FanHouse DickVermeil

Just two days after the San Francisco 49ers season ended, the team decided to part ways with offensive coordinator Mike Martz after one year on the job. Originally, there was some confusion as to why he was let go. Was it because of a clash of personalities and philosophies between him and new head coach Mike Singletary? Or was it because the 49ers brass urged Singletary to go in a different direction?

Nearly two months later, we're still not totally sure, and the only thing we do know is that Martz hasn't found a new job. And he thinks he knows why.

In anticipation of Cardinals-Steelers, FanHouse takes a look back at some forgotten storylines from past Super Bowls.

Everyone remembers Kevin Dyson stretching out with the football from the one yard-line in a desperate attempt to tie the game in Super Bowl XXXIV as time expired. The Rams won the game, Kurt Warner won the MVP, Dick Vermeil won his only Super Bowl championship, and Vermeil "retired" for Mike Martz to take over as coach.

What many people don't consider about that game is: Why did the Titans only have one timeout on that final drive?

TAMPA, Fla. -- The best Super Bowl pregame show on TV comes on at the ungodly hour of 6:30 AM ET on Super Bowl Sunday, but it's worth getting up early (or setting the DVR) to see ESPN's NFL Matchup, the show that goes beyond highlights and analyzes the game with the same tape that coaches use. Today I watched the taping of the Matchup show that will air Sunday, and it was an Xs and Os education.

The NFL has announced they are suspending Kansas City running back Larry Johnson for one game for violating the league's conduct policy. The NFL mandated suspension will be be served next week, Week 10.

The Chiefs have already announced they would deactivate Johnson for this weekend's game against Tampa Bay. He had been deactivated the previous two weeks as well. All this stems from a simple assault charge he picked up for spitting a drink in a woman's face.

The suspension is without pay and will be served on the Chiefs meeting with the San Diego Chargers on November 9. He will not be allowed on the team's premises until the following day.

"Johnson has previously violated the NFL Personal Conduct Policy and has since been involved in multiple incidents in which law enforcement was required to intervene,'' the NFL announced in announcing the suspension. "Johnson also was informed that upon the disposition of two pending law enforcement matters he faces the possibility of additional disciplinary action.''

The other sad-sack news for Mr. Johnson is the resignation of his agent.

The Dolphins and Ravens have new head coaches, but almost two weeks after Joe Gibbs retired, the Redskins are still searching. The early money is still on assistant coach-defense, Gregg Williams, but the Washington Post's Jason La Canfora writes that there's plenty of speculation that owner Dan Snyder is pursuing a "name coach" and will shock "everyone with [his] choice."

Bill Cowher is still out of the mix, however.

I spoke to people close to Bill Cowher who continue to say nothing has changed with him at all. He's not going back to coaching this year. One source said he knows the kind of money Snyder spends but "I would be very, very surprised if Bill came back."

Another name making the rounds is Dick Vermeil, who says he hasn't talked to the Redskins about the job. Plus, as La Canfora points out, Vermeil is tight with Al Saunders, the current Redskins offensive coordinator who's not quite sure what he'll be doing next season.

Other names for the rumor mill: Jim Fassel, Dennis Green and Jimmy Johnson. All veteran coaches with shiny resumes, but all say they haven't talked with Washington about Gibbs' job.

And then there's this: apparently, Brian Billick has reached out to the 'Skins about "trying to find info on the coaching search and possible openings on the offensive side of the ball." Yes, I could see Billick making the Redskins the offensive juggernaut that Saunders couldn't. Yikes.

The Kansas City Star's Joe Posnanski goes all Dick Vermeil-retro and writes in today's edition that running back Larry Johnson needs to take the diapers off.

Everybody understands that Chiefs running back Larry Johnson runs his best when angry. This has been the subject of about 394 newspaper and magazine stories - the chip on LJ's shoulder has its own press agent. Johnson, you know, made the superstar scene about three years ago, shortly after his coach, Dick Vermeil, said it was time for him to take off the diapers and play.

Last week, in the Chiefs' unexpected come-from-behind win against the Chargers, Posnanski writes that it was the team's most surprising victory in 10 years, but that amid all the merriment, Johnson stormed out of the locker room. The scuttlebutt was that LJ was a little put off by his Sunday totals. (Which, by the way, were more than twice as good as anything he's done to date this season ... but whatever.)

And for a team that finally won a game, a pouting LJ benefits no one (except, maybe, LJ):

The Chiefs win a huge game, Johnson rushes for 123 yards (most of them at the end of the game, but still) and he's stomping around? This is like Chapter 1 in the How to be a Bad Teammate book. It might even be the introduction.

This is a continuation of a 2-part series regarding what the Chiefs must do next season to fix their woes on offense. Click here to read Part I.

Whether you like Herm Edwards or not; whether you like Herm's offensive philosophy or not, we have to recognize that the offense needs to change. Even if Dick Vermeil were still head coach, the Chiefs would still need to undergo a massive facelift. Will Shields and Casey Wiegmann have gone from terrific to average due to age. Jordan Black is certainly no Willie Roaf, and Kevin Sampson and Chris Terry are no John Tait. Ronnie Cruz is no Tony Richardson. And Trent Green... just isn't Trent Green anymore.

The writing should have been on the wall the minute we saw Herm's drafting and roster decisions on offense. The Chiefs went with Jeff Webb in the draft, a tall, big receiver--by all indications, a terrible fit for Saunders' Coryell offense. As the 5th receiver, the Chiefs went with another big guy: Chris Hannon, a 6'3", 205 lb. receiver. Lightning fast receiver Craphonso Thorpe was cut for being a "crappy" fit to Herm's new offense. Vermeil favorite Chris Horn was also not brought back into Kansas City.

