Danny Smith Expected to Join Steelers

[ethat001]

Anything that reminds me of the swinging gate needs to go. Good coach would've walked off the field when Zorn called it.. TWICE.

Me: "Sir, I just have one question for you -- did you or Zorn call the Swinging Gate play?"
Smith: "Well, we just wanted [the Giants] to call a timeout...which they did."
Me: "Yes."
Smith: "If you remember Suisham had just gone to the Cowboys, and we were playing them next week. He knew the play, and we knew we couldn't run it against the Cowboys."
Me: "Yes, makes sense."
Smith: "So, I told Zorn, 'Don't do it [after the timeout].' But, he called it b/c he wanted to use it and knew he couldn't against the Cowboys."
Me: "Yes, unfortunately, the thing that people remember is the one time you screwed up. You guys had a lot of success with the Special Teams on trick plays that year."
Smith: "Yes, that's exactly right."

Burgundy and Gold Banquet: My Conversations with Danny Smith, Shanahan, and Darryl Grant

[GMScud]

Well, I know a lot of it has to do with personnel- you can only cook with the ingredients the chef gives you, so to speak. His coverage units were always good, but we've never had an explosive return threat and our kicking situation has never had any consistency either.

I just kind of shrug my shoulders at this move.

[SmootSmack]

Originally Posted by GMScud

Well, I know a lot of it has to do with personnel- you can only cook with the ingredients the chef gives you, so to speak. His coverage units were always good, but we've never had an explosive return threat and our kicking situation has never had any consistency either.

I just kind of shrug my shoulders at this move.

At the same time, Smith has aggressively pushed for some of that personnel-Gano and Banks specifically.

[GMScud]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

At the same time, Smith has aggressively pushed for some of that personnel-Gano and Banks specifically.

Very true. I can see how he could have made the argument for Gano... But once the kickoff rules changed... well, to me it was a no-brainer to show Banks the door at that point.

[Chico23231]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

At the same time, Smith has aggressively pushed for some of that personnel-Gano and Banks specifically.

this this this...His coverage teams were great, but "his guys" in the return and kicking games hurt his credibility imo. He's a decent coach, but its time to move on...I think I mentioned a couple times over the season if "his guys" would come back to hurt him