Red Right 88

Belichick and Brady are certainly no Brown and Graham

There has always been a subset of NFL fans who think the league did not begin until the Super Bowl era started in 1967 (in these parts, they are known as Steeler fans).

So it didn’t totally surprise us when we read on ESPN how, if New England beats Baltimore in today’s AFC Championship Game, then Bill Belichick and Tom Brady will become the first head coach and starting quarterback tandem in NFL history to reach five Super Bowls.

Belichick and Brady are currently tied with Pittsburgh’s Chuck Noll and Terry Bradshaw, Buffalo’s Marv Levy and Jim Kelly, and Dallas’ Tom Landry and Roger Staubach with four Super Bowl appearances.

While getting to five Super Bowls is certainly an impressive feat, by ignoring the fact that the NFL has existed since 1920 and overlooks coaching and quarterback duos that have far surpassed what Belichick and Brady have accomplished.

George Halas and Sid Luckman went to five NFL title games together for the Bears. Halas, the Papa Bear, was one of the founders of the NFL, which seems pretty significant, so you can’t overlook them.

Vince Lombardi and Bart Starr went to six title games together with the Packers, including the first two Super Bowls. The NFL champion receives the Lombardi Trophy, so you really can’t overlook them either.

And of course, their is Paul Brown and Otto Graham, who only went to 10 consecutive title games together, with the Browns winning seven of them.

We’re pretty confident in saying that no one will ever match that accomplishment.

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The Browns made a move this week, adding Nolan Cromwell to Pat Shurmur’s coaching staff as wide receivers coach.

Cromwell played safety in the NFL for 11 years, but has been coaching on the offensive side of the ball since 1998, coaching with Mike Holmgren in both Green Bay and Seattle, and with Shurmur in St. Louis.

Cromwell also has ties to Mike Sherman, who has been rumored to be a candidate for the offensive coordinator position with the Browns.

Of course, now that Joe Philbin has been named head coach in Miami, Sherman may follow to South Beach and take over as offensive coordinator for the Dolphins. Sherman hired Philbin in Green Bay and is one of Phiblin’s closest friends, according to a report in the Palm Beach Post. Sherman and Philbin also coached together at Tulane.

We know what you are thinking: but the Dolphins already have “super coordinator” Brian Daboll running the offense; why would they ever want to replace him?

We’ll assume anyone who watched the Browns offense under Daboll is only asking that question rhetorically.

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Looks like things are not exactly harmonious in Pittsburgh following a season where the Steelers lost a playoff game to an 8-8 Denver team.

The Steelers are $25 million over the roughly $124 million salary cap that will go into effect March 13. The team faces some decisions before free agency begins, as candidates to be cut on defense include Aaron Smith, Bryant McFadden, James Farrior, Casey Hampton and Larry Foote.

And it looks like management and head coach Mike Tomlin were not on the same page when it came to offensive coordinator Bruce Arians.

Tomlin reportedly told Arians he would be coming back, but someone higher up in the organization told Arians his services would no longer be needed.

So now Tomlin looks weak because management went against his wishes for his coaching staff, and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who lobbied for Arians to keep his job two years ago.

So sad.

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Finally, Clint Dempsey continued to show on Saturday why he is the best American soccer player on the planet.

Dempsey put in a hat trick for Fulham in their win over Newcastle on Saturday, the first American to pull that off in the Premier League.

Dempsey’s three goals capped off a week that also saw him named the country’s player of the year, and continues a season where he became the highest-scoring American in Premier League history.

“I’m just trying to keep working hard and keep enjoying the moment while I can because sooner or later they dry up a little bit on you,” Dempsey told The Telegraph. “Hopefully I can continue with this form as long as I can because one of my favourite parts of the game is scoring goals.

“I always want to better myself and do better than the year before.So far I [have been] able to do that this season.”