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INDIANAPOLIS -- In case you were wondering, no, the New York Giants' first choice was not linebacker Chase Blackburn covering Rob Gronkowski all alone 50 yards down the field. But as he'd done for so much of the night, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady checked to a different play when he saw the coverage on the second play of the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLVI, and Blackburn was stuck.

"I had to carry Gronkowski," Blackburn said after the Giants had secured a 21-17 Super Bowl victory. "I heard the crowd go wild a little bit, and I thought we had a sack. But I continued to see Gronk go up the field, and I just tried to stay with him. When I saw him look back, I looked back for the ball, and when I spotted it, I tried to just block out and go up for a rebound like in basketball."

Sure. Basketball. In case you're wondering, Gronkowski's University of Arizona media guide bio says he averaged 18 rebounds per game during the 2006 season at Pittsburgh's Woodland Hills High School. He has three inches and 20 pounds on Blackburn, who as recently as Thanksgiving weekend was hoping to land a gig as a substitute high school math teacher before the Giants called and said hey, how about middle linebacker instead. But Gronkowski also was playing the Super Bowl on a bad ankle, which Blackburn and the rest of the Giants knew. It's why they were, at that point in the game, using their better coverage linebacker, Jacquian Williams, on the Patriots' other tight end, Aaron Hernandez. After the check, Blackburn knew he had the big guy by himself.

"I knew it was a long way," Blackburn said. "He stopped for a second and I stopped with him. I was thinking it was a sack, but then as soon as I saw him go vertical, I knew I had to run and catch up with him."

They both jumped for the ball, but Blackburn came down with it for an interception that was the only turnover of the game. The Patriots led 17-15 at the time, and had Gronkowski caught the ball the momentum might never have swung back the Giants' way. Instead the Giants secured the kind of big stop they knew they needed to make all fourth quarter to put Eli Manning and the offense in position to win.

"We're confident in our defense," linebacker Michael Boley said. "No matter who the quarterback is, we know our front four is going to get pressure and so we need to give coverage on the back end."

For much of this game, though, they weren't. Brady led easy-peasy touchdown drives at the end of the first half and the beginning of the second to turn a 9-3 Giants lead into a 17-9 New England lead. The Giants, whose game plan had been a man-coverage defense because they believed (correctly) that Brady would try to beat them with "dink and dunk" short passes instead of deep shots, had strayed from the plan. They'd been so focused, defensive coordinator Perry Fewell said, on lining up quickly that they weren't lining up in the right spots. So they pulled back a little on the man-to-man and switched to more zone, only to have Brady find holes in the zone. At one point, Brady completed a Super Bowl-record 16 straight passes.

"We just couldn't get the right people in the right coverage situations," Fewell said. "They created some mismatches, so we had to get our guys together on the sideline and get them to lock in a little bit and get back to the plan, which was man."

In a lot of ways, the defense is the Giants' 2011-12 story in a microcosm. This Giants team was about patience, perseverance and a belief that everything would get better if they just kept working at it. The defense finished 27th in the league in the regular season. Their coverage units were being ridiculed on national television. But they got healthy at the end of the season. They talked their coaches into letting them play man-to-man, and they did it well. Led by that front four and the pass rush, they allowed an average of 14 points per game during their four-game postseason run.

If someone had told you that the touchdown the Patriots scored to open the second half would be their final score of the Super Bowl, you wouldn't have believed them. Not the way the game was going at that point. But the Giants are water torture. They drip and drip and drip until they finally break you. They won the NFC Championship Game by playing smart, sound, physically tough, mistake-free football and waiting for the other team to make a mistke. They won the Super Bowl the same way. Blackburn picked off Brady. Wes Welker dropped a ball he catches every time. The Giants' defense looked lost for long stretches, but bottom line, theirs was a Super Bowl-winning effort. And they were justifiably proud of it.

"At the end of the day, we knew it was going to come down to our defense," Osi Umenyiora said. "We pressured them. We sacked them. We came through victorious."

Doesn't matter what happened along the way. Doesn't matter that a substitute high school math teacher who wasn't on the team until almost December was making plays in coverage against the best tight end in the league. Doesn't matter how it looked or what came before, and it doesn't matter that this was, two months ago, one of the least likely sentences anyone would have been expecting to type on the night of Feb. 5: The Giants' defense helped win them the Super Bowl.

I’ve been saying all along the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been wise to move slowly in their coaching search.

They promised an exhaustive search and they’re coming through on that. It appeared to be ending Sunday night when the Bucs reportedly were working out a contract to bring in Oregon coach Chip Kelly. But that changed Monday morning when the news broke that Kelly had decided to pull out and stay at Oregon.

The Bucs have interviewed at least eight other known candidates and only one of them, Joe Philbin who wound up with the Miami job, is off the market. It’s possible the Bucs could want to interview some more candidates that have been tied up with the postseason and New York Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell could be one of them.

But the Bucs are approaching a point where continuing to be exhaustive can be counterproductive. The week of Senior Bowl practices starts Monday in Mobile, Ala. It’s not imperative the Bucs have their new coach there to see the college prospects. The scouting department can handle that.

However, the Bucs are getting close to running the risk of putting their new coach at a big disadvantage. For those who haven’t been to the Senior Bowl, let me describe it a bit.

Sure, it’s about the players. This is the first real step in beginning to determine where they’ll be ranked on draft boards. But the Senior Bowl is more than that. It’s also a convention for coaches and there’s as much networking going on there as there is at a job fair.

