Vince Tobin

Their new head coach has never predicted victory, never ridiculed a player, never professed to be smarter than anyone else, and hasn't hired a relative. He sprinkles his news conferences with phrases like the proof will be in the pudding. And when he watches practice with legs crossed and clipboard clutched to his chest, he looks more like a junior high phys-ed teacher than an NFL coach. Vince Tobin is so different from his predecessor, Buddy Ryan, that some people call him the "Anti-Buddy.

Legends die hard in the National Football League, especially when they involve a personality as colorful as bodacious Buddy Ryan. But when the Eagles do battle with the Bears today at Soldier Field, in a playoff contest that will move one team closer to a Super Bowl berth, the occasion finally may give proper credit to Vince Tobin, a man to whom credit is long overdue. Be advised that the defensive schemes Chicago will throw at Randall Cunningham are the brainchild of Tobin, who is at once one of the most respected and least publicized assistant coaches in all of pro football.

Angered over losing his starting job, Arizona quarterback Boomer Esiason skipped practice yesterday and told coach Vince Tobin he wanted to be released. Tobin said the team would not consider that possibility. Esiason, 35, has started eight games this year. He was dejected after being told Tuesday that he was being demoted to No. 2 for the second time this season. He was 0-3 to start the year but came back with the third-best three-game performance in NFL history, starting Nov. 10 with a 37-34 overtime win against Washington and ending with the Nov. 24 victory over the Eagles.

Jim Mora's first taste of Bourbon Street has been on the rocks, with a twist. In the six weeks since he walked away from the Eagles and became head coach of the New Orleans Saints, Mora has had to deal with a frightening illness and the loss of his defensive coordinator, but he said yesterday that neither the infection nor the defection had tempered his enthusiasm. At the National Football League owners' meeting here, Mora took time to retrace the rocky road he has traveled since moving to New Orleans on Jan. 28. "I love Philadelphia," said the former coach of the Philadelphia/ Baltimore Stars of the United States Football League.

Vince Tobin went for it on fourth-and-1 and lived to tell about it. Went for it on fourth-and-1 yesterday from his own 31 early in the second quarter with his team ahead, 7-0. Went for it and didn't make it. Went for it and didn't make it and set the Eagles up for a hop-skip-and-a-jump scoring drive that tied the game and almost killed the Cardinals' playoff hopes. If Jake Plummer hadn't orchestrated another one of his magically delicious fourth-quarter comebacks, Barry Switzer no longer would have been the only coaching name to come to mind when someone said fourth-and-dumb.

Vince Tobin made no apologies yesterday for a dubious decision that imperiled the Cardinals' playoff prospects and nearly extended the team's losing streak at Veterans Stadium to seven games. Had the Eagles won, however, Tobin knew he would be second-guessed all winter long. His decision came in the third quarter, with the score tied at 10-10. Arizona had driven 54 yards to the Eagles' 11-yard line, and faced fourth and 1. Time for a field goal, right? Not with Tobin.

Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Vince Tobin says he has been compared unfavorably to his predecessor, Buddy Ryan, once too often, and he doesn't want any of his players doing it again - especially wide receiver Dennis McKinnon. "First off, I think Dennis McKinnon has a big mouth," Tobin said. "And there's only one thing worse than having a big mouth, and that's if you don't have the facts to back up your mouthy statements. " Tobin asked coach Mike Ditka for permission to speak to the team so he could respond to remarks McKinnon made Tuesday at a luncheon.

BIO Born: May 26, 1941, in Maywood, Ill. Education: Bachelor's degree in education; master's degree in physical education from Missouri Player: Quarterback at Missouri, 1959-62; Tight end for Buffalo Bills, 1963-64 Family: Wife, Vicky; two children, Scott, Michelle; four grandchildren, Katie, Justin, Brandon, Jax. CAREER COACHING STOPS 1967-68: Missouri Southern, head coach 1969-72: Drake, defensive coordinator 1973-76: Indiana,...

Arizona Cardinals coach Vince Tobin went with a hunch yesterday, naming rookie Jake Plummer to start at quarterback Sunday against the Tennessee Oilers. Plummer, who starred at Arizona State and finished third in last year's Heisman Trophy voting, earned the job Sunday when he took the Cardinals on a 98-yard, 14-play drive that put Arizona ahead of the Eagles, 10-7. The Eagles forced overtime and won the game, 13-10, but Plummer had a chance to demonstrate his leadership in the hostile environment of Veterans Stadium.

Richard Dent was feeling much better yesterday, and said he will be ready, willing and able to play tomorrow against the Eagles. But unless Mike Ditka has an unexpected change of heart in the next 24 hours, the Bears' All-Pro defensive end will not be starting. Ditka, who said on Thursday that Dent would not play, refused to discuss Dent - or anything else for that matter - yesterday. But Bears defensive coordinator Vince Tobin said Dent "definitely" will not start, although he would not go so far as to say he would not play.

