The Super Bowl Coaches

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Long Time Friends and Former Teammates

While much has been written about the Super Bowl I can share with you my personal experience and it concerns the two coaches of the Super Bowl gladiators. Back in the decade of the 1980's I had the pleasure of working for Tom Kean, Governor of New Jersey.

It was during that time newly opened Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands Sports complex was home to the New York Giants and Jets and the Giants, who had struggled for years to regain the stature of past teams, recruited a young New Jersey native Bill Parcells to lead the team back to greatness.

Indeed he did leading them to Super Bowl championships in 1987 and 1991 before moving on to the Dallas Cowboys and then New England Patriots. Since the Giants stadium was owned by the State of New Jerseyand the governor and designated state commissioners were on the Meadowlands Board on occasion I got to represent the governor at meetings during the first Super Bowl season.

Through this unusual opportunity I also got to meet Coach Parcells on several occasions and his assistant coaches. Over the years I became great fans of Parcells, along with two of his many successful assistant coaches Bill Belichick and Tom Coughlin.

These are the same people who are now head coaches for this year's Super Bowl teams, the New England Patriots and New York Giants. Their individual success stands as a testament to Bill Parcells and the many assistants who went on to head coaching and successful careers. All should and will be in the NFL Hall of Fame.

They once worked toward the same goals: Win a Super Bowl as an assistant coach. Become a head coach. Become a Super Bowl-winning head coach.

For Patriots coach Bill Belichick and Giants coach Tom Coughlin, those were yesterday’s dreams. Based on their successes, each has had to readjust their career objectives.

On Sunday, they will again have the same achievement in mind. However, only one will leave Indianapolissatisfied.

“He’s a good friend of mine that I’ve been with a long time,” Belichick said last week when asked about Coughlin.

For three years, from 1988 through 1990, they worked together on Coach Bill Parcells’ Giants staff. Belichick, who had been with New York since 1979, was the defensive coordinator, while Coughlin acted as the wide receivers coach on a staff that included the likes of Romeo Crennel, Charlie Weis and Al Groh.

Following a Super Bowl XXV victory over the heavily favored Bills in January 1991, each jumped to head coaching positions: Coughlin to Boston College, Belichick to the Cleveland Browns.

Twenty-one years later, they meet in the Super Bowl for the second time, branches of Parcells’ coaching tree getting tangled up once again. They first met in 2008 when Coughlin's Giants stunned the odds makers and beat the Patriots.

The three coaches will have coached in 10 Super Bowls, winning 6 after this game, a remarkable record for three members of the same Giants coaching staff.

Right now, one man sits alone among NFL head coaches in the Super Bowl era. That man is Chuck Noll, the legendary former head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the only NFL coach to win four Super Bowls.

Enter Bill Belichick.

Even if he loses Super Bowl XLVI and never wins another game, Belichick's legacy will still be strong. With a victory this weekend, the Patriots' coach will tie Noll with four Super Bowl wins, and, in essence, elevate himself to a status only Noll has known.
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Obamaville 9/15 - A Sad Ending to the Reggie Bush of the New Orleans Saints affair

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Last January I wrote a Super Bowl preview and said the following. This week the last action I predicted, the Reggie Bush would lose his Heisman trophy came true when he returned it, the first time in history a Heisman has been forfeited. All the penalties I predicted were imposed.

It was the end of a dark chapter in college football and one the NCAA and NFL must address if the sport is ever to be completely cleaned up. While the school, USC, lost millions of dollars in revenue, lost the ability to appear in bowl games and had to forfeit a national championship, Bush suffered as well. But the sports agents who lured him into the illegal acts go unpunished.

The time is long overdue for the NCAA and NFL to take strong actions against the predatory practices of unethical sports agents by banning them, preferably for life, if they harm a career of such a youth as Bush. A kid in college can easily be seduced by the temptation of cash and gifts while in college and those who make such offers deserve to be banned from the sport for the damage they have done to the player and the college.

Monday, January 25, 2010
Super Bowl Time - The Gladiators in the Coliseum - Are the Saints Angels or Demons?

