Warbuck$
10-21-2006, 04:55 AM
Out of focus
By Jason Cole, Yahoo! Sports
October 20, 2006
The hardest part of Baltimore Ravens coach Brian Billick's decision to fire offensive coordinator Jim Fassel was the uncomfortableness of telling a friend that he simply wasn't working very hard.
The word coming out of Baltimore these days is that Fassel spent much more of his time over the past year angling for a new job rather than focusing on his current one.
Time and again, other members of the offensive staff would walk to Fassel's office with a question or comment, only to be turned away as Fassel spent time on the phone networking rather than focusing on the game plan.
Or as one person in the building said this week: "I've never seen an offensive coordinator who watched less tape than Jim did this year."
That's harsh, but it comes laced with great anguish. Many of Fassel's former cohorts on the Ravens' staff are friends from years gone by.
Over the past year, those friends had hoped that Fassel would break out of the funk that has afflicted him since he was fired as head coach of the New York Giants in 2003. Since then, Fassel has felt a sense of entitlement, thinking he deserved another chance to be a head coach.
"Jim kept telling everybody all the things he had done as head coach of the Giants and asking, 'How can Nick Saban [Dolphins] get a job before me? How can Scott Linehan [Rams] get a job before me?'" a source said. "Instead of that, he should have been concentrating on doing a good job."
After the 2004 season, Fassel was approached by numerous donors at Stanford about taking over its head coaching job. Fassel still has strong ties to the school from his days as the program's offensive coordinator in the early 1980s when he tutored John Elway.
At the time, Fassel said he politely told the folks at Stanford that he wanted to wait for another NFL opportunity. Right now, Fassel might want to reconsider that option and he might get another chance at The Farm as Walt Harris continues to flounder at Stanford.
By Jason Cole, Yahoo! Sports
October 20, 2006
The hardest part of Baltimore Ravens coach Brian Billick's decision to fire offensive coordinator Jim Fassel was the uncomfortableness of telling a friend that he simply wasn't working very hard.
The word coming out of Baltimore these days is that Fassel spent much more of his time over the past year angling for a new job rather than focusing on his current one.
Time and again, other members of the offensive staff would walk to Fassel's office with a question or comment, only to be turned away as Fassel spent time on the phone networking rather than focusing on the game plan.
Or as one person in the building said this week: "I've never seen an offensive coordinator who watched less tape than Jim did this year."
That's harsh, but it comes laced with great anguish. Many of Fassel's former cohorts on the Ravens' staff are friends from years gone by.
Over the past year, those friends had hoped that Fassel would break out of the funk that has afflicted him since he was fired as head coach of the New York Giants in 2003. Since then, Fassel has felt a sense of entitlement, thinking he deserved another chance to be a head coach.
"Jim kept telling everybody all the things he had done as head coach of the Giants and asking, 'How can Nick Saban [Dolphins] get a job before me? How can Scott Linehan [Rams] get a job before me?'" a source said. "Instead of that, he should have been concentrating on doing a good job."
After the 2004 season, Fassel was approached by numerous donors at Stanford about taking over its head coaching job. Fassel still has strong ties to the school from his days as the program's offensive coordinator in the early 1980s when he tutored John Elway.
At the time, Fassel said he politely told the folks at Stanford that he wanted to wait for another NFL opportunity. Right now, Fassel might want to reconsider that option and he might get another chance at The Farm as Walt Harris continues to flounder at Stanford.