Best of 2012 Senior Bowl … Friday Cup O’Chiefs

That’s DL Melvin Ingram going against OL Jeff Allen during a Super Bowl practice this week.

From Mobile, Alabama

There was a lot of rain, a lot of rumors, a lot of coaching types looking for jobs. And, there was a lot of football as over 100 players prepared for Saturday’s Senior Bowl.

After spending the week watching the North and South squads practice there were some players that simply stood out above the others. It does not mean they will be better NFL players or should be drafted at a higher position.

It just means that this last week their performance rose above their peers.

Here’s my All-Senior Bowl team for 2012.

• Quarterback (South) – Brandon Weeden, Oklahoma State
  

The 27-year old former minor league baseball player seemed to adjust quicker to the conditions of Senior Bowl week than the other quarterbacks. He found out he had to get rid of the ball quickly, because pass protection is very shaky in all-star games where the big boys upfront have no history of playing together. He showed a good arm on deep balls, but really excelled at more short and underneath stuff. If Weeden can put together a good game performance, then Senior Bowl week will have helped his draft stock. Other QBs worthy of mention – none. …Read More!

One-on-One At Senior Bowl … Thursday Cup O’Chiefs

From Mobile, Alabama

Here’s one of the great things about Senior Bowl week – with NFL coaching staffs handling the coaching duties for each of the squads, they tend to gear their practices towards drills and actions that personnel types want to see.

Even media types.

“Coach, tomorrow in practice could you give us as many one-on-ones between DE Quinton Coples and LT Cordy Glenn as you can? We’d like to see more of that,” was the request from a member of the media to South head coach Mike Shanahan.

Shanahan smiled and quickly answered “That’s one thing I can make happen. We’ll get that done.”

Shanahan was true to his word Wednesday afternoon as his South squad got its last heavy work day completed in preparation for Saturday afternoon’s Senior Bowl. There was an extended pass protection/pass rush session and by the time it was over highly-touted talents Coples from North Carolina and Glenn from Georgia had five snaps going head-to-head. …Read More!

On Romeo’s Staff, Emery’s Status

North coach Leslie Frazier of the Vikings gave his team instructions this week for Saturday’s Senior Bowl.

From Mobile, Alabama

The majority of the Chiefs contingent hit the road out of town on Wednesday, heading for the airport and flying back to Kansas City and other locations.

But on Wednesday, director of college scouting Phil Emery was on the field after practice in the morning and he was wearing a shirt with a Chiefs logo. Emery is reportedly one of two finalists for the GM job with the Chicago Bears.

Emery along with New England’s director of pro personnel Jason Licht will have second interviews with Chicago management on Thursday and Friday, reportedly in the Windy City.

While head coach Romeo Crennel says the Chiefs are waiting for a few things to fall into place before finalizing his coaching staff, the question came up – how many coaches are being hired, and thus how many coaches are being let go?

During the Senior Bowl week there were plenty of Chiefs assistant coaches in the stands watching the workouts. Seen at Ladd-Peebles Stadium from the offensive side of the staff Bill Muir, Maurice Carthon, Bernie Parmalee and Jim Zorn. Defensive coaches in the house were Gary Gibbs, Otis Smith, Emmitt Thomas, Anthony Pleasant and Adam Zimmer. All seemed to be wearing their Chiefs gear.

There were four assistants who were not seen: special teams coach Steve Hoffman, offensive assistant Nick Sirianni, wide receivers coach Richie Anderson and assistant offensive line coach Pat Perles.

That does not mean they were not there – the Senior Bowl brings over 800 NFL club employees to town and they could have gone unnoticed. However, people were looking for them.

“Waiting For Some Things To Fall Into Place”

From Mobile, Alabama

Chiefs head coach Romeo Crennel was one of the last NFL types to leave Ladd-Pebbles Stadium Wednesday morning after watching the North squad practice in preparation for Saturday’s Senior Bowl.

