Haslett stays put and off the coaching carousel

[RamWraith]

By Bill Coats
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
07/22/2007

Seven new head coaches will be assembling their NFL teams for training camp this week. To the surprise of many observers, none of them is named Jim Haslett.

The immediate question that arose last year after Scott Linehan hired Haslett as his defensive coordinator was, how long will he be here? Haslett had spent the previous six seasons running the New Orleans Saints, and skeptics figured that he'd jump at the first chance to nab another head-coaching position.

If Haslett had any such plan, he has since tweaked it. Even though he wasn't pleased with his unit's showing last year, he discovered that yielding the myriad responsibilities that come with being a head coach provided a pleasant relief.

"I probably had the most enjoyable time coaching since I've been in the league," said Haslett, who landed his first NFL job in 1994. As a coordinator, he had more personal interaction with the players, and he found those relationships energizing.

"These guys are great to be around," he said. "They want to be good, they want to play well on defense, and they want to win a lot of games."

Plus, Haslett, 51, is reluctant to uproot wife Beth and their three children again, especially after the chaos that ensued in New Orleans in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina. The Saints relocated to San Antonio and played three "home" games there, four in Baton Rouge, La., and one in East Rutherford, N.J. They wound up 3-13, and Haslett was fired.

"That affects you, your family," he said. "Do you really want to move?" At this point, the answer to that question is no.

"Being a head coach ... if the opportunity ever arises in the right situation, maybe," Haslett said. "If not, then I'm just going to take advantage of having fun here and coaching these guys and enjoying being around them."

[helorm341]

To me this translates as Haslett is only staying put because he doesn't have a head coaching job elsewhere. i'm sure if he gets one he'll book. But I actually hopes he leaves us for a head coaching job, if he does it means he's turned our defense around.

[laram0]

I hope Haslett stays with us for at least 3 seasons. Of course that's expecting to see improvement in his 2nd season with us. Stability and continuity is what we need on the defensive side of the ball. :r:l

[RebelYell]

Considering what the Saints looked like when they fired Haslett and they immediately turn it into an NFC Championship playing team, that isn't good for Haslett's Page Ranking in the offices of GMs around the league. Unless he turns the defense into a force talked about on Sunday pregame shows, Haslett isn't going to get much attention for head coaching positions.

[ramsbruce]

Originally Posted by RebelYell

Considering what the Saints looked like when they fired Haslett and they immediately turn it into an NFC Championship playing team, that isn't good for Haslett's Page Ranking in the offices of GMs around the league. Unless he turns the defense into a force talked about on Sunday pregame shows, Haslett isn't going to get much attention for head coaching positions.

Haslett didn't have Brees, Bush, or Colston, and it's not like he had an opportunity to get those guys when he was there, so that's an unfair comparison.

[HUbison]

Originally Posted by ramsbruce

Haslett didn't have Brees, Bush, or Colston, and it's not like he had an opportunity to get those guys when he was there, so that's an unfair comparison.

Good point, ramsbruce. Before Haslett went to the Saints, they had 6 straight losing seasons. In his tenure, they had only 1 before the '05 debacle including "home" games in NY and Texas. Lombardi himself would not have done anything with the Saints in '05. Not only was Haslett's environment not-exactly condusive to winning, but he had to field a team with household names like Todd Bouman, Antowain Smith, Aaron Stecker, Jason Craft, Fred Thomas, and Zach Hilton.

Don't get me wrong, I think Haslett has been OVERrated in a lot of circles, but to compare the Saints '05 and '06 seasons to concluded Haslett "ain't got it" is an overstatement in my opinion.

[RAMMAN68]

I just hope we see improvement from the defense this season.

[RebelYell]

I didn't say it was Haslett's fault what happened in New Orleans. Reality is that in a few years few will remember anything except that the year after Haslett left, the Saints went to the NFC Championship game. Who was the one sticking with Brooks in N.O. instead of moving on?

Haslett got a lot of bad comparisons on another board for his Pittsburgh years. They said the ranking went down so obviously he wasn't very good. All those people ignore the reality that he never got anything higher than a single 2nd round pick in the draft to rebuild a defense that lost three pro-bowlers to free agency or retirement. Facts like that get lost routinely.

GMs around the league know what Haslett has done but when you are trying to rebuild a team's identity, you have to go with the hot guy - not the guy who was successful 5 years ago. Unless Haslett turns the Rams defense around and makes himself a Page Ranking solution, he's not going to be given another chance at being a head coach.

[ramsbruce]

Originally Posted by RebelYell

I didn't say it was Haslett's fault what happened in New Orleans. Reality is that in a few years few will remember anything except that the year after Haslett left, the Saints went to the NFC Championship game. Who was the one sticking with Brooks in N.O. instead of moving on?

The way you said "they turned it into an NFC title game one year after Haslett" implies that it was Haslett's fault and you are comparing the 05 season to the 06 season.

Sure he stuck with Brooks, and you say he should have moved on, but with who? What top 5 QB was available to Haslett in N.O.? That's the point, Haslett wasn't there to get Brees, Bush, or Colston, and like HUb added look what he had what work with on the team period. Not to mention his last year was during the Hurricane Katrina disaster.

I'm with HUb saying that Haslett has been overrated in many circles, but again to compare the 05 Saints season to the 06 Saints season is unfair.

[RebelYell]

My only real point was that Haslett isn't going to be considered head coaching material because he took a team to the playoffs 6 years ago. He's going to have to rebuild his reputation by rebuilding the Rams defense. I like Haslett, I think he's a good coach. I just don't think to many teams are looking at him as a Page Ranking solution to a head coaching nightmare they might be experiencing. Looking at what has happened in New Orleans doesn't make the job easier to sell the guy as a white knight solution for any franchise.

I'm not blaming Haslett for anything that happened in New Orleans but having the franchise still in major turmoil and being turned into a contender so quickly doesn't help his reputation.

Look at it another way. If Arizona goes to the NFC Championship this year does that reflect at all on Dennis Green? I think it does to some extent. How do you sell Dennis Green as your next head coach when firing him solved so many problems so quickly?

[ramsbruce]

Originally Posted by RebelYell

I'm not blaming Haslett for anything that happened in New Orleans but having the franchise still in major turmoil and being turned into a contender so quickly doesn't help his reputation.

Look at it another way. If Arizona goes to the NFC Championship this year does that reflect at all on Dennis Green? I think it does to some extent. How do you sell Dennis Green as your next head coach when firing him solved so many problems so quickly?

The way you came across in your earlier post sounds like you are comparing the 2 Saints teams which is unfair.

Football people know not to jump to the conclusion that firing Haslett in 05 was the entire answer to the Saints 06 NFC Championship appearance. There were way too many changes for it to be a fair comparison so I don't think it hurts his reputation either.