Thoughts on NFL coaching changes

BY DARRELL MOODY

Nevada Appeal Sports Writer

The rash of firings in the NFL is truly interesting, but not all that surprising.

Mike Shanahan won two Super Bowl titles, and honestly I thought he would be pretty safe with the Broncos despite this year's meltdown in the last month of the season.

I honestly don't know how much say Shanahan had in the draft and personnel decisions, but the one thing I will say about the Broncos is that their defense was pretty pathetic throughout the season.

The team hasn't been the same since the days of John Elway & Co., though I think that Jay Cutler is an up-and-coming young quarterback.

Whoever comes in to replace Shanahan needs to focus on defense in the draft and build a good "stop" unit somewhat like Bill Walsh did when he drafted three good defensive backs in the same draft, including Ronnie Lott. The Niners' offense always got the lion's share of the credit, but the defense was critical to the team's success during its Super Bowl years.

And, while we're on the subject of the Niners, I was glad to see Mike Singletary get the head job. The Niners played tremendous defense down the stretch, and that's the reason the team came around: because teams weren't running up and down the field on them.

One of Singletary's first moves was to fire offensive coordinator Mike Martz. It was easy to see that their chemistry wasn't that good, so the move wasn't a surprise.

Martz's offensive ideas never took hold for two reasons " no quarterback and very average wide receivers. For the 49ers to succeed, they need to either draft another quarterback or get one through free agency. Trust me when I say that Shaun Hill isn't the answer. Frank Gore should be who the team builds its offense around, and the Niners need a quarterback who throws well enough to take the pressure off Gore and open some running lanes for him.

I can't figure out the Eric Mangini firing. I know the Jets spent some big bucks on some players, including Brett Favre, who was inconsistent at best this year. I think people thought Favre was the only thing the team needed to make the jump to being one of the elite teams in the game

I thought Favre should have retired. He would be a great back-up for a team that has a young quarterback. Favre can't get it done for a 16-game season anymore, however. His time has passed. So please, Brett, do everybody a favor and start your retirement.

Don't blame Mangini because Favre couldn't get it done. Favre is only one guy. All the coach can do is coach them up. It's the players who have to perform. Mangini will interview with Cleveland.

The Browns had to be one of the biggest disappointments this season. Kellen Winslow and Braylon Edwards are talents, but neither of the Browns' quarterbacks ever got untracked. Firing Romeo Crennel wasn't a big surprise. Some guys are better as coordinators, and I think that Crennel fit into that category.

That brings me to the Raiders, who are expected to start interviews next week.

I don't see interim coach Tom Cable staying even though he's probably the one guy that truly wants the job. Why would anybody else in their right mind take the job? I would think the interference would be too much to deal with after a while.

Jim Fassel's name is being mentioned along with Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh and Kevin Gilbride, the Giants' offensive coordinator. Fassel and Gilbride have been head coaches before. Harbaugh, a former NFL quarterback, has only been at Stanford a couple of years. I think the only way he gets or takes this job is that if he doesn't believe he can turn Stanford around anytime soon. One guy who definitely will never be in Oakland again is Shanahan.

The Lions? Yikes, can anybody say train wreck? I don't have enough toes and fingers to list what's wrong with this team. I will say that it starts with the ownership. Matt Millen is a good football man, but the Lions didn't draft well during his tenure, and they are now paying the price for that. The team has no quarterback, and that should be the No. 1 priority, whether it be through the draft or free agency.

Jim Haslett was 2-10 after taking over when the Rams fired Scott Linehan. The Rams need to go outside the organization for this hire and find somebody who can bring in new energy. Winston Moss will get an interview, but that could be a spot for Shanahan, too.

Here are my picks for the weekend, and this is without seeing any posted. Miami over Baltimore and Philadelphia over Minnesota.

- Contact Darrell Moody at dmoody@nevadaappeal.com or (775) 881-1281