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SHERMAN NAMES HIS TWO COORDINATORS: ROSSLEY TO HEAD UP PACKERS' OFFENSE, DONATELL TO DIRECT GREEN BAY DEFENSE
posted 01/26/00
 | | Tom Rossley |
 | | Ed Donatell |
Tom Rossley, a 25-year coaching veteran at the collegiate and professional levels, and Ed Donatell, possessor of a decade of NFL experience including five seasons with the highly-successful Denver Broncos, today have been named as the offensive and defensive coordinator, respectively, for the Green Bay Packers, Head Coach Mike Sherman announced. The pair become the first new hires to Sherman's coaching staff (he previously had retained strength and conditioning coach Barry Rubin).
"The fact that I have known Tom for approximately 15 years is an advantage to me in the sense that I am fully aware of what an outstanding offensive coach he is," Sherman said of Rossley. "His ability to teach, along with his creativity as an offensive coach, will be an excellent asset to me as we install the Green Bay offense.
"In Ed Donatell, we have one of the key architects to the Denver defense. He is a quality man with an excellent defensive background. He will put his players in the very best position to make plays. He has been offered coordinator jobs in the past and turned them down, so I feel that we are very fortunate to get someone with his ability."
Rossley most recently had been the quarterbacks coach for the Kansas City Chiefs last season, following two years on the coaching staff of the Chicago Bears. His initial NFL stop had come in 1990 as the Atlanta Falcons' quarterbacks coach, where he played an instrumental role in the development of Chris Miller.
The 53-year-old Rossley left the Falcons in 1991 to become the head coach at Southern Methodist University, where his task was to rebuild a program which had been decimated by the NCAA's death penalty. The Mustangs improved from 1-10 in Rossley's first season to 5-6 in 1992 - the biggest turnaround by an SMU football team since 1968 - earning him Southwestern Conference Co-Coach of the Year honors. The Mustangs averaged over 300 yards of total offense in five of Rossley's six seasons at the school, including an average of 354.6 yards per game in '93.
An offensive coordinator for five seasons during his coaching career, Rossley first worked in that capacity at the College of Holy Cross
(1986-87), where he served on the same coaching staff as his new boss, Sherman. During his two seasons, the school went a combined 21-1 (.955), including a perfect 11-0 in 1987, when the Crusaders won the Division I-AA national championship and led the nation in both total yards per game (552) and points per game (46).
"Tom and I share very similar philosophies as far as attacking opposing defenses," continued Sherman, "and over the years we have maintained an interchange of ideas in that regard. I like the fact that he even though he has been offered opportunities elsewhere to coordinate this year, he is excited about coming to Green Bay and being a part of this special place.
"Tom is an excellent coach who will be a benefit to me, our players and this program."
Rossley then held the same role at SMU (1988-89) under Forrest Gregg, a Hall of Fame offensive tackle for Green Bay who later would coach the Packers for four seasons. His 1989 offense at SMU ranked ninth in the country in passing.
Having landed his initial job at the professional level in 1982 when he coached running backs and wide receivers for the Montreal Concorde of the Canadian Football League (1982-84), Rossley later was the offensive coordinator for the San Antonio Gunslingers of the United States Football League (1985) and enjoyed a stint on the offensive staff of the Arena League's Denver Dynamite (1987).
Earlier, Rossley had been the passing game coordinator at Rice University from 1978-81. He initially served as an offensive assistant for the school in 1976, when he worked with quarterback Tommy Kramer, who would go on to a prolific, 14-year career in the NFL with Minnesota (1977-89) and New Orleans
(1990). Rossley was the receivers coach at his alma mater, the University of Cincinnati, in 1977 between his two stints at Rice.
Born August 9, 1946, in Painesville, Ohio, Rossley was an All-America wide receiver at the University of Cincinnati from 1966-68. He set the Bearcats' single-game records for receptions (13) and receiving yards (254) as well as the school's single-season mark for catches (80 in 1968 - second in the nation that year).