When John Fox was about to get the Carolina job back in 2002, I watched him on the sidelines during Senior Bowl practices. Coach after coach walked up to him and handed him their business card or a piece of paper with their name on it.

Later in the week, I sat with Fox and his agent in the Mobile airport, waiting for a flight to Charlotte. As we talked, Fox pulled out the stack of cards, he had received. I’m guessing the total amount of cards was somewhere around 200. A day or two later, Fox was hired and there’s no doubt he called some of the numbers on those cards as he filled out his staff.

Cards are being handed out in Mobile right now as teams with new coaches try to fill their staffs and other teams try to patch holes on existing staffs and the supply of coaches without jobs is going to dwindle very soon.

The Bucs, Raiders and Colts currently still have vacancies for head coaches. If the Bucs don’t hire a coach soon, he’s not going to have a deep pool of candidates to hire as assistants. Putting together a strong staff is one of the most important things a coach does.

Former Tampa Bay coach Raheem Morris hired an initial staff that included Jeff Jagodzinski as offensive coordinator and Jim Bates as defensive coordinator. Jagodzinski was fired before the end of Morris' first preseason and Bates was gone by the middle of that season. One of the knocks on Morris in league circles was he didn't have a very good group of assistant coaches.

The Bucs have pledged to learn from past mistakes. But, if they don't hire a coach soon, they may once again end up with a group of assistants that's less than stellar.

Scratch Joe Philbin off the list of candidates to coach the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He reportedly is headed to the Miami Dolphins.

I don’t think that’s left the Bucs suddenly hopeless. As I mentioned Thursday, I had Philbin at No. 7 on my rankings of the eight candidates known to have interviewed for the Tampa Bay job. Yes, the Bucs interviewed Philbin and may have liked him, but I don’t think he was all that high on their list.

As we’ve mentioned many times, the other known candidates are Mike Sherman, Mike Zimmer, Tom Clements, Marty Schottenheimer, Jerry Gray, Brad Childress and Rob Chudzinski. In fact, I don’t think a sudden exit by any of those candidates would shatter Tampa Bay’s plans.

I believe the Bucs think several of the candidates could be good fits for their job and are just trying to figure out who they think is the right guy. I also think it’s entirely possible Tampa Bay’s list could grow after this weekend’s championship games.

There’s a school of thought out there that the Bucs could be waiting to interview New York Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell and I wouldn’t be surprised if that happens. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Bucs also want to interview another candidate or two that’s been tied up with the postseason.

The only way this development hurts Tampa Bay is that Philbin will start hiring his staff for the Dolphins. That will narrow the pool of assistants available to the Bucs whenever they do hire a head coach.

I’m just looking at the latest on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ coaching search and starting to wonder if the Bucs are trying to set some sort of record.

The latest is the Bucs will interview Green Bay offensive coordinator Joe Philbin and quarterbacks Tom Clements at some point soon. The Bucs are interviewing Cincinnati defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer and Carolina offensive coordinator Rob Chudzkinski on Tuesday.

The Bucs previously interviewed former NFL head coaches Mike Sherman, Marty Schottenheimer and Brad Childress as well as Tennessee defensive coordinator Jerry Gray.

Check my math here, but assuming the Bucs do interview Clements and Philbin, that will bring the number of interviews to eight. And that also is assuming the media as reported every coach who has interviewed. We chase these things like crazy, but sometimes an interview or two can slip through the cracks. The Bucs also could decide to interview more candidates that are still involved in the playoffs. There’s been some speculation about New York Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell possibly being a candidate.

But, for now, the number will stand at eight, probably later this week. I seriously think that might be some kind of record. ESPN Stats & Information does a wonderful job, but does not keep numbers on how many candidates have interviewed for any given job throughout history.

I’ve been through a few coaching searches in my day. Generally speaking, most teams interview three or four candidates and I think five is the highest number I’ve ever seen.

But I’m not seeing any huge drawback with Tampa Bay’s methodical approach. Indications are, the Bucs could narrow their list and bring back a few candidates for second interviews. That makes it sound like we might not see a hire for at least another week.

Assistant coaches are being hired all over the league and the Bucs may be missing out on some good candidates. But there still are lots of other assistants available. The East-West Shrine Game is this week and the Senior Bowl is next week.

Ideally, you’d like to have your full coaching staff in place for those two events, so the coaches can get a good look at the college prospects. But any assistant that’s available will be at the Senior Bowl and will be watching players on their own.

Besides, the coaching staffs aren’t the ones who do the bulk of the work at the college all-star games. The scouting staff does that.

Yeah, there comes a point when coaches need to start evaluating the current roster and getting ready for free agency. But, as long as Tampa Bay has its staff in place by the end of the month, there’s plenty of time for that.

I know a lot of Tampa Bay fans are looking at the candidates and saying there’s no one with a “wow factor." That’s true, but was there anybody with a “wow factor’’ out there to begin with? Maybe Jeff Fisher, who ended up in St. Louis. But Fisher is a good, but not tremendous coach and his stock was elevated in a year when Bill Cowher, Tony Dungy and a few other big names refused to join the league-wide candidate pool.

The Bucs aren’t going for the “wow factor" and there’s nothing wrong with that. The deliberate approach might be the right thing. Maybe the Bucs will get a coach who is the right fit. Then, two years down the road or so, maybe fans will say “wow’’ at what that guy has done.

