FANTASY FOOTBALL

After some rather vigorous turns in recent yours, the NFL coaching carousel took a rather sedate spin in 2010 with only three head coaching changes. That said, all three carry rather significant Fantasy ramifications -- as do a number of coordinator level changes.

Let's get the ball rolling with those top jobs (listed in what I consider to be the order of their likely Fantasy impact). ...

1. Washington Redskins
We didn't have to wait long for one of the offseason's most anticipated moves to be announced. The Redskins took just one day to name former Broncos boss Mike Shanahan their new head coach.

By all accounts, Shanahan signed a five-year contract at approximately the same salary he had during his final contract with the Broncos. He was drawing approximately $7 million a year with Denver -- and still had three years remaining on his deal when he was fired nearly a year ago.

With the Redskins, Shanahan will work in concert with general manager Bruce Allen much as he did in Denver with Broncos general manager Ted Sundquist from 2002-07.

In that business partnership, Sundquist oversaw the draft, contracts and roster construction but Shanahan had final say authority on every decision. According to Schefter, Shanahan, who gets the title of executive vice president of football operations in addition to head coach, will also have "ultimate authority" on football decisions in Washington.

Given the Redskins will use a similar approach, it might be worth noting that during the six-year Shanahan-Sundquist run, Denver compiled five consecutive winning seasons, three consecutive playoff appearances, and a 58-38 record.

The Broncos went 13-3 and hosted the AFC championship game in 2005 -- the last time they played in the postseason.

Shanahan, who will turn 58 during the 2010 preseason, has a 154-103 record, including playoffs, as an NFL head coach, including an 8-12 mark from 1988-89 with the Los Angeles Raiders. He guided the Broncos to back-to-back Super Bowl titles in 1997-98, but with quarterback John Elway retiring after the 1998 season, Shanahan guided the Broncos to only one playoff victory in their next 10 seasons.

Broncos owner Pat Bowlen fired Shanahan after the 2008 season.

The Associated Press reported the Redskins' intense courtship of Shanahan began shortly after Jim Zorn was dismissed during a meeting in his office with Allen after the team's cross-country flight following a 23-20 loss to the San Diego Chargers on Sunday.

The Redskins finished 4-12.

"It's real clear that we're going to be aggressive," Allen said at the time. "What we're looking for in a head coach is somebody who can lead these men that we had in our locker room this year to levels they've haven't played through before."

It's been widely reported that Allen began negotiations with Shanahan shortly after being named general manager the second week of December.

Zorn was 12-20 over two seasons and lost 18 of his last 24 games after a 6-2 start in 2008. The Redskins struggled early this season despite a weak schedule and finished with their worst record since 1994. "The status quo has to end," Allen said. "We have to change the way we've been doing some business. ... Last place two years in a row is not Redskins football."

Shanahan becomes Washington's seventh coach since Dan Snyder bought the team in 1999. The Redskins are 82-99 on his watch, missing the playoffs in eight of 11 seasons.

"No one in the organization is satisfied with our record over the last two years," Snyder said in a statement released by the team, "and I am sure that Jim would concur with that statement. It has been painful for him, too. I certainly accept responsibility for mistakes that I have made. ..."

While this looks like a step in the right direction, I would suggest past hires have hit the ground with similar high hopes before ultimately disappointing the rather fickle Snyder.

But Shanahan got the assistants he wanted in coordinators Kyle Shanahan, who will run the offense, and Jim Haslett, who will oversee the defense.

Mike Shanahan called it "a thrill" to have Kyle Shanahan on his staff, "not only because it represents a chance to work with my son." The younger Shanahan had been the Houston Texans' offensive coordinator.

As the Washington Post noted, not all versions of the West Coast offense are created equal.

Under Zorn, the Redskins for the past two seasons ran a version of the West Coast attack. But Post staffer Jason Reid advised his readers the scheme the Shanahans are installing is much more advanced than the offense Zorn directed as the Redskins ranked near the bottom of the league in scoring and went 12-20 during the 2008-09 seasons.

Although the basic concepts are the same -- spread the field, control the ball with short passes, receivers running to spots in patterns and staying put -- the big difference in the Shanahans' offense, players said, is the number of "explosive" plays included in the playbook.