I have been one of Herm Edwards' biggest supporters. This has been no secret. Here's the main reason why: I don't approve of Herm's offensive gameplanning. I also agree that he is too stubborn at time. I also believe that he inherited a limping team and he took them far deeper than expected. Folks, I know we want to compare the Chiefs' offense to the explosive aerial offense that Vermeil and Saunders featured. We have to face facts that this ship has sailed. Joe Posnanski wrote an article in the Kansas City Star that speaks to this same issue. If you haven't read it, I implore you to read it now. I sat in my chair nodding my head at every single point Posnanski made in this article.

The reason I have been so defensive of Herm Edwards is that he was forced to run an offense last year that he was not comfortable with. The media and the fans are largely to blame for that. There were so many people that insisted that Herm not change the offense. Herm Edwards has never been comfortable with a vertical passing game. He wants to feature a ball-control offense, and you can't accomplish that if you're gaining 20 yards on first down or your quarterback gets sacked on first down forcing a 2nd down and 20. Before we accuse Herm Edwards of being a doofus on offense, let's give him a chance to get his own players and his own offensive scheme first, shall we? I don't support Herm's offensive gameplan, but I'm willing to wait one more season to see what he can do when he's given license to run his own offense with his own scheme with his own coaches and players.

More importantly, Vermeil and Saunders' offense revolved around the offensive line. News flash: those dominant years are over. Willie Roaf: gone. Will Shields: rapid decline. Casey Wiegmann: declining. Whoever is at right tackle: ineffective. The Chiefs can't go vertical because their offensive line isn't good enough to protect that long. Even Dick Vermeil couldn't have gotten much effectiveness out of this unit.

Herm Edwards must be wondering what he got himself into. Leaving the pressures of New York to go to Kansas City would seem to be ideal: less media, more privacy, less scrutiny.

Welcome to Kansas City football reality, Herm.

All Edwards did with the Jets was lead them to the playoffs in three of his five seasons, and Jets' fans said, "Good riddance," when he left for Kansas City. In his first season as the Chiefs' head coach, all he did was lead the Chiefs to their first postseason appearance since 2003, and only their 2nd appearance in the last 9 years.

Has he lucked out by taking over veteran teams? Sure. But I would argue that he has been more unlucky than lucky. It is not at all easy to take over a veteran team and make your mark immediately, especially when taking over for coaching legends like Bill Parcells and Dick Vermeil, but Edwards has done that with both the Jets and the Chiefs. Like his style or not, Edwards generally gets results.

Perhaps Edwards' problem is that he creates high expectations too early. One thing that Jets' and Chiefs' fans have in common is that, despite the paucity of playoff appearances by their teams, they still demand no less than Super Bowl appearances from their head coaches. Chiefs' fans are spoiled by the Marty Schottenheimer teams which made the playoffs every year, while Jets' fans are itching for leverage over Giants' fans. So, instead of being satisfied with their team making a rare playoff appearance, they demand excellence once in the playoffs.

Which isn't a bad thing. Obviously, it would be disconcerting if fans settled for moderate success. But Edwards is perhaps taking more flak than he should. His 2-4 record in the playoffs, while not impressive, is also really not that bad in context. Six games is not enough to judge a man's playoff record. While many are wary of his intention to change the offense, Edwards is recognizing that he cannot win playoff games with this offense. Not with this personnel. Not with how he wants the Chiefs to play defense.

Herm Edwards is not indefensible. Nor is he immune from blame for the Chiefs' collapse in the first round. But he is also not the terrible coach some are making him out to be. One year does not a coach make. He has a 67% record of making the playoffs so far. If he makes it 71% next year, then we can see if he is the next Marty Schottenheimer.

With the Chiefs gasping for playoff breath, the hot topic in Kansas City is now whether Trent Green should be the starting quarterback in '07. Herm Edwards is adamant that he will be. Not everyone else is convinced he should be, though. Even Jon is wondering if Brodie Croyle should be prepared to start next year.

The reasons there are doubters are many. Aside from the game in Cleveland, the Chiefs' offense has not been particularly impressive since Green returned. He has thrown more interceptions than touchdowns, he has fumbled several times under pressure, and he has been badly inaccurate on some wide open throws. Green will also be 37 next season.

But here is why I wouldn't necessarily write Green off just yet. First, a lot of his problems may be simply mechanical. Remember, Green had a long, long layoff, and he could be feeling like he is just coming out of training camp. During the NFL Network's broadcast of the Chiefs-Raiders game, Green's old coach, Dick Vermeil, made what I felt was an outstanding observation. The NFL Network freeze-framed a shot of Green just as he was about to release what turned out to be a pass that fell short of the receiver. Vermeil pointed out that Green has been throwing the ball at a bad angle, causing him to throw passes short of his receivers. Reports have indicated that Green has looked great and been accurate in practice, so you have to wonder if, because of the concussion, Green is still a little slow to react to the pace of the game and doesn't quite think clearly about his mechanics. In fact, Green has been pretty accurate on intermediate passes to the middle of the field, but badly inaccurate on short throws or sideline throws, indicating that maybe Green is hurrying his throws. This would not be unlike a pitcher coming off of major surgery who looks great in bullpen sessions, but once runners get on base, he loses his mechanics.