Good article about keeping our Asst coaches

BullheadCardFan · January 13th, 2007, 05:17 AM

Money for aides is factor for Cards

Kent Somers
The Arizona Republic
Jan. 13, 2007 12:00 AM

When the Cardinals find a replacement for Dennis Green in the coming days, it won't end their coaching search.

The new coach will spend the following weeks hiring a staff, and a couple of factors might make that an interesting endeavor for the Cardinals.

First, team management expects the new coach to interview seven holdovers from Green's staff. It's unknown how much pressure will be exerted upon the head coach to hire those seven.

Second, the Cardinals historically have paid their assistant coaches less than the NFL average. If a new coach is going to attract quality assistants, especially to fill key positions such as offensive and defensive coordinators and offensive line coach, the Cardinals are going to have to pay more.

Each year, the NFL Coaches Association surveys assistants for salary information. Data for 2006 are still being compiled, but in 2005, the Cardinals were ranked somewhere in the bottom third, according to Larry Kennan, the organization's executive director.

"They paid Denny a little more than they paid other guys (former head coaches)," Kennan said, "and I think they upped the assistants some also, but they are not one of the higher-paid groups."

Sources on Green's former staff confirmed that the salaries for position coaches were in line with the rest of the league. And they credit for Green for that.

But Green's coordinators were paid considerably less than the league average. Teams sources said offensive coordinator Keith Rowen and defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast made between $300,000 and $400,000.

The league average for defensive coordinators is $709,000, according to those who responded to the NFLCA's survey. The average for offensive coordinators was $586,000.

It's not uncommon for coordinators to make at least $1 million these days. Gregg Williams, the Redskins' defensive coordinator, signed a three-year deal worth as much as $8 million last year.

When Nick Saban went to Miami as coach two years ago, he spent lavishly on coaches. Hudson Houck, the Dolphins offensive line coach, made nearly $1 million a year, double what his previous employer, the Chargers, was paying him.

"There's a salary cap on players, but there isn't a salary cap on coaches," Saban told reporters at the time.

Former Cardinals coach Dave McGinnis took less salary over the life of his contract so he could pay his assistants more.

Not long ago, it was hard for any NFL assistant coaches to find out what their counterparts in the league were making. Teams guarded the information for obvious reasons, and assistants, who often work 90 to 100 hours a week during the season, had little idea where their salaries ranked.

That began to change about eight years ago, Kennan said, when the NFLCA started its salary surveys. Initially, some assistants resisted, but they gradually saw the value in pooling information.

"Once we started to get everybody's information, salaries went up dramatically," he said. "Once you're armed with information, it's a lot easier to know what the going rate is."

It helped, too, that assistants started hiring agents to negotiate contracts, which increased salaries.

Cards' next move

Hiring a staff is the first key move for a new head coach. Previous Cardinals coaches, including McGinnis and Green, had trouble getting the people they wanted not only because of salary constraints, but also because other teams refused them permission to talk to assistants under contract.

That's the reason Cardinals management cited in retaining seven members of Green's staff. They wanted to give a new head coach a head start in assembling a staff.

"We felt like these guys would certainly fit in our future," Rod Graves, the team's vice president of football operations, said the day Green was fired. "Those coaches are going to be evaluated, along with my input, (by) the new head coach and we'll see ultimately where their status will fall.

"We just didn't think, No. 1, a wholesale turnover of the staff was necessary," he said.

That decision, however, likely has raised questions from head-coaching candidates.

Fair or not, the Cardinals have a reputation for being cheap. They would save money by retaining the assistants, who are under contract for 2007, rather than paying them if they don't find work elsewhere.

But no prospective head coach wants someone else to dictate the makeup of his staff, and candidates have been assured they won't be forced to hire anyone.

"You talk about talent on the field; talent on the coaching staff is just as important," former Packers coach Mike Sherman said when he interviewed with the Cardinals last week. "They want to retain the services of those men to give the new coach the opportunity to interview them. I'm under the understanding that's as far as it goes."

Russ Grimm, a Steelers assistant, reportedly turned down the Bears head coaching job three years ago because he didn't agree with management's position on hiring a staff. When he interviewed with the Cardinals on Tuesday, Grimm said a head coach has to "feel comfortable with his staff."

"I may walk back upstairs, and they say, 'We don't want you to have any say, so get out of here,' and I'm back on the next plane. That's an issue we haven't crossed yet."

40yearfan · January 13th, 2007, 05:30 AM

Quote:

But no prospective head coach wants someone else to dictate the makeup of his staff, and candidates have been assured they won't be forced to hire anyone.

"You talk about talent on the field; talent on the coaching staff is just as important," former Packers coach Mike Sherman said when he interviewed with the Cardinals last week. "They want to retain the services of those men to give the new coach the opportunity to interview them. I'm under the understanding that's as far as it goes."

*

Mitch · January 13th, 2007, 05:34 AM

This is one of the many reasons why the Bidwills are still behind the times and may always be cellar dwellers.