I do have a problem with Reggie Bush, star of the Saints. There is something unfair about what he did when he was in college at USC and he won the national championship and Heisman trophy. A multi-year investigation by the NCAA is about to be released and I expect it will show Bush violated many laws in college accepting cars, cash, a home for his parents, trips and who knows what else from agents intent on getting a piece of his pro career.

If that is true, then USC will probably have to forfeit all the games he played in and might lose the national championship and Bush might lose the Heisman as the best player in college football. It would be appropriate for the severity of what he may have done. What is unfair is that the university can lose all that, be put on probations and lose millions of dollars in revenues from bowl games, lose tens of thousands of dollars in sports scholarships other deserving kids might have been given, but Bush, the one behind the disaster, loses his trophy and nothing more.

He still kept all the payoffs during his college career, his parents kept what they got, Bush got his millions of dollars in the pros, so crime seems to be very rewarding for him. You see, without the national championship and Heisman trophy he never would have got the millions he was paid to turn pro. If pro football wanted to run a clean house they would ban for life anyone who cheated in college to benefit in the pros.

As it stands right now the next generation of pro football players will be encouraged to cheat, take bribes and illegal gifts in college, further eroding the morality in amateur sports, especially if Bush and New Orleans wins the Super Bowl. It just does not seem right that the signal we send our youth is crime pays, and pays and pays, not just for the moment but throughout their career. This Super Bowl will be a bit tarnished if the Saints win.
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New Jersey Super Pride - First Real Open Air Super Bowl to Meadowlands

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For the first time since the Super Bowl began it will be played in an open air outdoor stadium in the snow belt as New York/New Jersey broke the 47 year stranglehold of Super Bowls in domed or warm weather stadiums when they won the right to stage Super Bowl 48 at the new stadium in 2014.



The game, which will be played at the Giants' and Jets' new $1.6 billion, 82,000-seat home in the Meadowlands within eyesight of Manhattan and the number one city and metro area in the world, Metropolitan New York - New Jersey will get to show us what they've got.



New York/New Jersey was one of three bidders for the 2014 game. The other two were South Florida, which already has hosted 10 Super Bowls, including the most recent one in February, and Tampa Bay, which has hosted four. NY/NJ won on the fourth ballot by a majority vote by team owners over Tampa. South Florida was eliminated after the second ballot.





Newly elected New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Mayor Mike Bloomberg of NYC played key roles in breaking the 47 year hold the domed and warm weather stadiums have enjoyed and finally football in America will decide a champion based on the four key fundamentals of winning football at it's highest standard of competition. The fundamentals are the winner must exemplify true grit, determination and skill while overcoming the weather conditions to win.



Once upon a time the NFL championship games were played up north where weather was often as big a factor as skill and some of the most exciting games in history were barely visible to the viewers. But this is America and football is not a sport for creampuffs so it is only right the weather be a factor.



For the New York and New Jersey area this game will generate up to $100 million or more in new revenue which is needed. It is also appropriate that the first cold weather game be played in the newest, most modern and most expensive stadium in the world.



After nearly a decade since the 9-11 terrorist disaster in NYC it will also show the world that the New York New Jersey area is back in the spotlight as one of the most vibrant areas in the world.



Note to reader: I am definitely not objective about this story. Having lived in Jersey for 18 years and served with Governor Kean when the Meadowlands was first coming to the forefront as a major sports complex in the nation, it is great to see this vibrant and dynamic area be given such an honor and you can bet it will be one of the best Super Bowls of all time.

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The Saints Came Marching In

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It was a super Super Bowl for New Orleans and the long drought for the Saints came to an emphatic end as Drew Brees led the Saints to victory over New Orleans native Payton Manning and the Colts.



The first quarter it was all Indianapolis. The second belonged to New Orleans. But the second half the Saints started dramatically with an onside kick, a first for the Super Bowl, and they never looked back.

By the end it was clear destiny was with the Saints and they played well, rode the stunning performance of Brees, and reign as number one in the world of football. It just may have finally put to an end the rebuilding of New Orleans after hurricane Katrina four years ago.



There are a number of readers of the Coltons Point Times from New Orleans including Maracel and EJ and their family and they even traveled to Coltons Point last fall to share the famous New Orleans cuisine with those of us in Southern Maryland.



We received constant updates during the Super Bowl week and especially the party after when the City of New Orleans was booked solid for a game in Miami. That is the love of life and parties inherent in our gem of a city down in Louisiana.