Whatever the case, a longtime former NFL general manager told Reid no one does it better on offense than Mike Shanahan. Reid added: "Head-coach-in-waiting Kyle is among the game's fastest-rising young coordinators and supposedly very bright. Many of the players Mike and Kyle are now leading seem to agree with those assessments. ..."

Shanahan hired Bobby Turner, his running backs coach in Denver from 1995-2008, in that same capacity in Washington.

"Not many coaches can match the success that Bobby has had over the years," Shanahan said. "He is one of the top coaches in the NFL and, more importantly, a great person. We are excited to have him on the staff here in Washington. He will play a major role in the development of our offense."

During Turner's 15 seasons, six of his backs -- Mike Anderson, Tatum Bell, Terrell Davis, Reuben Droughns, Olandis Gary and current Redskin Clinton Portis -- combined for 11 1,000-yard seasons. Knowshon Moreno just missed joining that list while leading all rookies in rushing in 2009.

Turner also helped Denver become the only franchise since the inception of the common draft in 1967 to have two undrafted rookies reach 500 rushing yards in their first season: Mike Bell (2006) and Selvin Young (2007).

Keenan McCardell joined the Redskins' staff as wide receivers coach after spending 17 years playing the position in the NFL. Chris Foerster left his offensive line coach job with the 49ers for the same role with the Redskins to be closer to family. Matt LaFleur joins the team as quarterbacks coach and Jon Embree as tight ends coach.

LaFleur worked with Kyle Shanahan as an offensive assistant for the Texans the last two seasons.

Haslett, the unanimous Coach of the Year with New Orleans in 2000 when he won the first playoff victory in franchise history, has previously been the coordinator for the 1996 Saints, the 1997-99 Steelers and the 2006-08 Rams. Last year, he coached Florida of the UFL to a 6-0 regular season record and a championship game defeat.

"I have a great deal of respect for what Jim has done in this league," Shanahan said. "He is one of the game's sharpest defensive minds and has a great passion for the sport. He will be instrumental to our success in Washington."

Haslett directed top 12 defenses in each of his seasons with Pittsburgh.

Former Steelers defensive assistant Lou Spanos, who worked under Haslett, comes to Washington as linebackers coach. Also, Kirk Olivadotti, the linebackers coach the past three seasons, has returned to the defensive staff assistant he had filled the previous seven years.

Whether the Redskins can overhaul their 4-3 roster in time to field a successful 3-4 in 2010 will be one of the keys to how well the early Shanahan years go ...

And finally. ... Danny Smith, an energetic presence on and off the field who has directed the Redskins' special teams since 2004, remains in that same role under Shanahan.

2. Buffalo Bills
As Buffalo News staffer Mark Gaughan framed it back in January: "Chan Gailey is not the sexiest name in NFL coaching ranks. He wasn't on the hot lists of head-coaching candidates this year. But his football teams have a long track record of winning. They also have a track record of gaining yards and scoring points.

"The Bills' franchise is in desperate need of those things. ... Wins, yards and points."

Apparently, the Bills believe Gailey is the man who can deliver those things.

Gailey replaces Dick Jauron, who was fired in November. He takes over a team that finished 6-10 and becomes the Bills' fifth coach since Hall of Famer Marv Levy retired following the 1997 season.

Gailey has been out of football since he was fired as the Chiefs' offensive coordinator last August, two weeks before the season opener. He was entering his second season with Kansas City after a six-year stretch as Georgia Tech's coach, during which he went 44-33 before being fired in 2007.

In his two years coaching the Dallas Cowboys, he went 18-14 and led the team to consecutive playoff appearances -- both losses. He was dismissed after the 1999 season, and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has acknowledged his mistake in firing Gailey.

With Buffalo, Gailey's top priority will be sparking an offense that has finished 25th or worst in yards gained in each of the past seven seasons. Finding a franchise quarterback might help, but Gailey has done without in the past.

Remember: Gailey took over in Miami the year after Dan Marino retired and helped the Dolphins to two 11-win seasons. Miami ranked eighth in the NFL in scoring in 2001 with Jay Fiedler at quarterback.

