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FBF Coach
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 4,880
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http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/s...ll/12384883.htm
Quote:
No looking back
Jets castaways Cottrell and Cowart find better opportunities with Vikings.
BY DON SEEHOLZER
Posted on Mon, Aug. 15, 2005
Pioneer Press
MANKATO, Minn. — Ted Cottrell and Sam Cowart say it's just another game, and an exhibition game to boot, but there's more to it than that.
When the Vikings visit the New York Jets on Friday night, it will be a homecoming of sorts for Cottrell, the Jets' former defensive coordinator, and Cowart, their former linebacker.
Both were cast aside by their old team, although the Jets did Cowart a favor with the March 18 trade that sent him to Minnesota, where he has been given a chance to re-establish himself as a starting middle linebacker.
That wasn't the case with Cottrell, who was fired after the 2003 season for the only time in a 21-year NFL coaching career, but insists he has no hard feelings.
"At the time, I wasn't too happy, but I've gotten over it," Cottrell said Sunday. "You've got to push on and not let things dwell on you. If you let them eat at you, it can be a negative force in your life."
The Jets ranked 19th, 24th and 21st among NFL defenses in Cottrell's three seasons as coordinator, but there were those in the New York media who felt he was handicapped by some aging personnel, including linebackers Mo Lewis and Marvin Jones.
After firing Cottrell, Jets coach Herm Edwards brought in Baltimore secondary coach Donnie Henderson as defensive coordinator, and with seven new starters — including rookie linebacker Jonathan Vilma, linebacker Eric Barton and cornerback David Barrett — the defense improved to No. 7 in the league.
The question is, could Cottrell have done the same with the same players?
"I don't want to get into all that," he said. "Once they made the change, they changed everything. I really want to focus that I'm in a better place now. I really enjoy working with Mike (Tice) and the players and like living here."
Edwards told the Newark Star-Ledger that Cottrell did a great job overall during his time with the Jets and his firing was nothing personal.
"Sometimes you're in situations where it's best for both parties," Edwards said. "That's how it kind of worked out. It wasn't his coaching or anything he did wrong. It was just time to go in another direction."
Cowart, who spent three seasons with the Jets, said he enjoyed working with Henderson last year but thought Cottrell got a raw deal.
"The thing is, they let Donnie come in and do what he wanted to do," Cowart said. "They didn't let Ted do what he wanted to do. If you're going to fire someone or blame someone, at least let him do what he wants to do. It was a catch-22. It was a bad situation for Ted, and a lot of the older players around there were kind of disappointed also."
If Cottrell has a right to complain, he won't, and he said he's not about to blame his firing on any former players.
"The talent was waning a little bit with guys getting a little bit older, but they still fought hard and gave it all their effort," he said. "Some of those guys aren't even in the league anymore, but they played hard for me. The team just decided to make a change."
The situation was different with Cowart, who signed with the Jets in 2002 after four seasons in Buffalo.
Playing out of position at weak-side linebacker, he had a team-high 154 tackles during his first season and 145 in 2003, but he made no secret of the fact that he felt more comfortable in the middle.
"There was never any conflict," he said. "It was just a matter of personnel. With the other guys we had at linebacker, I had to play that position and do what was best for the team. The thing that I hated was people outside the organization criticizing me because I didn't have the numbers I had in Buffalo. That's the only thing I was upset about."
Cowart moved back to middle linebacker at the start of last season, but suffered a knee injury in the second game against San Diego and lost his starting job to Vilma, who never gave it back.
Acquired by the Vikings for the bargain-basement price of a conditional seventh-round draft choice, Cowart, 30, said he doesn't have an ax to grind or feel he has anything to prove Friday.
He does have a pretty good idea, though, of the kind of reception he'll get.
"They're New York fans," he said. "They'll probably boo."
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