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Show Saturday, January 11, 1997 THE DAILY HERALD, Provo, NFL A Gak, PHILADELPHIA It started in late October when the Cincinnati Bengals did one of the few smart things in their recent history and gae head coach David Shula his walking papers. Only hours later that day. New Orleans Saints coach Jim Mora said no mas and abruptly quit after 2 years on the job. In the two-plweeks since the regular season ended, seven more head coaches have been fired or have quit. And the body count might not yet be final. L'p in Foxboro. Mass.. Bill Par-celprobably will be leaving as soon as the New England Patriots" season is over. And dow n in Irving, Texas, there continue to be whispers that Dallas Cowboys coach iiarry Sw itzer w ill quit or be fired. At least 10 of the league s 30 teams likely will open next season with a different head coach than they had for Opening Day in 1996. Throw in the five coaching changes last year and you're talking about a 50 percent turnover in NFL head coaches in just two years. What the heck is going on here? No one ever has confused the job security of an NFL head coach w ith that of a tenured college professor. But this is ridiculous. Three of the fired coaches Oakland's Mike White. St. Louis Rich Brooks and the New York Jets Rich Kotite were canned after just tw o years on the job. Two others Atlanta's June Jones and Detroit's Wavne Fonles long-overd- 10-1- us ls APP3tO Free agent pitch Michael Vo(pe, a free agent fan, throws a practice pitch Thursday toward home plate at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Volpe was wined and dined by Orioles GM Pat Gillick. setf-Jeclar- Manning ponders future NEW ORLEANS ( AP) After months of studying plav books and school books, quarterback Peyton Manning got a crash course in the fact of NFL life this week. With the draft looming. Peyton's father. Archie, presented his cram-couron the pros. I gave Pevton a lot of stuff ov er the w eekend to study." Archie Manning said Thursday. "It was things like presentations made by agents, information on the salary cap. the draft depth charts on teams, contracts and a list of people to call and talk to. I think it'll keep him busy for a while." Although Friday was the deadline for underclassmen to declare for this year's draft, Peyton Manning because he will graduate in May can wait until 15 davs before the draft to make his intentions known. It may take him that long to study the material his father has assembled. Pe ton's a guy w ho Kkes to go the full route." Archie said. "He did it when be was picking a college. He wants to take in everything before he decides." If Manning decides to forgo the regular draft, that will probably mean he will play another vear at Tennessee. Archie Manning said. He will keep the supplemental draft as an option, however. The Mannings began their brainstorming session over the weekend and continued this week. Peyton had only four dav s at home before leav ing for Tennessee's Citrus Bow I game, and Archie did not want to get into dixrussions of the NFL during that time, he said. It's been a hectic time at the Manning house, anyway. Calls mostly from pour in from media New York. New Orleans and Tennessee, agents and others. Archie Manning said. He's met with 15 agents and talked to a lot more about his talented son. In addition he's fielded calls fam marketing agents, already interested in securas a Manning ing Pevton spokesman for various products, and financial consultants eager to advise the soon to be millionaire. "I don't w ant to be the center of this, or even the person." Archie Manning said. "But it's important to keep some of the pressure off Pevton." "Peyton Manning could be the top pick if he decides to make himself available for the draft. The New York Jets have the No. I choice. Archie Manning's former team. New Orleans, has No. 2. and the Atlanta Falcons hav e No. 3. All three teams have expressed interest but all three are in the process of picking new coaches. "That's all an unknown at this point" Archie Manning said. "It's one more thing we can't weigh at this time. If Pevton winds up with the Saints, in his home town and where his father is revered, it would be added pressure. Archie Manning said. "That would probably become a factor, but I'm not sure how big a factor it w ould be. he said. se up-fro- nt Page B5 coaching vacancies aboynd By PAUL DOMOWITCH Philadelphia Daily News 4fKl. I tah took their teams to the playoffs in 1995, but were fired when they couldn't duplicate that success in '96. '"It seems like two years is pretty much it in some places," Minnesota Vikings coach Dennis Green said, "if a coach