Finding Rings on the NFL Coaching Carousel

It is of the general understanding that, as a head coach, the more rings you have on your finger the more sought after you are. Right? It used to be that teams would give up an arm and a leg for a reputable coach with some Super Bowl experience. Hell, it's the reason the name Bill Parcells is always within earshot of the NFL.

As of recent however, NFL teams have followed the trend of rich middle-aged MILFs; cutting ties with their older, more experienced coaches for a younger, energetic go-getter that may or may not have held the previous job as a pool boy. My thoughts: put down the playbook and pick up that Desperate Housewives box set!

Entering the 2009 season, there will be only three active head coaches who have Super Bowl Rings (Bill Belichick of New England, Mike Tomlin of Pittsburgh, and Tom Coughlin of the New York Giants). And closing out the 2008 season there were nine head coaching vacancies. Of the coaches who left, there were John Gruden (one Super Bowl ring), Mike Shannahan (two Super Bowl rings), and Tony Dungy (one ring). To top it off, there are also Brian Billick and Bill Cowher (one ring each) on the market from the past couple of years. With Cowher playing the seductive lead role of Eva Longoria-Parker (kinky!), as his name has been at the top of many teams off-season wishlists.

Why are teams changing their mentality from gaining coaches who know what it takes to win at the highest level? The young guns have proven themselves. The kid--err man who replaced Cowher in Pittsburgh is having his finger sized for his Super Bowl ring at the ripe age of 36. Jim Harbaugh, 45, brought his Ravens team to the playoffs, with a rookie quarterback no less. This after Billick suffered four up-and-down years with the team before getting the ax.

One of the most notable coaches to do well despite experience is the Miami Dolphins Tony Sparano, 47. After Cam Cameron was run out of town like the Plague, Sparano had a very high mountain to climb; Parcells or no Parcells. He certainly climbed high up that mountain as the Dolphins posted a most-impressive 11-5 record on their way to an AFC East title.

In this day and age, NFL teams don't put as much emphasis on the guys who are simply good with x's and o's (sorry Eric Mangini). They want a guy who is going to spark a team and light a fire under their asses; someone who can relate to the players. And have you noticed that these new head coaches are all a good face for the public relations people? Again, sorry Mangini.

And how else better to relate to the young talent the NFL brings in than a 32-year-old baby-faced offensive coordinator with a knack for creating explosive offenses. The baby-faced offensive coordinator is Denver Broncos new head coach, Josh McDaniels. Yes, he may have gotten carded to see the newest Saw sequel, but the kid can flat out coach. I mean, did you see that offense he ran in New England?! You've heard it first, here: Josh McDaniels will have the Denver Broncos in the playoffs--with or without Jay "I Never Saw A Receiver Who Wasn't Open" Cutler.

Another coach primed for an excellent season, as much as it pains me to say it, is Rex Ryan of the New York Jets. The Jets were playoff bound before Brett Farve choked...again, and Ryan has brought over some of his guys from the Ravens squad as well as CB Lito Sheppard to sit opposite of stud corner, Darrelle Revis.

All in all, of the nine new head coaches in 2009 seven are 46 years of age of younger. This seems like an inevitable turn of events for the league like the overall acceptance of the tandem running back in the past few years.