Wild Card Weekend: The men with clipboards

Coaches: Big bucks but big blame

The talk near the end of the season is all about who's staying and who's going.  This week teams are proving they deserve to play for a championship, while coaches are struggling to prove they can lead a team to a Super Bowl.  The teams who are already done for the season are restructuring from the top to the bottom in order to gain the players and staff needed for a successful 2011 season.

My two teams have already decided to remove the word "interim" from head coach and make it official.  While some teams conduct interviews and job performance reviews, let's take a closer look at the men with headsets and clipboards.  I wanted to dig up some dirt about the coaches, but it's too dirty!  Google Rex Ryan or Bill Belichick if you really want to know.  I had to list accomplishments and say nice things this time.

Jeff FIsher

Jeff Fisher.
Courtesy of titansradio.com.

As the head coach of the Tennessee Titans, Jeff Fisher is the longest tenured head coach with one team among active coaches.  He has held the position since 1994, when the team was still the Houston Oilers.  Fisher played at USC and was a 7th round pick for the Bears in the 1980 NFL draft.  He earned a Super Bowl ring with the Bears but suffered a career ending leg injury at the hands of (future coach) Bill Cowher.  He is married to Juli and is the father of Trenton, Tara, and Brandon.

Bill Cowher.
Courtesy of cbssports.com.

Bill Cowher

Now Cowher is one of my favorite commentators, but he also holds the title of youngest coach to lead his team to a Super Bowl at age 38.  He coached the Steelers for 15 consecutive seasons.  He met his late wife, Kaye, while at North Carolina State University.  She was a basketball player in college and also played in the Women's Pro Basketball League in the late 1970s.  She died of skin cancer in 2010.  Coach Cowher has three daughters who all played basketball in college.

Tony Dungy

Tony Dungy.
Courtesy of tampabay.com.

In 2007, during his tenure with the Colts, Tony Dungy was the first black head coach to win the Super Bowl.  That win also made him the third man to win the Super Bowl as both a player and as a head coach.  The next season he set a record for most consecutive playoff appearances by a head coach.

Coach Dungy is known for being a successful leader on and off the field.  As a coach, Dungy thought of himself as a teacher and a role model to his players.  He didn't believe yelling and belittling players was the only method.  Dungy also believed that he should coach each player in the same way, no matter if they were a starter or a 3rd string player.

Dungy was appointed a member of the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation by President Bush in 2007.  President Obama invited Dungy to be a member of the Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, but he declined because he wouldn't have been able to attend all the meetings.  He agreed to participate as an informal adviser.

Coach Dungy is involved in several community and charitable organizations such as the Boys and Girls Club, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Prison Crusade ministry, Mentors for Life, and Family First.  His memoir was the first NFL-related book to be No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list.  Dungy also authored a Bible study based off the memoir, two leadership books, and a children's book.  He and his wife, Lauren, have seven children.

Jack Del Rio

Jack Del Rio.
Courtesy of nerdsonsports.com.

As the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Jack Del Rio is currently the best dressed (in my opinion).  He has a Super Bowl ring as an assistant coach with the Ravens.  After high school, Del Rio was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team, but chose to attend USC instead.  As an All-American football player, Del Rio was voted MVP of the 1985 Rose Bowl.  On the USC baseball team, he played with future major leaguers Mark McGuire and Randy Johnson.  He was drafted into the NFL in the third round by the New Orleans Saints.  Del Rio became the head coach of the Jaguars in 2003.

One of Del Rio's claims to fame is that in 2006 he became the second coach to wear a suit on the sideline since 1993.  Coaches were required to wear Reebok clothing until another coach petitioned to wear a suit and the NFL ruled coaches could wear suits twice a season.  Del Rio and his wife Linda have four children, including one son who currently plays QB in high school.

Couples News

The tabloids have been reporting that Kendra and NFL hubby Hank Baskett are splitting up.  According to an interview with Kendra on people.com, this is just not true and the couple is happily married.  Baskett is still listed on the Vikings roster.

Justice News

The ESPN website reported this week a Nashville judge decided to put more than $1 million into trust funds for the two sons of the late Steve McNair and his wife Mechelle.  This is in addition to the $500,000 the boys received in October.  McNair was killed by his mistress in July 2009.  McNair died without a will and the $19 million estate is still being settled.