Do Singletary, Millen have what it takes to run a team?

Sporting News, The, Jan 18, 1999 by Dan Pompei

There have been other coaches who were hired with little or no experience, but not many. When Bart Starr became coach of the Packers in 1975, his coaching resume consisted of one year as a quarterback coach. Some would say it showed in his 52-76-3 record over nine years. Norm Van Brocklin went from quarterbacking the Eagles in the 1960 title game to being head coach of the expansion Vikings in 1961. After being relieved of his duties by the Vikings, the Dutchman later had an unremarkable stint as head coach of the Falcons.

Singletary undoubtedly would be a better head coaching candidate if he had some experience as an assistant. But the choice isn't an inexperienced Singletary vs. an experienced Singletary. It's an inexperienced Singletary vs. an experienced Jim Haslett or Sherm Lewis. Singletary isn't the most well-rounded candidate the Bears are talking about (that would be former UCLA coach Terry Donahue), but he may be the most intriguing.

Singletary reminds me a little of Tony Dungy a few years back, because you know the guy can be a great head coach if given the chance. If the time is now--and that's a long shot--he would have to be surrounded by experienced, accomplished coordinators, and he would have to do plenty of delegating. In Detroit, Millen would have to lean heavily on Ron Hughes, the Lions' talented personnel man.

But, hey, this is Jesse Ventura's America. Don't scoff at anything.

RELATED ARTICLE: Ranking the underclassmen

Now that the deadline has passed for underclassmen to declare their eligibility, we can analyze what effect juniors will have on the April draft. As usual, the impact will be major.

About half of the players selected in the first round likely will be juniors, and at least four are expected to be top 10 picks. There would have been even more juniors selected in the first round if Florida State wide receiver Peter Warrick and Wisconsin running back Ron Dayne had elected to skip their senior seasons.

Here is a preliminary ranking of the best underclassmen to declare for this year's draft:

1. Tim Couch, QB, Kentucky. Though he isn't quite the prospect Peyton Manning was a year ago, Couch will be the first player selected.

2. Champ Bailey, CB, Georgia. Probably the best athlete in the draft. But he's a football player, too, and he can help a team on defense, offense and special teams.

3. Chris Claiborne, LB, Southern California. Passed Andy Katzenmoyer on draft boards as the best linebacker in this class.

4. Jevon Kearse, DE, Florida. It's a good year to be a defensive end in the draft because there aren't any great ones. Kearse will go higher than he should as a result.

5. Rahim Abdullah, LB, Clemson. Like Claiborne, probably will be picked ahead of any senior linebacker.

6. Andy Katzenmoyer, LB, Ohio State. Stock has fallen, but shouldn't slide much farther than mid-first round.

7. Edgerrin James, RB, Miami. Should be the second back taken after Ricky Williams.

8. John Tait, OT, BYU. Will be the top lineman on some boards, but some have reservations about his run blocking.