The Redskins wide net coach search snagged an interview with Perry Fewell, defensive coordinator of Beast rival New York Giants.
Fewell is an acorn from the Tom Coughlin coaching tree which puts him in the Bill Parcells family of coach-think.
He has a small college background as a student athlete. After London Fletcher, we won't see that as a red flag. Fewell spent his NFL coaching career cycling through four teams as defensive backfield coach, beginning with Coughlin's Jaguars club in 1998. Coughlin hired him to be Giants' DC in 2010.
New York comments about Fewell fall in two extremes depending on when you read them. After the 2011 season, he was a Steve Spagnuolo defensive genius and bright head coach prospect, not unlike Kyle Shanahan in 2012. After the 2013 season, Giants fans see Fewell is spawn of Satan.
Hog Heaven turned to Andrew Furman, the talent behind Bloguin affiliate UltimateNYG covering the Giants to get the word on Fewell. Here is Andrew's profile.
"I hated Perry Fewell's Tampa2 scheme because it was too passive for today's NFL, where QBs with any ability can shred the zone. So it was 'built to fail,' as Fewell's defense feasted on the bad and got beat by the good teams.
(Well humph, what does that say about the Redskins? Oh. Wait. Never mind.)
"The giants were 7-7 in '11, so how did they run off 6 straight to win Super Bowl XLVI? A big part of the answer was Perry Fewell talking to his players and getting feedback on what worked and what didn't. The use of zone was dropped dramatically and the gashing stopped.
"Shocking? Not. The players bought in and there was a love fest. Google 'Afterburner' and 'NY Giants.' So I give credit to PF for seeing the light and not being dogmatic. In this regard I think he's a player's coach and that will get him out of the gate. The problem with players' coaches is that they have to make sure there is proper distance and discipline, else you get a Jim Schwartz debacle.
"I have absolutely no idea about his Head Coaching credentials. To be a HC is a different job from being a coordinator. You have to have great people and managerial skills. I have little idea beyond the example of PF flexing to listen to his defensive backs on the zone schemes. I just don't know who, if anyone, can coach [the Redskins], considering all of the experienced HCs that couldn't get it done in WAS.
"I actually believe PF has the self respect to hire good coaches underneath him and let those coordinators do their jobs. I don't know how strong he can be if/when things go wrong."
(Andrew amazed me with what he could type in an iphone.)
By Andrew's telling, Fewell is an older, more experienced version of Raheem Morris. And if the Redskins are thinking of Morris, they may as well look at Fewell. If nothing else, probing Fewell's thinking may give the Redskins insight into the Giants football schemes and front office.
After 11 years of Coughlin in New York, the 'Skins have a handle on Giants football. Any nuggets they glean on how the Giants' respctable front office does business is worth the conversation whether Bruce Allen is serious about Fewell or not.
The Giants paid Spagnuolo head coach money to stay with the team when Dan Snyder danced with him in the 2008 coach search. It would be telling if the Giants do the same with Fewell.
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