I think we all know that Henning will not be back next year.. Retirement or firing.. doesn't matter.

I'm interested in everyone's opinion on OC candidates and why

I think if Sparano stays, he should seriously consider Chad Pennington.

I know that sounds a little funny, but I truly believe Chad will be a great coach.

He knows offense, and I think he would be more of an attacking playcaller.

There are a bunch others as well, but I think Chad should be a serious candidate.

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"When you suck long enough, you get a Hickey"

Totally depends on what happens to Sparano, if he stays and doesn't sign an extension then you'll get Lee or Dorell (maybe his old buddy Chris Palmer). If he stays and signs an ext. then you might get lucky and land an experienced OC like Garrett, McDaniels (both highly unlikely) or Childress. If he gets whacked then it's anyones guess?

Aqua&Orange Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I think if Sparano stays, he should seriously
> consider Chad Pennington.
>
> I know that sounds a little funny, but I truly
> believe Chad will be a great coach.
>
> He knows offense, and I think he would be more of
> an attacking playcaller.
>
> There are a bunch others as well, but I think Chad
> should be a serious candidate.

Agreed!

I disagree about Penny, start him out as a QB coach before throwing him straight to OC. Why would he even want to do it? pay would be less then as a player and way more hours, he could go sit in a booth for equal pay and less headache.

Garrett- probably gets a HC job somewhere
Childress- West Coast playcaller-doesnt match our personnel
Palmer- Please Lord, I hope not--he was canned in week 2 or 3 a few
years ago

McDaniels- Highley unlikely due to the burned bridges already on our
team

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"When you suck long enough, you get a Hickey"

Aqua&Orange Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Garrett- probably gets a HC job somewhere
> Childress- West Coast playcaller-doesnt match our
> personnel
> Palmer- Please Lord, I hope not--he was canned
> in week 2 or 3 a few
> years ago
>
> McDaniels- Highley unlikely due to the burned
> bridges already on our
> team


I agree with all of your assessments, but brace yourself for Palmer if Tony don't beat feet.

Quote:

"Why would he even want to do it? pay would be less then as a player and way more hours, he could go sit in a booth for equal pay and less headache."


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Well, that part is all up to him. What is his heart's desire? If he wants to be a coach, then he will be a coach. If he wants to sit in a booth and be a analyst, then he will do that.

It's up to him. But, if he wants to be a coach, I think we should do what we can to keep him on our staff. I think he will be a great coach.

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"When you suck long enough, you get a Hickey"

If Sparano stays, it's going to be someone that he trusts and has ties with.

David Lee- has OC experience at the college level, and going with him allows the team to keep the same basic playbook and terminology

Karl Dorrell- has OC and HC experience at the college level, and like Lee, allows continuity with the current playbook and terminology.

Chris Palmer- the most obvious choice from outside the organization. Has extenseive OC experience in the NFL. He's the guy that gave Sparano his start as a college coach, and as an NFL position coach.

Jason Garrett- coached with Sparano in Dallas. But, if he is let go by the Cowboys, he'll be a head coaching candidate for someone. Not a likely candidate for us.

Brian Schottenheimer- coached with Sparano in Washington. If the Jets make him the fall guy for an early playoff exit, he could be on the radar.

When Sparano needed a new special teams coach, he dug deep and hired a guy that he coached with at New Haven 15 years ago. So, to come up with more candidates, you probably have to really dig into Sparano's past.

1984-87 New Haven
1988-93 Boston University
1994-98 New Haven
1999-2000 Cleveland Browns
2001 Washington Redskins
2002 Jacksonville Jaguars
2003-07 Dallas Cowboys

Chances are, the new OC will be someone he coached with at one of those places. And, I guess, you also have to dig into Ireland's past to find potential candidates.

1997-2000 Kansas City Chiefs
2001-07 Dallas Cowboys

What's interesting there is that both Ireland and Sparano have a tie to Marty Schottenheimer. Sparano coached under him in Washington, and Ireland scouted for him in KC. If they maintain a relationship with him, and would seek out a recommendation from him, it probably opens a much bigger list of candidates.

"and Ireland scouted for him in KC"

I've mentioned this before, but I heard Carl Peterson on the radio a while back, and he pointed out that he was the 1st to give Ireland a job in the NFL, just pointing out that if Peterson is hired on as an advisor to Ross, that doesn't automatically mean a total regime change either.