Carson Has Reason for Hiring Ex-Jet Aides

Returning Sunday to Giants Stadium to stand across the carpet from the strangers wearing Jets green is bound to be an odd sensation for Browns Coach Bud Carson and four ex-Jets assistants. It will be like visiting an old home and being surprised at the changes made by the new tenants and maybe even a little sad at the thought of what might have been.

Carson and assistant head coach Dan Radakovich left the Jets a year ahead of the broom that swept out former Coach Joe Walton and the rest of his staff at the end of last season. Without those two to prop up Walton, the Jets collapsed in a 4-12 heap, while Carson and Radakovich ended their season in the AFC championship game at Denver.

Walton and most of his ’89 assistants scattered on the four winds to Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, New England, Phoenix and San Diego. Three are out of the NFL. But Carson hired three other coaches who shared the Jets’ foxhole with him: quarterbacks coach Zeke Bratkowski, defensive coordinator Jim Vechiarella and defensive backs coach Mike Faulkiner.

While Carson’s hirings have been criticized by some as an example of the old-boy network in the NFL, a closer look would show the five ex-Jets now with the Browns formed the nucleus of a very talented coaching staff hired by Walton. It’s not difficult to imagine how much different things might have turned out for the Jets if Walton had been dismissed two years earlier and Carson promoted to the head job.

The record shows Walton had three losing seasons (18-30) without Carson and Radakovich and a record of 35-27-1 when they were on his staff from 1985-88. The arrival of Carson and Radakovich probably saved Walton’s job after he took over a team that went to the AFC title game following the 1982 season and had two straight 7-9 years.

“Absolutely, it turned the team around,” Radakovich said recently. “We went to the playoffs the first two years. But like anywhere else, you run out of players or whatever.”

The Jets ran out of whatever it is that causes talent and coaching to mix in just the right way to produce a winning record. That’s the combination Carson was trying to put together when he added Bratkowski, Vechiarella and Faulkiner.

“It’s not just a case of going out and hiring every guy you like, although a lot of people have accused us of that,” said Carson, who has 13 assistants. “It’s chemistry I’m interested in -- whether people work well together and how they work together on game day, what they do on the practice field. Are they on-field coaches, off-field coaches? That’s what I’m interested in.”

When he arrived in Cleveland, offensive coordinator Marc Trestman already was in place. But Carson assumed greater control by firing Trestman and making over his staff with a distinct Jets flavor. “Bud interviewed other coaches,” Radakovich said, “but he thought they were the best people available for the job.”

Undoubtedly, some strong bonds were formed while they were with the Jets. “Bud, Zeke and ‘Vech’ lived together for about two years in Point Lookout,” said former Jets quarterback Pat Ryan, who spent some time in the Browns’ training camp this summer. “They sat up and talked football plenty of times. They’re a tight group.”

The NFL coaching fraternity is a small world, and some of the ties that bind the ex-Jets go back even further. Carson and Radakovich spent time together with the great Steelers of the early ‘70s, as well as the Rams and Jets. Vechiarella coached with Carson for the Rams, Chiefs and Jets, and Bratkowski and Carson endured a year of 0-8-1 hell under Frank Kush with the Colts in 1982. When Walton promoted Faulkiner to defensive backs coach with the Jets, it was Carson who served as his mentor.

Faulkiner, who also is an excellent talent scout, offered these sketches of his fellow assistants:

Radakovich: “He doesn’t like to admit it because he likes to coach linebackers, but the best thing he does is coach the offensive line.” Injuries and retirement have destroyed the Browns’ line, which means “Bad Rad” faces a big job.

Bratkowski: “He’s very low-key but fundamentally sound. I think you’ll see an improvement with Bernie Kosar, even though he’s been in the playoffs five years in a row.”

Vechiarella: “He was an excellent defensive coordinator with good schemes at Tulane with Larry Smith. When Smith went to Arizona, he used Vech’s defense, and it helped him get the USC job.”

As for himself, Faulkiner knows his strength is in how he relates to people. “I was as honest as I could be with guys, but I also had fun with it,” said Faulkiner, whose needle was extremely sharp and punctured many an ego.

Developing an understanding of each other is vital to the success of a coaching staff. During the football season, it’s as though they are in a dark bunker with their videotapes and chalkboards, emerging into the light only on Sunday afternoons.

Carson’s assistants know they are working for an ex-Marine whose emotional ups and downs can be difficult to handle. But they accept his style because they know he’s a brilliant coach who gets results.

“Bud’s record speaks for itself,” said Faulkiner. “I haven’t seen him change as a head coach. He has the title, but he’s the same Bud.”

In 17 previous NFL seasons, Carson has been with 12 playoff teams, including eight division winners, three teams that reached the Super Bowl and two that won it. Although Walton sometimes argued with Carson over which personnel to keep in the game, he was smart enough to give him free rein to run the defense.

In some ways, the job Carson did camouflaged the Jets’ weaknesses. Faulkiner recalls the Jets’ 8-7-1 record in 1988 when the defense had 45 sacks and 24 interceptions while starting two rookies and a converted wide receiver in the defensive backfield.

“We weren’t that good,” Faulkiner said. “I think Joe put a lot of pressure on himself last year. He thought we were going to win 10 games. We got off to a bad start, and things snowballed.”

At one point, Faulkiner had an argument with Walton in which the two almost came to blows before Faulkiner stalked out. That was a moment he regrets.

“Walton let the coaches do their job,” Faulkiner said. “I look back at that blowup and hope it didn’t have anything to do with us being run out. I hope the organization didn’t say, ‘The coaches are losing it.”’

The record will show that one man lost control, but when that man is at the top, everybody goes down with him. Then, they all move on.

Last Sunday, the survivors with the Browns won a game against the Steelers, whose offense is under Walton’s command. This Sunday, the band of ex-Jets recruited by Carson visits a place they used to call home. They won’t recognize it.