Disagree or agree with this weekOs sharpest point?
It's the final week of the regular season here at The Sharpest Point, and playoff matchups are already clinched. Next week we will see the first round showdown between No. 2 seed John Norman and No. 3 seed Darren Riethmiller for the right to go to the finals.
Points are in parenthesis next to the editor's name.
This Week's Question: Who has done the best coaching job this year in the NFL?
Jim Byrne (8): While I would love to harp about the tremendous jobs that Mike Tice and Bill Belichick have done with the Vikings (Tice has put an extremely dysfunctional team on track for a Super Bowl run) and the Patriots (Belichick is the glue that holds this superstarless and injury-riddled team together) respectively, there is only one name that is synonymous with excellence in coaching.
And that name is Bill Parcells (who spawned Belichick anyways).
Parcells has a storied history in the NFL, taking the N.Y. Giants to two Super Bowl championships in five years, the then lowly Patriots to the Super Bowl in a matter of four years, and the Rich Kotite diseased N.Y. Jets to the AFC Championship in only three years. In fact, the Jets team that you see today is still heavily influenced by Parcells.
Although his history is all fine and dandy, his greatest achievement may be what he is doing this season.
The Dallas Cowboys have been god-awful ever since the Carolina Panthers bounced their dynasty team from the playoffs during the 1996-97 season. Parcells came in this year, and has immediately turned the team around.
Mind you, this is not a talented team. At quarterback they have the unproven Quincy Carter, and at running back they have Troy Hambrick replacing the legendary Emmitt Smith. Nevertheless, Parcells has turned the team around and has them at 5-2 and currently in first place of the NFC East.
Parcells is the only man in the NFL with the Midas Touch. Whatever franchise he comes across, he turns them to gold and creates a contender.
John Norman (3): Dick Vermeil has definitely done the best coaching job in the NFL to this point. Vermeil has taken some pretty good players - Priest Holmes, Tony Gonzalez, Dante Hall and Will Shields - and taken them to the next level. The Chiefs don't have as much talent as many NFL teams, but it is the league's only undefeated team.
The defense is full of no-names, except for Vonnie Holliday, and it shows, as they are the No. 13 defense in the AFC. But Vermeil has them playing well enough to be the last undefeated team. The offense is full of players who did nothing before Vermeil arrived in KC three years ago. Priest Holmes spent his time in Baltimore picking splinters out of his butt and Trent Green was supposed to start in St. Louis when Vermeil was the coach there but he was hurt and lost his job to Kurt Warner.
This team has shown its resiliency, winning a game at Lambeau Field after trailing 31-14 in the third quarter. Vermeil made a great call in that game - on first down on the opening possession of overtime he aired the ball out to Eddie Kennison who took it in for the win. It's that type of coaching that wins ballgames and Vermeil has proven he has the touch.
Vermeil has helped bring everyone on this team to the next level, and after watching their blowout of the Bills Sunday night, it is apparent that they are playing the best football in the NFL right now.
Darren Riethmiller (3): When you look at the roster of the Tennessee Titans there are really only four or so players that really stick out; Steve McNair, Jevon Kearse, Keith Bulluck and Lance Shulters. Three of those players are on defense leaving McNair with what would seem to be an anemic offense. However, Jeff Fisher has McNair and that offense sitting a half a game behind the Colts in the AFC South with a record of 6-2. Seriously, look at the offensive roster for the Titans. Look a line up and check out their record again. Fisher is a player's coach, plain and simple.
Fisher is one of few coaches that are loyal to their team and city, as this is his 10th year with the Titans, and when times were bleak for the organization in the early to mid '90s Fisher stuck around. Now the team is the cream of the crop in the AFC.
Tennessee knocked off then undefeated Carolina - they just didn't beat Carolina, they smothered the Panthers 37-17. The Titans have scored more than 30 points in their last six games. The defense is holding teams to 20 points a game. You do the math.
What separates Fisher from other coaches is that he has done this year in and year out with less than marginal talent at the skilled positions and every year the team is in the hunt for the Super Bowl. This year will be no different.
Corey Griswold (0): The Bengals have acquired a reputation as being the lowest of the low in the NFL. To take on a coaching challenge such as this takes, among other things, a large paycheck. However, you also have to think that somehow, someway, you can pull that franchise out of the nosedive it has been in for years.
Marvin Lewis not only thinks that, but he's doing it.
At the end of week eight, Lewis has the Bengals with three wins, one better than their total for all of last year, and in second place in the AFC North. Second place? The Bengals are challenging! They are seventh in the AFC in offense, (better than all of their divisional opponents), and have a plus four turnover rating. Jon Kitna has the most touchdowns in the fourth quarter than any other quarterback in the NFL with five. Jon Kitna! All of this while his star linebacker bailed on him and his star running back wants to do the same.
This was a coaching job that was the bane of the NFL. Sure you could go to sunny Carolina or legendary Dallas, but to man up and head to Cincinnati, and start producing, is undoubtedly amazing.
Marvin Lewis is awesome. Rack him.
The Verdict (By Special Guest Judge, Bulls football head coach Jim Hofher): I commend the selections of all four writers regarding the coaching jobs done by their picks for NFL coaches at this point of the season. It is surprising that John Fox at Carolina, and Tony Dungy at Indy were not picks because they have their teams playing great football as well so far.
Mid-season report cards have never fascinated me much because the measure of a team is what it has done for the season. Just like games are not won in the first half but in the second, let's see where these teams finish, then you'll know who did the best coaching job.
While each writer clearly articulated why their pick is "the man" and that one writer's opinion should be "racked" a la J-Rome, the two strongest arguments are for Bill Parcells and Dick Vermeil. I will say, however, that Jim Byrne spent too much ink on Bill Parcell's history and ignored the fact that the 'Boys played a very "friendly" schedule so far other than the Bucs, while John Norman carefully crafted a more current argument and supported it with play-calling facts from this season.
Not only do I agree with Norman's choice, I think the argument was strong like a Dave Dawson jaunt, a Matt Knueven grab, a Mark Graham sack and a Lamar Wilcher big hit! Go Bulls!