The St. Louis Rams have fired head coach Steve Spagnuolo, who began his NFL coaching career with the Philadelphia Eagles and rose to prominence as the defensive coordinator for the 2007 Super Bowl champion New York Giants. Spagnuolo's been a hot name around this blog lately (though, for some reason, not a name that's getting any easier to type), so let's take a team-by-team look at his chances of returning to the NFC East in 2012.

Philadelphia Eagles

This is the most likely spot for Spagnuolo to resurface in the division. He was a defensive position coach in Philadelphia from 1999-2006 under legendary defensive coordinator Jim Johnson. And while reports have said he was upset toward the end of his Philadelphia tenure, that Eagles coach Andy Reid blocked him from pursuing opportunities to be a defensive coordinator elsewhere, the two men have since reconciled and their relationship likely wouldn't be an impediment to a potential Spagnuolo return. Other things could be, however. While first-year defensive coordinator Juan Castillo took a lot of heat in Philadelphia this year -- and Reid took a lot of heat for converting Castillo from offensive line coach to defensive coordinator -- the Eagles finished the season strong and ended up ranking eighth in the NFL in total defense, as measured by yards allowed. Additionally, the Eagles just hired Jim Washburn to coach their defensive line a year ago. The scheme that Washburn and Castillo installed this year leans on pressure from the front line, whereas Spagnuolo has been more known for blitz-heavy and zone-blitz schemes. It's possible that the Eagles are (a) happy with Castillo's performance in spite of the outside criticism and/or (b) loath to make major coaching and scheme changes again leading into next year, since that seems to have backfired in 2011. Spagnuolo could return to Philadelphia as defensive coordinator, but it's certainly no slam dunk.

New York Giants

There are Giants fans who'd like to see Spagnuolo back in New York as defensive coordinator. But first of all, you don't often see a guy make a direct backward career move like that. Second of all, the Giants like current defensive coordinator Perry Fewell, even though the team ranked 27th in total defense this year and the coverage issues in the secondary need to be addressed along with the linebacker position before next year. Third of all, I don't know if you heard, but the Giants just won this division and are in the playoffs, so they certainly won't be making any coaching changes for at least a week. And for those who thought Spagnuolo could come in as coordinator and be a coach-in-waiting behind Tom Coughlin -- the way the Giants have finished this season makes it very unlikely that Coughlin would be going anywhere anytime soon.

Dallas Cowboys

Obviously, Rob Ryan's first year as defensive coordinator in Dallas was a flop, but it'd be a surprise to see them give up on the well-regarded Ryan after just one year and without addressing the personnel issues they have in their own secondary. Also, the Cowboys likely would have to transition from a 3-4 defense to a 4-3 under Spagnuolo. Possible? Sure, but it'd be a big surprise.

Washington Redskins

The defense was a strong point for the Redskins this year, and Mike Shanahan is pleased with the way the second year of the conversion to the 3-4 under Jim Haslett went. Haslett's safe.

New York Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell lit into his defense Thursday in a fiery session with reporters at the team's East Rutherford, N.J., training complex. Among other things, Fewell said he saw on his film review that some players were pulling up short on plays in Monday's loss in New Orleans and that the Giants will "get after" Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers on Sunday afternoon:

"Being the coach and the leader of the defense, that was disheartening," Fewell said. "It was disappointing more than disheartening. Because we don't coach that. I am going to say it like this, we don't coach pulling up short. We are not going to accept pulling up short so we won't pull up short again."

The Giants' once-fearsome pass rush also has vanished in recent weeks. The Giants have five sacks in their past four games and didn't have any Monday against Drew Brees. The Giants know the pass rush with the four down linemen is the key to the defense, and Fewell vowed that it would look different against Rodgers on Sunday.

"We have to be very disciplined in our rush lanes," Fewell said. "But more so than disciplined, we got to get after his a--. If we do that and he scrambles, then that is the price he is going to have to pay because we are going to hit him. We are going to hit him."

It's obviously good for the Giants that Fewell is fired up and holding his players accountable for their lackluster play in Monday's game. It's good that Michael Strahan made a visit this week and talked to the defensive line. It's good that somebody in East Rutherford finds the defense's most recent effort unacceptable, because it was. But nothing Fewell or Strahan or anybody else who won't wear a Giants uniform Sunday says makes one bit of difference if the same angry feelings aren't also bubbling up inside Justin Tuck and Corey Webster and the Giants defenders who haven't been playing like themselves lately.

Fewell's tirade can only have an impact if it took root in the hearts of the men he coaches, and if they share in his embarrassment over the way they looked Monday. If they're going to continue to mope and wait for other guys to make plays, they're going to keep losing and probably get embarrassed again Sunday by the undefeated Packers. But if they're all as fired up as Fewell was Thursday, things could look a lot different. We have a little less than three days before we find out what kind of defense the Giants' players themselves plan to play Sunday -- inspired or, once again, defeatist.

Larry Fitzgerald and Antrel Rolle were teammates for years with the Arizona Cardinals, so Fitzgerald is looking forward to seeing Rolle on Sunday when Rolle and the New York Giants head to Arizona for their Week 4 game. Whether the Giants are looking forward to seeing Fitzgerald is another story. As one of the elite wide receivers in the league and the clear No. 1 target for Arizona quarterback Kevin Kolb, Fitzgerald looms as perhaps the most important person on the field for the Giants to stop if they want to come out of this game 3-1.

Stopping him is easier said than done, but with Rolle, Kenny Phillips and veteran Deon Grant at safety, the Giants have enough depth there to give them a puncher's chance. As Mike Garafolo points out in that link up there, the only way teams seem to have a chance against Fitzgerald is to use bracket coverage against him, doubling him with a cornerback and a safety on pretty much every play.

