plasticman
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It used to be that there was no doubt who controlled an NFL team, it was the Head Coach.
The Head Coach ran the entire team. In order to do this , of course, he needed some help. Therefore, he would hire assistants called coordinators. He split the duties up between offense and defense. He would then hire other assistants to work under them. Each half of the team, offense and defense, would be split into squads run by these assistant coaches.
However, there was no doubting who the top guy was. Not only did he run the team, he designed the team philosophy and and game strategies....for both offense and defense. They really couldn't be separated at the level of game preparation, the strategies for offense and defense were more intertwined. the coordinators were simply the assistants that made sure his plan was put into action during practices and meetings.
These days, I notice coordinators coming in with their own ideas as if the head Coach has no ideas on one particular side of the team. It's as if the coordinators are the architects and the Head Coach is the bureaucratic manager that sits in his office filling out reports.
"Marinelli's defense", "Nolan's defense", "Moore's offense"...it seems as though NFL coordinators are no longer extensions of the Head Coach, but creative entity's on their own. There is no central architect, no singular visionary, the HC is only a capable administrator.
It would have been extremely rare, in the past, for the media to interview a coordinator. He would not have been expected to describe his particular philosophy or expectations because they were irrelevant. They would be whatever the Head Coach said they would be.
Both Tom Landry and Jimmy Johnson were defensive coordinators but they were also offensive innovators as Head Coaches. Landry invented numerous offensive concepts like passing from the shotgun and pre-snap movement. Jimmy described his offensive strategy before his Cowboys ever played a down and he drafted according to this strategy.
This may seem rather authoritarian...because it absolutely is. That's because it absolutely has to be.
True, playing football is not a military operation. However, the game is designed as if it is and we acknowledge that by applying military concepts and even language into the game.
"Field general", "Squad", "Blitz", "Long bomb", "Formation", "Gunners"?
Uniforms, names on the back, numerical designations?
The most important military concept in organized sports is "singular authority". In the army, every soldier knows who gives him his orders. In the middle of a battle, if two different men were to yell, "Follow me!", soldiers would die".
I'm not saying that playing football is equal to serving and putting your life on the line. I'm saying that it is critically important on a football team to know who has the authority, who is in charge of everything pertaining to the team itself. Ambiguity creates uncertainty. Uncertainty creates mistakes. Discipline breaks down.
There can be only one person in total charge of the team itself. When it comes to making a decision, whether it be in a game or game plan or how to utilize players. It has to come down to a single authority, decision by committee has never worked, will never work. Making these decisions must be completed with confidence, a committee decision implies that there may have been some dissent. Dissent erodes confidence.
There should also be one single voice, and this voice should come from the only person qualified to assure it's accuracy. That should be the Head Coach, not a coordinator, not the GM and certainly not the owner.
This is Mike McCarthy's team. Win or lose, it's his name that appears in the appropriate column, the only one that should be relevant.
The Head Coach ran the entire team. In order to do this , of course, he needed some help. Therefore, he would hire assistants called coordinators. He split the duties up between offense and defense. He would then hire other assistants to work under them. Each half of the team, offense and defense, would be split into squads run by these assistant coaches.
However, there was no doubting who the top guy was. Not only did he run the team, he designed the team philosophy and and game strategies....for both offense and defense. They really couldn't be separated at the level of game preparation, the strategies for offense and defense were more intertwined. the coordinators were simply the assistants that made sure his plan was put into action during practices and meetings.
These days, I notice coordinators coming in with their own ideas as if the head Coach has no ideas on one particular side of the team. It's as if the coordinators are the architects and the Head Coach is the bureaucratic manager that sits in his office filling out reports.
"Marinelli's defense", "Nolan's defense", "Moore's offense"...it seems as though NFL coordinators are no longer extensions of the Head Coach, but creative entity's on their own. There is no central architect, no singular visionary, the HC is only a capable administrator.
It would have been extremely rare, in the past, for the media to interview a coordinator. He would not have been expected to describe his particular philosophy or expectations because they were irrelevant. They would be whatever the Head Coach said they would be.
Both Tom Landry and Jimmy Johnson were defensive coordinators but they were also offensive innovators as Head Coaches. Landry invented numerous offensive concepts like passing from the shotgun and pre-snap movement. Jimmy described his offensive strategy before his Cowboys ever played a down and he drafted according to this strategy.
This may seem rather authoritarian...because it absolutely is. That's because it absolutely has to be.
True, playing football is not a military operation. However, the game is designed as if it is and we acknowledge that by applying military concepts and even language into the game.
"Field general", "Squad", "Blitz", "Long bomb", "Formation", "Gunners"?
Uniforms, names on the back, numerical designations?
The most important military concept in organized sports is "singular authority". In the army, every soldier knows who gives him his orders. In the middle of a battle, if two different men were to yell, "Follow me!", soldiers would die".
I'm not saying that playing football is equal to serving and putting your life on the line. I'm saying that it is critically important on a football team to know who has the authority, who is in charge of everything pertaining to the team itself. Ambiguity creates uncertainty. Uncertainty creates mistakes. Discipline breaks down.
There can be only one person in total charge of the team itself. When it comes to making a decision, whether it be in a game or game plan or how to utilize players. It has to come down to a single authority, decision by committee has never worked, will never work. Making these decisions must be completed with confidence, a committee decision implies that there may have been some dissent. Dissent erodes confidence.
There should also be one single voice, and this voice should come from the only person qualified to assure it's accuracy. That should be the Head Coach, not a coordinator, not the GM and certainly not the owner.
This is Mike McCarthy's team. Win or lose, it's his name that appears in the appropriate column, the only one that should be relevant.