Crennel sits about midway up the west side grandstand and generally waits until most of the crowd has cleared out. This cuts down his time being buttonholed by coaches looking for jobs, other NFL types trying to find out who he’s considering and the media.

The Chiefs head man has a coaching staff to finalize.

“We are making progress,” Crennel said Wednesday. “We are getting closer.”

Does closer mean this week, next week, the week after?

“We are waiting for some things to fall into place,” Crennel said.

Of course, the head coach wouldn’t detail just what “some things” were. When asked if he was waiting for the completion of the Super Bowl to move forward, Crennel smiled widely and said “I didn’t say that.”

Crennel was wearing sun glasses so there is no way to speculate whether he might have winked as he smiled about the question involving the Super Bowl. The lack of public action on an offensive coordinator and possibly other spots on his staff tells us one of two things – first, the candidate is still coaching (Super Bowl teams New England and the New York Giants) or second, the candidate is still waiting to see how Tampa Bay, Oakland and Indianapolis fill their head coaching vacancies.

The Raiders reportedly have hired Broncos defensive coordinator Jeff Allen as their new head coach, but the club has not confirmed that news as of lunchtime on Wednesday.

As head coach, Crennel’s time has been spent not only working on his coaching staff, but here in Mobile watching and talking with players. Most teams go well past midnight early in the week interviewing players for 20 to 30 minutes. There’s more time for the interviews at the Senior Bowl than there will be at the NFL Combine in late February.

“There’s a lot going on,” Crennel said with a laugh as he walked to his car. “And I can only blame myself.”

Sitting and Watching At The Pro Bowl

From Mobile, Alabama

That’s Chiefs GM Scott Pioli and head coach Romeo Crennel in conversation during a practice at Ladd-Pebbles Stadium in preparation for the Senior Bowl. Sitting to the right of Crennel is tight ends coach Bernie Parmalee.

Action Everywhere … Wednesday Cup O’Chiefs

From Mobile, Alabama

Over 100 players to watch on the field, over 800 faces to scan on the sidelines and in the stands – who is that talking with Romeo Crennel up in the bleachers? – Tuesday is always one of the best days at the Senior Bowl.

There was action everywhere at this annual winter convention for NFL movers and shakers, along with the GMs, coaches and personnel types. Twice the crowd gathered at Ladd-Peebles Stadium as the north and south squads practiced in full pads.

Some watched the players intently as the level of competition picked up between the college seniors. Others sat and passed about information off the NFL grapevine on who was going to become the Chicago Bears new GM, who had a shot at th e GM’s job in St. Louis. There are still three head coaching jobs open and that’s brought the assistant coaching world to a halt. Other coaches like Crennel are still trying to fill out their staffs.

Al Saunders and Kevin Ross were on site in their silver and black gear from the Raiders. Oakland has a new GM, but not a head coach. There are several weeks to go on their contracts so Saunders and Ross are in Mobile, looking at players and waiting. “You just keep showing up for work until they tell you not too,” said Saunders.

The work on the field was pretty intense. Here’s what we saw. …Read More!

Muir Plans To Coach In 2012

From Mobile, Alabama

Just a few days after the 2011 season ended, one of the “in-the-know” guys working for the NFL Network wrote that Bill Muir was going to retire.

That’s news to the 69-year old Bill Muir.

“Nobody talked to me,” Muir said Tuesday afternoon at the South squad’s practice session for the Senior Bowl.

“I’m planning to coach, until somebody tells me differently.”

Muir was reticent to say much more about the situation with Romeo Crennel’s coaching staff. He did acknowledge that he’s been told he will not be the offensive coordinator, but Crennel would like him to stay and coach the offensive line.

“It’s just of those things,” said Muir, who has 47 years in coaching and 34 seasons in the NFL. “You go on every day and wait for them to tell you how we are going to move forward or if we are separating. It happens a lot in football.”

For the record coach, you want to continue to coach?  “Yes” Muir said.

Do you want to stay with the Chiefs as offensive line coach?  “Yes.”

Do you have a problem being just O-Line coach and not offensive coordinator?  “No.”

