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.... Would you create a brain trust department to ALWAYS have an alternative coaching staff plan ? It seems like it would be a worthwhile endeavor.

 

A defcon 2 plan.

 

If a situation like this arises ... You already have a better list of coaches to run through .. guys that are talented, have passed through the interview process already and that you are familiar with. You know their system and fundamental beliefs, and you know that they have shown interest in the team.

 

With a billion dollar enterprise you'd think it would be a smart idea.

 

 

 

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I think most sought after coaches, get jobs and contracts that prevent them from being the brain trust for another team.  Unless this brain trust is comprised of former coaches then I guess maybe you could create this trust but who the **** wants to sit on the bench only to be called into save someone else's mess?

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So ideally you obviously hire a HC and they become a long term HC for you and even in down years there jobs not at risk.

 

But let’s say you hire a guy on the fence like we did. Unproven and wasn’t winning.

IMO we actually did what I would want to do. Groom the coordinators as guys that could be HCs one day. Now Hackett had his chance had HC and was trash. Ulbrich hasn’t. So that’s why it made sense to promote him. Besides the obvious that the D is great and the O is garbage.

 

Now the kicker here is that I don’t think Woody addressed the right issue. Saleh wasn’t good and firing him wasn’t wrong. But the issue is the offense. And today we have the exact same staff and players on offense as we did with Saleh. So to think just by firing Saleh and having Ulbrich now as HC will fix the O is delusional.

 

Something has to change on offense. Let’s be real… we need AR here to win football games. So if keeping Hackett is something that’s a must. Ok. But take play calling away from him. Give it to someone else. Not sure who. And that’s maybe why we haven’t done it. That no one in house is this great mind we feel like would be an upgrade. Downing seems less than impressive and not sure any of the positional coaches are ready for that.

And quite frankly you can’t grab someone off the street and bring them in and totally change the offense and expect guys to learn it on the go. So looking outside the organization mid season is just not realistic.

 

Issue is that our top 2 offensive minds just aren’t good. In Hackett and Downing.

It baffles me that every single season we have garbage as an OC and coaches.

 

So if I was an owner of us….. I’d make sure I had an incredibly good offensive minded staff. I’d have an offensive HC with a OC learning from my HC. And a good DC like an Ulbrich.

 

Ulbrich now has an opportunity to prove himself. But to do that. He has to grow a pair and make changes on offense. And time will show if he does that. We don’t have to wait all TC and all to see what he’s like. We see it in 5 days. If this offense looks the exact same and we lose. For me that’s all I need to see. That doesn’t mean get rid of Ulbrich as HC. That means Hackett has to get demoted for sure and we have to try something different on offense.

 

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Right now on offense that’s what we’re doing. 

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Doesn’t matter who you pick as coaxh. Players can’t learn a whole new system week 5. Saleh lost the locker room and they seem to like Ulbrich. If they come out and play their asses off for him then that’s about the best you can hope for and at least will be fun to watch. 

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I'm sure owners do have a list of potential GM replacements at all times.  As far as HC's, I think I'd let my GM make the recommendation to me.

That said, I think my #1 priority would be to make a huge push for a guy like Jim Harbaugh.  A no-nonsense guy you know has done it before.  Mike Vrabel would be another option that I'd like.  He's young enough to put his stamp on the team for a long time.

But even further, the first 2 years after I bought the team (assuming it was a bad team), I'd want to trade off assets for draft picks and then trade those draft picks for future picks.  Basically, I'd want to set it up so that I'd have multiple 1st and 2nd rounders for a couple of years and then I'd want my GM to constantly trade at least one of those high picks back for future picks (or at least trade down).  This way I'd know my team would always have a pipeline of multiple high draft picks.  That would create an extremely enticing situation for a GM/HC.  You could quickly build a team in your image.  Plus you wouldn't get crushed by 2nd contracts.  (Players could be replaced).

 

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So ideally you obviously hire a HC and they become a long term HC for you and even in down years there jobs not at risk.
 
But let’s say you hire a guy on the fence like we did. Unproven and wasn’t winning.
IMO we actually did what I would want to do. Groom the coordinators as guys that could be HCs one day. Now Hackett had his chance had HC and was trash. Ulbrich hasn’t. So that’s why it made sense to promote him. Besides the obvious that the D is great and the O is garbage.
 
Now the kicker here is that I don’t think Woody addressed the right issue. Saleh wasn’t good and firing him wasn’t wrong. But the issue is the offense. And today we have the exact same staff and players on offense as we did with Saleh. So to think just by firing Saleh and having Ulbrich now as HC will fix the O is delusional.
 
Something has to change on offense. Let’s be real… we need AR here to win football games. So if keeping Hackett is something that’s a must. Ok. But take play calling away from him. Give it to someone else. Not sure who. And that’s maybe why we haven’t done it. That no one in house is this great mind we feel like would be an upgrade. Downing seems less than impressive and not sure any of the positional coaches are ready for that.
And quite frankly you can’t grab someone off the street and bring them in and totally change the offense and expect guys to learn it on the go. So looking outside the organization mid season is just not realistic.
 