Fitzgerald is 6-foot-3, which gives him a three-inch height advantage on each of the Giants' starting cornerbacks, Corey Webster and Aaron Ross. The Giants would be wise to assign Webster to him for a couple of reasons. First, Webster has the leaping ability to at least compete with Fitzgerald and give him a chance to help make up for the height differential. And second, Ross is still finding his way as a starter in place of the injured Terrell Thomas. Ross had a rough game in Week 2 against the Rams but played well in Week 3 against the Eagles, and it would probably make more sense to keep him on other Cardinals receivers and help him continue to build confidence.

But even if they assign Webster to Fitzgerald, he's going to need help, and that's where one of the Giants' defensive strengths comes in. Their depth at the safety position, and their ability and willingness to put three safeties on the field when they go down to two linebackers on passing downs, should enable defensive coordinator Perry Fewell to constantly have a safety help out Webster over the top against Fitzgerald. There's no guarantee it will work, of course. Fitzgerald wouldn't have fashioned the career he has so far if he weren't able to beat double-teams. But unlike a lot of teams, the Giants have a lot of options and flexibility when it comes to making those double-teams as strong as possible. Phillips, Rolle and Grant are as solid a group of safeties as there is in the league.

You can't fake this stuff up.

The St. Louis Rams' Bryan Kehl has called out New York Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell personally for coaching players to fake injuries.

Deon Grant, Giants safety, has responded by calling Kehl, briefly his teammate with New York last season, a lying coward.

Fewell, meanwhile, is skirting the issue with the flair of a slippery politician.

The Rams have not complained to the league formally, according to an NFL spokesman. No investigation is planned.

Back in a bit. Need to get this injury checked out.

The New York Giants' injury situation may have reached the point of absurdity.

Multiple reports have surfaced Tuesday afternoon that Jonathan Goff, the Giants' starting middle linebacker, has a torn ACL and will miss the entire 2011-12 season. ESPN's Adam Schefter reports via Twitter that the team is planning to sign former Giants linebacker Kawika Mitchell to replace him.

This is really ridiculous now, and you have to wonder how much more of this the Giants can possibly take. They've already lost starting cornerback Terrell Thomas and backup linebacker Clint Sintim for the year with ACL injuries. Cornerback and first-round draft pick Prince Amukamara is out for the first month or so with a broken foot. Defensive tackle and second-round pick Marvin Austin is out for the year with a torn pectoral muscle. Defensive end Osi Umenyiora is coming off knee surgery and will miss at least the first week and probably more. And that's just the defensive damage report. On offense, they're reasonably healthy but did lose wide receiver Steve Smith and tight end Kevin Boss to free agency and didn't replace either one.

The Giants have maintained all along that their developmental depth was strong and they would be able to handle injuries, but the fact is their relatively inactive offseason and the injuries that have dogged them since the lockout ended have left them thin at several key spots, none more so now than linebacker. They believed they were set with Goff, Michael Boley and Mathias Kiwanuka as starters, and the four reserve linebackers they kept when they made their cuts Saturday were all rookies. Now, it looks as though they could bring in Mitchell, who played for the Giants in 2007 and for Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell in 2008-09 when both were in Buffalo, to add some veteran presence. But Mitchell isn't a middle linebacker. So if he's there to add depth and not to man the middle, you could see a rookie such as Greg Jones or Mark Herzlich get some time at that middle spot, or the Giants might look again to the waiver wire for someone like Keith Bulluck or Lofa Tatupu.

Regardless, five days from the regular-season opener in Washington, the Giants had hoped their rotten injury luck was behind them for this year. There is a lot of talent on their roster, and especially on their defense. But they're reaching the point where you have to wonder if this is too many injuries to overcome. I've never been big on Goff as a starting middle linebacker, but he was their starter. Without him, they will scramble, and likely be worse than they would have been with him. If this was the first of these injuries, it'd be easy to say sure, they can take it. But it's not. Far from it.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Eli Manning and New York Giants fans aren't the only ones concerned about the changes the team has undergone in the receiving corps and on the offensive line this offseason. The Giants' defensive players have been watching it all unfold, too, and they think they can help.

"We know our offense is kind of struggling right now with some of the departures," cornerback Terrell Thomas said last week. "But we're already saying, if we've got to be the Ravens of '01 when they won the Super Bowl and just have to shut teams out, that's what we're going to do."

That's pretty big talk from a defense as inconsistent as the Giants' D has been lately. As good as it looked at times last year, sacking Jay Cutler nine times in the first half in a home game against the Bears, for example, it could also play badly enough to give up 28 points in the fourth quarter to Michael Vick, DeSean Jackson and the Eagles. The Giants' problem on defense the past couple of years has been an inability to consistently be as good as they keep telling us they are.

"Sometimes last year we were the No. 1 defense in the NFL, and other times we were just an average defense out there," Thomas said. "It was a lack of focus. You could call it a lack of leadership. I don't know what you want to call it, but plain and simple, we're too good of a group, collectively, to play to the level we did at times."

So they say. And so they keep saying. But 2010 was the second season in a row that the Giants' defense came up small in the second half and the team missed the playoffs. The week after the meltdown against the Eagles, they weren't even in their game against the eventual Super Bowl champion Packers. When the dust settled on that one, the Giants had allowed 73 points over two critical weeks and needed help (which they did not get) to make the playoffs.

So, what's different about 2011? Why should we believe the Giants when they tell us this won't happen again?

