Scout.com: Romo, Pennington Discuss David Lee Jan. 13, 2011 In a coaching career spanning over three decades on the highest levels of college and professional football, one is bound to accumulate a legion of players one has positively influenced. Recently-named Ole Miss Offensive Coordinator David Lee, who has coached from Dallas to Miami and several points in between, is no different. Lee, who has primarily been a quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator his whole career, has a star-studded list of players who not only respect him as a person, but credit him for much of their success as a quarterback mentor. Testimonials for Lee are not hard to come by. “I would not be where I am today if it weren’t for Coach Lee,” said current Dallas Cowboys Quarterback Tony Romo, who Lee tutored Romo’s first four years (2003-2006) in the National Football League. “I was so raw when I first came to Dallas. My knowledge of the game, my throwing motion, everything was just not good enough for the NFL, to be honest. “David was a tremendous asset for me. I needed guidance. I needed leadership and he provided those things in abundance. My time spent with him when I first got in the league prepared me to play on the highest level and I will always be thankful to him.” For Romo, the trust he had in Lee started by getting to know the man behind the whistle. “Anyone who has been around David knows he is a strong Christian who has lived his life the right way and that rubs off on you because he’s so consistent with the way he conducts his life and influences those around him,” Romo, who was injured in 2010 but has completed his rehab, said. “He has this knack of knowing how to lead. “His sense of awareness of what buttons to push to get the most out of his players, on and off the field, is a gift. He was a quarterback himself in the Southeastern Conference and he understands what quarterbacks go through. He has great knowledge of the game of football and he passes that knowledge to his players from a quarterback’s perspective. He breaks things down to its simplest form and builds from there.” Romo believes Lee will be a success at Ole Miss, as he has been at each stop in his long career. “David will be a great leader for the Ole Miss offense,” Romo closed. “He’s firm, but he’s fair. He has that ability to get on you when you’re not doing things correctly, but you take it the right way because you know it’s coming from a good spot. You know it’s in your best interest to listen and do what he says. At the end of the day, you know he cares about you and that’s very important in developing a coach-player relationship.” Chad Pennington was an eight-year veteran of the NFL as the main QB for the New York Jets when he landed in Miami in 2008 at the same time Lee did as the Dolphins’ QB coach. Pennington had one of his best years in ’08 and Miami’s offense got the spark it needed from the Wildcat formation that Lee introduced into the system. “Coach Lee is very innovative and creative,” said Pennington, who quarterbacked Marshall when the Rebels played in the 1997 Motor City Bowl. “We were really struggling running the ball and David brought in the Wildcat formation. We started getting good rushing yardage, it created an offensive spark and we rallied around it. “David deserves a lot of the credit for our success that year.” Like Romo, however, Pennington wanted to talk about Lee as a person before he delved any further into his coaching prowess. “David is a first class person. His character, integrity and the way he cares about people made my three years with him the most enjoyable years of my career,” Pennington continued. “That automatically sets up a working relationship that will lead to success because you develop trust and communication. “It also set up an environment where he was not afraid to coach me with constructive criticism. He’s a passionate person and passionate coach and that gives you more passion for your craft.” From a quarterbacking standpoint, Pennington, who is four weeks removed from shoulder surgery (his fourth) and aiming at a 2011 comeback, continued the praise of his former mentor. “David is the best technician I have ever been around. He makes sure you are fundamentally sound, he is great at recognizing and correcting your flaws and he’s understands the position intimately because he played it on the collegiate level,” Pennington noted. “David can read your emotions and he just gets it. He knows the pressure of the position and what it feels like to play in every kind of situation. He adjusts his coaching accordingly, no matter what you are going through.” Pennington is excited for Ole Miss on two counts – his admiration of David Lee and an introduction he got last summer with Houston Nutt, who visited Lee in Miami last summer. “I got to meet Coach Nutt with David last summer and you could tell the chemistry they have with each other. We sat down for a long time and talked about passing game concepts and offensive strategy. I learned a lot in that session from those two,” he explained. “There is no doubt in my mind that the two of them together will be a fantastic match for Ole Miss football."
Dark siders hate for hate sake. I have no doubt he can get more out of Mark than The previous regime. Having said that how much will they be able to do with Sanchez skill set.
Very reassuring, hopefully he can get the Jets QB next year to perform decently because it's either gonna be Sanchez, McElroy, or a cheap replacement.
chad has said many times that he has no interest in coaching in the NFL and the long hours that go with it.....
I don't know what the point of the hire is either but Rex is in charge of hiring his staff. Hiring the WC QB coach after firing the WC OC should raise eyebrows even amongts the Homers. Especially IF Tebow really is leaving.
Hiring Lee will likely increase the rumors that we will try to sign Tavaris Jackson to replace Sanchez this year. Now we have two fans of Tavaris in Idzik and Lee.
This makes no sense...This is a terrible signing. Going to a west coast offense means getting a guy who focused on wildcat? come on
Wasn't this guy the creep down the street in the movie the "Lovley Bones" ??? that face looks familar
yes he brought the wildcat to miami. he also worked with romo in dallas where they did not run the wildcat. it's not the only thing he does. he is a career qb coach. i will withhold judgement on this hiring as of right now it really didn't move me either way
Seems like Rex is literally trying to find a little of everything and bringing it into his coaching staff. Might be good, might be completely horrible.
Was he the only QB coach we could of grabbed... i knew we had ours eyes on him but i didnt see it coming. lets hope he can help Mark or whoever the QB is with Footwork and all... as long as the QB isnt jackson
As far as I know The Boys didn't run the WC. He did bring the WC to Miami with the dearly departed Sparano. Hopefully, he'll leave the WC on the plane and just coach up Sanchez.
Yea, I really don't get how because he had OC's who ran the WildCat a few years make him a WildCat only QB Coach... lol...
