New Coaches Have Work Cut Out for Them

Buddy Ryan’s defense took the Chicago Bears to the Super Bowl, and the Philadelphia Eagles are hoping he can do the same thing as their new head coach.

Jim Mora won two championships with the Philadelphia and Baltimore Stars of the USFL, and the New Orleans Saints are looking to him to lead them to their first winning season.

The St. Louis Cardinals disappointed everyone and themselves by falling apart last season amid rumors of drug use, so they are looking to Gene Stallings to instill some needed discipline.

Bud Grant discovered he really preferred retirement, so the Minnesota Vikings have taken advantage of their second chance to replace him by tabbing Jerry Burns as their new coach and hope the second time is the charm.

Ryan, Mora, Stallings and Burns are the four new coaches in the NFL this season, although Hank Bullough in Buffalo and Jerry Glanville in Houston, who were hired during the season last year, each face their first full campaign.

All have the same obvious goal--to win.

“Basically all I want is people to do things the way I want them done,” said Ryan, who could be speaking for every coach in the game. “Whatever it’s going to take to get that done, that’s what I’ll do.”

Ryan’s favorite technique is the verbal spanking. Last year, he called the Chicago Bears’ William Perry a wasted draft pick and he hasn’t spared any Eagle the wrath of his tongue.

“I’m not overly critical of people, I don’t think,” he said. “I just want perfection. What the hell, that’s not asking much, is it?”

Ryan had the Eagles engage in full-contact hitting drills on the first day of practice.

“Sure, you’re worried about injury,” he said. “But should we not practice because we’re afraid somebody will get hurt?”

While Ryan was putting the Eagles through their paces, Stallings opened camp for the Cardinals by refusing to let his players have any water on the field until they were 80 minutes into practice. He abandoned the rule after team lawyers heard about it, but he still insists that players have their helmets on and buckled at all times during practice.