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New York City – Dan checks in with some Jets Whispers, and some other inside stuff from the NFL’s Media, in the latest edition of “NCIS Jets.”
LSU special team’s coach Thomas McGaughey is the leading candidate to become the Jets’ special team’s coach.
He just finished up his third season as the Tiger’s special team’s coach.
Prior to joining the LSU staff, he was the assistant special teams coach with the New York Giants from 2007-2010. In 2006 and 2007, he held the same position with the Denver Broncos.
During his career, McGaughey has coached for eight years in the NFL, two years at the collegiate level and he spent one season in NFL-Europe.
And what you have to like about him was he was a very good special team’s player himself, one of those backup safety-types, who was a force in kick coverage.
He entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 1996. He competed in the training camps of the Cincinnati Bengals and Philadelphia Eagles in 1996-97, respectively. He was a member of the Barcelona Dragons’ team that won NFL Europe’s World Bowl in 1997.
As a senior at the University of Houston, he was Cougars special team’s captain.
So the guy has certainly paid his dues and seems ready.
He’s 41 . . .
During “Super Bowl Media Day” at Newark today, Chris Ivory was a special guest of the NFL.
Between the media sessions of the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks, there was some down time.
And since there were fans in attendance who bought tickets, entertainment was provided.
They had performers from the Broadway show, “Motown The Musical,” a Bruce Springsteen cover band – “Tramps like us,” and interviews with Ivory, Antrel Rolle and DeSean Jackson.
The Ivory interview was rough.
The guy was interviewing him with audio that spread throughout the arena, and on the big screen, and Ivory consistently gave three word answers.
It was brutal.
But I refuse to ever criticize Ivory for his media dealings.
In all my years covering the Jets, it would be hard for me to think of many players who play harder than this guy.
If you love football as much as I do, and you guys do, how could you not have the utmost respect for a running back who runs as hard as this guy. He’s fearless, courageous, a bull in a china shop, whatever you want to say, but I have to admit, while I need to stay neutral in my job, I love the way this guy plays. Love it!
And it’s uncanny how similar he is to Marshawn Lynch on and off the field.
As you all know, Lynch keeps getting in trouble with the league for not talking to the press.
He soft-spoken guy like Ivory who wants to do his talking on the field.
And boy, do they both do that, with an exclamation point.
The thing is, Ivory does talk to the media.
He’s cooperative, but is the king of very short answers.
Lynch refuses to do it . . .
The Fox announcers had a press conference today, and I can’t tell you how impressed I was with Howie Long. On Fox, he only gets to talk in short spurts. But to hear him in a long former format, you almost wish he had his own show. He’s extremely bright.
Just an aside, he said during his final season in the league, 1993, with the Los Angeles Raiders, he was such a physical wreck, he had to get shut-up with painkillers on nine different occasions.
January 28, 2014
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