Emery’s Not Gone … Yet

From Mobile, Alabama

Phil Emery, the Chiefs director of college scouting, walked onto the field at Ladd Pebbles Stadium after the North squad’s workout Tuesday morning wearing a Chiefs sweatshirt and jacket.

Somebody asked him if he had been hired yet as general manager of the Chicago Bears; he’s one of the finalists for that job.

Emery smiled and pointed to his chest, where in big block letters it read “Kansas City Chiefs”.

UPDATE: Emery was at Tuesday afternoon’s workout for the South squad still wearing his Chiefs sweatshirt.

I know it’s hard for Chiefs fans to get worked up about whether Emery will stay with the Chiefs or move up the football front-office ladder to take over the Bears. Since he joined the team in the spring of 2009, Emery’s not done a single interview with any Kansas City media organization, save the team’s own website.

Without question 99.99 percent of Chiefs fans couldn’t pick him out of a police lineup. But that has more to do with the secrecy and paranoia of how GM Scott Pioli runs the football-side of the business than it does with Emery’s talents and worth to the Chiefs organization.

With personnel types all over Mobile this week for the Senior Bowl, the GM job in Chicago job ranks No. 1 or 2 among gossip items with scouts, coaches and other GMs. Few are surprised that Emery is a finalist for the job. …Read More!

Soggy Start … Tuesday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

From Fairhope, Alabama

The security guards and local authorities started scrambling around 4 o’clock Monday afternoon at Fairhope Stadium here across the bay from Mobile.

Two black Denalis were trying to drive onto the stadium’s track and nobody was quite sure what to do. The South squad for this weekend’s Senior Bowl was practicing on the soggy natural grass field and the stands were filled with local fans and hundreds of NFL types.

Finally, a gate was opened and the big SUVs pulled inside the gate. The doors opened, several Alabama troopers got out of one car and emerging from the other car to the cheers of the fans in attendance was Nick Saban, coach of the national champion Alabama Crimson Tide. That’s him shaking hands with one of his former players Courtney Upshaw after practice.

Saban did everything but walk on water across the huge puddles left by a serious thunderstorm Monday that kicked off Senior Bowl week. Saban waved to the crowd as he hustled over to do some sort of television interview.

There were five former members of Saban’s 2011 team on the field, getting in their first practice with the Washington Redskins coaching staff and head man Mike Shanahan.

“It was a pretty normal first day,” Shanahan said after the two-hour session wrapped up. “It’s just about making sure you are at the right field, then the right place on the field. You’ve got to crawl before you can walk.” …Read More!

Day No. 2 At The Senior Bowl

From Mobile, Alabama

After parading in front of the NFL in only their skivvies, the participants in the 2012 Senior Bowl got on the field for their first practices of the week leading up to Saturday’s game.

Both the North team working in Mobile and the South team holding practice across the bay in Fairhope had to deal with very soggy fields as Mother Nature dumped several inches of rain on the area Monday morning.

Before they got in their shoulder pads for the first time, the players went through the process of being measure and weighed. It’s an hour-long process that takes place in a ballroom at the Mobile Convention Center. Wearing only their shorts, the players come into the room in front of something like 800 NFL people and media types. They walk up to a stage, are measured for height, then they step on a scale. Their personal numbers are announced so everyone in the room hears them.

Much as anyone would see on a summer day at the beach or swimming pool, there are all kind of different body types parading past. There are small players and tall players, skinny players and fat players. Some look like they could take part in a body building contest, others look like they have been training at the corner bar by lifting large glasses of beer. Show up out of shape and there’s no way a player can hold his gut in long enough so that the league’s prying eyes don’t notice.

The big one award went to Ohio State OT Mike Adams at 6-feet, 7 inches. The tiny guy was Alabama WR Marquis Maze who was measured at 5 inches, 7¾ inches. The heaviest player is OT Cordy Glenn of Georgia at 346 pounds. The lightest player was Houston WR Patrick Edwards at 168 pounds. …Read More!