When the team returned to New Orleans for the victory celebration Mardi Gras just started a couple of days early and the Krewe floats came out in a rare joint appearance for their team. You see, for about a hundred years each New Orleans Krewe has it's own parade during Mardi Gras but they all were there to honor the team.



Drew Brees became the next American super star and his humble nature, mild demeanor and precision passing earned him Most Valuable player, an honor he immediately shared with the team.



If there is an America's team like the Dallas Cowboys used to be it is the New Orleans Saints and I doubt many people were not happy with the outcome. Way to go New Orleans, you made us proud and you helped us forget the mess that was made of the clean up after Katrina.

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Snow, Blizzard, Winds and Ice - Mother Nature Shuts Up Politicians

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It started snowing about 2 pm yesterday, Friday, and has not stopped snowing since. So far we have about 20 inches of new snow, some areas have over 30 inches,and it is supposed to snow for 6-7 more hours.



Incredibly the politicians of Washington, DC went silent and have not been heard from since the snows came. I think it is Mother Earth's way of protecting us from a severe political overdose.



Now there are a few unusual things about this monster storm as the media likes to hype it. First here at Coltons Point 60 miles down the Potomac River from our nation's capitol we have had a blizzard and flood warning in effect since the storm began.

That means we are supposed to be overrun by river water while suffering blinding snow, we call it white out conditions, with wind gusts up to 75 miles per hour.



Instead it rained all night meaning we got a lot more precipitation than the snow areas up north. You see every inch of rain equals 10 inches of snow and we had well over an inch of rain all night, probably two inches.

However, this morning it did start snowing and by 2 pm this afternoon we had over 12-16 inches of fresh snow on top of the 1-2 inches of rain which was on top of the remainer of the 12 inches of snow last weekend and the 24 inches of snow about 30 days ago.



So here in our little Southern Maryland outpost we have had about 50-60 inches of snow this winter, the most in history, and the magnolia trees are getting mad as hell.



I grew up in Iowa and Nebraska so this is more like a typical winter for me but these St. Mary's County natives long ago got spoiled and expect tropical winters.

Send Al Gore a message, where the heck is the global warming that has filled your bank accounts.



More than 300,000 people around here have no power and the Super Bowl is a little over 24 hours away. You can bet there will be power by then since Super Bowl commericals are the best thing on television.

I have a great many readers in Florida. Bet you are happy you fled the Northeast for the orange groves. There is also a strong contingent from New Orleans where Super Bowl fever has hit an insane pitch.



All the hotels in New Orleans are booked the nght of the Super Bowl even though the Super Bowl is in Miami about 500 miles away. Those cajuns are throwing the biggest party other than Marti Gras to celebrate the first team appearance in the Super Bowl and no matter who wins they will probably be happy.



You see, it is the first trip for the Saints but if Indianapolis wins the star of the Colts, Peyton Manning, grew up in New Orleans and his father has been with the Saints for 39 years as a player and executive.



For those of you outside the US and there are readers from over 100 countries don't believe all you hear about the storm in the media. We are quite well prepared for storms like this, even for the power outages. Many of us grew up with them.

It will make for good headlines but it will not disrupt much of our way of life because we were all going to be watching the Super Bowl anyway tomorrow.



And for those of you who are conspiracy seekers this could be a good one. The threat of a paralyzing storm emptied all the stores in the entire northeastern United States, where 55 million people live, of food, supplies and survival gear not to mention snow shovels, generators, water, etc.



I saw people so panicked they were buying shopping carts full of stuff. I mean how much food and toilet paper can you go through in a weekend? So wouldn't that threat of a huge storm help the Obama economic recovery with the burst of consumer spending in the biggest markets in America after a bad week on the stock market? What do you think Glenn Beck?

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Super Bowl Time - The Gladiators in the Coliseum - Are the Saints Angels or Demons?

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Don't know about you but the one time a year when I like pro football is when it is time for the Super Bowl, football's version of the World Series, or is it the clash of titans? At any rate, this is the one game every year when there is so much money riding on the outcome, both legal and illegal, that you can almost count on an honest effort by everyone involved.



