Lake Ready to Get to Work

On the defensive side of the ball, Jimmy Lake has quietly entered the role of defensive backs coach.

This may be a more significant move than fans realize as Lake has spent the past two seasons in Tampa Bay as the assistant defensive backs coach. Lake brings something to the staff in much the same way Joe Barry did in 2007. He has a vast knowledge and passion for the Tampa 2 system and is looking forward to getting his new crop of players on the field.

“The first thing you will see – especially on the practice field – is he brings energy,” said Barry. “He’s a ball of fire. I’d say that’s the first thing he brings. The second thing he brings is knowledge in the system. I think those two things are invaluable, especially when you teach and preach and believe in a system.

“I think this guy is a future star in this league as a coach. He’ll be a great position coach (and) he’ll be a coordinator down the road.”

Since Marinelli’s hiring in 2006, the Lions’ secondary – particularly the cornerbacks – has been openly ridiculed as not having enough talent to help this team to a playoff berth. Fans have scoffed at the idea of “non-talented issues” as the local media has screamed for more “raw talent.”

A lot of time it’s technique and that’s what we’re really going to focus on in the offseason,” said Lake of his new crop of players in Detroit. (Photo by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

But Lake believes that he can garner increasingly better performances out of the players the Lions currently have on their roster without adding any additional talent.

Full Story: Fine-Tuning with Technique - [DetroitLions.com]

Lake Leaves for Detroit

PewterReport.com is reporting that Tampa Bay assistant defensive backs coach Jimmy Lake was hired by Detroit on Saturday to serve as the Lions’ defensive backs coach.

Lake, whose contract was set to expire at the end of the month, interviewed with Detroit on Thursday. He spent the 2006 season working alongside former Bucs linebackers coach Joe Barry, who was hired to be Rod Marinelli’s defensive coordinator in 2007. The Lions are hoping Lake can help Detroit’s defense, which ranked 32nd in the NFL in yards and points last season.
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Coach Lake Interviewing With Lions

PewterReport.com is reporting that Jimmy Lake, the assistant to Tampa Bay defensive backs coach Raheem Morris, is interviewing with the Detroit Lions today, presumably for the defensive backs position. Lake’s contract expires at the end of this month and he spent the 2006 season working alongside former Bucs linebackers coach Joe Barry, who was hired to be Rod Marinelli’s defensive coordinator in 2007. Barry’s defense is looking for help after ranking 32nd in the NFL in yards and points allowed last year.

“Raheem and I are the same age, but I’m always willing to take that next step in life,” said the 31-year old Lake. “If some opportunities come, they come. If not, I’m more than happy staying here with these guys and win another championship.”

Full Story: Assistant DBs Coach Lake Interviewing With Lions - [Pewter Report]

Tomlin’s Take on Topics

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin weighed in on a variety of topics during his season-ending press conference. The following are some of the topics that he addressed.

On quarterback Ben Roethlisberger:
He did a nice job of course. He is a pro-bowler. He set franchise marks in some areas. He’s a merging big time football player. He is very good. He is very professional. Aside from what happened inside the white lines in the stadiums, I like the direction he is going it terms of take the reigns in a leadership position. Is he a developing guy? Absolutely. He is still 25 years old. But I look forward to what lies ahead with him.

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Tomlin Finalist for Coach of Year

Mike Tomlin is a finalist for the 2007 Motorola NFL Coach of the Year Award. The others up for the award are New England’s Bill Belichick, Jacksonville’s Jack Del Rio, Washington’s Joe Gibbs and Green Bay’s Mike McCarthy, who is a Pittsburgh native.Fans can vote for one of the five on NFL.com until 6 p.m. Jan. 21. The winner will be announced during the week leading up to Super Bowl XLII.

In his first season as a head coach, Tomlin led the Steelers to a 10-6 record during the regular season and the AFC North title.

The Steelers lost to the Jaguars last Saturday, 31-29, in an AFC wild-card game.

Tomlin Ready for First Playoff Game

He took over a team that finished .500 a year after winning the Super Bowl and featuring star players set in their ways with a built-in comfort level from the only coach most of them had played for.
Mike Tomlin’s first season with the Steelers has been better than predicted when the team convened for training camp at St. Vincent College in July — a 10-6 record with an AFC wild-card game tonight against Jacksonville at Heinz Field.

“It’s different from Coach (Bill) Cowher. This is Coach Tomlin’s team,” said receiver Hines Ward, a Cowher favorite and the Steelers’ career leader in receiving yards, receptions and touchdown receptions.

