Bill Callahan Article

[Dundermifflinite]

Didn't originally pick up a paper on Sunday, but I heard Mitch talking about his feature on the radio and later tracked down the article. Pretty good read...

 

link

 

Published Sunday December 14, 2008

Callahan's back to his roots as Jets line coach

BY MITCH SHERMAN

WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

 

 

 

CHATHAM, N.J. — Something is strangely familiar about this storefront-filled road lined with trees.

 

Cars move at a slow pace between poorly timed stoplights. No one honks. You'd never know the craziness of New York City buzzed 25 miles to the east.

 

It could just as easily be Ogallala or Nebraska City. For that matter, it's a lot like parts of Lincoln.

 

This is where Bill Callahan lives. Fired as Nebraska's football coach nearly 13 months ago after four unceremonious years, he escaped from under the intense microscope at NU and blended into a parallel world of sorts — one where few know his face, name or even what he does.

 

Callahan works five miles away in Florham Park, N.J., where the New York Jets this year opened a $75 million training complex.

 

"I've probably heard his name," said Skip McCabe, when asked to identify his favorite team's first-year offensive line coach.

 

Told it's Callahan, McCabe, a well-versed fan who helps operate the Chatham Sports Shop, gestured in recognition.

 

"That's it, of course," he said. "And he's doing a good job. The O-line is not the problem."

 

Callahan also serves as the running game coordinator and assistant head coach for the 8-5 Jets. Despite two straight losses, the club remains tied atop the AFC East with Miami and New England and faces a big game today at home against Buffalo.

 

Yes, the 52-year-old has turned the page nicely on his time at Nebraska, just as he did while at NU on his two years prior as head coach of the Oakland Raiders.

 

In doing so, Callahan has had little contact with many close to him in Lincoln.

 

"We've not had any communication," Nebraska offensive coordinator Shawn Watson said. "But he's a friend, a very dear friend. I watch (the Jets), and I see his fingerprints all over that thing."

 

Callahan has not spoken publicly in detail about NU since his final game, a 65-51 loss to Colorado that sealed his second losing season after the program went 42 years without one. Athletic Director Tom Osborne fired Callahan the next day. He landed on the Jets' staff less than two months later.

 

"He talks about Nebraska some with us, but he leaves it mainly where it is," Jets right tackle Damien Woody said. "It's not even relevant to what's going on here and our situation."

 

 

 

'He's a good coach'

 

The Jets denied a request to interview Callahan for this story.

 

It was no departure from policy. Assistant coaches here do not regularly speak to the media.

 

After practice Friday, Callahan appeared at ease in his green sweatshirt and gray pants as one of the last to leave the indoor field.

 

The shiny, new Atlantic Health Training Center is the Jets' headquarters. You won't find it on most maps, though. No signs point traffic to the facility. Many locals, in fact, said they did not know its location — only that the Jets had moved into the heart of New York Giants country and provided a financial boost to the surrounding communities.

 

A fence encloses the building. Security waits at the entrance. Inside, the locker room is plush. And the indoor practice area, though not as luxurious as the behemoth Nebraska unveiled during Callahan's reign, is more than adequate for a 53-man pro roster.

 

The place is a fortress — complete with a bunker mentality — common in the NFL and even more extreme than the attitude Callahan helped install at Nebraska.

 

For example, there's Brett Favre, the iconic quarterback traded from the Packers before this season.

 

Favre holds a press conference every Wednesday, and nothing more, other than game day. No individual interviews. A reporter, though, unfamiliar with the local rules, approached Favre on Thursday in the locker room for a comment about Callahan's influence on the offense.

 

After all, the 39-year-old QB looked friendly enough.

 

"He's good," Favre said as Jets officials scrambled to intervene. "He's a good coach. Damn good coach."

 

 

 

Back to his roots

 

Favre's teammates largely agree about Callahan.

 

"We heard a lot about him and his track record when he signed," right guard Brandon Moore said, "but he's a great coach. I enjoy playing for him. It's really helped my game out a lot. His ability to give information from a coach to a player's standpoint is great."

 

The Jets' linemen praised their position coach for many of the same traits that made Callahan an attractive candidate in Lincoln five years ago.

 

He's intelligent, meticulous, detail-oriented, even-keeled and experienced, they said.

 

"When you sit down with Bill for 10 minutes, you realize how smart he is," center Nick Mangold said. "I tell him he's too smart to be in football. He should be doing something else, like curing cancer."

