Marinelli's vision helps

Assistant coach keeps producing talent up front on Tampa Bay defense.

By RICK STROUD, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published August 21, 2002

LAKE BUENA VISTA -- Chartric Darby is 2 inches shorter, 30 pounds lighter and 100 decibels quieter than Warren Sapp.

He doesn't have a radio show, a bank account or a music video like the five-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle.

But on the field, Darby's job is to be confused for Sapp.

And in Friday night's 20-0 preseason win at Jacksonville, it was hard to tell the difference, particularly on the stat sheet.

Playing for Sapp, who was left at home to rest a swollen left knee, Darby recorded four tackles, including a sack.

"I call it Marinelli madness, man," coach Jon Gruden said. "You've heard of March Madness? This time of year is (Rod) Marinelli madness. When you're with another team, you look at Tampa Bay for defensive linemen because you know what kind of coach Rod is and they just can't keep them all.

"If you look at the players that have played under him since he's been with the Bucs, the Steve Whites, the James Cannidas, the Chidi Ahanotus ... there's been a lot of players, fairly obscure players, come in here and really take off."

No wonder Tampa Bay refused the Jets and Colts permission to interview Marinelli for their defensive coordinator positions in the past two seasons.

The reason? Marinelli produces NFL defensive linemen the way Richard Williams produces Wimbledon finalists.

This season, three of the former backups Marinelli developed -- the Rams' Tyoka Jackson, the Jets' White and the Colts' Cannida, will be starters for their new teams.

But Marinelli already has taken NFL draft dodgers such as Darby, Buck Gurley, Corey Smith, Ron Warner, and former sixth-round pick Ellis Wyms and Browns castoff Greg Spires, and molded them into a formidable second-line.

"I personally love developing players," Marinelli said. "You find the guys who want to just stick around the whole offseason with you and work at it.

"They've got to have a couple things that you look for. I want the guy who loves football. Just have enough talent. Get over the bar, that's all I ask. Some guys are high over the bar, some guys just make it. Then balance. I don't care about height. Just balance and quickness. If I start with that, I think I've got a good chance to find a real good player and then really teach how to play hard and hustle. Then the group standards really help bring that into play."

Those standards were set by Marinelli and enforced by Sapp, Marcus Jones, Anthony McFarland and Simeon Rice -- all No. 1 draft picks.

"The first thing is you've got to have the front line players that allow you to develop some depth," general manager Rich McKay said. "And he deserves credit for developing those guys. Secondly is the commitment of the position coach to develop those guys. It takes a lot of work. It takes a lot of time. It takes an offseason of having the guys in, watching tape, going through techniques, realizing you have no pads on but every day is important. That's what Rod does very well."

When Marinelli arrived as part of Tony Dungy's staff, Sapp was coming off a disappointing rookie season in which he recorded three sacks. Jones was a rookie trying to make it at defensive tackle. But for the past five seasons, Sapp has been selected to the Pro Bowl and was Defensive Player of the Year in 1999, setting the club mark for sacks with 161/2. Jones made the transition to defensive end, producing 13 sacks in 2000.

"Rod always sees the glass half full. Always," McKay said. "I mean, sometimes three quarters full, you know, when you say, 'Rod, c'mon now.' He's the traditional coach that tries the building block approach, so when he sees something good, he'll use it as step one and figures we'll get to step two and three. That helps with guysthat are coming at a different pace.

"In Marcus' case, when we were moving from inside to end, that's a big move. Rod was the one who said, 'Nah, I've seen this and I've seen that and we can make this move.' He's definitely a guy who has a positive outlook on players."

The outlook for players like Darby, Wyms, Spires, Smith and Gurley should be pretty bright. Head coaches such as Dungy in Indianapolis and Herman Edwards with the Jets and defensive coordinator Lovie Smith in St. Louis always will raid the Bucs for defensive linemen.

"People will watch those guys on film and they'll want them, too," Marinelli said. "They want your backups. Everybody is looking at those guys. It's neat."

That's how Gruden always describes the camaraderie between Marinelli and his linemen during games like Friday's shutout.

"It's fun to be down there on the field, too. It's like the Army-Navy game," Gruden said. "It's so emotional down there. The guys are pulling for each other. It's genuine, man. It's like an Army of Marinellis. It's something that I'm very proud to be associated with. When you see a coach be able to generate that kind of play and discipline and effort, by God, everybody can do it. Because we're seeing it happen. And I think it's setting a real pace for all the coaches here, me included."