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View Full Version : Coyer is still classy after all that's happened ....



omac
01-09-2008, 01:17 AM
He could've been bitter when he was fired, but he wasn't; he could've gloated over the Broncos defense' failure without him, but he didn't. The man's all-class. :cheers:

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jan/07/coyer-finds-new-role-on-sideline-with-buccaneers/


Coyer finds new role on sideline with Buccaneers
Ousted leader of Broncos defense bounces back
By Lee Rasizer, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Monday, January 7, 2008

Larry Coyer's Broncos defense played well through the early part of the 2006 season. Then things fell apart, and the unit gave up 26 points a game on average during the final seven games.

One year after a gut-wrenching departure from Denver, Larry Coyer has landed squarely on his feet.

Now all the former Broncos defensive coordinator has to do is watch his toes.

Only a few yards from the back of his suburban home, which is about a 20-minute drive north of his new working digs with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, an unusual assortment of critters abounds.

Frogs. Snakes. Lizards.

And, most of all, alligators.

Coyer often can hear them croaking. He won't answer, or come close.

"I do not like the swamp in the backyard," he said Saturday night, the eve of the playoff opener for the Bucs, for whom he oversees the defensive line and serves as assistant head coach. "We don't want those things anywhere near."

Coyer, 64, also has kept his distance publicly from the circumstances surrounding his firing by Broncos coach Mike Shanahan on Jan. 9, 2007, until now.

But in a wide-ranging interview, Coyer reminisced about his seven years with the Broncos, seemingly without any grudges but with words clearly tinged with the regret of what he perceived as unfinished business.

"I wanted to end my career there," he said. "But, in this game, you don't make those plans."

Coyer recalled with sadness the death of Denver cornerback Darrent Williams, which preceded his firing by days, and how he might have had trouble moving forward regardless of his job circumstances.

And he made clear that despite his love of Tampa, which has provided a needed "breath of fresh air" and a chance to teach intensely dedicated professional players, he still wants another opportunity to prove he can oversee an entire defense for an eighth time in a coaching career that spans 43 years with 16 teams.

"It's hard to figure that you can be so low and to come to this point one year later and you're so high, you know?" Coyer said, nearly a year to the day Shanahan delivered the news that devastated him for months. "It's hard to believe."

Not-so-happy ending

The lows started midway through the 2006 season after a torrid start by the Broncos defense in which the group reached record-breaking territory in terms of points allowed.

But in the final seven weeks, the team gave up 26 points a game and blew leads of more than a touchdown in four home losses.

Injuries, most notably to former Broncos middle linebacker Al Wilson, were a factor.

So were unusual "circumstances," such as holding two teams to at least a half-dozen three-and- outs in games and still losing.

"We got into situations," he said.

And shortly after Coyer filed his postseason evaluations with Shanahan, he was in one himself - sifting through various job opportunities elsewhere before eventually joining respected defensive mind Monte Kiffin with the Bucs.

In hindsight, Coyer believes, it was Shanahan's estimation that things were slipping.

"I didn't feel the situation, but he did," Coyer said. "And that's OK. He's the boss."

Coyer didn't believe wholesale change was the answer, only that "a couple things got loose."

But generally, he felt red-zone and third-down performances were good and there were some building blocks and a palpable "heart" to his group moving forward.

"I felt we could have gotten it done. I really do," he said. "I think we had a chance to settle down and have a really great defensive football team. I do, because they . . . became tight. And they knew a screw or two were loose. There weren't any secrets."

There has been talk Shanahan was put off by Coyer standing up for certain players who performed poorly.

Coyer acknowledged that could have been a factor but insisted he didn't pull punches in his assessments.

"We had some guys who didn't fulfill all their potential and I thought it was part of our job in the future to correct that and that we could fix that," he said. "But the fact is, it was a pretty solid defense, and if we stayed together, I believe we might have been a really salty defense. That was just my opinion. We had to tighten it up.

"But I don't know there was a great disagreement. We were honest in our evaluations. And Mike's always honest with his. That's his strength, is taking everybody's evaluations, whatever it is in his program, and he's able to sort through it and come to a final evaluation."

Defense regresses

Shanahan's assessment ultimately led to the hiring of Jim Bates as Coyer's replacement. And, only a year later, after the Broncos dipped from 15th in yards allowed under Coyer to 19th under Bates with a 28th- ranked scoring allowance per game, the future composition of the defensive staff again is an open question.

Just don't expect Coyer to celebrate the downturn of the 7-9 Broncos - or even take it in on television.