Full Story: Tomlin ready to coach first playoff game - [Pittsburgh Tribune Review]

Related: Tomlin a scene Steeler in Pittsburgh - [Chicago Tribune]

Smackdown: Best Assistant Coach

Smackdown Results: Offense 8, Defense 7

TAMPA - The success or failure of a professional football player can often be attributed to their positional coach.

While head coaches are often overseeing the final product, assistant coaches work daily toward improving their player’s skill, ability, awareness and making a good player become great. They often do not receive praise when their unit does well, but collect all of the blame when those players struggle.

This week’s Smackdown pits Tampa Bay running backs coach Art Valero against defensive backs coach Raheem Morris to determine who is ”The Best Assistant Coach.” The winner receives some well-deserved recognition for their coaching abilities.

Raheem Morris, Defensive Backs Coach

When Morris returned to Tampa Bay this year after coaching one season Kansas State, he inherited a unit in need of an extreme makeover.

Sure, Morris had All Pro defensive back Ronde Barber and standout Brian Kelly, but he also inherited Phillip Buchanon, considered a first round draft bust, Jermaine Phillips after a disappointing season, a rookie name Tanard Jackson, and other NFL journeyman.

Instead of complaining, Morris simply made his defensive backs into arguably one of the best units for Tampa Bay this season.

Tampa Bay’s pass defense is currently ranked No.2 in the NFL, while the careers of Buchanon and Phillips have surprisingly reemerged.

Full Story: Smackdown: Best Assistant Coach - [Tampa Bay Online]

Man of Steel

Shortly after Mike Tomlin was named coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers in January, he had dinner with star quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

On the menu was how Tomlin, an unknown outsider, was going to win over a team that was expecting offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt or offensive line coach Russ Grimm to be tabbed as Bill Cowher’s successor.

The 35-year-old, first-time head coach chewed on what Roethlisberger had to say, and at spring minicamp he met with each player. He also debuted the “news,” a daily rundown of mistakes by Pittsburgh players that Tomlin goes over in front of the team. Among his first headliners was Roethlisberger.

The message was clear: The new coach in the Steel City didn’t have a heart of stone, but he had an iron will and nobody was going to bend it, not Roethlisberger and not the fans who had embraced Cowher for 15 years and Chuck Noll for 23 seasons before that, and been rewarded with five Super Bowl titles.

“I’ve been blessed to be around some great coaches and I have some great mentors in this business,” said Tomlin, whose big break came in 2001, when Tony Dungy hired him to be the Buccaneers’ defensive backs coach. “Everybody has a different perspective on what it is that we do, but one of the things that reverberated throughout everybody is be yourself and do it your way. That’s what I’ve done.”

Full Story: Tomlin’s style seems a good fit in Pittsburgh - [Boston Globe]

Tomlin hands out atta-boys

Very early in his tenure as coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Mike Tomlin took part in a roundtable with local reporters that had a getting-to-know-you feel about it. During the session, Tomlin described himself as someone “who says what I mean and means what I say.”

When a coach talks like this, the assumption is that he’s referring to critical evaluations, to discipline, to the NFL version of tough love. But during his news conference on Tuesday, Tomlin showed that also applies to platitudes.

He began by recognizing four players who haven’t been on the receiving end of too many public compliments to this point in the season – Tyrone Carter, Max Starks, Daniel Sepulveda and Cedrick Wilson.

“I’d like to acknowledge some guys who stepped up for us,” said Tomlin. “We talk about the level of expectation not changing regardless of who is playing for us, and the guys understand that standard, but some guys did step up in some expanded roles against the Dolphins.”

Full Story: Tomlin hands out atta-boys - [Steelers.com]

Tomlin Understands Intensity of Ravens/Steelers Rivalry

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin is new to this AFC North rivalry with the Baltimore Ravens. That doesn’t mean he needs to be briefed about its history or its nasty personality.

The tapes from last season’s two games told him all he needed to know.

During former coach Bill Cowher’s 15 seasons, no other division team roughed up the Steelers the way the Ravens did last year in winning 27-0 in Baltimore and 31-7 in Pittsburgh.

The scoreboard wasn’t all the Ravens dominated. They stuffed the Steelers at the line of scrimmage, shut down their running game, sacked Ben Roethlisberger and Charlie Batch 14 times without giving up a sack themselves and generally played school-yard bully during the two mismatches.

No, Tomlin didn’t need someone to break down the tapes.

Full Story: Even though it’s his first year, Tomlin understands intensity of the Ravens-Steelers rivalry - [USA Today]

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