According to a report by ESPN.com, the Cleveland owner Randy Lerner will contact former Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren to run the Browns.

Holmgren is itching to return to football and the opportunity he would have in Cleveland would be an attractive one. Lerner is looking for someone to perform for the Browns the same role that vice president of football operations Bill Parcells performs for the Dolphins. The job, for the time being, is Holmgren’s to lose.

If Holmgren were to take it — and there are some people who think he still would prefer to coach — he would be returning to the Midwest, where he built his reputation as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers.

Holmgren is one of at least four names on Lerner’s wish list, though he is considered the top target. The others are former New York Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi, Atlanta Falcons president Rich McKay and former Packers general manager Ron Wolf.

Holmgren’s track record speaks for itself. He’s coached three different Super Bowl teams and built the Seahawks into a consistent division winner and playoff contender. He knows how to build a team from the ground up, which is exactly what the Browns need right now.

And if you’re Lerner, why wouldn’t you allow Holmgren to coach if that was the only stipulation in luring him to Cleveland? Eric Mangini has been a disaster to this point and there is little to no hope on the horizon. Lerner should have no qualms about firing Mangini and replacing him with someone with a resume like Holmgren’s.

If Lerner can’t get Holmgren, either Accorsi, McKay or Wolf would be solid choices, although it might be tough to get Wolf, who has had opportunities to return as a general manager and has declined them.

]]> http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/11/09/browns-to-contact-holmgren/feed/ 1 http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/07/25/which-running-backs-drop-the-ball-the-most/ http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/07/25/which-running-backs-drop-the-ball-the-most/#comments Sat, 25 Jul 2009 19:20:49 +0000 Mike Farley http://www.scoresreport.com/?p=21755

When it comes to fumbles, nobody drops the ball more than quarterbacks, because they handle the ball more than anyone besides the center. Brett Favre has 157 of them, which leads active players (yes, we’re considering Favre active). But many times when a QB fumbles, he can pounce right back on the ball. Running backs are a different story. The ones who fumble a lot often wind up in their coach’s doghouse because most of the time it’s because of careless ball handling. As for fantasy football, you’ll want to be careful with these guys too because they take points off your scoreboard, both by negative points for fumbles, and for lost opportunities on offense. So here is the active Top 10 in fumbles by running backs…..

1. Edgerrin James (43)—James isn’t as bad as early in his career, like when he fumbled 8 times during his rookie year of 1999 with the Colts. But you tend to look the other way when the other numbers offset the fumbles—and James was an All Pro that year with 2139 yards from scrimmage and 17 total touchdowns.

2. Ricky Williams (41)—Ricky definitely comes down with fumble-it is pretty often, and that has to drive Bill Parcells crazy. I wonder if it would help if Ricky thought he was carrying a bag of..…oh forget it.

3. Jamal Lewis (39)—Lewis has improved drastically in this area, fumbling only twice last season. But he fumbled 8 times in back to back seasons in 2002 and 2003 while with Baltimore. Yikes.

4. Ahman Green (37)—He hasn’t fumbled since 2006, but that’s only because Green has carried the ball just 144 times since then.

5. Michael Pittman (31)—Pittman was one of like 15 running backs used by the Broncos last season.

6. Shaun Alexander (31)—For a few years there, Alexander was putting up such ridiculous numbers that Mike Holmgren was forced to accept some drops.

7. Warrick Dunn (26)—He’s never had more than 4 fumbles in a season, but he’s been playing for so long that he wound up on here. Dunn may be one of the most underrated RBs in the history of the NFL.

8. Fred Taylor (26)—Taylor has fumbled less in recent years, but he’s also carried the ball less. It should be interesting to see if his career is re-ignited in a Patriots’ uniform.

9. LaDainian Tomlinson (25)—He fumbled 8 times in his rookie year, and only 17 times since. With 2657 total carries, that’s not bad at all.

9 (tie). Clinton Portis (25)—Portis is a solid RB, but he does have two quirks—he’s injury prone and he drops the ball a few too many times.

Source: Pro Football Reference

Former NFL head coach Denny Green went on Sirius radio earlier this week and said that he has a hard time believing that suspended quarterback Michael Vick won’t wind up with Bill Parcells in Miami.

“I have a hard time believing that Michael Vick is not going to wind up with Bill Parcells, simply because [Parcells] has that creativeness that says no matter what it takes, he’s going to find a way to get Michael Vick. Now, whether it means convincing the commissioner or whatever it takes, Michael Vick is probably going to wind up at Miami because of the fact Bill Parcells is Bill Parcells.”

Yikes. It seems like with these comments, Green is just picking up a stone and tossing it as far as he can in hopes to hit water and make a splash. Not to discredit a man that has more NFL experience in one day than I will ever have in a lifetime, but there’s no way anyone should buy into what Green is saying. In fact, I fully believe that once Parcells catches wind of Green’s comments he’ll shoot down the idea of ever pursuing Vick.

Yes, Vick would be a nice fit in Miami’s “Wildcat” formation. But last time I checked, the NFL still only uses one football during a given game and the Fins already have Ronnie Brown and Pat White (whom they selected in the second round of April’s draft specifically for their “Wildcat” offense) on the roster. Why sign Vick and create a massive media circus for your team when you already have the players to run the scheme that best fits Vick? It doesn’t make a lot of sense and even for as creative as Parcells may be, he’s not stupid.

