Haslett stays put and off the coaching carousel
July 23rd, 2007 | by Kevin Morris |
By
Seven new head coaches will assemble their NFL teams for training camp this
week. To the surprise of many observers, none of them is named Jim Haslett.
The immediate question that arose last year after Scott Linehan hired Haslett
as his defensive coordinator was, how long will Haslett be here? He had spent
the previous six seasons running the New Orleans Saints, and skeptics figured
that he would jump at the first chance to nab another head-coaching position.
If Haslett had any such plan, he has since tweaked it. Even though he wasn’t
pleased with his unit’s showing last year, he discovered that yielding the many
responsibilities that come with being a head coach provided a pleasant relief.
“I probably had the most enjoyable time coaching since I’ve been in the
league,” said Haslett, who landed his first NFL job in 1994. As a coordinator,
he had more personal interaction with the players, and he found those
relationships energizing.
“These guys are great to be around,” he said. “They want to be good, they want
to play well on defense, and they want to win a lot of games.”
Plus, Haslett, 51, is reluctant to uproot wife Beth and their three children
again, especially after the chaos that ensued in New Orleans in 2005 after
Hurricane Katrina. The Saints relocated to San Antonio and played three “home”
games there, four in Baton Rouge, La., and one in East Rutherford, N.J. They
wound up 3-13, and Haslett was fired.
“That affects you, your family,” he said. “Do you really want to move?” At this
point, the answer to that question is no.
“Being a head coach … if the opportunity ever arises in the right situation,
maybe,” Haslett said. “If not, then I’m just going to take advantage of having
fun here and coaching these guys and enjoying being around them.”
