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Europass: Saturdays with Whitey
By Mike Carlson
FRANKFURT, Germany (June 24, 2007) -- Before the World Bowl, I'm standing on the field talking with Whitey Jordan, the veteran offensive coordinator of the Frankfurt Galaxy. Whitey and Galaxy head coach Mike Jones won two World Bowls as assistants to Galen Hall at Rhein, and another last year in Frankfurt.
"Mike and I would really like a fourth ring," he says. "I throw 'em in a drawer at home."
This is Whitey's ninth season in NFL Europa, and he's bothered by the persistent talk he hears about this year being the league's last. "Hell, I'm too old to get a job," he laughs.
But it's the job the league does that he thinks is both unique and important.
Where else can you develop players like you can here?" he asks. "You live with these guys for four months, and I write reports on them every week. When a team wants to know what a guy's like, you know. You know what kind of a teammate he is, how badly he wants to play football. You can't tell that in mini-camp."
While we're talking, Hamburg line coach Mike Malano comes up to say hello, and good luck. Mike played for Whitey at Rhein in 2002.
"He's a typical kid from this league. Too small to really get a look in the NFL, but smart, tough, a good technician," Whitey says. "He'll make a good coach. And that's part of the league that people forget about.
"You look at the opportunities this league gives for coaching now. They say it loses money, but what about the minority coaching program? How do you put a price tag on that? The coaching interns we've had, there have been some big-name players, and some NFL Europa guys, but it's helped our players get more coaching, and it's helped these guys too. When I started out coaching, it was with a freshman team. I made my mistakes there, then worked up the ladder.
"How much is it worth to get experience at this level right at the start?"
Then I get a slap on the back from Tanny Fernandesz, Hamburg's equipment manager, who's propelling his nose-tackle frame around the field having fun and doing the dozens of thankless tasks equipment managers do. Tanny got his start with the old London Monarchs, and it was hard for an Englishman to get accepted by American players.
"Some of the guys come over, and they haven't carried their own pads since high school. But then they see how teams over here have to pull together, and they judge you by how well you do your job."
Tanny has been offered at least one job in the NFL, pending a work visa, but he wouldn't be the first equipment guy to make the jump from NFLE to the NFL.
"That's part of it, too," Whitey says. "Front office guys, equipment managers. What about officials? All the NFL officials come through Europe now. How do you put a price tag on the value of that experience to them?"
That night, long after the game, I talked to referee John Parry, in his eighth NFL season, who valued the experience his crew was getting.
"It's become more and more like a full-time job during the season, if you want to do it right, but there's still no substitute for game experience. It's just like the players. You can watch film for hours, but it's a whole different thing on the field."
In the end, though, the league comes down to players. Two of his linemen, guard Matt McChesney and tackle Bobby Harris, made the all-league team.
"Matt was sent over by the Jets. Toughest kid I've ever had. He was a defensive lineman, and they want to move him to guard. He can make it."
Hamburg's Cliff Washburn says hi to Whitey as he jogs past. Washburn, a college basketball player and defensive end, was sent to Europe by the Bears for Whitey to convert to tackle. "Great kid, tremendous feet, quick hands."
Whitey Jordan has high hopes for Cliff Washburn, who played basketball at The Citadel.
Washburn started the season at tackle for Hamburg, but after injuries hit their D-line, moved back to defense, and eventually inside. I tell Whitey that Hamburg coach Vince Martino says Cliff's better-suited for defense.
He agrees. "He can use his talents more easily there, being the aggressor. He can get more leverage on defense. He's a talented kid, and someone ought to take a chance on him."
Free agents are Whitey's favorite guys. "I like guys that still want to give it a shot after they've been told they're not good enough. We've had enough of them turn around and succeed. Nick Ferguson was one. Took him two years in this league, and look what he did in the NFL."
He points to Harris. "I get NFL teams looking at his tape, and liking him, and saying, 'Can he play guard?' and I say, 'Of course he can, he'd be better at guard, but I play him at left tackle because they're harder to find and I've got no one better!' "
Then he recalls Mike Halapin. "Mike fought and fought, and finally winds up on the Saints and he's starting and does his knee, and that's it for his career. People forget guys like that."
At halftime, former NFL lineman Brian Baldinger agrees. "Mike was a player. Look, the average NFL career is 3½ years. There is talent out there, and it's worth developing because you always are going to need it."
At Frankfurt, Whitey and Mike Jones have played Galen Hall-style football: keep it simple, execute, control the ball on the ground and make the other team make mistakes.
But for the last weeks of this season, they switched to a wide-open offense, using no-huddle, the shotgun, and four wide receivers.
"We went with what worked when we came back against Berlin," said Jones, and Whitey agreed that necessity was the mother of adjustment. "But we also had the quarterback (J.T. O'Sullivan) to spread the ball around and I've got the best group of receivers I've ever had. Tight end James Petrowski (from the Titans) got better each week and is a downfield threat. And all four of my wideouts are free agents. (All-league) Brandon Middleton runs great routes, has hands, returns punts. Aaron Hosack reminds me of Marcus (Robinson, Rhein's league MVP in 1998). Bobby Ortiz is quick, and Felton Huggins can go up for a ball. We didn't have a power runner, and we needed these guys on the field."
After the game, Hamburg's defense had managed to "hold" the Galaxy to four TDs, and Frankfurt hadn't been able to stop Hamburg.
"They executed," Whitey says, "and we didn't. We beat ourselves with breakdowns, and penalties. We didn't play our game."
When you hear coaches say that, you always want to say, "We'll see you next year. " That's what I said to Whitey, hoping he will be back in Europe doing what he does best.
After all, he's too old to get a job.
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