The Chiefs' team was miserable in 2008, going 2-14, but Gailey got generally good reviews. Kansas City started that season as a power-running offense. But after running back Larry Johnson was suspended at midseason, Gailey changed the offensive plan 180 degrees, going to a spread offense, and the attack got better with quarterback Tyler Thigpen passing more often.

Still, Gailey faces a daunting task in Buffalo -- one that I suspect will take more than just technical know-how to accomplish. And even though I'm not sure Gailey has the intangibles necessary to get the job done, he has a great opportunity to prove me wrong. ...

Meanwhile, Curtis Modkins was hired as the team's offensive coordinator/running backs coach. Gailey, however, will call the plays. The defense will be led by George Edwards, formerly the linebackers coach of the Dolphins. Edwards replaces Perry Fewell, who also served as the interim head coach after Jauron was fired last season.

3. Seattle Seahawks
Pete Carroll returns to the NFL as the eighth head coach of the Seattle Seahawks after spending the previous nine years as head coach at USC, where he won seven consecutive Pac-10 titles (2002-08), two national championships and led the Trojans to a 97-19 record.

Carroll began his NFL career as defensive backs coach for Buffalo (1984) and Minnesota (1985-89) before becoming the New York Jets defensive coordinator (1990-93) and head coach (1994). He spent two years as San Francisco's defensive coordinator (1995-96) before leading New England to a 27-21 record and two playoff appearances as head coach (1997-99).

Carroll's overall head coaching record is 33-31 in the regular season and 1-2 in the postseason.

The Seahawks fired Jim Mora after just one season, even though he had three years and about $12 million remaining on his contract. General manager and president Tim Ruskell was also forced to resign, leaving Seattle without a coach, general manager or president less than four years after the team reached the Super Bowl.

Carroll went 6-10 with the Jets in 1994 and 27-21 while twice reaching the playoffs from '97-99 with the Patriots before he restored a dynasty at USC beginning in 2001.

According to AP sports writer Gregg Bell, the Seahawks are hoping the splashy, marquee addition of Carroll will ignite a notoriously rabid fan base that turned on its team this season with constant calls for mass firings.

Former USC offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates opted to join Carroll with the Seahawks. The Bears wanted to hire Bates, which would have reunited him with quarterback Jay Cutler. Bates served as Cutler's position coach in Denver. Before becoming the offensive coordinator in Denver, Bates worked as an offensive assistant in Tampa Bay and quarterbacks coach with the New York Jets.

In addition to Bates, renowned offensive line coach Alex Gibbs would be joining the Seahawks after spending last season with Houston. I sense an improved rushing attack will be among the priorities. But I don't expect a major offensive revival. ...

Also coming with Carroll and Bates from USC is Ken Norton Jr. as linebackers coach and Brian Schneider, who will be Seattle's special teams coordinator. Schneider held the same position for one season with Carroll at USC after two seasons with the Oakland Raiders.

Carroll is keeping two coaches from Mora's staff. Gus Bradley will remain as Seattle's defensive coordinator while Dan Quinn will coach the defensive line for a second straight season.

With the head coaching (and associated) changes out of the way, it might be helpful to look at some key coordinator changes that have taken place this offseason. I'll also include any other pertinent position-coach changes along the way. As I did with the head-coaching changes, I'll rank these in my expected order of Fantasy relevance.

1. Chicago Bears
Mike Martz, who orchestrated "The Greatest Show on Turf" while molding Kurt Warner into a Pro Bowl quarterback with the St. Louis Rams, is now calling the offensive shots in Chicago. Martz's hiring on Feb. 1 ended a nearly month-long search to replace the fired Ron Turner.

According to Profootballtalk.com's Mike Florio, head coach Lovie Smith wanted Martz from the outset of the search process with general manager Jerry Angelo resisting the idea. But when multiple candidates declined the job and/or a chance to interview for it, Martz eventually became the only real option.

So. ... Smith now has three former head coaches on his staff -- Martz, newly-hired offensive line coach Mike Tice (Vikings 2001-05), and newly-promoted defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli (Lions 2006-08). ...

