Vince Lombardi once said, "If you aren't fired with enthusiasm, you'll be fired with enthusiasm."
In today's NFL, success on the football field is paramount. Franchises are professional corporations in a dangerously competitive market creating a cutthroat environment.
It takes a very unique head coach to navigate a group of today's players and make them into a team which is capable in meeting the owner's high demands for accomplishment.
This side line general must be intensely focused, passionate, innovative, inspiring, and of high character. Any combination of these will bring a vast amount of respect by his players and the team chemistry will fall right into place.
Anyone who doesn't possess this type of leadership and enthusiasm will not last as we have already witnessed in Cleveland, NY, and Detroit. For Mike Shanahan in Denver, it was simply time for a man and a city who each needed a change. There will most certainly be more to come.
As we enter the first phase of the 2008 Tournament, take a look at the head coaches of those teams who are left to play in 2009.
In the AFC, there's Mike Tomlin in Pittsburgh, Jeff Fisher in Tennessee, Tony Dungy in Indy, Norv Turner in San Diego, and the rookies John Harbaugh in Baltimore and Tony Sporano in Miami.
In the NFC, you have Tom Coughin in NY, Andy Reid in Philly, Brad Childress in Minnesota, John Fox in Carolina, Ken Whisenhunt in Arizona, and the rookie Mike Smith in Atlanta.
Each one of these men's coaching styles possesses most of the aforementioned qualities that you have to have in today's game as a head coach. They will grab a player by the face mask and vehemently remind them why they are on the team. For breakfast, they would eat nails and wash them down with antifreeze right after cussing out their own mother. Their focus and attention to detail of the game and the individual athletes would burn a hole in a steel pipe. They conduct themselves with such integrity and poise that they make it look easy.
Most of them will charge down the sidelines following the action like a hyper kid running after an ice cream truck. They inspire and challenge you.
It's no coincidence that they are all disciples of Bill Walsh, Chuck Knoll, Bill Parcells, Jimmy Johnson, Bill Belichick, or Bill Cowher.
These playoff teams have the potential to win it all this year and/or have immense success in the years to come. Their foundations are, or will be, steadfast despite the outcome of the next few weeks.
Based on the kind of regular season we watched this season, there's no telling what we will witness this next month and it all starts tomorrow!
- Atlanta Falcons (11-5) at Arizona Cardinals (9-7): NBC, 4:30pm EST, Saturday - What a great way to kick off the playoffs. Falcons rookie QB Matt Ryan vs. the aged veteran Kurt Warner who has been to The Tournament a few times. Ryan was 14 when Warner won the Super Bowl in 1999. Both teams have sub-par rushing and passing defenses which is good news to Atlanta's 2nd-ranked rushing attack and Arizona's 2nd-ranked passing attack. The Cardinals, at home, are 6-2 this year and 12-4 under Whisenhunt. If you want fireworks, you have come to the right place.
- Indianapolis Colts (12-4) at San Diego Chargers (8-8): NBC, 8pm EST, Saturday -I can't think of two hotter teams right now in the league. The Colts, led by the 2008 NFL MVP Peyton Manning, head into the playoffs on a nine-game winning streak while the Bolts won their last four games to steal the AFC West from the reeling Broncos costing Shanahan his job. Injuries are plaguing San Diego and, yes, L.T. is among them. It comes down to San Diego needing to play error-free football against this Manning Machine.
- Baltimore Ravens (11-5) at Miami Dolphins (11-5): CBS, 1pm EST, Sunday - These two teams represent another reason that these playoffs are so special. The Ravens are the second team besides Atlanta to reach the playoffs this year under a rookie head coach and QB.QB's Joe Flacco and Chad Pennington each have lethal running attacks which keep the pressure off of their arms to win the game. Baltimore's defense is extremely potent and suffocating led by S Ed Reed who is smoking hot right now.Miami has had a phenomenal year considering their 1-15 record last year. Parcells has laid a great foundation.
- Philadelphia Eagles (9-5-1) at Minnesota Vikings (10-6): FOX, 4:15pm EST, Sunday - Both of these teams snuck into the playoffs with stunning wins. Philly destroyed a self-destructing Dallas squad while the Vikings beat the defending world champion Giants. This should give both squads the momentum they need heading into the playoffs. The key for Philly will be if they can stop Adrian Peterson who will be preforming on the post-season stage for his first time. Minnesota's top-ranked run defense will put the game in the hands of Donovan McNabb who has danced at this ball before. The Metrodome will be deafening.
STANDINGS
Eddie Chinn: 15-1, 174-82
Chris Mortensen: 11-5, 169-87
Mark Schlereth: 7-9, 162-94
Mike Golic: 11-5, 155-100
Ron Jaworski: 9-6, 156-83
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