"I tried to watch, but I couldn't, to be honest with you," he said. "Whether it's your personal feelings or whatever, I thought it was better that I didn't, because I certainly didn't want to be judgmental to the coaches or the players. We've all been through the stuff that's piled to our neck and you've got to fight your way out of that. And I know those guys, and they will fight their way out of it. They will."

Coyer knows that feeling of resurfacing from his own recent experience.

His Denver disappointment lasted until June, when the Buccaneers' minicamps began and his love of teaching kicked back in.

"It took me a long time to get adjusted back because down deep - down deep - I had feelings that were resentful because I knew what we tried to do. And it wasn't pointed at anybody. But it was just I didn't feel like it was done. It wasn't done yet," he said.

"That's how I thought. But thank goodness I have strong relationships here and I've been more relaxed and had more fun here than I've had for a long time.

"I'm thankful for that."

sanluis
01-09-2008, 11:48 AM
He is a good man. :salute:

omac
01-09-2008, 12:07 PM
Aye, that he is. :cheers: He representing the Bronco organization well, even after he's no longer a Bronco. So many people like to tear their old team down, but not Coyer.

Skinny
01-09-2008, 12:21 PM
I had and still don't have anything against Coyer the man ... i'm sure if i knew him he'd be like a Grandfather to me. When he was DC in Denver players raved about him just like they do about every Coach ... most of the time.

I beleive Mikey really wanted him to succeed too ... he gave him 4 years to do it ...

I'm glad he got another job in Coaching, it's apperant he still has a love for the game and wants to continue in it. God bless Larry Coyer ...

Bronco9798
01-09-2008, 12:23 PM
I always liked Coyer. He frustrated me at times when it seemed he never made any in-game adjustments.

topscribe
01-09-2008, 12:28 PM
Coyer has so much class. And he is a good coach. Ironically, he had the same
personnel problems, at DT and LB (after Wilson's injury) that Bates did.

It's easy to want somebody out. Too easy. It can lead to wishing that
somebody could come back.

-----

BOSSHOGG30
01-09-2008, 12:30 PM
Coyer drove me nutz. Everytime I take a mental view of the 2006 season the first play I see in my head is Lang one on one with L.T.

shank
01-09-2008, 12:33 PM
I always liked Coyer. He frustrated me at times when it seemed he never made any in-game adjustments.

i agree. i loved coyer in the 1st half of seasons and the 1st half of games, but he was slow to adjust and it was his downfall. given a week to gameplan, he was a great DC, but given a 15 minute halftime to adjust he just wasn't cutting it. given this season's struggles, a coyer defense sounds pretty good right now...

i'm always glad to see people act with such class and makes me respect them more than i already did. the people who understand that it's a business (and a tough business at that) are the ones who seem to succeed in coaching. i hope he does get another chance at DC somewhere, he seems like a great guy.

shank
01-09-2008, 12:35 PM
Coyer drove me nutz. Everytime I take a mental view of the 2006 season the first play I see in my head is Lang one on one with L.T.

kenard's bad play made coyer drive you nuts?

he drove me nuts too, but it was his 2nd half and his 4th quarter prevent defense (which didn't prevent ANYTHING and somehow has seemed to linger in denver even after his departure). you can't blame coaches for bad play by individual players...

BOSSHOGG30
01-09-2008, 12:41 PM
kenard's bad play made coyer drive you nuts?

he drove me nuts too, but it was his 2nd half and his 4th quarter prevent defense (which didn't prevent ANYTHING and somehow has seemed to linger in denver even after his departure). you can't blame coaches for bad play by individual players...

Lang's bad play? Coyer's wouldn't change his defense. Cam Cameron keep calling plays to take advantage of the way Coyer was playing the Chargers offense. He created heavy mismatches and took advantage of them. Go back and watch the game. Lang vs. L.T. and Ekuban vs. L.T., Dumervil on Gates, Foxworth on Gates, I can't remember them all, but there was a lot.

shank
01-09-2008, 12:44 PM
Lang's bad play? Coyer's wouldn't change his defense. Cam Cameron keep calling plays to take advantage of the way Coyer was playing the Chargers offense. He created heavy mismatches and took advantage of them. Go back and watch the game. Lang vs. L.T. and Ekuban vs. L.T., Dumervil on Gates, Foxworth on Gates, I can't remember them all, but there was a lot.

i understand what you're saying, he really didn't adjust... but you're complaining about matchups on two of the leagues best players. almost no team has an answer for LT and Gates and you just gotta do what you can with what you have.

if he had the ability to make adjustments to the teams without great players he would not have been run out of town. ya know what i mean?

BOSSHOGG30
01-09-2008, 01:34 PM
i understand what you're saying, he really didn't adjust... but you're complaining about matchups on two of the leagues best players. almost no team has an answer for LT and Gates and you just gotta do what you can with what you have.

if he had the ability to make adjustments to the teams without great players he would not have been run out of town. ya know what i mean?

