By Julie Cudney
While the biggest stories in coaching changes have revolved around teams changing head coaches like the Detroit Lions, New York Jets, Denver Broncos and Cleveland Browns, other teams are making more minor changes to their ranks in order to revamp certain aspects of their team. Even after making it past the first round of playoffs, the San Diego Chargers decided to replace four different coaches. The Chicago Bears also changed coaches, taking on former Detroit coach Rod Marinelli in the process. Two of the most recent teams to make changes are the Miami Dolphins and the New Orleans Saints. The Saints chose to get rid of defensive coordinator Gary Gibbs and instead hired Gregg Williams to fill the spot. The Dolphins have reportedly replaced exiting offensive line coach Mike Maser with Dave DeGuglielmo. See your team's new coaches with NFL tickets from http://www.stubhub.com/nfl-tickets.
The Saints were obviously in dire need of a defensive overhaul. While their quarterback, Drew Brees, came close to breaking Dan Marino's single season yard record, the defense struggled and allowed 339.5 yards per game in 2008. They ranked 23rd in total defense, making them ripe for a revamp. With an offense on fire, staving off opposing defenses could be the difference between a mediocre finish and a playoff run. Williams started coaching as a graduate assistant with the University of Houston in 1988.
Prior to starting in the college ranks, he was a coach at a couple of high schools. In 1990, he became the defensive quality control coach for the Houston Oilers, later to become the Tennessee Titans. He moved up to special teams coach in 1993 and linebackers coach in 1884. He became the defensive coordinator in 1997, a position he stayed in until 2000. In 2001, he took a head coaching position with the Buffalo Bills, where he stayed for three seasons. From 2004 to 2007, he was the assistant head coach and defensive coordinator with the Washington Redskins. During that time, they were repeatedly one of the top defenses in the league. He moved to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the same position for the 2008 season before being hired by the Saints.
The Dolphins were well-documented this year for having one of the best turnarounds in NFL history, going from a 1-15 record in 2007 to an 11-6 record in 2008, along with a playoff spot. Although they did well with additions like quarterback Chad Pennington, their offensive line left much to be desired. Enter Dave DeGuglielmo. DeGuglielmo started his coaching in 1991 as a graduate assistant offensive line coach for Boston College, where he stayed until 1996, moving up in the ranks. In 1997, he moved to the University of Connecticut as their offensive line coach for two seasons before taking the same position with the University of South Carolina. In 2000, he was moved to the offensive tackles, tight ends coach before going back to the offensive line coach in 2004. He started his career in the NFL in 2004 as the assistant offensive line/quality control coach before just becoming the assistant offensive line coach in 2005, a position he has held until joining the Dolphins.
This article was written by Julie Cudney and is sponsored by StubHub. StubHub sells tickets to sporting events, concerts and theater productions. Go to StubHub.com for NFL tickets.
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