Gil Brandt Talks To Joe
February 2nd, 2012
Among the most respected football men on the planet is Gil Brandt. The architect of the powerhouse “America’s Team” Dallas Cowboys for three decades, Brandt was no less than a wizard when he came to evaluating players and finding hidden gems not just in the draft, but in free agency as well. Brandt keeps busy in football these days working for the NFL as well as co-hosting his own nightly radio show heard exclusively on SiriusXM NFL Radio. Brandt’s attention to detail, his meticulous memory recall and his storytelling is why NFL types refer to Brandt as “The Godfather.” Brandt, who signed Joe’s high school coach to play safety for the Cowboys at the team’s height of success, gave Joe a few moments during Super Bowl Media Day to talk Bucs football.
JoeBucsFan: Your thoughts on the Bucs hiring Greg Schiano as their new coach?
Gil Brandt: From what I know of him, I think it’s a good thing. I talked to [Bucs defensive tackle] Gerald McCoy who is here today and I told him I thought [Schiano’s hiring] was a good thing and he said, “I just hope he is organized.” I told [McCoy that Schiano] was one of the most organized guys in the world. So I think that one of the things [that went haywire with the Bucs] was that things were run kind of loose and the organization wasn’t there, the organization that you need to be successful. [Schiano] took over a [Rutgers] that never had a first round draft choice and the guy had three. He took over a program that never went to one bowl game and he won seven out of eight. His defense should be good.
Joe: Schiano seems like a guy who is really big on fundamentals as well as organization. It is safe to say he may have learned organization from his days with Joe Paterno?
Brandt: Oh, yeah. And he had experience with the Bears also with Dave Wannstedt. The biggest thing now is the staff that you get to help you. That’s the biggest thing now. People realize the importance of [assistant] coaches now.
Joe: Did the Bucs paint themselves in a corner? Are they in a pinch because they were the last team to hire a new coach? Or are there enough good coaches out there?
Brandt: There are a lot of good coaches out there. When I say there are a lot of good coaches out there it’s like talking about golf. There are a lot of good golfers out there but there are only a few zero handicaps. Guys that are a five-handicap are pretty good golfers too.
Joe: Just after Schiano was hired, there were two names linked to him and the Bucs, two guys that Schiano has a past with. One of them was Tom Bradley, longtime defensive coordinator at Penn State. What do you think of Bradley as a coach?
Brandt: I think he is a very good coach. I always thought he was a very good coach and I thought he had a very great knowledge of defense. That would be a good hire [for the Bucs].
Joe: There is also talk about Butch Davis coming in potentially as the Bucs defensive coordinator.
Brandt: Well, if Butch Davis is willing to do it and wants to stay in football and afford himself an opportunity to get back in [the NFL] someday as a head coach. I don’t think with the trouble he got into at North Carolina he can get back in the college game, but I do think he can be an NFL coach even though he didn’t do all that well in Cleveland.
Joe: Well, you worked with him in Dallas and he seemed to do a good job there as a defensive coordinator.
Brandt: Oh, there’s no question about it.
February 2nd, 2012 at 12:17 pm
Hey Joe, can we get more shots of the chick in the short red dress? D-AMN! Just kidding, but wow. Well, it seems people are warming up to the Schiano hire. I hope last year was just a coaching disaster and all that talent we thought we had after 2010 will get back to playing that way. If not this is gonna be a LONG turnaround. Come on Buc!! Spend some BUCKS on FA’s and fill up some of those holes! You don’t have to break the bank, just bring in some fire power. Where’s our Hardy Nickerson signing? The one that starts moving it all in the right direction.
February 2nd, 2012 at 12:46 pm
Interesting, perhaps most telling, comment by McCoy about hoping HE’s organized.
February 2nd, 2012 at 12:51 pm
Always looking for a great story for us, you do a great job Joe!
JBF.Com Rocks!
February 2nd, 2012 at 12:56 pm
@OAR: Me too. That’s pretty telling…
February 2nd, 2012 at 12:56 pm
less than ringing endorsement for butch.
February 2nd, 2012 at 1:13 pm
I’m with OAR on this too. McCoy hoping for more organization stuck out the most to me from this story. Makes me wonder what the hell our coaching staff was doing, and really makes me hopeful since they’re all gone now that we’ll see improvements from the players after improving the coaching staff
February 2nd, 2012 at 1:52 pm
Great article Joe. Keep ’em coming.
February 2nd, 2012 at 1:58 pm
In other words there are no more zero handicap type assistant coaches available out there, which is not surprising as there’s only a handful to begin with. We used to have our own zero handicapper in Monte Kiffin but those guys are few and far between. Right now I’d settle for a handful of 3 to 5 handicappers…just please no more 20 handicappers like Bates, Jagz, Raheem, Olson, etc.
As for Bradley and/or Davis I’d be 100% on board with those guys. Even Cignetti would be fine as long as he’s a QB coach and not an OC. It sounds like Schiano is gonna have the defense rocking, so it seems to me that the most important hire right now is going to be the OC. They really need to hit a home run with that one.
February 2nd, 2012 at 2:25 pm
Good article. Great quote from McCoy. So basically the year before this team was playoff caliber. Started the season the same, and then fell completely apart because they were all confused and lost faith in the coaches. So at this point any coaches Schiano picks as long as they provide a plan and are open minded to use the talent best should make this team instantly better. Sweet.
February 2nd, 2012 at 2:50 pm
I don’t like like this guy, I don’t LIKE like this guy, I LOVE THIS GUY!!
Great interview Joe
February 2nd, 2012 at 3:00 pm
You could tell from the confusion on the field that there was a lot of disorganization in the coaching. That was probably Raheem’s greatest challenge being put in the position of HC & DC was how to tie everything together and keep all the staff and coordinators functioning as one unit. He just didn’t have the skills acquired to do that.
February 2nd, 2012 at 3:22 pm
Why am I starting to feel like I’m being sold a bill of goods?
Enough with the potential of Schiano already. I want to see him assemble a good staff and team. He needs to show what he can do, not have people say he can do it.
It’s like watching newlyweds kissing and hugging ALL THE TIME. After while, you get tired of hearing how much they love each other.
I realize this is all there is to talk about…but it’s getting tiring.
February 2nd, 2012 at 3:24 pm
Oh, and not being a college fan (other than occasional USF Bulls if I can find them on TV), can someone tell me why Butch Davis cannot return to the College Game?
Is the guy worth inviting trouble? What happened?
February 2nd, 2012 at 4:43 pm
Pete Dutcher:
Uuuhhh, might want to use Google.
February 2nd, 2012 at 5:22 pm
@Joe
Would rather not have my privacy violated by their new policies.
February 2nd, 2012 at 9:21 pm
Softy: I just hope that he is organized. Meaning= the last disorganized incompetent hyper-talking coach we had was a complete disaster.
Finally, softy says something accurate and bright. I am warming to him.
Good job and thanks for the honesty, maybe you should tell Capt Tim directly to alleviate his heartbreak over rah’s utter failure.