Win Or Lose, Patriots Remain NFL's Gold Standard

Look no further than the Chiefs hiring of GM Scott Pioli, or the Broncos hiring of Josh McDaniels to tell you how much influence the New England Patriots have on the front offices around the NFL.

Or even the Browns hiring of Eric Mangini, who replaced another ex-Patriots coach, Romeo Crennel.  

Forget the fact that New England didn't make the playoffs this year.  They still went 11-5 despite losing former MVP Tom Brady the first week of the season.  And while they're not playing into January, their disciples have made many of the headlines the last few weeks.

I'm not a Patriots fan, and frankly, I root against them every week.  But the Patriots, despite not being a playoff team this year, are the gold standard of the NFL.

Their coaches are the most sought after commodities year after year.  If a coach has spent any time on the same sideline as Bill Belichick, even ten minutes, he is considered a hot commodity among NFL owners and General Managers.  And now, with Scott Pioli hired as the Chiefs new GM, the fans in Kansas City will soon expect Vince Lombardi trophies to pile up in Arrowhead Stadium's trophy case.  

The Patriots are having the same effect on the league that many of the great dynasties of the past have had on the league.  Look around the NFL's defensive coaches and you find many members of the 1985 Bears team that had what many consider the best defense of all-time.  Mike Singletary is the 49ers head coach.  Leslie Frazier is the Vikings defensive coordinator.  Rex Ryan, son of former Bears defensive mastermind Buddy Ryan is handling the Ravens stifling defense.  And Ron Rivera is a linebackers coach for San Diego.

The same can be said for proteges that have worked with greats like Bill Parcells, Bill Walsh, and other great coaches of the past.

Now, it's the Patriots that everyone wants to emulate.  They're the first team since the turn of the century to have such a widespread effect on the NFL.  Years from now, we'll look back on the New England dynasty and see which of their ex-coaches created dynasties of their own.  But maybe even beyond the three Super Bowls they've won over the past decade, their influence on the game is their greatest achievement of all.

The Patriots have defined greatness for the new NFL.  When teams struggle and need new direction, there's one place to find the model for sustained excellence and success.  

And that is Foxboro, Massachusetts.

Hump Day Headlines: New Years Eve Edition

In this week's Hump Day Headlines, we discuss fired NFL coaches, coaches who don't want to be hired, prima-donna Brett, and a look back at a crazy 2008.

• What do Mike Shanahan, Romeo Crennell, Eric Mangini, and Rod Marinelli all have in common?  You guessed it!  All were fired by their respective NFL teams in the last three days.  So on our fired coaches in the last couple months of 2008 ticker, that makes 10 head coaches who have been pink slipped, if you include the NBA head men as well.  2008, to say the least, has not been a good year for coaches.  That is, unless your name is Tom Coughlin, Doc Rivers, Charlie Manuel, or Mike Babcock.  You can also throw the names Les Miles and Bill Self onto that list.  Other than those six men, coaches had a tumultuous year, with countless firings in every sport (i.e. Denis Savard, Barry Melrose, Phillip Fulmer, Greg Robinson, etc.).  Adding to the list of coaches that should have been fired in 2008, look no further than Bills coach Dick Jauron, who was retained by owner Ralph Wilson on Tuesday after completing his third consecutive 7-9 campaign with the Bills on Sunday.
• Since there are obviously many vacancies now in the NFL head coaching fraternity, the most logical choice for any team that's looking for a new head man would be former Steelers coach and current NFL Today analyst Bill Cowher, who was pegged as the next coach of the New York Jets.  Problem is, Cowher apparently doesn't want the job, according to ESPN's Chris Mortensen.  Cowher has apparently also turned down other NFL coaching vacancies, but he would be the best option of any coach currently unemployed.  If someone could woo him away from the CBS Studios, Cowher is the one man out there that could bring stability and success to an NFL team in the near future.  
• Brett Favre's excuse for his abysmal performance over the last five weeks for a Jets team that failed to make the playoffs after starting the year 8-3, (Favre threw two touchdowns and nine interceptions over that stretch) is that he had pain in his throwing shoulder.  Turns out the reason for this, according to doctors, is he has a torn biceps tendon in that right shoulder.  Doctors say Favre's injury can be corrected by avoiding arthroscopic surgery, but it is suggested.  Now, in addition to Favre's retirement watch, the national media has a new topic to cover...Brett Favre's Injury Watch!  WOO I'm psyched.
• 2008 was a wild year in sports.  Here are just some of the crazy things that happened:  Ohio State, a college football powerhouse that seems to reach the BCS title game yearly, was walloped once again by an SEC team in the championship game, losing in January 38-24 to LSU.  Two consecutive years, the same team crushed in the title game.  The Patriots nearly completed the first perfect season since the '72 Dolphins.  Instead, the Giants upset them in the Super Bowl, with a miraculous catch by David Tyree.  Bill Self won his first national championship as an NCAA coach, and the first for one of the winningest programs in college hoops history in twenty years.  The Boston Celtics, a 24 win team in 2006-2007, added Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.  Along with Paul Pierce the Celts ripped off a league high 66 wins and won the NBA title for the seventeenth time in team history.  Michael Phelps won EIGHT gold medals at the Olympics.  Eight.  And he's my age.  (Edit: Thank you, B.Stein) The Tampa Bay Rays won the AL East.  They reached their first world series in franchise history.  The Chicago Cubs had the best record in the National League.  Then they promptly lost three straight in the playoffs to the Dodgers.  The White Sox and Cubs made the playoffs at the same time for the first time since 1906.  The Philadelphia Phillies ended a twenty five year drought for the city of brotherly love, winning the first championship for Philadelphia since the '83 Sixers.  The Mets blew another playoff berth.  The Brewers made the playoffs for the first time in twenty five years.  The New England Patriots missed the playoffs.  The Broncos had a three game lead with three games left and missed the playoffs.  Tampa Bay lost four straight to miss the playoffs.  The man Brett Favre replaced, Chad Pennington, made the playoffs.  Brett did not.  And, Chad beat Brett to get there.    The Blackhawks lead the NHL in attendance.  The same Blackhawks who didn't have their home games televised until this year.  
• What a crazy 2008.  Here's to hoping for a great 2009.