"I think the biggest thing is, we have Coach [Perry] Fewell back," Thomas said, referring to the second-year defensive coordinator. "The last three years, we had three different coordinators, and people don't take that into account. We're learning a new defense every year, and at the same time, the coaches are learning us and our ways. Coach Fewell does a great job of putting us in key positions to use our skill sets, and I think having a year underneath his belt, knowing exactly what each and every player can, do, will definitely help us on Sundays."

Kenny Phillips is another reason the Giants think they can be better on defense. An emerging star at safety in 2009, Phillips blew out his knee and lost that entire season. Last year, he played, but he said he wasn't as "explosive" as he'd been in the past. This year, he feels the way he did two years ago.

"Last year was kind of difficult, just being able to break on the ball -- to actually see it and then be able to get to it," Phillips said. "Last year a lot of times, I saw it, but I wasn't able to get to the ball. But this year, now, everything is just fluid. I just feel good about everything this year."

Drafting cornerback Prince Amukamara was supposed to help the secondary, but when Amukamara got hurt in his first practice, the team decided to bring back veteran safety Deon Grant, who was a key player for them last year as they feature some three-safety looks they could use again. With Thomas, Phillips, Grant, Antrel Rolle and Corey Webster, the Giants could have one of the best secondaries in the league.

The emergence of Jason Pierre-Paul on the defensive line also could be a factor in the Giants' hopes of improving as a defense. He gives them another edge rusher to add to the rotation with Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora, and allows them to move Mathias Kiwanuka to linebacker, where they were thin. They hope that Jonathan Goff can make strides in his second year as the starting middle linebacker, and that their young defensive tackles are ready for greater roles.

"There's tremendous potential here," Kiwanuka said. "We have a great core group of guys. Perry, you know he's going to call the right numbers at the right time. If we live up to our potential, we'll dominate."

If, if if. That's what it's been for the Giants' defense over the past couple of years. This season, they're determined to get rid of the "if." They absolutely have to.

"You look at that Monday night game versus Dallas," Thomas said of a game the Giants won 41-35 after knocking Tony Romo out with a broken collarbone. "They took the early lead, and we came back and whipped their butts and shut them down, and then in that fourth quarter, we just kind of gave up. That's where you look and say 'more consistency.' When we gave up touchdowns, most of the time, big plays, they were all mental errors. All communication."

They're better than that, is the Giants' point. They've been saying it now for two years. And they may well be right. But it's time they proved it.

Tuesday is Power Rankings day on ESPN's NFL site, and today's topic was top 10 up-and-coming assistant coaches. For me, this question meant picking which current assistants had the best chance to become NFL head coaches. The rules we established for voting eliminated anyone who'd been a head coach already except for those who'd only worn the title of "interim" head coach, such as Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell.

As a result of Fewell's high profile, the way he's regarded around the league and the number of head-coaching interviews he went on this past offseason, Fewell ranked No. 1 on our list of up-and-coming assistants. He got a taste of the head-coaching seat when he had the interim job in Buffalo in 2009, and he's made no secret of his desire to land a more permanent head-coaching position. Our panel thinks he will, as he was ranked first on four of the eight ballots and named on seven of them.

Fewell finished just ahead of new Dallas defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, who was one of only two assistants (along with sixth-place finisher Winston Moss) to be named on all eight ballots. Ryan certainly has an opportunity to dazzle in Dallas, where the defense was a major letdown in 2010 and could be poised for a nowhere-to-go-but-up recovery. Dallas also offers Ryan a high profile, and if he succeeds there it could carry more weight with decision-makers around the league when head-coaching positions are being handed out down the line. He's not as likely to move up next offseason as Fewell might be, but he's a guy who's on people's minds.

I threw a 10th-place vote for Cowboys special-teams coach Joe DeCamillis, because I've heard his name mentioned in this capacity a few times. But mine was the only ballot on which he appeared. James Walker of the AFC North blog ranked Redskins offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan sixth on his ballot, but that was the only ballot on which he appeared.

This week's Power Rankings took a gander at the NFL's best up-and-coming assistant coaches.

To define the list, ESPN.com's panel of division bloggers decided we would concentrate on assistants who have never been head coaches (we didn't count interim tags) and are approaching their shot to run a staff.

Here's my ballot:

1. Rob Ryan, Cowboys defensive coordinator
2. Russ Grimm, Cardinals offensive line coach
3. Dirk Koetter, Jaguars offensive coordinator
4. Bill O'Brien, Patriots offensive coordinator
5. Rob Chudzinski, Panthers offensive coordinator
6. Perry Fewell, Giants defensive coordinator
7. Brian Schottenheimer, Jets offensive coordinator
8. Winston Moss, Packers inside linebackers coach
9. Mike Waufle, Raiders defensive line coach
10. Pete Carmichael, Saints offensive coordinator

Ryan topped my ballot for two reasons. First, he's a great defensive coach. Second, his twin brother's success with the New York Jets is pushing Rob Ryan even closer and closer to consideration.

In sorting out my list, my dominant criterion was becoming a head coach soon. Grimm has interviewed for jobs, reportedly been close to landing a couple and is highly thought of around the league. If Las Vegas posted odds on the next assistant to become a first-time head coach, Ryan and Grimm would be at the top of the list.

I was one of only three panelists to vote for O'Brien at all. AFC South blogger Paul Kuharsky listed him fifth. NFC North blogger Kevin Seifert ranked him eighth.

