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."
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."