Professor

Assistants show respect

excerpt:

FLAGSTAFF - Not long after Ken Whisenhunt had hired most of his staff, assistant head coach Russ Grimm called a meeting of the assistants who had followed Whisenhunt from Pittsburgh and gave everyone a clear message.

When they were around players, other assistants or other Cardinals employees, they should refer to Whisenhunt as "Coach" or "Coach Whisenhunt," never just "Ken" or "Whiz."

"That's the respect that comes with the position," Grimm said. "There's a fine line. I mean he and I are good friends, but this is a business and he's my boss, and I think that's the way he should be treated. I know if I was in that position, I would expect the same thing."

Special teams coach Kevin Spencer, one of the Pittsburgh transfers, said the meeting "spoke volumes about Russ Grimm," who has interviewed for several head coaching jobs, including the Cardinals', and was nearly hired in Chicago and Pittsburgh.

"He is so selfless that he would say: 'We're going to treat Coach Whisenhunt with the respect he deserves. We don't want anybody to think we're going to take advantage of our relationship with him,' " Spencer said. "It wasn't the Pittsburgh guys and the hell with the rest of you guys."

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