Marty scorned. Reid torn. LaVar not up to form.

Schottenheimer dumped
When your NFL team finds success, other teams raid your coaching staff. The 14-2 San Diego Chargers were highly successful and Dallas and Miami lured the Chargers' coordinators away with head coaching positions. It cost Chargers head coach Marty Schottenheimer his job. Team president Dean Spanos cited the loss of Marty's coaching staff and the dysfunctional relationship between Schottenheimer and general manager A.J. Smith as reasons for firing the coach. Schottenheimer and Smith engaged in escalating disputes over personnel, including the decision on whether to keep or release QB Drew Brees. Smith won and Brees was gone. Now Marty is gone. In January, Spanos said that Schottenheimer would return for the last year of his contract.

Faced with the same choice in 1999, Redskins owner Daniel Snyder kept the coach and fired the general manager. He would later say that he fired the wrong man. Stay tuned to see how the San Diego drama works out.

Schottenheimer has another issue. His regular season won-loss record is 200-126-1, and he has had an enormous influence on NFL coaching staffs. He has not won, or appeared in, a Super Bowl. Under the emerging Monk Rule, whereby stats are meaningless and career achievement have no value, Schottenheimer will not be selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Ever.

Unless he returns to the media.

Reid on leave
Eagles coach Andy Reid is top drawer, but his sons are knuckleheads. So the coach is taking a one month leave of absence from the team to deal with some tough family business. Reid has been master of the East with six playoff appearances in eight years guiding the Eagles. He is taking time to master his house. Best wishes on that one.

Arrington takes one giant step -- out
Maybe now the LaVar Arrington - Dale Lindsey feud can end. The New York Giants released Arrington today, along with LB Carlos Emmons and T Luke Petitgout. The Redskins released Lindsey, Arrington's coaching nemesis, in January. LaVar suffered a season-ending Achilles injury in the Dallas game October 23.

It didn't take long for new GM Jerry Reece to make bold moves. Arrington's release is big news in Washington, but cutting Petitgout must be bigger news in New York. It's the equivilent of the Redskins releasing Jon Jansen.

Photo: Marty Schottenheimer (top), The Washington Post
Photo: LaVar Arrington and Marty Schottenheimer (right), The Washington Post

Wade in the water

The Cowboys selected Wade Phillips as the new head coach, replacing Bill Parcells. Phillips was the defensive coordinator for the San Diego Chargers. He is the son of former Houston Oilers head coach Bum Phillips. He served as head coach of the Denver Broncos (1993-94), the Buffalo Bills (1998-2000) and was interim head coach for the Saints and the Falcons. His head coach record is 48-39-0.

Norv Turner was a leading candidate for the position, but Phillips name cropped up quickly after the Super Bowl. Neither Phillips nor Turner were considered premier candidates, leading to much speculation on Cowboys owner Jerry Jones' motive for the hire. Profootballtalk.com is an avowed rumor monger. This evening they reported anonymous reaction to the hire from around the league. They write ". . . many people in the league (who) can't stop laughing." According to one source "Dallas has relegated itself to the bottom of the NFC East for years to come, . . . ."

You can see the full post here. Scroll down to POSTED 7:47 p.m. EST, February 8, 2007.

Like Turner, Phillips is considered one of the better coordinators in the league. He replaced the legendary Marv Levy as coach of the Bills and went 21-11 in his first two seasons there. He has a nucleus of talent to work with in Dallas. One favorable point is Phillips penchant to coach the 3-4 defense. He is expected to continue Parcells' work perfecting that defensive scheme.

Funny JJ pix at The Redskin Report. Say, is he dancing in front of a Six Flags poster?

Master4caster is on bye this weekend. No new posts until Monday. Behave yourselves!

Dallas Cowboys

Player News: Taylor, Jansen, Portis, and Snyder

Redskin safety Sean Taylor has been named to the active Pro-Bowl roster. Taylor was announced as an alternate selection last December. He is filling in for Brian Dawkins who is sitting out because of back and hip injuries.

The Redskins have extended tackle Jon Jansen's contract through 2011. The move means that Jansen could potentially play his entire career with the team. Renegotiating veteran contracts is a technique the Skins use to manage the salary cap. The Redskins would like to keep the offensive line in tact. That means re-signing free agent Derrick Dockery to a new contract. This move helps. Jansen was one of several players mentioned in a Washington Post article who would be asked to restructure their contracts. Mark Brunell and Renaldo Wynn are two others. James Thrash has already agreed to a restructure.

All teams must be in compliance with the salary cap by March 2.

Running Redskins points out that managing the cap is different than managing the roster. Sooner or later, the Redskins will pay a price for over-reliance on trades and free-agents as the fastpath to championships. Some would say we paid the first installment in 2006.

Jamie "Mr. Irrelevant" Mottram at Sports Blog Nation scored an interview with Clinton Portis who was participating in Madden Bowl XIII. There is no new Redskins news, but those with a man crush for #26 might appreciate hearing a replay. Check it out here.

Portis was interviewed just before the Super Bowl. He expected fellow "U" alumni Devin Hester and Reggie Wayne to do well. He mentioned that he never plays as The Washington Redskins on Madden, but appreciates when an opponent, playing as the Skins, shows skills with the virtual Portis.

Blogging used to be a hobby for individuals to rant about their favorite topic. It's evolved to something more. There are plenty of ranters and ravers still, but the best web-loggers rival media journalists. Scan the bloggosphere on a particular sport or topic and you get group intelligence on that topic. It's serious stuff when a blogger who goes by "mr. irrelevant" covers the Super Bowl with interviews of football's top stars. "55 million blogs . . . some of them have to be good." -- Matt on technorati.com

Barry Svluga's article at The Washington Post detailed the phenomena of baseball blogging. He points out that Washington Nationals team president Stan Kasten follows the growing number of blogs covering the team. uh-oh! That's a revelation; players and team officials read posts about themselves. I'm taking this opportunity to say how much I respect and admire Daniel Snyder, no matter what I said in the past, or might say in the future.

"The Dan Snyder You Don't Know" is a lengthy, revealing profile of the man, found on washingtonian.com

Photo credit: Flag, littlerottenrobin, flickr.com

Washington Redskins

Super Bowl Entertainment

Today is the day, America's unofficial national holiday. Football's biggest bash is our last reminder that the Redskins ain't where we thought they would be. That leaves most of us feeling as naked as the picture on the left.

The entertainment will be as much of a draw as the game. Prince is the star of halftime. As an entertainer and a person, he's at the edge. I trust His Purpleness won't have a "wardrobe malfunction" (and if he does, eeewyuuu!)
Photo: Prince, Lovesexy album cover, wikipedia.com

The commercials are entertaining in themselves. For previews, click below.

Enjoy the game.



Super Bowl
Prince

No heart for Art

Standout Redskins wide receiver Art Monk was not selected for induction in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Guard Russ Grimm, also a finalist, likewise did not make the final cut.

For the story, go to Hog Heaven.

The Redskins put together powerhouse teams in the 1980s, making four Super Bowl appearances between 1983 and 1992 and taking home the Lombardi Trophy three times. Monk and Grimm were key contributors to those teams. The only individuals of that group to make the Hall are Joe Gibbs and John Riggins.

Hall of Fame