Second chances for NFL coaches

Bill Belichick

Belichick was the youngest coach in the NFL when the Cleveland Browns hired him in 1991, and after he released quarterback Bernie Kosar midseason in 1993, he engendered a great deal of animosity. Belichick was derided for everything, from playing lacrosse in college to the garbage-bag-like ponchos he wore on the sideline. In his second run as head coach, he has set a new standard for sustained success in the salary-cap era with the Patriots. The only thing that hasn't improved his second time around is his wardrobe.

Tony Dungy

When Dungy was hired in 1996, the Bucs had not had a winning season since 1982. He got them to the playoffs his second year and reached the postseason four times in his six years. The Bucs fired him after failing to win a playoff game for two consecutive seasons and he went to Indianapolis, where he made the playoffs for seven successive seasons and won a Super Bowl.

Tom Coughlin

Coaches aren't evaluated on congeniality, which is a good thing for Coughlin. He's hardly the most endearing man on the sideline, and he eventually wore out the nerves of his players in Jacksonville, a team he led to the conference title game his second year in town. Saying Coughlin is kinder and gentler might be overstating things, but he's found a workable middle ground with his locker room and has steered the Giants to four consecutive playoff berths.

Jon Gruden

He was a 34-year-old whiz kid when the Raiders hired him, and four seasons later, the Bucs thought so highly of him they traded four draft picks — two of them first-rounders — and $8 million to make him their coach in 2002. All he did was lead the Bucs to a Super Bowl title. However, he never won another playoff game in his six subsequent seasons in Tampa Bay.

Jimmy Johnson

Johnson replaced a coaching legend in Dallas, Tom Landry, and traded the team's best player, Herschel Walker, for a bundle of draft choices. The Cowboys were back in the playoffs his third season and he won back-to-back Super Bowls before he left. Johnson replaced a legend in Miami, too, taking over for Don Shula. It didn't go badly as the Dolphins won at least eight games in each of his four seasons. It just wasn't great. The Dolphins never won more than 10 games under Johnson and were 2-3 in the playoffs.

Dennis Green

Green never won fewer than eight games in Minnesota until the last of his 10 seasons as Vikings coach. He never won more than six games in his three seasons in Arizona, which were best remembered for his Monday night meltdown after a loss to Chicago. "The Bears are who we thought they were," he said. Hey at least, Green got to make a Coors Light commercial while the Cardinals got to the Super Bowl two years after Green's departure.

Danny O'Neil