doesn't get it done in a couple of years, the owner is looking around for someone else. The trouble is, in most places, you can't get it done that fast." Don't try to tell that to many of the league's antsy owners, who have watched the Jacksonville Jaguars and Carolina Panthers go from the expansion womb to their conference's championship game in just two years. Other ow ners are sitting home, wondering why their teams can't do the same thing. In this new NFL age of free agency, the future is now. The days of building for three or four years down the road are over. If you can't get the job done quickly, they'll find somebody else who can. "There's certainly not the stability and continuity that we had years ago." said Bill Tobin. the Indianapolis Colts' vice president of football operations. 'Used to be if you stayed in the boat and didn't rock it and didn't stand up and did the right things in the draft room, you'd ev rntually get there. "Now. it's like a lottery . You put a bunch of balls in a basket, shake them up, pull out 53 and see what you've got, and try to get it up and running as quickly as you can. And if it doesn't run like you had hoped, you pick out some more balls." "The dynamics of the NFL have chansed dramatically in the '90s," said Rams president John Shaw, who fired Brooks after losing seasons. "Success does not come to those who wait. On behalf of our fans, we cannot, nor will we wait." The dynamics to which Shaw refers are primarily money. Free agency has upped the stakes of the game in the NFL. To be able to play at the same table w ith the Jerry Joneses and the Wavne Huizen-ga- s. you need cash, lots of it. You need a revenue-producin- g stadium with a gazillion luxury boxes, and you need to fill that stadium. And you're not going to be able to fill it if your team goes "The pressure to w in is fierce," Baltimore Ravens owner Art Mod-e- ll said. "Back in my early days in this league in the "60s. if you had a pretty good season, people would wait for next year. They loved us and we loved them. '"Now, you need to w in to cultivate community support for a new stadium, for PSLs (personal seat licenses), for club seats. Winning is the name of the game. The pressure to w in is so much greater now than when I first came into the league that it defies comparison." With the resignations of Mora and San Diego's Bobby Ross and the firing of Fontes. there are just six coaches left in the league who have been w ith their current teams at least five years: Green. Mike Holmgren in Green Bay, Man Levy in Buffalo. Bill Cow her in Pittsburgh. Marty Schottenheimer in Kansas City and Georee Seifert in San Francisco. "There are a lot of (coaching) changes taking place this vear," Holmgren said. "I would hjpe that ownership and the people that make those types of decisions w ould at least allow the coach to implement his own back-to-ba- program and give him enough time to get things done. Particularly if you're going w ith younger guys." The question is. how much time is enough time these days? Free agency has enabled teams to become competitive much more quickly than in the e agency davs. Case in point: Carolina and Jacksonville, who both have made it to the final four in only their second year of existence. "When you start talking about pre-fre- the money that's involved and acquiring free agents and how much your team changes from one year to the next, it's not like it used to be," Panthers coach Dom Capers said. : "Before free agency, if you had a young team, you could look five, six years down the road and say. 'Well, these guys are all going to be here and are going to be that much better." Now, you try to get the right type of chemistry on your team and piece things together so that your team can be a productive team as quickly as possible." Coaches are being held more accountable for how their teams are being pieced together. While only a few NFL coaches call the shots on draft day. most of them y have considerable input into decisions. And if those decisions are wrong ... '"Free agency is putting heat on everybody, including the coaches." said Joe Woolley. the Arizona Cardinals' assistant to the president, free-agenc- Are you tired of. . . trying to catch your carrier to pay your bill? ...finding the checkbook when your carrier comes to collect? ... .. -- paying your carrier every single month? Here's your answer: Sfje DnUi) Zicrnlb The Pay By Mail PrograMo Fast 0 Convenient 0 Smart Converting to our QuickPay makes it easier on you. By paying at least 3 months in advance, you will be automatically billed from the office when your next payment is due. 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