Question of the week
Who do you think should be named NFL Coach of the Year?
CHRIS STEVENS:
Tony Dungy.
Jack Del Rio.
Joe Gibbs.
Marvin Lewis.
Mike Holmgren.
They’re all worthy candidates, as are a couple of other coaches that I didn’t name. But I pick Lovie Smith of the Chicago Bears. Smith’s Bears came out of nowhere this year to get to the playoffs with an 11-5 record. Most so-called experts had the Bears picked in the preseason to finish with a losing record and – get this – behind the Detroit Lions in the standings. Now that’s having a bad year.
They flew way under the radar, and the by the time teams in the NFL knew Chicago was for real, they won the North Division and qualified for the playoffs, posting wins against playoff teams Carolina and Tampa Bay. The Bears’ defense is awesome, and their offense did just enough to get by to win games. They’re similar to the Baltimore Ravens of a few years back who ended up winning a Super Bowl. Smith’s the guy in a year in which there are a number of strong candidates.
CHRIS MARCHAND: There might be more worthy candidates this year than any year that I can remember.
I’m going out on a limb a bit here and going with Jon Gruden of Tampa Bay. I remember watching the Buccaneers play the Vikings the first game of the regular season. I thought to myself there’s no way that the Bucs could win. But shockingly, they did 24-13.
Gruden led Tampa to the NFC South Division title with an 11-5 record. He did it with a rookie running back in Cadillac Williams and a second-year quarterback in Chris Simms.
The Bucs also had the top defense in the NFL in terms of yards allowed, despite losing guys like John Lynch and Warren Sapp over the last two years.
Everyone raved about the Falcons and Panthers all season long. But the Bucs sneaked in through the back door and won the division. My top five Coach of the Year candidates are Gruden, Tom Coughlin of the New York Giants, Tony Dungy in Indianapolis, Mike Holmgren of Seattle and Chicago’s Lovie Smith.
FRED KELLY: I think they should just throw some names in a hat and pick one randomly. Seriously, there are so many great candidates for this award that I would hate to have to pick just one. First of all, I would narrow the list down to Washington’s Joe Gibbs, Tampa Bay’s Jon Gruden, New England’s Bill Belichick, Cincinnati’s Marvin Lewis, Indianapolis’ Tony Dungy, Chicago’s Lovie Smith, and Seattle’s Mike Holmgren.
From there, I would probably eliminate Smith and Holmgren simply because the Bears and Seahawks both play in such miserable divisions. And as much as I truly admire Dungy, the fact is that his team is loaded with talent and should win a lot of games.
Gibbs and Gruden both have done a great job of holding their teams together through tough times and finishing strong to make the playoffs. And Belichick deserves consideration for winning yet another division title after all of the losses – to injury and otherwise – that the Patriots have endured.
Ultimately, though, I would go with Lewis. He has helped turn a team, the Bengals, which was the laughing stock of the NFL for the entire 1990s into a legitimate contender. It’s always nice to see a team in any sport claw its way out of the depths and become successful. Now, if the Lions could somehow get any one of these coaches to come to Detroit, then maybe there would be some hope in Motown.
DAN CHALK: The Cincinnati Bengals’ Marvin Lewis. Lewis has done what Dave Shula, Bruce Coslet and Dick LeBeau couldn’t do before him – he’s guided the Bengals to their first winning season, first division title and first playoff berth since 1990.
In just three years, Lewis has turned the Bengals from the laughing stock of the NFL into a team that’s respected again.
His team has shed its longtime derogatory nickname – the "Bungles." After losing at home to the Pittsburgh Steelers early in the season, the Bengals bounced back and beat the Steelers on the road, a huge win on their way to clinching the division title.
And although the Bengals couldn’t beat the Indianapolis Colts, they did score the most points (37) of any Colts’ opponent this season in a 45-37 loss. Count on Lewis to keep Cincinnati competitive for a long time.
source: ourmidland.com
CHRIS STEVENS:
Tony Dungy.