For Martz, the task at hand it turning around a struggling offense and getting the most out of Cutler after the quarterback and team failed to meet high expectations this season. Cutler threw a league-leading 26 interceptions after a being acquired in a trade with Denver. The Bears went 7-9 and missed the playoffs for the third straight year since the 2006 team's Super Bowl run, leading to a coaching shake-up in which Turner and five other assistants were let go and Smith relinquished defensive play-calling duties.

Martz got the nod after meeting with Cutler before being hired.

According to the team's official web site, Cutler and Martz talked football and went out for dinner together.

"I felt very comfortable with him," Cutler said. "The results of his offense speak for themselves. He had a lot of success in St. Louis and his offenses made improvements each year in Detroit and San Francisco. I haven't run his system, but I am familiar with it. I'm anxious to start digesting the playbook and getting back on the field."

As ChicagoBears.com staffer Larry Mayer noted, Martz always has had high expectations for the quarterbacks he's worked with and doesn't think that Cutler will have a problem with the demands placed on him.

"The connection that we had on really I guess more less an intellectual level was so much fun for me," Martz told Mayer. "His expectations for himself are extremely high, and that was one of the great things about meeting with him. This guy's all about winning now. He's frustrated he's not at an elite level and he can't contribute to helping that football team win.

"There are so many things that came out of [the meeting] about Jay that were exciting for me just on who he is, and to kind of discuss what he's about was very encouraging."

Martz spoke to Cutler about comments the coach had made on NFL Network about the quarterback following the Bears' Week 1 loss to the Packers.

At the time, Martz criticized Cutler's demeanor in his post-game press conference after he had thrown a career-high four interceptions in a 21-15 loss. "He just doesn't get it," Martz said at the time. "He doesn't understand that he represents a great head coach and the rest of those players on that team."

"I addressed that immediately with Jay," Martz said. "The thing I told Jay -- and I said this a few days after that show -- the thing I felt bad when I watched that was I felt like I knew who Jay was. I met with him when he was coming out in the draft [in the 2006] for quite some time up in Detroit.

"I felt like I had a pretty good understanding of who he was and the integrity and the dignity that he has and how classy a guy he is, and how he kind of misrepresented himself with that and really that was totally out of frustration from that game."

Meanwhile, in a subsequent interview, Martz compared Cutler to Warner, suggesting that both share a perfectionist trait and that in some ways Cutler even compares favorably to Warner. "He's got Kurt's accuracy with a stronger arm," Martz said of Cutler, whom he also described as "a terrific talent" and "well-schooled in the game and beyond his years."

Martz also made it clear that the rest of the team's offensive players will have a big challenge ahead of them learning his playbook and that they'll need to put in the necessary study time.

"If they're willing to learn it, they'll learn it," Martz said. "If they're open to it and they don't fight it they'll learn it. But we'll put more on them intellectually than has ever been put on them before."

Martz clearly expects wide receiver Devin Hester to excel in his scheme.

"He may miss a snap or two (because of special teams) and then go right back in," Martz said. "He's our starter. I think he's an elite wide receiver. There's no question about that. We've got all kinds of new things for him. We're moving him all over. You'll see him line up anywhere. Shoot, he might line up as a tight end occasionally, who knows. We'll see."

Johnny Knox is also likely to play a greater role (Knox and Hester were the starters in initial mini-camp workouts). But that doesn't mean Devin Aromashodu and Earl Bennett will be shortchanged. There will be plenty of balls to go around.

Tight end Greg Olsen led the Bears with 60 catches and eight receiving touchdowns in 2009, but Martz suggested that Olsen will need to focus primarily on blocking in 2010.

"All tight ends, their first responsibility, they have to put their hand down on the line of scrimmage and be a successful blocker, and then they move to receiving," Martz said. "To just skip by that and say, 'He's a terrific receiver,' well, then you might as well just put another wide receiver in there."

Those interested in how a tight end with Olsen's receiving skills might fare under Martz could look at Vernon Davis' 2008 totals in San Francisco with Martz serving as primary play caller for most of the season.

Davis finished with 31 catches for 358 yards and two touchdowns.

He pulled in 52 passes (with four touchdowns) the year before. Last season, of course, Davis exploded with a 78-catch, 965-yard, 13-touchdown season.

