Friday, January 26, 2001
McNally back in the bowl
Offensive line coach has 3rd title try
By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer
TAMPA, Fla. — Draft choices Anthony Munoz, Max Montoya, Dave Lapham and Joe Walter were among the anchors of the Bengals' Super Bowl offensive lines coached by Jim McNally in the 1980s. McNally, offensive line coach for the NFC champion New York Giants, has shaped a different kind of unit this Super Bowl season.
Three of McNally's starters — center Dusty Zeigler, tackle Lomas Brown and guard Glenn Parker — were all first-year Giants this season.
“Most of the players I had in Cincinnati were home-grown. They didn't know any different than what I taught them,” said McNally, whose line led the Giants to the NFC's fourth-best rushing offense at 126 yards a game. “Now, in this game of free agency, you're getting more guys from other teams. You have to adjust.”
McNally, who coached the Bengals' offensive lines from 1980-94, is one of two former Bengals assistants on the New York staff. First-year tight ends coach Mike Pope coached two years in Cincinnati and was offensive coordinator in 1993.
McNally is in his second season with the Giants, and he spent the previous four with the Carolina Panthers.
“What you learn in this business is what goes around comes around,” said McNally, 57, who left the Bengals voluntarily. “You're going to have some good years someplace. You're going to have some bad years if you're in the businesses long enough. I was in Cincinnati for 15 years, and my wife told me when I left Cincinnati: "You're going to become a nomad now. You're going to move.'”
McNally let the veteran free agents on the Giants' line use their experience to establish an identity. The players appreciated how McNally molded the line.
“We didn't go about trying to step on Jim's toes,” said Brown, a 16-year veteran. “We just kind of formed into the system, and it worked.”
McNally has a third chance to win his first Super Bowl title. The 1981 and '88 Bengals lost their Super Bowl games to San Francisco.
“I'm a little more calm than the first two times,” McNally said. “You're always a little nervous. You want to do well. It's a big game, but you can put it into perspective a little more.”
He has fond memories of Cincinnati.
“Anthony Munoz. The good line. Mike Brown and his family were good to me,” McNally said. “I think of all the good years there in the mid- and late-80s. I was there the last three or four years we were going through some of the tough times. I think Mike Brown will get it straightened out. I have a lot of respect for him.”
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McNally back in the bowl