Jack Del Rio.
Joe Gibbs.
Marvin Lewis.
Mike Holmgren.
They’re all worthy candidates, as are a couple of other coaches that I didn’t name. But I pick Lovie Smith of the Chicago Bears. Smith’s Bears came out of nowhere this year to get to the playoffs with an 11-5 record. Most so-called experts had the Bears picked in the preseason to finish with a losing record and – get this – behind the Detroit Lions in the standings. Now that’s having a bad year.
They flew way under the radar, and the by the time teams in the NFL knew Chicago was for real, they won the North Division and qualified for the playoffs, posting wins against playoff teams Carolina and Tampa Bay. The Bears’ defense is awesome, and their offense did just enough to get by to win games. They’re similar to the Baltimore Ravens of a few years back who ended up winning a Super Bowl. Smith’s the guy in a year in which there are a number of strong candidates.
CHRIS MARCHAND: There might be more worthy candidates this year than any year that I can remember.
I’m going out on a limb a bit here and going with Jon Gruden of Tampa Bay. I remember watching the Buccaneers play the Vikings the first game of the regular season. I thought to myself there’s no way that the Bucs could win. But shockingly, they did 24-13.
Gruden led Tampa to the NFC South Division title with an 11-5 record. He did it with a rookie running back in Cadillac Williams and a second-year quarterback in Chris Simms.
The Bucs also had the top defense in the NFL in terms of yards allowed, despite losing guys like John Lynch and Warren Sapp over the last two years.
Everyone raved about the Falcons and Panthers all season long. But the Bucs sneaked in through the back door and won the division. My top five Coach of the Year candidates are Gruden, Tom Coughlin of the New York Giants, Tony Dungy in Indianapolis, Mike Holmgren of Seattle and Chicago’s Lovie Smith.
FRED KELLY: I think they should just throw some names in a hat and pick one randomly. Seriously, there are so many great candidates for this award that I would hate to have to pick just one. First of all, I would narrow the list down to Washington’s Joe Gibbs, Tampa Bay’s Jon Gruden, New England’s Bill Belichick, Cincinnati’s Marvin Lewis, Indianapolis’ Tony Dungy, Chicago’s Lovie Smith, and Seattle’s Mike Holmgren.
From there, I would probably eliminate Smith and Holmgren simply because the Bears and Seahawks both play in such miserable divisions. And as much as I truly admire Dungy, the fact is that his team is loaded with talent and should win a lot of games.
Gibbs and Gruden both have done a great job of holding their teams together through tough times and finishing strong to make the playoffs. And Belichick deserves consideration for winning yet another division title after all of the losses – to injury and otherwise – that the Patriots have endured.
Ultimately, though, I would go with Lewis. He has helped turn a team, the Bengals, which was the laughing stock of the NFL for the entire 1990s into a legitimate contender. It’s always nice to see a team in any sport claw its way out of the depths and become successful. Now, if the Lions could somehow get any one of these coaches to come to Detroit, then maybe there would be some hope in Motown.
DAN CHALK: The Cincinnati Bengals’ Marvin Lewis. Lewis has done what Dave Shula, Bruce Coslet and Dick LeBeau couldn’t do before him – he’s guided the Bengals to their first winning season, first division title and first playoff berth since 1990.
In just three years, Lewis has turned the Bengals from the laughing stock of the NFL into a team that’s respected again.
His team has shed its longtime derogatory nickname – the "Bungles." After losing at home to the Pittsburgh Steelers early in the season, the Bengals bounced back and beat the Steelers on the road, a huge win on their way to clinching the division title.
And although the Bengals couldn’t beat the Indianapolis Colts, they did score the most points (37) of any Colts’ opponent this season in a 45-37 loss. Count on Lewis to keep Cincinnati competitive for a long time.
source: ourmidland.com
No comments:
Post a Comment