A high ranking for O'Brien simply is playing the percentages. Bill Belichick coordinators always seem to get an opportunity to be a head coach, and O'Brien certainly is making his mark. A coordinator appointment from Belichick is the ultimate sideline blessing these days. Tom Brady's not a bad reference either.

O'Brien did more than just pick up where Josh McDaniels left off. O'Brien oversaw a restructuring of the Patriots' offense from a shotgun-spread style to a two tight-end approach. He also prevailed in a battle of wills with Randy Moss and then directed the Patriots' offense to great things without him.

Power Rankings turn to an important, relatively unknown bunch this week: assistant coaches.

But we’re not ranking the top 10 assistant coaches, we’re ranking the top 10 up-and-coming assistant coaches. Who are guys who have not been head coaches before (interim stints didn’t disqualify anyone) who we expect will ultimately be patrolling the sideline in the primary headset?

It’s an interesting list that has a lot of debatable votes. For example, I didn’t vote for Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell, who wound up No. 1.

I explain why in Kevin Seifert’s piece unveiling the overall rankings (and here's the column relating to it all). I also make the case for Jacksonville offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter, who got my third-place vote and finished fifth overall.

Considering that I am on record selecting Koetter as my head coach if I assembled a staff from the AFC South pool of coaches, including the four head coaches, my vote should be no surprise. Indications were he was great in his interview with Denver, and only John Fox’s prior experience got him the job ahead of Koetter.

He was the No. 1 selection for agent Bob Lattinville, who represents a lot of coaches and put together a top 10 list for me.

Here’s my ballot, which I remind you counted just one-eighth of the overall result:

1. Rob Ryan
2. Winston Moss
3. Dirk Koetter
4. Greg Olson
5. Bill O’Brien
6. Darren Perry
7. Brian Schottenheimer
8. Rich Bisaccia
9. Mike Zimmer
10. Mike Waufle

ESPN.com’s NFL writers rank the top 10 up-and-coming assistant coaches in the league today. Next week: Top players overall.

Seven NFL teams named new head coaches after last season, tapping into a pool that included experienced coordinators and relatively unknown assistants alike. The class of 2011 featured longtime candidates (Leslie Frazier, Ron Rivera). It also included a trusted position coach in Mike Munchak (Tennessee Titans) and a couple of relative hotshots in Hue Jackson (Oakland Raiders) and Pat Shurmur (Cleveland Browns).

Who will comprise the NFL's next batch of head-coaching candidates? That was the question ESPN.com hoped to answer in this week's edition of the offseason Power Rankings. We established one ground rule by eliminating any assistant who has already had a permanent head-coaching job. The idea was to develop a list that focused on the "next wave" of coaching candidates.

No less than 24 NFL assistants received at least one vote, a reflection of both the variables involved in head-coaching searches and the relative lack of national name recognition for all but the most highly regarded assistants.

So in that vein, it was no surprise to see four well-known assistants at the top of our list, headed by New York Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell -- who placed first or second on six of the eight ballots. Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan finished second, followed by New York Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer and Arizona offensive line coach Russ Grimm.

Fewell is an ideal candidate in many ways, having spent time as the Buffalo Bills' interim coach in 2009 and leading a substantial turnaround of the Giants' defense last season. Fewell interviewed for four head-coaching jobs last winter, and NFC East blogger Dan Graziano suggested that experience, along with a high profile afforded to coaches in New York, make him "the most likely guy on the list to be a head coach soon."

Just don't bother forwarding his name to AFC South colleague Paul Kuharsky, who couldn't find room for Fewell on his 10-man ballot. Kuharsky noted the Giants' poor performance in Week 2 last season against the Indianapolis Colts, during which quarterback Peyton Manning threw three touchdowns and cruised to an easy 38-14 victory.

"Certainly I'm letting one game overinfluence my ballot," Kuharsky muttered. "But Fewell's plan for the Giants against the Colts last season was so bad that I could not help but score him down for it. Was he not familiar with how Peyton Manning and Indianapolis operate?"

We can't cover every coach who received votes in this exercise, but let's hit some of the more interesting names that received attention.

Another Ryan? Deserved or not, Ryan has long been considered a loose cannon. There is little doubt about his schematic prowess, but hiring him would require a confident owner ready to make a leap of faith.

The success of twin brother Rex Ryan with the Jets might have softened the perception of that risk, and collectively we see Rob Ryan on the doorstep of a job.

"Similar to Rex, Rob Ryan is good with X's and O's and has the type of outgoing personality players want to be around," AFC North blogger James Walker said. "I think both are equally important in today's NFL. Both brothers say exactly what's on their mind, and before that scared off a lot of teams. But Rex broke the ice with his success in New York and that could help Rob in the future."

The next generation: Schottenheimer has turned down more opportunities to interview for head-coaching jobs than he has actually submitted to. He has nixed requests from the Miami Dolphins and Bills in recent years, but he did interview for the Jets' job that ultimately went to Ryan. I placed him atop my ballot (he finished No. 3 overall) because I think NFL people have made up their mind that he is the kind of young and innovative assistant who can turn around their franchise. (Think: Cowboys coach Jason Garrett.)

Schottenheimer's pedigree doesn't hurt -- he's the son of longtime NFL coach Marty Schottenheimer -- and I'm not sure how closely teams will dissect the specifics of the Jets' offensive performance. Graziano, on the other hand, thinks Schottenheimer is close to coaching his way out of the golden-child image he cultivated and left him off his ballot.

