Loose association

Mind doctors would call this loose association, but that’s their problem:

          I’m sure you noticed that the team which knocked the New York Jets out of the playoffs was the Tennessee Titans. Why does this matter? Because the original name of the Jets franchise was the New York Titans. Sammy Baugh was the original head coach, but you knew that, right?

          Who was Sammy Baugh? Really? Never mind.

          Want to know why Tim Tebow never had a legitimate chance to play an important role for the Jets this season? So do I. Tebow did something last year that the Jets haven’t done in a while: He won a playoff game.

         Remember the playoffs? Ask former Colts coach Jim Mora about the playoffs or check his comments on the subject on YouTube.

           Congratulations to Tebow’s former team, the Denver Broncos, for their terrific season in 2012 and good luck to them in Jim  Mora’s playoffs.

            The Broncos have accomplished something many NFL coaches might guess was impossible: Using their third starting quarterback over the course of two seasons and running their third offense in two seasons, they have won the AFC West.
            The truth is, this is a statement about the quality of the coaching staff in Denver. Those guys are tremendous. They won games in wacky circumstances last year, retooled, and won again this year. Great stuff.

And how about head coach Jeff Fisher and the job he did with St. Louis Rams this season? They’ve missed the playoffs, but they’ve won seven games so far, a dramatic improvement over their 2011 disaster. Remember another Rams coach, a guy that took over a failing franchise and turned the team into a winner in one season, making the playoffs in his second season?

             That was George Allen in the 1960s. The team had the makings but didn’t win before Allen got there.
             Allen took over a team with a good, young quarterback (Roman Gabriel), a man who became the franchise-leading running back (Dick Bass) and a highly-regarded defense. Sound familiar?
             One key to Allen’s success was his devotion to special teams. I believe he made the Rams become the first team to hire an assistant specifically to coach special teams. The guy Allen hired? Dick Vermeil.
             Years later, Vermeil became the Rams’ head coach. He took over a failing franchise, made the team competitive and then lost his starting quarterback in the final pre-season game of Vermeil’s second year. He turned to a promising young quarterback and won the Super Bowl that season.

The quarterback? Really? Kurt Warner.

That Rams Super Bowl victory was the second time Vermeil coached a team to the big game. Years earlier, he coached the Philadelphia Eagles to the NFC championship before losing to the Raiders in the title game.

Vermeil’s starting quarterback in Philadelphia? Ron Jaworski, formerly a quarterback with the Los Angeles Rams.

While playing for the Eagles, Jaworski frequently played against the New York Giants. So what? Well, keep reading.

Warner, of course, eventually played for the Giants. He had a winning record but he was demoted anyway in favor of a promising young quarterback. That young quarterback has now won two Super Bowls with the Giants.

I know you know that young Giants quarterback was Eli Manning.

Manning beat the New England Patriots in both his Super Bowl wins. So what? Keep reading.

 

Two years after they won the Super Bowl, the Rams were heavily favored to win the big game again but they lost to…hey you know this right? The Patriots.

But it gets better. After Warner was dumped by the Giants, the Arizona Cardinals hired him. Warner eventually led the Cardinals all the way to the Super Bowl, where they were beaten in heart-breaking style by the Pittsburg Steelers.

Yeah, the Steelers. The same franchise that beat the Rams in their first appearance in a Super Bowl, back when the Rams were known as the Los Angeles Rams.

 

When the Rams finally won their first Super Bowl victory, I’m sure you all know who the head coach was of the team the Rams beat, right?

Come on, you know this. It was Jeff Fisher, who coached the…wait for it…hey, why haven’t you been paying attention?

Fisher coached the Tennessee Titans back then.

 

Loose association? Maybe, but thanks for reading.