Leadership key to finding right coach

With coaching carousel already spinning, Chris Mortensen talked to Bill Polian and Rich McKay about the keys to finding the right coach.

Updated: December 8, 2005, 12:59 PM ET
By Chris Mortensen | ESPN.com
The first coach has been fired. The Detroit Lions have said goodbye to Steve Mariucci and they're paying him about $12 million over the next two years to take a hike.

It was a costly mistake. It doesn't mean Mariucci is a failure as a head coach. It means he was the wrong man for the Lions. There is a difference.

Atlanta Falcons general manager Rich McKay and Indianapolis Colts general manager Bill Polian have had outstanding success in hiring the right coach for their franchises. They have a common link in Tony Dungy, who got his first job when McKay hired him in Tampa and his second job when Polian hired him in Indianapolis.


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Chris Mortensen

NFL reporter
  • ESPN Senior NFL Analyst
  • Joined ESPN in 1991
  • Has covered every Super Bowl since 1979

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