Cecil Quietly Settling in as Titans Defensive Coordinator

[SD2042]

http://www.titansonline.com/news/articl ... bf04426462


NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Chuck Cecil is the guy once featured on a magazine cover asking if he was too vicious for the NFL. As a coach, he gets so excited he head-butts players before games - even though they wear helmets and he doesn't.

That passion for football will be apparent now that he's the new defensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans, right? Not according to Cecil.

"It is not about me. This is about the players. I haven't made one tackle since I've been here, not one time, and I won't make any tackles this year. I don't think inbounds anyway,'' Cecil said.

An aggressive, physical approach is what turned Cecil from a walk-on at the University of Arizona to an All-American and led to his recent election to the College Football Hall of Fame. He played seven years at safety in the NFL with Green Bay, Phoenix and the Houston Oilers.

Cecil's hard-hitting style also led to fines, including a $30,000 tab in 1993 that was the highest not accompanied by a suspension. That very passion is why the son of a high school football coach needed time away from the game before deciding to test himself as a coach.

"I didn't know if I could coach and not playing bother me too much,'' Cecil said. "Being around it and not being able to actually play on the field, that was really going to be a problem for me. I couldn't enjoy coaching.''