Put a linebacker or something on them... Don't put a defensive end on L.T.! Don't put a 175 soaking wet cornerback on Antonio Gates either.

Last year the Chargers had two primary weapons. Gates and L.T.

Denver had Champ Bailey who is one of the best corners in the league. Why wasn't Champ on Gates or even Gold? They have to do better than a defensive end. Put Foxworth on Parker and let Champ cover Jackson. Don't leave 170 lbs Darrent Williams on 230 Jackson.

Football is all about matchups and execution. Coyer was poor at changing his defense to create more favorable matchups.

CoachChaz
01-09-2008, 01:35 PM
Last year the Chargers had two primary weapons. Gates and L.T.



I think this can be said EVERY year.

Get a safety that can actually cover a parked car and it will help out ALOT.
________
Babi Mac Break Away (http://babimac.com/)

BOSSHOGG30
01-09-2008, 01:37 PM
I think this can be said EVERY year.

Get a safety that can actually cover a parked car and it will help out ALOT.

Well thanks to the Dolphins they now have Chambers and Jackson is getting better. He is a pretty good #2 guy. And Davis isn't a bad #3. So now they create even more mismatches.

slim
01-09-2008, 01:40 PM
Well thanks to the Dolphins they now have Chambers and Jackson is getting better. He is a pretty good #2 guy. And Davis isn't a bad #3. So now they create even more mismatches.

Yeah, but rivers is still the QB :laugh:

BOSSHOGG30
01-09-2008, 01:42 PM
Yeah, but rivers is still the QB :laugh:

Thank god... If they actually had a good QB, they would be pretty darn good.

shank
01-09-2008, 01:46 PM
Yeah, but rivers is still the QB :laugh:

ryan leaf could win games with LT, Gates, and Chambers.
i bet BVP could even complete some passes with these weapons taking the heat off of him.

and i agree boss, coyer didn't adjust at all and lost mismatch game against other coaches... that's why he's gone. i just wish he could have adapted cause we would have had a great D if he could have. at least he got us half way through the season looking pretty studly ahah.

still a classy guy whom i wish luck.

pnbronco
01-09-2008, 01:48 PM
Thanks for the great article. He is the nicest person, just one of the really good guys. He expressed such class in this article. Up at camp in Greeley he would take a break before the evening meetings. There would be a group of people that would talk to him and he was just so much fun. He found out I had lost my Mother that Spring to Cancer and he talked to me like a kind grandpa. I will always have a real soft spot in my heart for him, I wish him only the best.

Lonestar
01-09-2008, 01:55 PM
i agree. i loved coyer in the 1st half of seasons and the 1st half of games, but he was slow to adjust and it was his downfall. given a week to gameplan, he was a great DC, but given a 15 minute halftime to adjust he just wasn't cutting it. given this season's struggles, a coyer defense sounds pretty good right now...

i'm always glad to see people act with such class and makes me respect them more than i already did. the people who understand that it's a business (and a tough business at that) are the ones who seem to succeed in coaching. i hope he does get another chance at DC somewhere, he seems like a great guy.


This indeed was the real issue. He is/was a brilliant tactician like mikey. But he could not make on the fly adjustments AFTER the OFFENSE adjusted to his game plan..

I remember reading a DP article in 2005 or so about his game planning and why mikey loved the guy so much it was his brilliance week to week that made mikey keep him. Couple that with not pressing for high profile draft day picks he was beholden to mikey and a yes man like everyone else in the organization.


Given the cast offs and misfits, this defense for the most part has been built on until the 2007 draft and EXCEPT for LB this defense has been doomed for failure for a long time..

BOSSHOGG30
01-09-2008, 02:00 PM
Coyer > Bates

I'll give him that.

hamrob
01-09-2008, 10:53 PM
The guy is obviously a good hearted man. That said...I was one person that couldn't stand his coaching. Primarily because he couldn't adjust to offensive schemes. We would look pathetic in the 1st half and then come out and do the same foolish stuff in the 2nd half...not to mention his inability to change it up on a play by play basis. I was hoping for someone that was more agressive in their play calling and I got another Grandpa figure in Bates...Next year it's Grandpa Slowick...go figure!

broncosfanscott
01-09-2008, 10:54 PM
With the way things worked out with Bates, it makes you wonder what would have happened had Coyer stayed. Whether the next DC is Slowik or not, I just hope we get some sort of improvement next year........especially on run defense.

Coyer is a classy guy and I will always respect him for the way he left the organization with nothing but the best regards. :salute: