BullheadCardFan
01-13-2007, 07:14 AM
Money for aides is factor for Cards
Kent Somers
The Arizona Republic
Jan. 13, 2007 12:00 AM
When the Cardinals find a replacement for Dennis Green in the coming days, it won't end their coaching search.
The new coach will spend the following weeks hiring a staff, and a couple of factors might make that an interesting endeavor for the Cardinals.
First, team management expects the new coach to interview seven holdovers from Green's staff. It's unknown how much pressure will be exerted upon the head coach to hire those seven.
Second, the Cardinals historically have paid their assistant coaches less than the NFL average. If a new coach is going to attract quality assistants, especially to fill key positions such as offensive and defensive coordinators and offensive line coach, the Cardinals are going to have to pay more.
Each year, the NFL Coaches Association surveys assistants for salary information. Data for 2006 are still being compiled, but in 2005, the Cardinals were ranked somewhere in the bottom third, according to Larry Kennan, the organization's executive director.
"They paid Denny a little more than they paid other guys (former head coaches)," Kennan said, "and I think they upped the assistants some also, but they are not one of the higher-paid groups."
Sources on Green's former staff confirmed that the salaries for position coaches were in line with the rest of the league. And they credit for Green for that.
But Green's coordinators were paid considerably less than the league average. Teams sources said offensive coordinator Keith Rowen and defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast made between $300,000 and $400,000.
The league average for defensive coordinators is $709,000, according to those who responded to the NFLCA's survey. The average for offensive coordinators was $586,000.
It's not uncommon for coordinators to make at least $1 million these days. Gregg Williams, the Redskins' defensive coordinator, signed a three-year deal worth as much as $8 million last year.
When Nick Saban went to Miami as coach two years ago, he spent lavishly on coaches. Hudson Houck, the Dolphins offensive line coach, made nearly $1 million a year, double what his previous employer, the Chargers, was paying him.
"There's a salary cap on players, but there isn't a salary cap on coaches," Saban told reporters at the time.
Former Cardinals coach Dave McGinnis took less salary over the life of his contract so he could pay his assistants more.
Not long ago, it was hard for any NFL assistant coaches to find out what their counterparts in the league were making. Teams guarded the information for obvious reasons, and assistants, who often work 90 to 100 hours a week during the season, had little idea where their salaries ranked.
That began to change about eight years ago, Kennan said, when the NFLCA started its salary surveys. Initially, some assistants resisted, but they gradually saw the value in pooling information.
"Once we started to get everybody's information, salaries went up dramatically," he said. "Once you're armed with information, it's a lot easier to know what the going rate is."
It helped, too, that assistants started hiring agents to negotiate contracts, which increased salaries.
Cards' next move
Hiring a staff is the first key move for a new head coach. Previous Cardinals coaches, including McGinnis and Green, had trouble getting the people they wanted not only because of salary constraints, but also because other teams refused them permission to talk to assistants under contract.
That's the reason Cardinals management cited in retaining seven members of Green's staff. They wanted to give a new head coach a head start in assembling a staff.
"We felt like these guys would certainly fit in our future," Rod Graves, the team's vice president of football operations, said the day Green was fired. "Those coaches are going to be evaluated, along with my input, (by) the new head coach and we'll see ultimately where their status will fall.
"We just didn't think, No. 1, a wholesale turnover of the staff was necessary," he said.
That decision, however, likely has raised questions from head-coaching candidates.
Fair or not, the Cardinals have a reputation for being cheap. They would save money by retaining the assistants, who are under contract for 2007, rather than paying them if they don't find work elsewhere.
But no prospective head coach wants someone else to dictate the makeup of his staff, and candidates have been assured they won't be forced to hire anyone.
"You talk about talent on the field; talent on the coaching staff is just as important," former Packers coach Mike Sherman said when he interviewed with the Cardinals last week. "They want to retain the services of those men to give the new coach the opportunity to interview them. I'm under the understanding that's as far as it goes."
Russ Grimm, a Steelers assistant, reportedly turned down the Bears head coaching job three years ago because he didn't agree with management's position on hiring a staff. When he interviewed with the Cardinals on Tuesday, Grimm said a head coach has to "feel comfortable with his staff."
"I may walk back upstairs, and they say, 'We don't want you to have any say, so get out of here,' and I'm back on the next plane. That's an issue we haven't crossed yet."
