Parcells' shakes up staff by ousting assistants

[1niksder]

Parcells' shakes up staff by ousting assistants
By Jaime Aron, The Associated Press

IRVING, Texas — Bill Parcells took the first big step in his offseason overhaul of the Dallas Cowboys on Monday by announcing that he's dumped offensive line coach George Warhop and kicking coach Steve Hoffman.
Warhop had been considered among Parcells' best hires when he put together his first staff in Dallas two years ago. Acclaimed for his work in Arizona, Warhop had a great first season with the Cowboys but his unit was among the biggest disappointments this past season. His ousting was no surprise because he said nearly two weeks ago that he'd been told he was gone.

Tight ends coach Tony Sparano, who was offensive line coach for Cleveland in 2000, will replace Warhop. Already trusted enough by Parcells to tell him which plays to challenge, Sparano is credited with helping develop Jason Witten into a Pro Bowler in his second season. Witten also set team records for catches and yards by a tight end this past season.

Hoffman was the team's longest-tenured football staffer, having arrived in 1989 as part of Jimmy Johnson's first group of assistants. He developed a reputation for discovering off-the-radar kickers, providing cheap talent at a key position. But his latest pupil, Billy Cundiff, let down Parcells too many times on kickoffs and field goals.

No replacement was named for Hoffman, or for Sparano's old job.

Four other assistants coaches whose contracts had expired were invited back: Bruce DeHaven (special teams), Gary Gibbs (linebackers), Mike MacIntyre (assistant secondary) and David Lee (offensive assistant).

The departures of Warhop and Hoffman probably means more changes are coming at those positions. Cundiff probably won't be back, and up to four starters on the line could either be gone or in different spots.

Retaining Gibbs is interesting because Parcells has talked about possibly changing the defense from a 4-3 to a 3-4.

Exactly what Parcells is thinking can only be speculated. He did not hold a season-ending news conference and probably won't speak to the media until after the first day of the draft.

Parcells made it clear that changes were coming following a season-ending loss to the New York Giants, telling the team that job security would be tied directly to performance for players and coaches.

The turnover began two weeks ago when scouting director Larry Lacewell retired, although that move had been in the works for two years.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football ... haul_x.htm

[tcwest10]

Oh. I get it. It was THEIR fault.
I knew it had to be something.

[TexasCowboy]

Oh. I get it. It was THEIR fault.
I knew it had to be something.

Obviously if the coaches are being fired and replaced it
must have been their fault. Parcells doesn't just fire
coaches and players just for the hell of it! it's like
with anything else it doesn't matter what your names are
who you coached before or who you played for before.

It's a much tougher ship under Parcells and if you can't
handle what he is asking you to do. then your fired and
he don't care

[JansenFan]

I wonder if Jerry Jones forced the move?

[Primetime42]

:hmm: I wonder if Jerry Jones forced the move?

Highly unlikely. Parcells isn't gonna do anything he doesn't want to do.

[JansenFan]

That's the perception, but not necessarily the reality.

[Primetime42]

That's the perception, but not necessarily the reality.

Trust me, it's the reality.

Kicking guru:

Former Dallas Cowboys kicking coach Steve Hoffman had talked to more than one National Football League club less than 24 hours after being fired Monday but said the Packers weren’t one of them.

Hoffman, who coached the team’s kickers and worked in quality control for 16 seasons, was canned by coach Bill Parcells. He was the last remaining link to former coach Jimmy Johnson’s staff.

“The way he explained it to me was, ‘You’re doing a great job, I like what you do but I just want to get my own people here so I’m going to let you go,’ ” Hoffman said Tuesday.

The fact that the Cowboys had respectable kickers and punters without drafting one during his tenure was a tribute to Hoffman’s rare ability to teach the position.

After spending time with Hoffman, one NFL special teams coach last year said, “I learned more from him than I had picked up in 15 years. Hoffman is the first guy I ever was around that actually worked them and made them better.”

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones frequently praised Hoffman’s ability to transform free agents into successful NFL kickers and punters and thereby provide extra salary-cap room because the team wasn’t forced to pay high salaries.

“If our guys got an offer from another team, they’d ask me, ‘Do you think we should match it?’ ” Hoffman said. “I would say, ‘No. We’ll find another one.’ There’s plenty of them out there that can do it adequately.”

The Packers need to develop a punter for next season. It could be B.J. Sander - a flop so far as a third-round draft choice - a free agent or a veteran.

“If I went up and watched B.J. kick for 5 minutes, I’d be able to tell physically whether he could do it or not,” Hoffman said. “Mentally, you have to be around them for months.

“There are certain things I look for in a punter that are just telltale signs of a guy that may not be able to get over the hump. I just saw B.J. at the combine. I can’t remember him specifically.
“I didn’t study him that much because I knew he’d get drafted and we never drafted a punter or a kicker. I’ve always had to find the guys that are second level.”

When Parcells insisted on signing veteran punter Toby Gowin for a $500,000 signing bonus in March 2003, Hoffman opposed it. When Gowin had a terrible season and was cut in March 2004, Hoffman signed three free agents and settled on Australian free agent Mat McBriar, who ranked 14th in gross average (42.4) and 22nd in net (35.1). Hoffman, a former pro punter himself, said he definitely would be interested if Green Bay showed interest.

“My position has been an odd position over the years,” he said. “Certain owners won’t go the extra mile to pay that kind of money for anything extra. Jerry has been a guy that doesn’t want to leave any stone unturned. I don’t know if the Packers are the kind of team that would do something like that.

“I’ve spoken to a few teams but it’s not like they’re crawling out of the woodwork. I’m willing to listen to anything.”

Packers special teams coordinator John Bonamego has been assisted for two seasons by special teams consultant Frank Novak, who will be 67 in May.

“Coaching kickers and punters in Green Bay would be different than doing it in Dallas because of the weather,” Hoffman said. “In Green Bay, you need a big, strong punter. I didn’t think (Josh) Bidwell was too bad. I don’t know if B.J. is that kind of a power punter

[C'fieldSkin]

I'm sure the man writing the paychecks can vetoe the man receiving the paychecks. Jerry isn't known for his restraint when it comes to making descisions for his coaches.

[TexasCowboy]

This is all Parcells he is calling the shots
Jerry can't say a word. Bill is the authority
in Dallas and anything he says Jerry just
knods and agrees

[Primetime42]

There's a reason Jones hired Parcells, guys.

It wasn't just to sell tickets.

[TexasCowboy]

It had nothing to do with selling tickets
Parcells starting calling the shots the
minute he and Jerry inked a deal. BP was
in full control and that means any of the
old coaches Jerry had left over from his
destroying the team days were soon to get
the door

[John Manfreda]

I would love to say Jerry Jones is bossing him around but Parcells and Jones are like Snyder and Gibbs. Gibbs calls the shots in Washington and Parcells calls it in Dallas.