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Coaching pedigree and family trees

I was watching the press conference of Eric Mangini, the Jets new head coach and former Patriots defensive coordinator, and was struck by how young the kid looked. He's only 34, 35 next week, and looks like he's 24. I knew he was part of the Parcells-Belichick coaching family and guessed that had a large part to play in his hiring.

During his press conference he had some kind words for the Tuna, who he said taught him you need to understand people so you can motivate them and noted Bill is still a great motivator.

MSNBC has an article about his hiring and talks about the Parcells-Belichick coaching tree. Money quote:

He's got the pedigree, coming from the bloodline that springs from Bill Parcells and flows through Bill Belichick. A lot of Parcells' disciples are doing well. Belichick won three of the last four Super Bowls and John Fox, the Carolina coach, was in the big game two years ago and stands one victory away from going there again. Then there's Romeo Crennel, who has Browns fans believing that there may yet be life on the shores of Lake Erie. And let's not forget Charlie Weis, who's settling in nicely in South Bend.

A great pedigree isn't a guarantee of success, as anyone who deals in race horses could tell you. Not every scion of Secretariat was a great horse, and not every apostle of Parcells -- I refer those with short memories to Ray Handley -- has been a great coach. But it helps and it's important.

It was also interesting to note that Sean Payton and Maurice Carthon were up for head coaching positions this year, with Payton cashing in. Parcells may not let his assistants talk to the press, but they seem to get noticed anyway.

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