Issue is that our top 2 offensive minds just aren’t good. In Hackett and Downing.
It baffles me that every single season we have garbage as an OC and coaches.
 
So if I was an owner of us….. I’d make sure I had an incredibly good offensive minded staff. I’d have an offensive HC with a OC learning from my HC. And a good DC like an Ulbrich.
 
Ulbrich now has an opportunity to prove himself. But to do that. He has to grow a pair and make changes on offense. And time will show if he does that. We don’t have to wait all TC and all to see what he’s like. We see it in 5 days. If this offense looks the exact same and we lose. For me that’s all I need to see. That doesn’t mean get rid of Ulbrich as HC. That means Hackett has to get demoted for sure and we have to try something different on offense.
 
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Right now on offense that’s what we’re doing. 


It depends how the HC and the OC interact.

Saleh may have taken the "hands off" approach and given Hack free rein on the game plan, scripted plays, situation calls etc. But Ulbrich can come in now and say - I want to see X, I want to see Y, and if you EVER call that same predictable crap on 3rd and 1 you're out the door Monday morning.

Purely hypothetical example - but that is where the difference that a HC can make comes in. It's how you can have the same ingredients and get a much nicer meal - because the chef is paying closer attention to everything you do and will chew you out if you screw up.

Sent from my Pixel 7 using Tapatalk

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I don’t know if I would have a contingency plan per se, that’s kind of like hiring a divorce lawyer the day after you get married. What I would always have though is a “wish list” of people in both coaching and organization that if they ever became available you might make a call. That list would be fluid, updated every few months.

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You can’t just bring in a whole new coaching staff in week 6 and expect it to work. First of all there’s nobody worth while sitting at home right now who’s gonna jump off the couch to coach the team today. They need to bring in a whole staff, implement playbooks etc. it’s literally impossible 

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4 hours ago, Dunnie said:

 

.... Would you create a brain trust department to ALWAYS have an alternative coaching staff plan ? It seems like it would be a worthwhile endeavor.

 

A defcon 2 plan.

 

If a situation like this arises ... You already have a better list of coaches to run through .. guys that are talented, have passed through the interview process already and that you are familiar with. You know their system and fundamental beliefs, and you know that they have shown interest in the team.

 

With a billion dollar enterprise you'd think it would be a smart idea.

 

 

 

Sent from my Pixel 7 using Tapatalk

 

 

 

It is not like Woody has not tried something like this in the past.

He used H&S (imo one of the absolute worst consulting/headhunting firms around), former coaches as consultants and a few other methods.

Frankly, firing RS this early in the year gives the Jets plenty of time to look at options.

In my old job I spoke to hundreds of global companies who answered "No" to the "Does your firm have a succession plan in place if Chairman, CEO or President chooses to depart?

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4 hours ago, Dunnie said:

 

.... Would you create a brain trust department to ALWAYS have an alternative coaching staff plan ? It seems like it would be a worthwhile endeavor.

 

A defcon 2 plan.

 

If a situation like this arises ... You already have a better list of coaches to run through .. guys that are talented, have passed through the interview process already and that you are familiar with. You know their system and fundamental beliefs, and you know that they have shown interest in the team.

 

With a billion dollar enterprise you'd think it would be a smart idea.

Model the franchise after the Steelers.

They were a joke.  They hired a transformative coach that raised the franchise.  Since then, they have hired two young coaches and allowed them to grow in their job. They have had a good GM paired with him.  Three HCs and four GMs in the last 50+ years.

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1 hour ago, Larz said:

Who would agree to that scenario on the coaching side?

They wouldn't necessarily need to know. It could be like the Ernie Adams situation where no-one below a certain level knew what exactly he was doing .... 

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5 hours ago, Dunnie said:

 

.... Would you create a brain trust department to ALWAYS have an alternative coaching staff plan ? It seems like it would be a worthwhile endeavor.

A defcon 2 plan.

If a situation like this arises ... You already have a better list of coaches to run through .. guys that are talented, have passed through the interview process already and that you are familiar with. You know their system and fundamental beliefs, and you know that they have shown interest in the team.

 

With a billion dollar enterprise you'd think it would be a smart idea.

I think if you are a smart owner, you cultivate relationships over the years, and you have people that you pay attention to, knowing that you may one day need to call on them.

Kraft, how he like BB, and then hired him later on.   Same as what he did with Mayo.

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I would give the team back to the people like the Packers do:  No single ownership, rather “demote” myself to a CEO type position.

I’d also ensure there was a VP type hired before making that major change (someone like Scott Pioli, maybe?) but his performance would of course be ultimately judged by the stockholders.  

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