Mississippi State head football coach, Mike Leach died this morning at the age of 61. The official announcement said the cause of death was “complications from a heart condition.” Leach was a successful coach and an architect of the so-called “Air Raid Offense”. He was also not one given to coach-speak; Leach was candid, and he was willing and able to discuss matters outside the realm of football Xs and Os. While the coach at Washington State, Leach taught an academic course titled, “Insurgent Warfare and Football Strategy”. I would sign up for that course.
Rest in peace, Mike Leach…
Last week, the Washington Post published a report from three of its sportswriters who have been central to the story of the “toxic workplace” conditions that seem to have existed – – and may continue to exist for all I know – – in the organization currently known as the Washington Commanders. Liz Clarke, Mark Maske and Nicki Jhabvala have been on this story since their original reporting more than a year ago. Here is a link to their latest report; it is lengthy but if you are interested in the latest “scoop” on this story, I commend it to your reading.
This reporting came on the heels of the release of a report by the committee investigating all of this in the US House of Representatives. I am on record saying that the investigation there is grandstanding by politicians simply because Congressional hearings are supposed to provide lawmakers with insights that they will then use to craft legislation. I remain skeptical that any such legislation will ever come from these hearings; ergo…
There is, however, something in the depths of this report that I – as a layman – think is important. According to the story in the Post, Bruce Allen (former Team President) testified under oath that an NFL official told Allen that it was the Washington team that leaked his email exchanges with Jon Gruden to the Wall Street Journal that led eventually to Gruden being fired as the coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. Obviously, I have no idea if any or all of that is true, but it is testimony under oath and that ought to provide Gruden’s legal team additional ammunition in their litigation against the league and the Commissioner.
With the majority in the House of Representatives changing next month as a result of the recent mid-term elections, this committee and its investigation are about to dry up and blow away – – but I have a feeling that this story has not yet run its course.
Moving on … The Tennessee Titans lead their division in the NFL as of this morning, but that status is due in large measure to the ineptitude of the other three teams in that division. That is a situation where a short-attention-span owner can convince himself/herself that the current head coach is a dunderhead and what the team really needs is some sort of infusion of intelligence in its leadership roles and that infusion of intelligence must come from the uber-smart owner taking action and firing the coach. It rarely works. The Titans took a different tack in recent weeks; the Titans fired their GM and not their coach.
More often than not, I think the reason coaches get fired in mid-season is because the roster they have to work with is less talented than the rosters of their opponents. Normally, that blame ought to – at a minimum – be shared between the coach and the GM; but normally, it is the GM who survives. Not so in Tennessee. And that action leads me to wonder what might happen to the GMs in cities where the NFL team is either playing badly or is clearly talent deficient. Consider:
- Houston Texans: They have a young roster that may develop into a worthy opponent in a year or three, but the current roster is simply outgunned most of the time. The Texans were one-and-done with a coach last year; if they were to fire Lovie Smith at the end of this disastrous season (current record is 1-11-1 with the worst point differential in the NFL), they will not be a magnet for “hot coaching prospects”. So, might the GM in Houston – – Nick Caserio – – be the one “held accountable” for this year’s tire fire?
- Chicago Bears: The Bears’ situation is like the Texans’ situation; the team is young, but it is overmatched most of the time in 2022. The record is 3-10-0 and they too have a first-year head coach who was hired to replace a coach who left Chicago with an overall winning record. The big difference here is that the Bears’
GM, Ryan Poles, is also in his first year on the job. One can question his strategy of trading away his best defensive players in mid-season to accumulate draft capital, but he is not the architect of this roster. We shall see, but I expect that the Bears will stand pat this offseason. - Denver Broncos: The Broncos must be the biggest disappointment league wide. After parting with 4 draft picks and 3 experienced players to acquire Russell Wilson from the Seahawks, some folks had the Broncos as one of the second-tier contenders for a Super Bowl appearance. That ain’t gonna happen. Moreover, the first-year coach in Denver – – Nathanial Hackett – – was hired because of the magic he could work with a talented QB; and that is not working either. [Aside: In email exchanges with a former colleague, he refers to the Denver coach as “Nathanial-He-Can’t Hackett.”] Both the coach-hiring decision and the QB-trace decision came from the desk of GM George Paton. I sense upheaval in Denver in about 6 weeks…
Those are three teams where one might expect some degree of change in the offseason. But to a lesser extent I think I will keep an eye on these other situations too:
- Arizona Cardinals: The roster is mediocre, and the coaching is hardly outstanding…
- Carolina Panthers: They already fired their coach, so who else is around to take a fall…?
- Indy Colts: Who knows what Jim Irsay’s next move might be? I am not sure even Irsay knows the answer to that – – and they too have already fired their coach…
- New Orleans Saints: Dennis Allen is a first-year coach; the Saints should have a top draft pick – – but that was traded away to the Eagles last year by the GM and not the new coach…
Finally, much of today’s rant has dealt with management and/or leadership. So, let close with several observations on those topics:
“The key to being a good manager is keeping the people who hate me away from those who are still undecided.” [Casey Stengel]
And …
“When trouble arises and things look bad, there is always one individual who perceives a solution and is willing to take command. Very often, that person is crazy.” [Dave Barry]
And …
“There are two kinds of people, those who do the work and those who take the credit. Try to be in the first group; there is less competition there.” [Douglas Adams]
But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………