniel Snyder prior to the start of the 1999 season. Casserly started with the Redskins as an unpaid intern in 1977. He worked his way through the ranks and became general manager in 1989.
The Redskins won their third Super Bowl after the 1991 season, but until this season had not made the playoffs since 1992. Under Casserly's watch the Redskins have had a poor record with recent first-round draft picks - including flops such as Heath Shuler, Andre Johnson and Bobby Wilson - but some of the selections were made as much by Turner as Casserly, which should sound familiar to most Saints fans.
However, in 1999 Casserly had a masterful draft. He not only got the player the Redskins wanted - Champ Bailey - but he also worked the phones and ended up with three first-round draft picks for next year, including the one he fleeced from Mike Ditka and the New Orleans Saints for Ricky Williams.
Mark Hatley
Mark Hatley took over as the Bears vice president of player personnel prior to the 1999 season. Before taking the Bears job he spent the previous ten seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs. During his time with the Chiefs, Hatley spent five seasons as director of player of personnel, four as a scout and one as linebackers coach.
His primary focus with the Chiefs was scouting players with professional experience, including both NFL free agents and World League players. He is known as a very good talent evaluator, which was the primary reason he was selected to help turn around the Bears front office.
Coaching Candidates
Mike Martz
Mike Martz spent the 1999 season as the offensive coordinator for the St. Louis Rams. Under Martz's direction the Rams produced one of the most prolific offenses in NFL history. Martz also took a journeyman arena league quarterback and turned him into the MVP of the NFL.
Martz, 48, spent two seasons with the Washington Redskins as their quarterback coach prior to returning to the Rams, where he spent five seasons. Martz was the Rams wide receivers coach for two of those seasons and earned credit for developing wide receiver Isaac Bruce. Martz was also one of the big reasons for Saints wide receiver Eddie Kennison's big rookie season. After Martz's departure from St. Louis Kennison was never the same.
Before his first stint with the Rams, Martz was offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Arizona State (from 1988 to '91).
Gary Crowton
Gary Crowton is currently in his first season as the offensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears. Prior to accepting the Bears' job, Crowton was the head coach for the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs. He began his career at Tech in 1995 as the offensive coordinator and was promoted to head coach prior to the 1996 campaign. During Crowton's tenure, the Bulldogs went 21-13, including a 9-2 record in 1997.
Under Crowton, Tech produced record numbers on the offensive side of the ball. During his last two seasons at Tech, Crowton guided the Bulldogs to the top of the nation in passing offense. He also deserves the credit for developing wide receiver Troy Edwards and quarterback Tim Rattay.
Gary Kubiak
Gary Kubiak's name has come up as a potential head coaching candidate for just about every job opening in the NFL and NCAA for the past two seasons. Kubiak, currently the Denver Broncos offensive coordinator, has already told Patriots that he has no interest in their coaching vacancy and has a history of turning down teams' job offers.
Just last year Kubiak turned down the University of Colorado coaching position and was less than receptive to inquiries from the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens. At one time it was also rumored that Jerry Jones had interest in Kubiak prior to naming Chan Gailey as his head coach prior to the 1998 season. Kubiak has stated before that he feels like he still has a lot to learn about being a head coach and hasn't felt ready for that responsibility yet.
Jim Haslett
Jim Haslett was defensive coordinator of the New Orleans Saints in 1996 after serving one season as the team's linebacker coach. He also served as an assistant with the Los Angeles Raiders and the Sacramento Surge of the World League.
Haslett, a graduate of Indiana (Pa.) and an NFL linebacker for nine seasons, has led the Steelers' defense to sixth and 12th in the overall rankings in 1997 and 1998, although the defense slipped a little this past season. He has been coaching in the league since 1993, but he never has been a head coach.
Dave McGinnis
Dave McGinnis was offered the Bears head coaching job prior to the start of the 1999 season, but refused the job after a contract dispute. McGinnis is currently the defensive coordinator for the Arizona Cardinals. Prior to his stint with the Cardinals, McGinnis spent 10 years with the Bears as an assistant under Mike Ditka.
McGinnis was the linebackers coach when Mike Singletary, Otis Wilson and Wilber Marshall were in their prime. The Bears were 95-64 when McGinnis was an assistant, and the defense ranked among the top six in fewest yards allowed in seven of those 10 seasons. In 1986, Chicago's defense allowed a league-low 187 points. However, the Cardinals' defense from 1996-1998 has ranked 21st, 27th and 21st in total yards allowed.
Dom Capers
Dom Capers, the former Carolina Panthers head coach, has operated as the Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator during the 1999 season and has transformed a very poor defensive team into one of the best in the league. Prior to his head coaching job with the Panthers, Capers was the defensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He also spent time with the New Orleans Saints under Jim Mora as the defensive backs coach.
Joe Pendry
Joe Pendry took over the helm of the Bills' offense in January of 1998, bringing a wealth of creative offensive knowledge and experience to the Buffalo staff. The Bills offense saw a dramatic improvement in its first year under Pendry. In '98, Buffalo ranked 6th in the NFL in overall offense (25th in '97), 3rd in rushing offense (14th in '97) and 12th in passing (25th in '97). Another key stat in 1998 was that the Bills turned the ball over 22 fewer times than in '97. Pendry continuously adjusts the Bills game plans to fit the talents of the team's personnel.
Pendry began his pro coaching career in 1983 as the offensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Stars of the USFL under Jim Mora. He became the head coach of the Pittsburgh Maulers of the USFL the following year (1984). Then he jumped to the NFL in 1985 and was the running backs coach for the Cleveland Browns before being elevated to offensive coordinator in 1988. He joined Kansas City's staff in the same capacity in 1989 and remained with the club until 1992. After his stint with Kansas City, he served as the running backs coach for the Chicago Bears (1993-94) before being hired by the expansion Carolina Panthers (1995-97), where he developed young players such as QB Kerry Collins and helped direct the team to the NFC Championship game in only its second season.
Lets hope Tom Benson makes the right decision.
