Kiffin says that leads to diminishing returns.

"We once decided, 'At the end of the week, let's look at the things we came up with after 11 p.m. Did they really work or were we just adding more to add more? And more often than not we were just adding to add."

Whether this is a trend that will stick or not will take a few years to determine. It’s interesting to note that of the 10 coaches in the league on their second jobs, five of them (Belichick, Dungy, Mike Shanahan, Tom Coughlin and Jon Gruden) have won Super Bowls after not getting to the championship game with their first teams. Of the 12 coaches hired from 2005 to 2007, only four have gotten their teams to the playoffs (Tomlin, Mangini, McCarthy and Payton).

The truth is, it’s hard to succeed the first time around. Young coaches desperately want to have their own teams but they need to look before they leap.

"If you can't get in a position in any organization where you are responsible for certain things it can be difficult," points out Seattle coach Mike Holmgren. "One of those things is the coaching staff. Jim Zorn is a good friend and he was with me for a while. He was hired after the Redskins coaches were hired. That can be problematic. It's not best way to do it. It's hard enough with your own guys; it's even harder if you haven't picked them.

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"If you don’t think the fit is right, you don’t have to take the job," Holmgren insists. "I was interviewed for coaching jobs in 1989 (with the Cardinals and Jets). I didn’t take them and people said, ‘You’re crazy.’ But you have to make sure it’s the right situation for you and your family and your view of what you need. And once you’re in a job, you have to establish a rapport with the decision-maker. I was very fortunate in my first go-round that I had Ron Wolf. We never had an argument in seven years. We had discussions and he said he’d never give me a player I didn’t want and I knew he would never give me player I didn’t want.”

In Oakland, Kiffin is dealing with exactly the situation Holmgren refers to. Personnel decisions are made by owner Al Davis. Kiffin's job is to coach the players Davis provides him with, but the coach's dissatisfaction with some of Davis' hires has been blatant during this preseason.

The trend toward virgin coaches may not go past the upcoming offseason. Former Falcons coach Jim Mora, Jr. is going to take over for Holmgren in Seattle. Former Steelers coach Bill Cowher may get back into the game. So, too, could former Ravens coach Brian Billick. Holmgren told NBCSports.com that he could return to coaching after the 2009 season.

Not coincidentally, the job any of these ex-coaches take will most likely be one that was previously held by a guy who had no experience before taking over. It's the circle of life in NFL coaching.

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