Assistant football coaches have long been lost in the shadows of the head coaches that employ them. They are the football teachers while the head coach manages the entire team. That was probably never more true than with the New York Giants of the 1950s. Jim Lee Howell was the head coach. Vince Lombardi coached the offense. Tom Landry coached the defense. Howell didn't have to do much with those two coaching their areas of expertise. He even said that he was there to inflate the footballs. He knew the talents of the assistant coaches that he had. Outside of New York, Lombardi and Landry weren't well known until they had their own teams. The appreciation for assistant coaches is better today. Perhaps that is due to the 24-hour media spotlight that is focused on the NFL. A light that brightens all of the dark spaces. Whatever the reason it's a good thing that assistant coaches are finally receiving the respect and attention that they deserve. The Pro Football Writers of America are insuring that deserving assistant coaches are being recognized and honored. For the second year the organization has awarded the Paul "Dr. Z" Zimmerman Award.
"The Dr. Z Award is given for lifetime achievement as an assistant coach in the NFL. The award is named for Paul Zimmerman, who covered the NFL for 29 years as Sports Illustrated's lead football writer"
The 2015 Recipients of the Paul "Dr. Z" Zimmerman award are:
Dick LeBeau, Tennessee Titans
-Entering his 43rd season as an NFL coach. His first in Tennessee. LeBeau is so well known as an assistant coach that some even think that he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a coach. He wasn't. He made it to Canton as a player. Now, he's honored for his terrific work as an assistant football coach. He even spent a couple of seasons as the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Tom Moore, Arizona Cardinals
-Entering his 37th year as an NFL. His third in Arizona. Moore has been coaching football since 1961 when he was the freshman team coach at Iowa. He coached at the college level until his jump to the NFL in 1977.
Dante Scarnecchia, retired
-Scarnecchia spent 32 years as an NFL assistant coach. 30 with the New England Patriots. He coached in the first seven Super Bowls that involved the Patriots. (XX, XXXI, XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX, XLII, XLVI).
The 2014, and inaugural, recipients of the DR. Z Award were:
Jim Johnson
Howard Mudd
Fritz Shurmur
Ernie Zampese
Congratulations to these very deserving assistant coaches.
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