"Having spent a good amount of time around that team the past couple of years, I just feel like defensive coordinator Mike Pettine is the more likely guy to end up a head coach," Graziano said. "Schottenheimer's under a ton of pressure as Ryan defers the offensive responsibilities to him. I feel like, if the offense has a bad year, he could end up in trouble or even out of a job. And given their youth at quarterback and running back and the uncertainty of their receiver situation, a bad year for the Jets' offense is possible.

"Now, he could be a genius, make chicken salad and be the next hot name eight months from now. But I think there's the potential that he may have already peaked as a hot coaching prospect and that he might not be set up to succeed in New York."

The big fella: Four years ago, Grimm thought he would be the next Pittsburgh Steelers coach. He moved to Arizona after the Steelers selected Mike Tomlin instead, and we view his status as a head-coaching candidate with wide disparity.

AFC West blogger Bill Williamson put Grimm atop his ballot, and AFC East blogger Tim Graham had him No. 2. Kuharsky and I left him off.

Williamson thinks Grimm has moved to "the top of the food chain" largely because most of his "hot-name" contemporaries have already gotten jobs. As well, Graham suggested that it will soon be Grimm's turn because he is still well-regarded throughout the league.

Personally, I couldn't get past Grimm's well-publicized gaffe after interviewing with the Chicago Bears, after which he referred to the team owners as the "McClaskey" family. I also agree with NFC West blogger Mike Sando, who ranked Grimm No. 8 and wondered: "Is he still ascending? Grimm seems content coaching the line in Arizona. He has plateaued and doesn't seem to be losing any sleep over it."

Welcome back: Unless you're a college football fan, you might not have heard of Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter. He spent six years as the head coach at Arizona State, but has drawn some quiet acclaim for his work with the Jaguars and made a strong impression while interviewing with the Denver Broncos last winter.

"In a setting where he won't have to deal with boosters and can shine for being a smart X's and O's guy with strong coaching DNA," Kuharsky said, "I think he'd do far better. He's smart and will interview quite well. He really impressed John Elway and the Broncos before losing out to John Fox's experience. St. Louis wanted him as coordinator, but Jacksonville wouldn't let him go. He's heading into the final year of his contract. How Blaine Gabbert develops early on will have a big bearing on Koetter's future."

Secret weapon: In two years, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have developed quarterback Josh Freeman into one of the better starters in the league. The man largely responsible is offensive coordinator Greg Olson, who navigated a disastrous 2009 preseason -- coach Raheem Morris promoted him in the middle of training camp after firing Jeff Jagodzinski -- and NFL teams often seek out coaches with success developing young quarterbacks.

"I think Olson deserves a ton of credit for developing Freeman so quickly," said NFC South blogger Pat Yasinskas. "Freeman threw for 25 touchdowns and six interceptions in his first full season as a starter and carried an incredibly young team to a 10-6 record. I also think people need to look at what Olson did last year with rookie running back LeGarrette Blount and rookie receiver Mike Williams. He helped make them into instant stars."

Super Bowl entitlement: The Green Bay Packers were the only team to place more than one name in the top 10, as would be expected from a championship team. Assistant head coach/inside linebackers Winston Moss is at No. 6, while safeties coach Darren Perry finished No. 10. I also voted for receivers coach Edgar Bennett, who has moved over from running backs coach and is clearly being groomed for bigger things.

I'll detail my ranking of the Packers' assistants, including why I think so highly of Perry, in a future post for NFC North readers. But we'll say this for now: Moss is a strong leader who has drawn interest from the Raiders, while Perry is a disciple of Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers and his coveted 3-4 scheme.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Buffalo Bills fans have pondered some persistent questions over the years.

How would life have changed if Scott Norwood made that kick?

What will happen to the team when Ralph Wilson passes away?

Was the Music City Miracle really a forward lateral?

How on earth does Tom Modrak still have a job?

Modrak is Buffalo's vice president of college scouting. Modrak, formerly a Pittsburgh Steelers scout during their Steel Curtain years and director of football operations with the Philadelphia Eagles, has held the Bills' top scouting job since May 2001 and worked his first draft for them in 2002.

In that time, the Bills' streak of seasons without a playoff appearance has extended to 11 and counting. Despite holding prime draft-order slots, they have repeatedly squandered them with maddening first-round decisions.

The list is enough to make the most optimistic Bills fan groan: pass-rusher Aaron Maybin (zero sacks) 11th overall instead of Brian Orakpo (19.5 sacks) two years ago; small-school cornerback Leodis McKelvin 11th overall instead of Pro Bowl left tackle Ryan Clady in 2008; safety Donte Whitner with the eighth pick in 2006 and then trading up for defensive tackle John McCargo; trading up for quarterback J.P. Losman in 2004; useless tackle Mike Williams fifth in 2002.

"Certainly we've had our misses up at the top," Modrak said Tuesday at a news conference to preview next week's draft. "We've done pretty well in the middle and at the end, the non-glamour kind of picks. But we've missed some. That is regrettable."

There are additional selections one can criticize: wide receiver James Hardy in the second round; running back C.J. Spiller ninth overall even though the Bills had a pair of 1,000-yard rushers already ...

OK. I'll stop now. That's enough to illustrate why there's frustration over Modrak and his scouting department's evaluation skills.

The fact Modrak joined the Bills to serve under former president Tom Donahoe -- an executive Wilson and Bills fans came to despise -- only adds to fascination of Modrak's continued employment.

Now that I've set the table, let's yank the tablecloth out from underneath the plasticware.

Draft data suggest the Bills haven't drafted much worse than the average NFL team since 2002.