Again, this just seems like Green’s attempt to make something out of nothing. Had Miami not taken White in the second round of this year’s draft, maybe Parcells would be more inclined to sign Vick. But considering they already have the players for the “Wildcat” and Parcells might not be there in a year anyway, I highly doubt he would sign the dog fighter.

Free agent defensive end Jason Taylor signed a one-year, $1.1 million contact to re-join the Dolphins. The deal also includes a $400,000 signing bonus.

The deal is a good one for Miami, as Taylor will earn just $1.1 million in base salary, with incentives that could bring him another $400,000. He had been contracted to earn more than $8 million with Washington this season.

Rumors have linked Taylor to Miami since he was let go by Washington earlier this year, but the Dolphins seemed to be unwilling to go that route as they attempted to build their roster through the draft and younger free agents.

But coach Tony Sparano told Joe Rose on 560-AM on Tuesday that, with the draft complete and still lingering needs on defense, the front office would be taking another look at the Taylor situation this week.

“My heart has always been in Miami,” Taylor said in a statement. “I’m truly motivated to call myself a Dolphin again.

This is just another example of Bill Parcells getting the best of a situation. Taylor pissed Parcells off last year when he skipped the Dolphins’ voluntary off-season workouts and stated how he wanted out of Miami. So Parcells found a dope in Daniel Snyder and shipped Taylor to Washington for a second round pick in 2009 and a sixth round pick in 2010. And look how everything turned out – Taylor is back in Miami at a drastically discounted price, the Dolphins drafted Pat White with that second round pick, they still have the sixth rounder in their back pocket for next year and the Redskins are left with nothing.

Parcells wins again.

Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald writes that the Dolphins are still monitoring Anquan Boldin’s situation in Arizona and haven’t dismissed the idea of trading for the disgruntled wideout.

The fact is the Dolphins definitely, positively have not thrown in the towel on 2009 for any reason, much less the fanciful one that they realize they’re not a Super Bowl contender. Be serious. Does that sound like Tony Sparano or Bill Parcells to you?

I’m going so far as telling you the Dolphins are still monitoring the Anquan Boldin situation. Parcells thinks this kid is a monster! He recognizes there are problems with trading for him — compensation to the Cardinals and compensation of $7-$8 million per year to the player. But the Dolphins have definitely not at this point completely dismissed the idea of being active on the matter if it ever hits the front burner.

Here’s a thought: As we know, Parcells gets awfully antsy when he stays in one place for too long. He almost bolted Miami after one year, so it’s not a stretch to think that he’ll jet after the 2009 season for another new adventure.

Given this line of thinking, if Parcells loves Boldin and knows he might not be around next year, what’s from stopping him for putting a package together for two high draft picks in the upcoming years (maybe a first and third next year) for Boldin and trying to win it all this season? What does he care – he won’t be around in 2010 when Miami has to deal with the lack of compensation. And nobody would call him out on it because A) they would be getting a great player in Boldin and B) Parcells would say that he was trying to win.

This news rumor has very little to stand on now, but it’ll be interesting to see if it develops over the summer.

USC inside linebacker Rey Maualuga, the 2008 Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year, is projected by many draftniks to be selected in the late teens, at worst. But even if he doesn’t fall to the mid-20s, Bill Parcells and Co. might consider moving up to grab him.

Maualuga will be visiting South Florida Tuesday so the Dolphins can get to know him better, according to an NFL source.

One NFL insider believes Maualuga, an unrelenting linebacker in the mold of former Trojan Junior Seau, is the Dolphins’ target during the first round of April 25-26 draft.

But ask 10 experts who Parcells and Jeff Ireland covet with pick No. 25 and you might get more than a half-dozen different answers … Illinois CB Vontae Davis, North Carolina WR Hakeem Nicks, USC LB Clay Matthews, Connecticut CB Darius Butler, Northern Illinois’ Larry English and so on.

Maualuga doesn’t seem to fit the team’s most acute needs, cornerback or wide receiver. He isn’t the big outside linebacker with pass-rushing skills who could give Joey Porter some help – especially given Cameron Wake could need a good bit of time to adjust from the CFL to the NFL – and maybe eventually replace Porter, 32.

But Maualuga could be the kind of big (6-2, 255), physical linebacker Parcells won’t be able to pass up, considering his eye for game-changing players at the position.

Prospects slip all the time in the first round, but I highly doubt Maualuga falls to No. 25, meaning the Dolphins would definitely have to move up to get him. I have a hard time believing that the Lions would pass on him at No. 20.

This should surprise absolutely no one. Parcells does whatever he wants and commitments mean next to nothing to him. It’s almost laughable that a team would allow him to just pack up and leave anytime he wanted to, but then again it speaks to how good he is.

You want to win? You want Parcells? No problem, but this is how he operates and he’s not going to change his ways now. Nobody in Miami is complaining about the arraignment after the way he took a 1-15 Dolphins team and transformed them into AFC East Champions this season. The guy is a miracle worker.

It’ll be interesting to see if he bolts at some point this season. He could very easily get the Dolphins through the free agency period and the draft and then decide to bolt, or he could stick around for the entire year and leave after the season. Either way, it would be shocking if the Dolphins get him to honor his four-year contract.