SmilinAssasSin27
01-11-2009, 07:57 AM
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — As the Broncos continue their search for a new head coach, they could do worse than find the next John Harbaugh.
A relatively obscure, longtime assistant when he was hired to replace Brian Billick as head coach a year ago, Harbaugh just transformed the 5-11 Baltimore Ravens team he inherited into an AFC championship game qualifier.
Any advice Harbaugh would give the Broncos, who 12 days ago fired Mike Shanahan, as they take their turn replacing a strong coach?
"Hire Leslie Frazier," Harbaugh said in the locker room after his Ravens defeated the Tennessee Titans 13-10 in a second-round AFC playoff game. "That's my advice."
Frazier, now the Minnesota Vikings' defensive coordinator, is receiving serious consideration from the Broncos' five-man search committee, according to an NFL source.
So is New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who met with Broncos chief operating officer Joe Ellis for nearly six hours Thursday night in Massachusetts, according to another NFL source.
The Broncos' search committee met throughout the day Saturday, and the source said the committee was to take a step back today and re-evaluate the next step in the search.
Frazier, 49, and Harbaugh served on the same Philadelphia Eagles defensive staff under coordinator Jim Johnson from 1999-2002. Since then, Frazier has been a defensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals from 2003-04 and the past two seasons for the Vikings.
Harbaugh never rose to NFL coordinator before he made the leap to become the Ravens' head coach.
He believes Frazier is more than ready to take the next step.
"He's a tremendous X's-and-O's coach," Harbaugh said. "Players will respect him. He's a great organizer, a motivator. He's just a real good man."
Also interviewed by the Broncos for the head coaching job last week were Tampa Bay defensive coordinator Raheem Morris, Dallas offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, New York Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, Denver offensive coordinator Rick Dennison and Miami Dolphins secondary coach/assistant head coach Todd Bowles.
The Broncos cannot interview Spagnuolo again until Monday if his Giants lose today in the NFC second-round playoff game against Philadelphia, or, should the Giants win today, after the NFC championship game.
During the interview process, the Broncos asked their candidates to come prepared with their projected coaching staff.
Trevor Pryce, the Ravens' and former Broncos defensive lineman, said the primary reason why Harbaugh excelled in his first season as head coach is he has two of the NFL's best coordinators in Cam Cameron (offense) and Rex Ryan (defense).
"Coaching is not a one-man job," Harbaugh said. "Coaching nowadays in the NFL is a 20-man job."
For McDaniels and Garrett, who both run offenses for teams that play a 3-4 defense, the challenge would be to come up with a defensive coordinator accustomed to running the 4-3 system that exists in Denver.
Frazier, Spagnuolo and Morris coach the 4-3 system with their current teams. Bowles' Dolphins play a 3-4 system.
McDaniels and Morris are both 32. That they drew the Broncos' interest indicates Bowlen is considering the tradeoff of employing a head coach who might be green in 2009 but has the upside to become one of the league's best for an extended period.
McDaniels first gained leaguewide attention in 2007, when his Patriots scored an NFL-record 589 points and won their first 18 games before losing in the Super Bowl. His stock soared this season after the Patriots' offense finished fifth in the league despite quarterback Tom Brady suffering a season-ending injury in the first game of the season.
Although nearly all the credit for the Pats' 11-5 season went to head coach Bill Belichick, McDaniels was given responsibility for the offense and bringing along quarterback Matt Cassel, who had not started essentially since high school.
"Bill does have his hands in everything, but at the same time, in my experience with him, he trusted Josh," former New England tight end Kyle Brady, who started nine games in 2007, said last week. "He trusted him to run the offense, to call all the plays, to handle all the personalities — although Bill's such a strong personality that people who got out of line realized they weren't going to answer to Josh, they were going to have to answer to Belichick. But Josh had a whole lot of leeway and freedom to create."
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_11425713
A relatively obscure, longtime assistant when he was hired to replace Brian Billick as head coach a year ago, Harbaugh just transformed the 5-11 Baltimore Ravens team he inherited into an AFC championship game qualifier.
Any advice Harbaugh would give the Broncos, who 12 days ago fired Mike Shanahan, as they take their turn replacing a strong coach?
"Hire Leslie Frazier," Harbaugh said in the locker room after his Ravens defeated the Tennessee Titans 13-10 in a second-round AFC playoff game. "That's my advice."
Frazier, now the Minnesota Vikings' defensive coordinator, is receiving serious consideration from the Broncos' five-man search committee, according to an NFL source.
So is New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who met with Broncos chief operating officer Joe Ellis for nearly six hours Thursday night in Massachusetts, according to another NFL source.
The Broncos' search committee met throughout the day Saturday, and the source said the committee was to take a step back today and re-evaluate the next step in the search.
Frazier, 49, and Harbaugh served on the same Philadelphia Eagles defensive staff under coordinator Jim Johnson from 1999-2002. Since then, Frazier has been a defensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals from 2003-04 and the past two seasons for the Vikings.
Harbaugh never rose to NFL coordinator before he made the leap to become the Ravens' head coach.
He believes Frazier is more than ready to take the next step.
"He's a tremendous X's-and-O's coach," Harbaugh said. "Players will respect him. He's a great organizer, a motivator. He's just a real good man."
Also interviewed by the Broncos for the head coaching job last week were Tampa Bay defensive coordinator Raheem Morris, Dallas offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, New York Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, Denver offensive coordinator Rick Dennison and Miami Dolphins secondary coach/assistant head coach Todd Bowles.
The Broncos cannot interview Spagnuolo again until Monday if his Giants lose today in the NFC second-round playoff game against Philadelphia, or, should the Giants win today, after the NFC championship game.
During the interview process, the Broncos asked their candidates to come prepared with their projected coaching staff.
Trevor Pryce, the Ravens' and former Broncos defensive lineman, said the primary reason why Harbaugh excelled in his first season as head coach is he has two of the NFL's best coordinators in Cam Cameron (offense) and Rex Ryan (defense).
"Coaching is not a one-man job," Harbaugh said. "Coaching nowadays in the NFL is a 20-man job."
For McDaniels and Garrett, who both run offenses for teams that play a 3-4 defense, the challenge would be to come up with a defensive coordinator accustomed to running the 4-3 system that exists in Denver.
Frazier, Spagnuolo and Morris coach the 4-3 system with their current teams. Bowles' Dolphins play a 3-4 system.
McDaniels and Morris are both 32. That they drew the Broncos' interest indicates Bowlen is considering the tradeoff of employing a head coach who might be green in 2009 but has the upside to become one of the league's best for an extended period.
McDaniels first gained leaguewide attention in 2007, when his Patriots scored an NFL-record 589 points and won their first 18 games before losing in the Super Bowl. His stock soared this season after the Patriots' offense finished fifth in the league despite quarterback Tom Brady suffering a season-ending injury in the first game of the season.
Although nearly all the credit for the Pats' 11-5 season went to head coach Bill Belichick, McDaniels was given responsibility for the offense and bringing along quarterback Matt Cassel, who had not started essentially since high school.
"Bill does have his hands in everything, but at the same time, in my experience with him, he trusted Josh," former New England tight end Kyle Brady, who started nine games in 2007, said last week. "He trusted him to run the offense, to call all the plays, to handle all the personalities — although Bill's such a strong personality that people who got out of line realized they weren't going to answer to Josh, they were going to have to answer to Belichick. But Josh had a whole lot of leeway and freedom to create."
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_11425713