Kent Somers
The Arizona Republic
Jan. 13, 2007 12:00 AM
When the Cardinals find a replacement for Dennis Green in the coming days, it won't end their coaching search.
The new coach will spend the following weeks hiring a staff, and a couple of factors might make that an interesting endeavor for the Cardinals.
First, team management expects the new coach to interview seven holdovers from Green's staff. It's unknown how much pressure will be exerted upon the head coach to hire those seven.
Second, the Cardinals historically have paid their assistant coaches less than the NFL average. If a new coach is going to attract quality assistants, especially to fill key positions such as offensive and defensive coordinators and offensive line coach, the Cardinals are going to have to pay more.
Each year, the NFL Coaches Association surveys assistants for salary information. Data for 2006 are still being compiled, but in 2005, the Cardinals were ranked somewhere in the bottom third, according to Larry Kennan, the organization's executive director.
"They paid Denny a little more than they paid other guys (former head coaches)," Kennan said, "and I think they upped the assistants some also, but they are not one of the higher-paid groups."
Sources on Green's former staff confirmed that the salaries for position coaches were in line with the rest of the league. And they credit for Green for that.
But Green's coordinators were paid considerably less than the league average. Teams sources said offensive coordinator Keith Rowen and defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast made between $300,000 and $400,000.
The league average for defensive coordinators is $709,000, according to those who responded to the NFLCA's survey. The average for offensive coordinators was $586,000.
It's not uncommon for coordinators to make at least $1 million these days. Gregg Williams, the Redskins' defensive coordinator, signed a three-year deal worth as much as $8 million last year.
When Nick Saban went to Miami as coach two years ago, he spent lavishly on coaches. Hudson Houck, the Dolphins offensive line coach, made nearly $1 million a year, double what his previous employer, the Chargers, was paying him.
"There's a salary cap on players, but there isn't a salary cap on coaches," Saban told reporters at the time.
Former Cardinals coach Dave McGinnis took less salary over the life of his contract so he could pay his assistants more.
Not long ago, it was hard for any NFL assistant coaches to find out what their counterparts in the league were making. Teams guarded the information for obvious reasons, and assistants, who often work 90 to 100 hours a week during the season, had little idea where their salaries ranked.
That began to change about eight years ago, Kennan said, when the NFLCA started its salary surveys. Initially, some assistants resisted, but they gradually saw the value in pooling information.
"Once we started to get everybody's information, salaries went up dramatically," he said. "Once you're armed with information, it's a lot easier to know what the going rate is."
It helped, too, that assistants started hiring agents to negotiate contracts, which increased salaries.
Cards' next move
Hiring a staff is the first key move for a new head coach. Previous Cardinals coaches, including McGinnis and Green, had trouble getting the people they wanted not only because of salary constraints, but also because other teams refused them permission to talk to assistants under contract.
That's the reason Cardinals management cited in retaining seven members of Green's staff. They wanted to give a new head coach a head start in assembling a staff.
"We felt like these guys would certainly fit in our future," Rod Graves, the team's vice president of football operations, said the day Green was fired. "Those coaches are going to be evaluated, along with my input, (by) the new head coach and we'll see ultimately where their status will fall.
"We just didn't think, No. 1, a wholesale turnover of the staff was necessary," he said.
That decision, however, likely has raised questions from head-coaching candidates.
Fair or not, the Cardinals have a reputation for being cheap. They would save money by retaining the assistants, who are under contract for 2007, rather than paying them if they don't find work elsewhere.
But no prospective head coach wants someone else to dictate the makeup of his staff, and candidates have been assured they won't be forced to hire anyone.
"You talk about talent on the field; talent on the coaching staff is just as important," former Packers coach Mike Sherman said when he interviewed with the Cardinals last week. "They want to retain the services of those men to give the new coach the opportunity to interview them. I'm under the understanding that's as far as it goes."
Russ Grimm, a Steelers assistant, reportedly turned down the Bears head coaching job three years ago because he didn't agree with management's position on hiring a staff. When he interviewed with the Cardinals on Tuesday, Grimm said a head coach has to "feel comfortable with his staff."
"I may walk back upstairs, and they say, 'We don't want you to have any say, so get out of here,' and I'm back on the next plane. That's an issue we haven't crossed yet."