Handicapping a new coach by asking him (a) to interview and possibly retain members of Green's staff and (b) giving the new coach a limited budget to sign assistants to below average salaries is a recipe made for failure.

Let's not forget that the new coach's greatest challenge will be to try to expunge the stigma of losing that has scourged this franchise for a half a century...and asking the coach to do it without the financial help that other coaches around the league get is like asking Kurt Warner to take the Cardinals to the playoffs behind a porous offensive line...

Any HC candidate who would accept the Cardinals' job under these conditions has to be desperate or just plain naive.

O · January 13th, 2007, 05:38 AM

If I'm not mistaken all the Steelers assistants are still under contract, yet we don't hear the same talk about them.

40yearfan · January 13th, 2007, 05:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by O

If I'm not mistaken all the Steelers assistants are still under contract, yet we don't hear the same talk about them.

Isn't that the truth.

Duckjake · January 13th, 2007, 05:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by O

If I'm not mistaken all the Steelers assistants are still under contract, yet we don't hear the same talk about them.

Probably because the assumption is the Steelers will promote one of them to HC.

Mitch · January 13th, 2007, 05:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by O

If I'm not mistaken all the Steelers assistants are still under contract, yet we don't hear the same talk about them.

OK, but...what do the Steelers pay their assistants? Do you think their assistants are grossly underpaid the way the Cardinal assistants are?

Mitch · January 13th, 2007, 05:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duckjake

Probably because the assumption is the Steelers will promote one of them to HC.

Right on, Duckjake.

You know, the more we learn about the Bidwills' parsimonious ways, it's no wonder they interviewed Clancy Pendergast for the HC position. And you know what? Don't be shocked if Pendergast gets the job...because he may be the only candidate to accept the present conditions.

40yearfan · January 13th, 2007, 05:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mitch

OK, but...what do the Steelers pay their assistants? Do you think their assistants are grossly underpaid the way the Cardinal assistants are?

Since Art Rooney and Bill Bidwill are from the same era, that could very well be. Maybe keeping the whole staff is a cost cutting move and interviewing other candidates will force their 2 guys to accept less money. Rooney is a smart businessman.

Crazy Canuck · January 13th, 2007, 06:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mitch

This is one of the many reasons why the Bidwills are still behind the times and may always be cellar dwellers.

Handicapping a new coach by asking him (a) to interview and possibly retain members of Green's staff and (b) giving the new coach a limited budget to sign assistants to below average salaries is a recipe made for failure.

Let's not forget that the new coach's greatest challenge will be to try to expunge the stigma of losing that has scourged this franchise for a half a century...and asking the coach to do it without the financial help that other coaches around the league get is like asking Kurt Warner to take the Cardinals to the playoffs behind a porous offensive line...

Any HC candidate who would accept the Cardinals' job under these conditions has to be desperate or just plain naive.

Did you actually read the piece. Note the reasons given for the interviews of existing staff and re-read the Grimm "quote".

You are suggesting, in your response, that none of the existing staff would be acceptable to the new coach, and that a staff around for two-three years are somehow tainted by the mythical "stigma of losing". This is pure conjecture on your part.

As for salaries, it's again pointed out, that they increased during the Green period at the helm; and who's to say they won't again increase under the new coach.

Further, it says... the Cards salaries are in the lower third of the league. I'd be curious who the other 9 are, and whether they to have a history of losing.

We certainly know that paying top dollar hasn't translated into wins for the Redskins.

-------------

We all know where this is going... don't we....

Chances are that whomever is selected will not meet Mitch's exacting standards... he'll then lose it... and threaten to stop posting until the guy is fired.

Mitch will be back shortly after, do a minor mea culpa... and life goes on.

Yup... we've seen this movie and this about how the

PACardsFan · January 13th, 2007, 06:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mitch

OK, but...what do the Steelers pay their assistants? Do you think their assistants are grossly underpaid the way the Cardinal assistants are?

Rooney has been just as cheap as Bidwill over the years, yet the Steelers are a tremendous franchise. The Steelers do not & have never paid their assistants well. Why do you think that Cowher resigned? He'll take a year off & then finally make the money he wants. Moral of the story - Money doesn't always produce a winner. The Rooney's & Bidwill's have run their teams similarly over the years. The Steelers have won 5 SB's & the Cardinals can't get out of their own way.

JeffGollin · January 13th, 2007, 06:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PACardsFan

Rooney has been just as cheap as Bidwill over the years...

There have been two Rooney's - the old man and his son. I believe the Steelers, under the younger Rooney's tutilege have successfully made the transition from "the old days" to the modern era."

The Cardinals have not yet completely done so. (And it shows).

Here's my take on the Bidwills (whom I feel are sincere folks who want to win badly, but have not yet learned how to get out of their own way). Unlike most owners, their NFL team is "the family business" and for years, they've run it like a family-run Catskill resort (where the owners would skimp on entertainment and things like clean towels because they were scared to death they'd otherwise go broke).

The Bidwills no longer have to worry about winding up in the poor house (NFL television revenues have soared and additional dollars are expected to flow in from the stadium). Yet, in my opinion, they still have that knee-jerk reflex to say "no" to additional expenditures as a throwback reaction to the old days.