 

Under Callahan, the Jets' running game has improved from 19th last season to ninth in the league. New York averages 126.5 yards per game on the ground, third in the AFC. Running back Thomas Jones leads the conference in rushing.

 

Woody, a 10-year veteran out of Boston College, described Callahan as "perfect for our group."

 

Jets General Manager Mike Tannenbaum recognized Callahan's talent as an offensive line coach a year ago and recommended him to 37-year-old head coach Eric Mangini. Callahan cut his teeth in this role, coaching linemen at Wisconsin and for the Philadelphia Eagles before he joined the Raiders as offensive coordinator in 1998.

 

"His ability to teach from a technical standpoint is outstanding," Mangini said recently. "What I like more than that is he understands the big picture. He can explain, 'This is a five-step drop. We're trying to get the ball here.' All the stuff you look for in an offensive line coach."

 

Occasionally at Nebraska, Callahan devoted significant time to individual work with the linemen.

 

It's his area of expertise.

 

"He's an offensive line coach," Woody said. "He's been a head coach, a coordinator. But his roots are with the offensive line. This is what he enjoys."

 

 

 

Under the radar

 

Maybe this is where Callahan fit all along — in the NFL as an assistant coach, with no restrictions on his weekly time to teach.

 

The Jets linemen said Callahan relates well to them. They discuss life and various topics in down time. Mangold traveled to Napa Valley in California during the Jets' bye week early in the season. Callahan, who coached for six years in Oakland, gave him tips for wine country.

 

"We have a good time, and we accomplish what we need to at the same time," left guard Alan Faneca said. "His experience is nothing but an asset to be leaned on. It's just like fashion. Things go in and out of style. He's seen a lot that might be coming back."

 

Callahan also embraced plenty at Nebraska. He threw himself into his work and founded a charitable organization to raise money for juvenile diabetes and cancer research, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln library system and other causes.

 

Many Huskers liked him.

 

"I can see why the Jets would love him," redshirt freshman quarterback Patrick Witt said. "I came (to Nebraska) for a reason, because I like Coach Callahan. Everything that goes down is business, and you've got to keep that in mind. I wish him the best."

 

The whole thing at NU never seemed to quite fit, in part because Callahan failed to embrace Lincoln. He lived away from the community and rarely spent time in public.

 

First-year coach Bo Pelini has operated in almost entirely the opposite way. The NFL-like culture, in fact, changed after Callahan's departure. Doors are no longer locked at Memorial Stadium.

 

Pelini drives his kids to school. He eats at restaurants and lives in a neighborhood.

 

Callahan lives in a neighborhood now, too.

 

The difference for Callahan between this year and last? The fish bowl is gone.

 

 

 

Friendly neighbors

 

Anonymity fits Callahan as well as the new job description. They go hand in hand.

 

Aside from Favre, the Jets attract little attention. Last week in New York, they received hardly a mention among the news as the Yankees and Mets spent millions on pitching arms.

 

The Giants, with whom the Jets share a stadium, also take precedence.

 

Most people here don't know Bill Callahan the coach from Bill Callahan the musician.

 

Mark Boyland, at the counter inside the Best Little Luncheonette in downtown Chatham, discussed the positive impact on Friday morning of the Jets' arrival in the area.

 

"The community has a complete and utter lack of diversity," Boyland said. "People here are happy the Jets came. A lot of people in real estate are happy."

 

Boyland, a 45-year-old attorney and Giants fan, said he lives down the street from Callahan and that their children attend school together at Chatham High. Boyland knew of Callahan but not his coaching background.

 

It's not important here.

 

Callahan purchased a new home near the edge of town for $2.68 million in June. Five months earlier, he received a $3.125 million payment, minus tax withholdings, as specified by the Nebraska contract he signed in September 2007.

 

Back in Lincoln, there's no sign of the old coach.

 

The Huskers have moved on, too. Witt said he had heard no talk of NU players talking to Callahan. A trainer has exchanged e-mails, according to Witt.

 

Two miles east of town, Callahan's old home remains for sale, listed at $1.795 million.

 

The gates off the deserted gravel road are open. Ice is starting to form on the two lakes that bracket the curvy driveway.

 

The property appears well kept. But it sits lifeless and empty, a symbol of an era Nebraskans and their former coach have decisively placed in the past.

[Blackshirtsguru]

Good read. He's not a bad guy...he's just not a "college" guy.

[AR Husker Fan]

Good read. He's not a bad guy...he's just not a "college" guy.

And that's it - the temprement is best for the NFL.

 

Well, he tried at Nebraska. Not a good fit, but it happens. Good luck to him.