BIO Born: May 26, 1941, in Maywood, Ill. Education: Bachelor's degree in education; master's degree in physical education from Missouri Player: Quarterback at Missouri, 1959-62; Tight end for Buffalo Bills, 1963-64 Family: Wife, Vicky; two children, Scott, Michelle; four grandchildren, Katie, Justin, Brandon, Jax. CAREER COACHING STOPS 1967-68: Missouri Southern, head coach 1969-72: Drake, defensive coordinator 1973-76: Indiana,...

Vince Tobin went for it on fourth-and-1 and lived to tell about it. Went for it on fourth-and-1 yesterday from his own 31 early in the second quarter with his team ahead, 7-0. Went for it and didn't make it. Went for it and didn't make it and set the Eagles up for a hop-skip-and-a-jump scoring drive that tied the game and almost killed the Cardinals' playoff hopes. If Jake Plummer hadn't orchestrated another one of his magically delicious fourth-quarter comebacks, Barry Switzer no longer would have been the only coaching name to come to mind when someone said fourth-and-dumb.

Vince Tobin made no apologies yesterday for a dubious decision that imperiled the Cardinals' playoff prospects and nearly extended the team's losing streak at Veterans Stadium to seven games. Had the Eagles won, however, Tobin knew he would be second-guessed all winter long. His decision came in the third quarter, with the score tied at 10-10. Arizona had driven 54 yards to the Eagles' 11-yard line, and faced fourth and 1. Time for a field goal, right? Not with Tobin.

Arizona Cardinals coach Vince Tobin went with a hunch yesterday, naming rookie Jake Plummer to start at quarterback Sunday against the Tennessee Oilers. Plummer, who starred at Arizona State and finished third in last year's Heisman Trophy voting, earned the job Sunday when he took the Cardinals on a 98-yard, 14-play drive that put Arizona ahead of the Eagles, 10-7. The Eagles forced overtime and won the game, 13-10, but Plummer had a chance to demonstrate his leadership in the hostile environment of Veterans Stadium.

It is nearly playoff time in the NFL, which means it is nearly quitting time for the Arizona Cardinals, a franchise that probably sets the professional sports standard for long-haul futility. With the exception of the strike-shortened 1982 season - when the Cardinals were one-and-done in the jury-rigged "Super Bowl Tournament" - it has been 21 years since the Cards earned a spot in the playoffs. The team has never had two playoff games in the same year, and their most recent home postseason game was played in Comiskey Park, 49 years and two cities ago. Vince Tobin, who has made a career habit out of following Buddy Ryan's worn-thin act, knows all of these facts, but the Arizona coach does not dwell on them.

Angered over losing his starting job, Arizona quarterback Boomer Esiason skipped practice yesterday and told coach Vince Tobin he wanted to be released. Tobin said the team would not consider that possibility. Esiason, 35, has started eight games this year. He was dejected after being told Tuesday that he was being demoted to No. 2 for the second time this season. He was 0-3 to start the year but came back with the third-best three-game performance in NFL history, starting Nov. 10 with a 37-34 overtime win against Washington and ending with the Nov. 24 victory over the Eagles.

Their new head coach has never predicted victory, never ridiculed a player, never professed to be smarter than anyone else, and hasn't hired a relative. He sprinkles his news conferences with phrases like the proof will be in the pudding. And when he watches practice with legs crossed and clipboard clutched to his chest, he looks more like a junior high phys-ed teacher than an NFL coach. Vince Tobin is so different from his predecessor, Buddy Ryan, that some people call him the "Anti-Buddy.

In this city, Ted Plumb might be considered more of an offensive pariah than any sort of genius. And Plumb never had been interviewed for an NFL head coaching job before yesterday - especially a job as coveted as the New York Jets' current opening. That did not stop new Jets general manager Dick Steinberg from formally interviewing Plumb, the Eagles' often-embattled offensive coordinator, for the job left vacant when Joe Walton was fired at the end of the regular season. Although Plumb, who has no pro or college head coaching experience, isn't believed to be a serious contender, and Michigan State coach George Perles could be named to the job as early as Tuesday, Plumb is one of only a handful of hopefuls to get an interview with Steinberg.

Legends die hard in the National Football League, especially when they involve a personality as colorful as bodacious Buddy Ryan. But when the Eagles do battle with the Bears today at Soldier Field, in a playoff contest that will move one team closer to a Super Bowl berth, the occasion finally may give proper credit to Vince Tobin, a man to whom credit is long overdue. Be advised that the defensive schemes Chicago will throw at Randall Cunningham are the brainchild of Tobin, who is at once one of the most respected and least publicized assistant coaches in all of pro football.