Prior to becoming a college coach on a full-time basis in 1976, Rossley had worked for six seasons at the high school level, beginning in 1969 at Chardon (Ohio) High. He later coached at Eastlake North (Ohio) High
(1970-71) and Lake Worth (Fla.) High (1973-75) with a stint in between at the University of Arkansas as a graduate assistant.
Rossley and his wife, Kristine, have two sons, Max and Mick, and a daughter, Kristi.
ROSSLEY'S COACHING BACKGROUND: Year College/Pro Team Position Coached
1972 University of Arkansas Graduate Assistant
1976 Rice University Offensive Assistant
1977 Univ. of Cincinnati Receivers
1978-81 Rice University Passing Game Coordinator
1982-84 Montreal Concorde (CFL) Running Backs/Wide Receivers
1985 San Antonio Gunslingers (USFL) Offensive Coordinator
1986-87 Holy Cross Offensive Coordinator
1987 Denver Dynamite (Arena)
1988-89 Southern Methodist University Offensive Coordinator
1990 Atlanta Falcons Quarterbacks
1991-96 Southern Methodist University Head Coach
1997 Chicago Bears Wide Receivers
1998 Chicago Bears Tight Ends
1999 Kansas City Chiefs Quarterbacks
2000 Green Bay Packers Offensive Coordinator
Donatell has been a defensive backs coach in the NFL for last 10 seasons, the past five with the Denver Broncos after spending 1990-94 with the New York Jets.
The Broncos' defense, which had ranked 28th in 1994, improved to 15th in Donatell's first year with the club and remained in the top half of the league throughout his Mile High City tenure as Denver captured two world championships, including a Super Bowl XXXII victory over Green Bay.
"After we lost the Super Bowl to Denver in '97, I made a concerted effort to study and familiarize myself with the Broncos' defensive scheme," continued Sherman. "I have become intrigued with its uniqueness and how it always got the most out of its players. The aggressive gap-control, up-the-field type approach to defense is the style of defense I want us to run here in Green Bay.
"This aggressive approach of forcing turnovers and creating field position will complement our offensive philosophy as well. I feel this scheme best utilizes our defensive personnel."
Against the pass, the Broncos were particularly strong during Donatell's stay in the Mile High city, ranking among the NFL's top 10 pass defenses in four of his five seasons. In 1997, the season in which Denver won its first league title, the Broncos returned an NFL-high 5 interceptions for touchdowns and allowed an AFC-low 5.03 net yards per pass play.
The following season, with the Broncos en route to their second consecutive Super Bowl victory, Donatell's defensive backfield stepped up in the postseason, intercepting 7 passes in the club's three playoff games.
"Ed's done a great job with the Broncos, coaching the secondary, and he deserves the chance to be a defensive coordinator in the National Football League," said Denver head coach Mike Shanahan. "He's going to an organization that gives him a great chance to have success, and we wish him well."
Donatell, who will turn 43 early next month, helped both Steve Atwater and Tyrone Braxton earn Pro Bowl berths while in Denver. Earlier, while with the Jets, he had coached a future Hall of Famer, Ronnie Lott, and was instrumental in the development of NFL standouts James Hasty and Aaron Glenn early in their careers.
Five stops at the collegiate level had preceded Donatell's arrival in the pros. After launching his coaching career at Kent State (1979-80), he subsequently was on the staffs at the University of Washington (1981-82), Pacific (1983-85), Idaho (1986-88) and Cal State-Fullerton (1989).
He had played defensive back himself at Glenville (W.Va.) State, where he was team captain, a four-year letterman and an all-conference selection. After receiving his bachelor's degree in physical education, he later earned a master's degree in administration from Kent State.
Born February 4, 1957, the native of Akron, Ohio, is married (Shari) with a daughter, Brenna, and two sons, Thomas and Steven.
DONATELL'S COACHING BACKGROUND: Year College/Pro Team Position Coached 1979-80 Kent State Graduate Assistant 1981-82 University of Washington Graduate Assistant 1983-85 Pacific Defensive Backs 1986-88 Idaho Defensive Backs 1989 Cal State-Fullerton Defensive Backs 1990-94 New York Jets Defensive Backs 1995-99 Denver Broncos Defensive Backs
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