What they apparently haven't "got" yet is that one way to circumnavigate the salary cap is to outcompete the other 31 NFL clubs for coaches, scouts and other front office personnel by spending the necessary money.

It's one thing to be fiscally prudent. It's another to let the world (and your competitors continue to eat your lunch). Wayne Huizenga has been cruising around the globe in his personnel jet interviewing 12 - 16 head coaching candidates. Jerry Jones has been known to use his corporate jet to fly in people he wants to impress.

Do the Bidwills even have a corporate jet? (I'd be surprised if they do).

Sometimes "you gotta spend money to make money" and, until the Bidwills finally feel comfortable operating within this context, the Cardinals will be trying to soar with a 2-ton cement block weighing them down.

(Disclaimer - I'm just a Cardinal fan situated 2,000 miles from the Valley - but that's how I see it from my distant vantage point).

Crazy Canuck · January 13th, 2007, 06:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeffGollin

There have been two Rooney's - the old man and his son. I believe the Steelers, under the younger Rooney's tutilege have successfully made the transition from "the old days" to the modern era."

The Cardinals have not yet completely done so. (And it shows).

Here's my take on the Bidwills (whom I feel are sincere folks who want to win badly, but have not yet learned how to get out of their own way). Unlike most owners, their NFL team is "the family business" and for years, they've run it like a family-run Catskill resort (where the owners would skimp on entertainment and things like clean towels because they were scared to death they'd otherwise go broke).

The Bidwills no longer have to worry about winding up in the poor house (NFL television revenues have soared and additional dollars are expected to flow in from the stadium). Yet, in my opinion, they still have that knee-jerk reflex to say "no" to additional expenditures as a throwback reaction to the old days.

What they apparently haven't "got" yet is that one way to circumnavigate the salary cap is to outcompete the other 31 NFL clubs for coaches, scouts and other front office personnel by spending the necessary money.

It's one thing to be fiscally prudent. It's another to let the world (and your competitors continue to eat your lunch). Wayne Huizenga has been cruising around the globe in his personnel jet interviewing 12 - 16 head coaching candidates. Jerry Jones has been known to use his corporate jet to fly in people he wants to impress.

Do the Bidwills even have a corporate jet? (I'd be surprised if they do).

Sometimes "you gotta spend money to make money" and, until the Bidwills finally feel comfortable operating within this context, the Cardinals will be trying to soar with a 2-ton cement block weighing them down.

(Disclaimer - I'm just a Cardinal fan situated 2,000 miles from the Valley - but that's how I see it from my distant vantage point).

As a rule, corporate jets are rented and time shared. If the Bidwill's want one or need one to wow a candidate, it's just a phone call away. They did do some earlier interviews on the road, and I don't imagine that Dad, Mike & Rod travelled coach. Anyway, it hasn't kept quality candidates from showing up so far.

football karma · January 13th, 2007, 07:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeffGollin

There have been two Rooney's - the old man and his son. I believe the Steelers, under the younger Rooney's tutilege have successfully made the transition from "the old days" to the modern era."

The Cardinals have not yet completely done so. (And it shows).

Here's my take on the Bidwills (whom I feel are sincere folks who want to win badly, but have not yet learned how to get out of their own way). Unlike most owners, their NFL team is "the family business" and for years, they've run it like a family-run Catskill resort (where the owners would skimp on entertainment and things like clean towels because they were scared to death they'd otherwise go broke).

The Bidwills no longer have to worry about winding up in the poor house (NFL television revenues have soared and additional dollars are expected to flow in from the stadium). Yet, in my opinion, they still have that knee-jerk reflex to say "no" to additional expenditures as a throwback reaction to the old days.

What they apparently haven't "got" yet is that one way to circumnavigate the salary cap is to outcompete the other 31 NFL clubs for coaches, scouts and other front office personnel by spending the necessary money.

Jeff -- you are absolutely right.

The Rooneys are the Ying to Bidwill's Yang.

The family run, fiscally prudent (when you win, you get called fiscally prudent) team that is successful.

This is my single biggest pet peeve with the analysis of the Cardinal's failures -- its not all about spending money. Its about how you spend the money.

The Rooney's do it in a way the generates returns --

the Bidwills (really, Bill Sr) is so risk adverse -- it seems he would rather spend $0.50 and generate no return than spend $1.00 that (with some uncertainty) generates a 25% return annually.

Crazy Canuck · January 13th, 2007, 07:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by en fuego

Jeff -- you are absolutely right.

The Rooneys are the Ying to Bidwill's Yang.

The family run, fiscally prudent (when you win, you get called fiscally prudent) team that is successful.

This is my single biggest pet peeve with the analysis of the Cardinal's failures -- its not all about spending money. Its about how you spend the money.

The Rooney's do it in a way the generates returns --

the Bidwills (really, Bill Sr) is so risk adverse -- it seems he would rather spend $0.50 and generate no return than spend $1.00 that (with some uncertainty) generates a 25% return annually.

Can you offer any examples to support this?