The biggest difference between Davis and Olsen, of course, is that Davis is a willing and effective blocker. Olsen isn't.

Indeed, Chicago Tribune staffer Brad Biggs advised readers it's the opinion of multiple scouts that Olsen struggled to block when asked last year. Fantasy owners are going to want to watch Olsen's progress closely this off-season. ...

Another issue will be the use of Matt Forte.

According to Biggs, the popular phrase -- "or punch line" -- that the Bears get off the bus running has been tweaked.

"When I say get off the bus running the football, I mean that is a mindset," Smith said after Martz's arrival was announced. "The run will always be a part of what we're going to do. I mean Chicago, we play in the elements. That won't change.

"But there's nothing wrong with being able to run the football well and having balance to be able to pass the football. That's what I'm excited about. ... It's not just Mike that's coming in, it's Mike Tice and what he will bring to the table.

"We're looking for balance to be able to run and pass the ball."

Translated, Forte will not have 316 carries like he did as a rookie in 2008. And as Biggs suggested, Forte might not reach the 258 he had last season, especially if his performance (and the performance of the run-blocking) doesn't improve.

The misconception is that Martz doesn't run the football. His teams have run very well at times, and he has found dynamic ways to use running backs.

Marshall Faulk was a dual-purpose threat with the St. Louis Rams.

So what kind of player can Forte become in Martz's scheme?

As Biggs pointed out, Faulk caught more than 80 passes a season in Martz's system and had nine receiving touchdowns in 2001. While Forte isn't the same dynamic open-field runner that Faulk was, he is a polished pass-catcher and Cutler showed more confidence in him as the season went along.

Still, Forte, who had arthroscopic knee surgery last month, will have plenty to prove heading into the 2010 season.

Although he ran better toward the end of the season, Forte averaged just 3.6 yards per carry, down from his 3.9-yard average as a rookie. He finished with 929 rushing yards on 258 carries as the Bears ranked 29th in the league.

Forte ran for 1,238 yards on 316 carries as a rookie the year before. As a receiver, he had 57 catches for 471 yards in 2009 against 63 for 477 in his first season. ... And of course, if Forte isn't up to the task, newcomer Chester Taylor (signed away from the Vikings as a free agent this offseason) will be ready to take his shot. ...

A few other related items of interest. ... The Bears hired Shane Day as their new quarterbacks coach. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Day was handpicked by Martz.

Day was a quality control coach with the San Francisco 49ers the past three seasons, working with Martz in 2008. Day also worked with new Bears tight ends coach Mike DeBord at Michigan in 2005-06, serving as assistant quarterbacks and quality control coach.

In addition to Martz, Day and DeBord and Tice, the team's 2010 offensive staff will include holdovers Darryl Drake (wide receivers) and Tim Spencer (running backs). ...

Meanwhile, there's still the question as to whether Marinelli will be up to the challenge of restoring some swagger to a unit that has slipped a long way from its 2006 Super Bowl form?

2. Kansas City Chiefs
After a 4-12 season where only marginal improvement was seen from the first game to the last, head coach Todd Haley responded by firing his offensive and defensive coordinators. The head coach relieved himself of the game planning/play-calling duties and hired Charlie Weis. Then, he sent his '09 coordinator Clancy Pendergast packing and signed Romeo Crennel to take over the defense.

The additions of the former New England Patriots coordinator partners have loaded Haley's staff with two former head coaches and a couple of guys with a lot of NFL coaching experience and Super Bowl rings.

"I went into this job understanding that it was probably going to be a two-year process to get the coaching staff in place in a way I felt most comfortable and what would ultimately give us the best chance of succeeding and being a winning team here year-in and year-out," Haley said.

Haley took over as the offensive coordinator about 10 days before the regular-season opener when he fired Gailey. That decision was a matter of philosophical differences about how the offense would be put together and operate on game day.

Weis and Haley shared an office for three years when they were on Bill Parcells' staff with the New York Jets (1997-99). Haley was an offensive assistant and Weis was the wide receivers coach. When Weis was promoted to offensive coordinator, Haley replaced him as receivers coach.

"Philosophically, our first-hand knowledge of each other and the relationship we had prior to this hiring will all ultimately make for a seamless transition for us and most importantly for the team," Haley said.