Gambling, yet another nation pastime that remains outside the law in most states, has had a corrupting influence on most sports over the years. Illegal gambling is like playing the hedge funds or derivative markets on Wall Street where you can bet and win for or against the team or fund depending on whether you can anticipate the outcome. All the better if you can influence it.



Many a great sports career has been tarnished or ruined by people trying to influence players or officials to throw games, fake injuries, or simply hurt an opposing star. Kind of like an investment house betting the housing market will collapse or oil prices will skyrocket and then influencing the news media to make it happen in the press.



In the league finals between the New Orleans Saints and Minnesota Vikings it was like watching a gang of paid assassins trying to permanently damage the Vikings legendary quarterback Brett Favre. I can't tell yet if the Saints are angels or demons so I guess I will have to see if Payton Manning can avoid what they did to Favre.



Not that pain isn't part of the game, and Favre can take as much pain as anyone, but the viciousness and excessiveness of the quarterback attacks seemed to go way beyond good sportsmanship and even resulted in a couple of penalties from the see nothing do nothing officials.



As for the overtime in pro football, sudden death should be declared dead on arrival. That is the most unfair method of determining a winner I have ever seen and the only overtime format in all of professional sports where it is entirely possible the skill of both teams may never get tested in overtime. I mean even tennis has a multi-point winner, not the first to score, and in soccer both teams get shots to win.



But professional football has a system where a team can score and the other team's offense will never get a chance to play in the overtime, like what happened in the New Orleans game. College football needs a real playoff and pro football needs a real overtime that rewards skill, gives equal opportunity for both teams to demonstrate their offense and defense, and awards victory to those who earn it.



As for the New Orleans Saint and whether they are angels or demons, does it really matter in a sport where strength, hard hitting, bashing, shooting off the mouth and grandstanding are all considered part of the sports mystique? The Super Bowl will determine the real champion and if the game is lousy which does occasionally happen at least we know the commercials will be entertaining, even during an economic recession.



So we have the Indianapolis Colts and Payton Manning who won it a couple of years ago against the New Orleans Saint who have never even been in the Super Bowl. People like underdogs and of course the Saints are underdogs. However, both teams were first in their leagues and league champions do not often make it to the Super Bowl.



Manning is not Favre, he is much bigger, younger and stronger and the Colts are a lot more protective. It seems the most successful sports franchises protect their stars at all costs. Look what happens when an opposing pitcher hits one of the Yankees baseball team starts. Someone is going to get hit in retaliation. Indianapolis will protect Manning if he even needs it.



I do have a problem with Reggie Bush, star of the Saints. There is something unfair about what he did when he was in college at USC and he won the national championship and Heisman trophy. A multi-year investigation by the NCAA is about to be released and I expect it will show Bush violated many laws in college accepting cars, cash, a home for his parents, trips and who knows what else from agents intent on getting a piece of his pro career.

If that is true, then USC will probably have to forfeit all the games he played in and might lose the national championship and Bush might lose the Heisman as the best player in college football. It would be appropriate for the severity of what he may have done. What is unfair is that the university can lose all that, be put on probations and lose millions of dollars in revenues from bowl games, lose tens of thousands of dollars in sports scholarships other deserving kids might have been given, but Bush, the one behind the disaster, loses his trophy and nothing more.

He still kept all the payoffs during his college career, his parents kept what they got, Bush got his millions of dollars in the pros, so crime seems to be very rewarding for him. You see, without the national championship and Heisman trophy he never would have got the millions he was paid to turn pro. If pro football wanted to run a clean house they would ban for life anyone who cheated in college to benefit in the pros.

As it stands right now the next generation of pro football players will be encouraged to cheat, take bribes and illegal gifts in college, further eroding the morality in amateur sports, especially if Bush and New Orleans wins the Super Bowl. It just does not seem right that the signal we send our youth is crime pays, and pays and pays, not just for the moment but throughout their career. This Super Bowl will be a bit tarnished if the Saints win.



By the way, one last bit of advice for the pros. The Pro Bowl, in other words the all star game for the pros, is the week between the League championships and the Super Bowl. That means all the star players on the top two or four teams in pro football cannot play in the all star game. Isn't that a bit stupid and a rip off for the fans who want to see the top stars in the all star game? Change the schedule so real all stars can play for the fans.