Is the NFC East about to become even tougher?

The history of the NFC East has been one of tough physical teams, and some of the top coaches in the history of the league. This tradition may continue with the hiring of two very successful coaches in the near future.

Tom Landry, Bill Parcells, Joe Gibbs, Dick Vermeil, Jimmy Johnson, Dan Reeves, Tom Coughlin, and Andy Reid are just some of the great coaching names associated with the NFC East. A division that has never been dominated by any one team for more than a two or three year period, and one that has always been favored to send two or even three teams to the NFL playoffs. With the jobs in Dallas and Washington most likely opening up this year the names of Mike Shannahan and John Gruden have surfaced as possible replacements. My opinion has always been that John Gruden would be a perfect fit in Washington, and Shannahan would be the guy to coach Tony Romo in Dallas.

Washington will be the first to hire a new coach. The inner circle in Washington does not care for Zorn. Stripping him earlier this year of play calling duties, they have hired a new G.M. this week and have already started speaking with coaching replacements, even though Zorn still officially holds the job. I can’t see Shannahan signing quickly with Washington knowing that the Cowboys might also be in the market for a new coach. Forget about weighing which team is more settled or closer to being good, just the thought of getting a bidding war started between Jerry Jones and Daniel Snyder would make anyone’s mouth water. The numbers could be astronomical. Shannahan is still owed close to 9 million by Denver, and will be paid until he signs on with a new team, so there is no reason to rush into any decisions on his part.

While it has been widely reported that John Gruden signed an “exclusive” deal with ESPN earlier this year, that only pertains to his broadcasting career. He has done a good job on Monday Night Football, and ESPN didn’t want to get into a bidding war for his services and more importantly didn’t want him doing the draft coverage in April for the NFL Network, where he got his start in broadcasting. It has nothing to do with his ability to go back into coaching in the NFL. Gruden is an offensive guru and would thrive in Washington where the defense is already in place. He has always been able to do more with less, and would be a success in Washington.

From the view of the Giants fan, this certainly is not great news. Adding two elite coaches to one team that has all the talent necessary in Dallas, and one to a team with a strong defense in Washington, will only solidify this division as the strongest in the NFL. The ray of sunshine is the little known fact that John Gruden is 0-5 coaching against Tom Coughlin.

It should be an interesting next few weeks and off season, and could be a great decade of football to come in the NFC East.

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Joe Tufaro / ProFootballinsight

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