"This marriage seemed very, very simple," Weis told the Associated Press. "I'm very excited to be a part of a growing process that has been started here in the last year."

"My relationship with Todd and my relationship with [Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, who was a front office executive in New England when Weis was offensive coordinator] and several other persons in the organization made Kansas City look like a fine landing spot for me," Weis said. "I couldn't be more pleased."

There won't be any wholesale changes to the Chiefs offense. Everything that was implemented from August-thru-January under Haley will remain at its core under Weis.

"He's a coach that system-wise I feel we're as close as we can be," Haley said. "It is the same system [that we run here now]."

As KCChiefs.com staffer Josh Looney suggested, after beginning at ground zero at the beginning of 2009, it would appear Haley is more interested in tweaking than wholesale change. That's definitely good news for players like Jamaal Charles, who was able maximize his talents in the scheme after taking over for Johnson, Matt Cassel and Dwayne Bowe.

As Looney explained, the core players that build the team's nucleus are comfortable with the system and Kansas City can add to that base. It's something that carries no mystery.

Players know what to expect as the team move forward offensively. It has to help further a cause that's in definite need of furthering.

On the other side of the ball, Crennel was Haley's choice last year when he was hired to run the defense. The timing wasn't right, however, as Crennel was dealing with a hip replacement surgery and rehab. Plus, he was owed money by the Cleveland Browns, so finding a job immediately after being let go wasn't a priority.

With his hip healed and a year away from the league, Crennel is ready to go again. He had plenty of opportunities around the league but the presence of Weis, Pioli and Haley made for a familiar atmosphere in a new opportunity. Crennel was also a part of Parcells' staff with the Jets in 1997-99.

3. Oakland Raiders
Reunited with Hue Jackson after a previous stint together at Cal, head coach Tom Cable expressed confidence that hiring the former Ravens quarterbacks coach as the AFC West franchise's new offensive coordinator will pay immediate dividends.

"I think it's a good decision by the organization," Cable told the National Football Post. "It's someone that I'm familiar with. It's someone that I think can help us take the next step, so we're all pretty excited about it."

Sounds good. But is Cable really excited?

According to long-time Oakland Tribune staffer Jerry McDonald, common sense says owner Al Davis told Cable the only way he was staying on was to turn over the offense to someone else, and Jackson is that person.

McDonald further contends that Davis and Jackson have had long conversations about how the Ravens made the most of Ray Rice, Willis McGahee and La'Ron McClain.

Jackson's arrival has signified some power blocking to go with the zone scheme. During off-season sessions, Jackson talked tough on the field about not caring about whether the defense knows it's a run, because he's going to run it anyway.

Baltimore rushed for 2,200 yards, (fifth in the NFL) a 4.7 yards per carry average and 22 touchdowns. The Raiders were 21st with 1,701 yards, a 4.1 average and an incomprehensibly low seven rushing touchdowns in 16 games.

And that was supposed to be their strength.

Also: As I suggested above, Jackson brings a level of intensity that's been lacking -- even on the practice field.

According to observers, Jackson is not only calling out offensive players but those on defense as well -- occasionally even telling them a pass is headed their way and daring them to stop it.

In addition, Jackson is known for his way with quarterbacks. It was something he demonstrated with Joe Flacco in Baltimore and it could serve Jason Campbell and the Raiders well going forward.

4. Houston Texans
The Texans ranked fourth in total offense last season (383 yards per game), but assistant head coach Alex Gibbs left for Seattle and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan went to join his father, Mike, in Washington.

Head coach Gary Kubiak hired former Denver offensive coordinator Rick Dennison to replace Shanahan and former Atlanta offensive coordinator Greg Knapp to become Houston's quarterbacks coach. Dennison worked on the Broncos' staff during Kubiak's 11 years as Denver's offensive coordinator, and Knapp coached Houston quarterback Matt Schaub for three seasons with the Falcons.

Both Dennison and Knapp are also signed through the 2012 season.

Houston ranked 30th in rushing last season (92 yards per game), ahead of only Indianapolis and San Diego. Both those teams won their divisions, but Kubiak said the Texans need a stronger running game to complement their high-powered passing attack.

