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Marv Levy was one of the only coaches in mothballs who didn't get a head NFL job or become a serious candidate for one last week. And it wasn't because Levy didn't try. Levy, 78, campaigned for a job. Who's to say he couldn't have found success again in a league that is doing its part to ease Social Security problems?
Those powder blue Chargers uniforms are cool, but if you really want retro, try Hall of Famer Joe Gibbs. The new-old Redskins coach had been out of the NFL for 11 seasons until Dan Snyder and an army of Ben Franklins convinced Gibbs that his heart was really in football. It's the best move Snyder has made since he took over in Washington four years and 43 head coaches ago. Gibbs is the one coach who has a chance of succeeding under Snyder, because if Snyder is capable of showing respect to an employee, he'll have to respect his boyhood hero.
There has been no better football coach than Gibbs since the merger. His game plans were rock-solid; his preparation unparalleled. He's embarrassed some outstanding head coaches. It's true being away from the game for so long won't help him, but it won't hurt him any more than it hurt Dick Vermeil, who came back after a 14-year layoff and won a Super Bowl in his third season in St. Louis.
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Gibbs isn't the only of yesterday's heroes whose name has been circulating through
the NFL. One rumor -- a bad one, but an interesting one -- had the Raiders being
interested in resurrecting former Raiders coach Art Shell. Another possibility
for the Raiders is Chiefs offensive coordinator Al Saunders, who last was a
head coach in San Diego in 1988. Tickets
The Giants couldn't bring back Bill Parcells, so they brought back one of his disciples, former Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin. A known control freak, Coughlin could have a difficult time adjusting to having less than complete authority over his team.
The Cardinals hired former Vikings coach Dennis Green, who had been out of the NFL for two years. The Cardinals are lucky to get him. In Green's tenure in Minnesota, the Vikings had one losing season in 10 years. If Green gets support from ownership, his impact on the Cardinals can be similar to Marvin Lewis' on the Bengals.
The Falcons bucked the trend by hiring first-time head coach Jim Mora Jr. There is no truth to the rumor they thought they were hiring his old man.
At the beginning of the week, openings remained in Buffalo, Chicago and Oakland, but Jimmy Johnson's hands were too slick from suntan oil to pick up the ringing telephone.