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Jim Haslett
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James Donald "Jim" Haslett (born December 9, 1955 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is an American football coach, specializing in defense. He is a former head coach of the NFL's New Orleans Saints; also, he was the St. Louis Rams' interim head coach for the final 12 games of the 2008-2009 regular season.
ttended Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and was selected in the second round of the 1979 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills. He was a linebacker for the Buffalo Bills until 1985, and played with the New York Jets in 1987.
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Encyclopedia
James Donald "Jim" Haslett (born December 9, 1955 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is an American football coach, specializing in defense. He is a former head coach of the NFL's New Orleans Saints; also, he was the St. Louis Rams' interim head coach for the final 12 games of the 2008-2009 regular season.
Playing career
He attended Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and was selected in the second round of the 1979 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills. He was a linebacker for the Buffalo Bills until 1985, and played with the New York Jets in 1987. He was named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year for 1979. In a 2005 article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Haslett admitted to using steroids while playing for the Buffalo Bills. Haslett went on record saying that "everybody tried it" to gain a competitive advantage against opposing teams.
Coaching career
University at Buffalo
His first coaching position was as an Assistant Coach at the University at Buffalo. He is the second assistant coach of the Buffalo Bulls to move and become a head coach in the NFL. The first was Buddy Ryan.
NFL Assistant Coaching Positions
Haslett began his NFL coaching career as a linebackers coach for the Oakland Raiders in 1993. Haslett next coached linebackers for the New Orleans Saints in 1995 and was promoted to defensive coordinator for the 1996 season. Haslett then coordinated the Pittsburgh Steelers defense for the 1997 through 1999 seasons.
New Orleans Saints
In January, 2000, Haslett was named head coach of the New Orleans Saints. That season, he guided the Saints to a 10–6 regular-season record, their second NFC West division championship, and the first playoff victory in franchise history (defeating the St. Louis Rams; they lost to the Minnesota Vikings the next week). As a result of the Saints' turnaround from their previous 3–13 season (under his predecessor, Mike Ditka), Haslett was named NFL Coach of the Year.
In 2005, Haslett's sixth season with the Saints, the team stumbled to a 3–13 record. The season was marred by unique adversities, which were unsuccessfully used as excuses for failure: Hurricane Katrina's devastation of New Orleans forced the franchise to temporarily relocate their operations to San Antonio, Texas, playing three of their 'home' games there (in the Alamodome). Another four home games were played in Baton Rouge at LSU's Tiger Stadium, and one took place at Giants Stadium in New Jersey (against the New York Giants). However, over the previous four seasons, the team had noticeably fallen into mediocrity and despite Haslett's strong personal leadership during such difficult circumstances (including extensive traveling and substandard practicing conditions in San Antonio), this season's win/loss record was even more disappointing than prior seasons, and the team continued to struggle. The Saints fired Haslett.
St. Louis Rams
Haslett became the Rams' defensive coordinator to start the 2006 season. On September 29th, 2008 Haslett was named the interim head coach of the St. Louis Rams after Scott Linehan was fired. The Rams gave Haslett an interim coach's contract, containing a clause that promised him the permanent head coach's job if the team won at least 6 games that season. Within a few weeks, this clause was nullified by the NFL, because it violated the league's "Rooney Rule". The Rooney Rule, adopted in 1993, requires that minority candidates get an equal opportunity to interview for all open head-coaching jobs; the 6-wins clause would've awarded the head coach's job to Haslett instantly, preventing any other coaching candidates from having a chance at it. He won his first game as interim head coach of the Rams with a thrilling 19-17 victory over the 4-1 Washington Redskins. That win was followed by a 34-14 drubbing of the Dallas Cowboys on 19 October, 2008. This brought the Rams to a 2-4 record. The team would lose their final 10 games, however, leaving Haslett with an interim record of 2-10 on the year. On January 15, 2009 the Rams announced that Haslett was no longer in consideration for the permanent head coaching position and that the team would be going in a "new direction".
Head coaching record
| Team | Year | Regular Season | Post Season |
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| Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result |
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| NOR | 2000
| 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 1st in NFC West | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost to Minnesota Vikings in NFC Divisional Game. |
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| NOR | 2001
| 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 3rd in NFC West | - | - | - | - |
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| NOR | 2002
| 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 3rd in NFC South | - | - | - | - |
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| NOR | 2003
| 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 2nd in NFC South | - | - | - | - |
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| NOR | 2004
| 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 2nd in NFC South | - | - | - | - |
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| NOR | 2005
| 3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | 4th in NFC South | - | - | - | - |
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| NOR Total | 45 | 51 | 0 | .469 | | 1 | 1 | .500 | |
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| STL | 2008*
| 2 | 10 | 0 | .167 | 4th in NFC West | - | - | - | - |
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| STL Total | 2 | 10 | 0 | .167 | | - | - | - | |
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| Total | 47 | 61 | 0 | .435 | | 1 | 1 | .500 | |
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*Interim head coach
Personal
Haslett once owned a horse ranch in Gasport, New York, called the 'Double Nickel'. It was named after his playing number 55. He is married to Beth with two daughters, Kelsey and Elizabeth, and a son, Chase. They live in Clayton, Mo.
External Links
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