"We can go out there and throw it with anybody in the business. I don't think that's what's best for our team in the long run," Kubiak said. "We've got to be more dominant late in games. Some games we lost, it was because we couldn't hang onto the football late in those games. It's very important in the development of our team, taking the next step. It wasn't good enough last year."

Knapp, 46, has been an offensive coordinator for the past nine seasons, including his three in Atlanta with Schaub. Schaub was drafted by the Falcons in 2004, then backed up Michael Vick for three seasons before being traded to Houston in 2007.

Knapp's tenure with the Falcons was sandwiched between stints as the offensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers (2001-03), Oakland Raiders (2007-08) and Seattle Seahawks (2009). He began his NFL coaching career with the 49ers as an offensive quality control coach (1995-97), then coached San Francisco's quarterbacks for three seasons before becoming a coordinator.

5. New York Giants
With the hiring of former Bills defensive coordinator and interim head coach Perry Fewell to replace Bill Sheridan as their defensive coordinator, New York is hoping to resurrect a defensive unit that for various reasons failed to live up to expectations.

Fewell is certainly more than qualified to handle transforming a unit that in 2009 surrendered 427 points, third most in the NFL, into a lean operation. In four seasons as the Bills' defensive coordinator, his units ranked 18th, 31st, 14th and 19th in the NFL.

Fewell's Bills defense allowed only 14 touchdown passes in each of the last two seasons (the Giants gave up 31 in 2009). This season, Buffalo tied for fifth in the NFL with 33 takeaways, their 28 interceptions exceeded only by Green Bay's 30. Further, Buffalo's turnover differential improved from minus-8 in 2008 to plus-3 in 2009.

Look for Fewell, who is well-versed in running a Cover-2, to also re-invent the Giants' pass defense, which allowed 7.4 yards per passing play (ninth most in the NFL), 31 passing touchdowns (second most in the NFL); and 61 completed passes of 20 yards or more. ...

Also. ... The Giants stayed in house in naming their new quarterbacks coach to replace the departed Chris Palmer. That man is Mike Sullivan, who has been the team's wide receivers coach for the past six seasons but will now work with Eli Manning and the rest of the team's passers.

This will be the 43-year-old Sullivan's first time as a quarterbacks coach. He previously served as an offensive assistant and the defensive quality control coach for Tom Coughlin's Jaguars, a defensive backs and linebackers coach for Army, a defensive backs coach for Ohio and Youngstown State and a wide receivers coach for Humboldt State.

Manning, who signed off on the decision to make Sullivan his position coach, said he's been working with Sullivan the past couple of seasons in order to make sure he and the receivers are on the same page.

"We have a good relationship and we communicate well, so I'm excited about having him in the quarterback room," Manning said. "I think we're going to have a great relationship on and off the field. He's helped me become a better quarterback and I'm looking forward to that opportunity. ... I think he'll be good in the meeting room, giving me different ideas and things we can work on and I look forward to that."

Sean Ryan was bumped up from offensive quality control coach to take over the team's wideouts.

6. Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos and defensive coordinator Mike Nolan parted ways shortly after the season ended. Nolan becomes the third member of coach Josh McDaniels' inaugural staff to depart following a disappointing 8-8 finish.

As mentioned above, Rick Dennison left for Houston's staff and longtime running backs coach Bobby Turner was reunited with Mike Shanahan in Washington. Both Dennison and Turner were holdovers from the Shanahan era.

Nolan, who engineered the Broncos' switch to a 3-4 defensive alignment, was McDaniels' first hire. McDaniels lined up Nolan to help revamp what had been a deplorable defense. Now Don Martindale is the Broncos new defensive coordinator.

According to those who follow the team closely, Martindale is well liked by his players, and several had endorsed him for the defensive coordinator job as soon as the job came open

The Broncos added more Super Bowl pedigree to their coaching staff with the hiring of Bob Ligashesky, who served the past three seasons as special-teams coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Ligashesky, 46, will be the new tight-ends coach.

Ben McDaniels, Josh's younger brother, will become the quarterbacks coach, a move that allows Mike McCoy to devote all his time to his offensive-coordinator duties -- although Josh McDaniels will continue to be the man calling the shots.