ESPN researcher John Fisher -- he claims no relation to St. John Fisher, the namesake of the college where the Bills hold their training camp -- shuffled some spreadsheets and came up with some information that's not particularly damning when compared to the rest of the NFL.

• The Bills have drafted five Pro Bowlers with Modrak in charge of scouting. That's tied for 14th in the league. One of those Pro Bowlers was Willis McGahee for the Baltimore Ravens, but Modrak was the chief scout who drafted him. What the Bills did with McGahee afterward that isn't his fault. Same goes for Marshawn Lynch.
• Although a game started for the Bills isn't as impressive as a game started for the New England Patriots the past nine years, Bills draftees from the first through third rounds have started 804 games, 15th in the league.
• Bills draftees from the fourth round or later have started 417 games, eighth in the league.
• When it comes to individual statistics accumulated with the teams that drafted them, Bills taken from 2002 onward have ranked third in 1,000-yard rushing seasons, tied for seventh in 1,000-yard receiving seasons, 20th in total sacks and 19th in total interceptions.

While the Bills have missed badly on several of their prominent selections, they have done quite well in the latter part of the draft with gems such as cornerback and Pro Bowl kick returner Terrence McGee (fourth round in 2003), Pro Bowl defensive lineman Kyle Williams (fifth round in 2006), receiver Steve Johnson (seventh round in 2008) and left tackle Demetrius Bell (seventh round in 2008).

Top running back Fred Jackson and perennial Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters -- traded to Philly two years ago -- weren't drafted at all.

"If you look at other teams, they do it. They miss at the top," Modrak said. "When you don't win, it's magnified. It looks bad.

"But I think from a strictly homer point-of-view [late-round success] is the work and the labor that goes into it and the detail that's paid to those kinds of things. That does not say that other teams don't do the same thing, but we have a good group, and we fortunately have done that."

The Bills have had some obvious blind spots in the draft.

A refusal to pick a tackle earlier than the fifth round since 2002 has hurt them. Peters' success as a converted tight end is a factor in that trend, but the Bills were having contract problems with him while he still was on the roster. Foresight would've been helpful. But that's an organizational philosophy more than Modrak's domain.

The Bills' track record at tight end is miserable, too. They've drafted five: Tim Euhus, Kevin Everett, Derek Schouman, Derek Fine and Shawn Nelson. Everett was the lone selection sooner than the fourth round. A broken neck while covering a kickoff on opening day in 2007 ended his career.

That tight end quintet has combined to score five NFL touchdowns. Of the 143 tight ends drafted since Modrak joined the Bills, 43 of them have scored more than five touchdowns individually.

Some might also say finding a quarterback has been a failure. Starting quarterbacks, however, aren't easy for any team to locate.

Forty-seven quarterbacks have been drafted within the first three rounds since 2002. The only three teams not included in this pursuit have been the Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints and Dallas Cowboys. The Bills took two within the first three rounds, Losman 22nd overall in 2004 and Trent Edwards 92nd in 2007.

That league-wide group yielded nine Pro Bowlers, but just two of them -- 24th overall pick Aaron Rodgers and third-rounder Matt Schaub -- weren't selected in the top 11. Rodgers and Schaub served as backups for three seasons before they became starters.

Bills general manager Buddy Nix explained that scouting is only one of three critical phases that determine whether a draft pick explodes or fizzles.

"You've got to pick the right guy," Nix said Tuesday. "He's got to have enough athletic ability and enough intelligence, production to do the job, which is what you spend the year doing. We're scouts and personnel guys.

"The second phase, now -- and don't make light of it because it's just as important -- is coaching, strength coaches, trainers. That's the second phase, and both of those things have to be in place. If not, the development of the guy is retarded.

"I'm not going to name teams, but you can name teams every year that get top guys and they don't get any better. They actually may go the other way, and it's the developmental part."

Chan Gailey is Buffalo's fourth head coach -- fifth if you count interim coach Perry Fewell -- since Modrak came aboard. Coordinators have passed through a revolving door. The Bills also have overhauled their strength and conditioning program a couple times.

Nix then stressed that even if the precisely correct draft choice is made and the proper infrastructure is in place, a third phase still can torpedo development. The player can ruin his future if he's "not willing to be a professional and do everything it takes."

"You can go back and look at the so-called busts, and it's one of these three phases," Nix said. "You've got to have it all for them to be really good.

"So even though we put it all on one thing -- 'That was a terrible draft. That was a bust. Those idiots don't know.' -- that's just about a third of it."

Another element that must be considered when discussing Buffalo drafts is the question of who makes the final pick.

Nix and Gailey have been clear Nix makes the final call, although Wilson still can exercise his ownership privilege.

Before Nix became GM last year, trying to decipher who was to credit or blame for a Bills draft choice was like a "Three Stooges" scene. The irate boss hears a commotion, storms into the room and asks "Say! What's the wise idea? Who did this?" Moe pointed at Larry. Curly pointed at Moe. Larry pointed at Curly.

Modrak has been a constant since 2002, but there have been many voices in the Bills' draft room in that period, from Donahoe to GM Marv Levy to chief operating officer Russ Brandon to the various opinionated head coaches who lobbied for prospects they hotly desired.

The Bills' scouting department clearly needs to step its game up to help turn around the franchise. They'll never be the kind of team that lures top free agents because of their market conditions. Buffalo simply isn't as sexy as Miami or San Diego or New York and doesn't offer a perennial chance to win like New England or Pittsburgh does.

But, believe it or not, the Bills' drafts could have been substantially worse since Modrak arrived.