The tight-ends job became available when McDaniels moved Clancy Barone to offensive-line coach.

Barone, an NFL veteran coach and longtime offensive-line coach in college, and newly hired offensive-line assistant Bobby Wylie will help the Broncos move away from their zone-blocking system. No zone-blocking run team has reached the Super Bowl, much less won it, since the 1998 Broncos.

The Broncos also hired Eric Studesville to replace Turner as their running-backs coach. Studesville had coached running backs previously with the New York Giants and Buffalo Bills.

9. Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins slippage in defense last year has been targeted as the team's primary offseason business strategy starting with the firing of defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni and the hiring of Mike Nolan.

Accepting the job was an easy decision for Nolan, who said he'd been following people like coach Tony Sparano and general manager Jeff Ireland for years. And he had a long relationship with current Dolphins president Parcells, including a stint when they worked together with the New York Jets a decade or so ago.

Given all that, Nolan said he thought Miami was the right fit. And the Dolphins hope he's the right person to shore up a defense that took some steps backward in 2009. Sparano hoped to replace Pasqualoni with a coordinator who will bring a relentless style of attacking defense -- a quality Nolan's defenses have often possessed.

The Miami Herald pointed to one of Nolan's stops in particular: He spent three years as Baltimore's defensive coordinator where, during that span, his unit produced a league-leading 106 takeaways.

8. Baltimore Ravens
Jim Zorn was named the team's quarterbacks coach at the end of January. He joins the Ravens with 13 years of NFL coaching experience, including 11 as a quarterbacks coach. He also spent 11 seasons as an NFL QB with the Seattle Seahawks, Green Bay Packers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Prior to joining the Ravens, Zorn served the last two seasons as head coach of the Redskins.

As a coach with Seattle (2001-07) Zorn tutored Seahawks QB Matt Hasselbeck, who set several franchise marks and earned three Pro Bowl nods under Zorn's direction. He also opened the 2002 season in Seattle with former Ravens QB Trent Dilfer starting under center. While with the Detroit Lions (1998-00), Zorn was instrumental in the development of rookie QB Charlie Batch, whose 88.3 passer rating in 1998 ranks as the fourth-highest rookie mark in NFL history.

Zorn has already begun to work closely with Flacco as part of an overall effort (including the additions of Anquan Boldin and Donte' Stallworth to the receiving corps and an all-new workout regimen) to catapult the up-and-coming quarterback to the next level.

With Zorn on board, Al Saunders wasn't chosen as the quarterbacks coach. But Saunders will stay with the organization.

The team announced Saunders was promoted to senior offensive consultant for 2010. He will assist offensive coordinator Cam Cameron with game plans and work closely with tight ends and wideouts.

"We are very fortunate to have him involved here," Cameron said. "He has as much experience in our system as anybody in the league. By the end of the year, we will have stolen every great idea he ever had."

Saunders and Cameron are both descendants of the Don Coryell coaching tree. Saunders spent 2009 as a consultant for the Ravens.

9. New England Patriots
Head coach Bill Belichick does not plan to name a defensive coordinator in 2010 and instead will be more involved on defense to share the workload with his assistants, according to the team's official website. "Titles are fine, nothing wrong with them," Belichick said on Patriots.com, "but the most important thing is each person's role, that we do everything we can to help the players succeed - everyone collectively getting the job done."

The Patriots and Dean Pees, who served as defensive coordinator the last four seasons, parted ways in January.

The Patriots have since hired former Patriot Corwin Brown to work with the defense. Brown will coach defensive backs along with last year's defensive backs coach, Josh Boyer. The rest of the defensive staff has remained intact.

While there will be no official coordinator, some of those duties will still have to be split up among the defensive coaches. So that remains an important aspect to consider going forward.

Worth noting. ... The Patriots have not named an offensive coordinator at this point. If they do in the future, it would almost certainly be quarterbacks coach Bill O'Brien, who handled much of the play-calling duties in 2009 when the team went without an official coordinator. It is possible they'll continue to do so.

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Note: This article is a more in-depth version of a piece that originally appeared in the 2010 FootballDiehards Magazine.