Why can't Jerry do this - Reich's letter to Colts fans

ShortRound

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Full letter:
https://www.colts.com/news/a-letter-from-coach-reich

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I want to thank you for your unwavering support this season. Although we fell a couple steps short of our desired goal, this was a special year. We have tremendous players and leaders in our locker room. We have a top-notch coaching staff. We have an intelligent and passionate general manager and football operations staff. And most of all, the Irsay family supports us and wants the best for you. We are excited about the future!

Flying home from Kansas City this past Saturday, I was thinking about the chapter by chapter journey of our season, and I felt compelled to share a few thoughts with you in hopes that you would be both encouraged and maybe even inspired.

At our very first team meeting last April, we laid out a vision that the foundation of our club would be built on three T’s: Trust, Toughness and Team. We chose to have our definition of toughness as a focal point. Painted in the locker room and on our wall as we walk out to practice: “a relentless pursuit to get better every day, an obsession to finish.”

Our daily commitment was focused on people and process. We decided we would surrender the outcome to focus on the process. We believed if we committed to getting “1% better every day” the desired results would follow.

Our conviction in this belief was challenged when we found ourselves at 1-5. With our backs against the wall, we did not change anything – we remained committed to people and process. But it was at this point that we began to use the mantra “1-0” to express our mentality, and at the same time, emphasize a sense of urgency!

We all know “1-0” is not original, and with no context provided, it might even seem a bit ordinary. But ask any team who has ever had their backs to the wall if “1-0” is ordinary. For that matter, ask any person facing difficulties (financial, health, personal), fighting hard just to make it through the next day or the next week…ask them if this kind of mindset is ordinary? The answer, of course, is no. On the contrary, taking a “getting better every day/1-0” mindset is the best approach to overcoming seemingly impossible circumstances.

So, with our backs against the wall, “1-0” took hold. An important side note: there’s only one reason anything sticks in the NFL. It’s the players. It’s the locker room. You need to have the depth of character and the right leadership for it to stick, and we have that!

So here we are at 1-5, we dug ourselves this hole. But what happened over the remaining weeks of the season was, as my daughters would say, “epic!” Only three teams in NFL history had overcome a 1-5 start and made the playoffs.

So how did our team overcome seemingly impossible odds? Well, it all started last April when everyone began making little “deposits” every day, fighting hard to find ways to grow and get better as individuals and as a team. All the way through organized team activities and through training camp. Even through our 1-5 start, no one failed to make a deposit every day. And these daily deposits compounded into something special. The reason for that was because we had commodities in our “account” that are priceless: trust and belief. That is what enabled these small daily deposits to accumulate so quickly.

So, when we were 1-5 and it appeared as if all was lost, nothing could have been further from the truth. The reality was our “account” was about to begin paying out weekly “dividends” that would result in us winning 10 out of the next 11 games. We were “climbing a mountain” only a few had ever climbed.


Week after week our team was tested on this climb. The resolve and focus of our players would not be denied. There was strength, determination and a bond from our players that was inspiring to us all! And although we didn’t quite make it to the top of the mountain this year, you can rest assured there were many lessons learned from our 2018 expedition that will help us in our climb for next year’s season.

On behalf of the entire Colts organization, we express our gratitude for you joining us on this journey, and we also hope you were inspired by our Team and by our “1-0” mantra in ways that might help you climb your own “mountains.”

THANK YOU!

Sincerely,

Frank Reich
Head Coach, Indianapolis Colts

Colts Mission Statement: “To entertain, inspire, and unite by winning the right way.”
 

ClappingCarrot

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I'm actually thankful Jason Garrett didn't make this kind of effort to the fans. It'd be something like this:

"How we doing, guys? We did a lot of great things this season, and some things that were not so great. Uh - but scratch, and claw, and fight. I want to thank this tremendous coaching staff for doing a helluva job with this group. And finally, and most importantly, I want to thank the Jones Family, for being the only FO in the NFL that will repeatedly allow me to fail so many times and still be able to keep my job. Alright thanks guys, good to see ya."
 

ShortRound

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Well, firstly, I would point out that Jerry is the Owner and Reich is a Head Coach. The better question might be, why can't Jason Garrett do this.

Yeah just an honest assessment, I know he's staying, just don't be afraid to lay out your faults and your plans to fix them.
I think he'd earn more respect if he did this. Approved by Jerry or not.
 

CATCH17

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Well, firstly, I would point out that Jerry is the Owner and Reich is a Head Coach. The better question might be, why can't Jason Garrett do this.

It's a very nice gesture by Reich to the fans but in Dallas we just know things are different.

Garrett knows the fan base doesn't like him and wants him gone and Jerry's ego is the only thing that matters anyways so as long as Jerry's ego is still inflated then he is safe as the Cowboys coach.


Other coaches know they have to win or get out and that an angry fan base is the quickest way to see them fired.


Winning is the Cowboys 3rd priority at best.

1. Jerry's ego

2. Revenue

3. Maybe winning.
 

jazzcat22

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I'm actually thankful Jason Garrett didn't make this kind of effort to the fans. It'd be something like this:

"How we doing, guys? We did a lot of great things this season, and some things that were not so great. Uh - but scratch, and claw, and fight. I want to thank this tremendous coaching staff for doing a helluva job with this group. And finally, and most importantly, I want to thank the Jones Family, for being the only FO in the NFL that will repeatedly allow me to fail so many times and still be able to keep my job. Alright thanks guys, good to see ya."


Need to put in a few repeat phrases.
helluva job, helluva job they did..
Oh, and claps, throw in some claps

:muttley:
 

Super_Kazuya

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Are people really pretending that if Garrett replaced “1-5” with “3-5” and “Colts” with “Cowboys” and published it that all would be forgiven with Cowboys fans?
 

Kaiser

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If Jason Garrett wrote this letter with the exact words "Our daily commitment was focused on people and process " there would be fifty threads here ripping on him.
 

acr731

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Just seems like an honest assessment of the season and excited for next season.
I'm not asking Garrett to say anything we know he's not in charge.



If Garrett were to pen a letter it would be to throw everyone under the bus, especially Linehan, and accept no responsibility whatsoever.

He would also express his displeasure that daddy told him he claps too much and made him stop.
 

Tommy

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Well, firstly, I would point out that Jerry is the Owner and Reich is a Head Coach. The better question might be, why can't Jason Garrett do this.
The Colts got destroyed in the playoffs.

This is a letter talking about what a great regular season they had and how they made an epic run from 1-5 to make the playoffs.

I'm sure CowboysZone would really appreciate a nice letter from Jason telling us how great it was to come back from 3-5 to win the division. I'm sure that letter would have gone over really well here.

Are we going to spend the entire off season making up things to cry about.
 

Hawkeye19

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Reich’s message is almost verbatim what Garrett has been preaching for 10 years: relentlessness, toughnes, process, team etc...

There is nothing wrong with the message in Dallas. There are numerous things wrong in the execution of that message.

Reich shared his perspective with the fans— which is a nice gesture— Garrett didn’t— no big deal.
 

OmerV

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Well, firstly, I would point out that Jerry is the Owner and Reich is a Head Coach. The better question might be, why can't Jason Garrett do this.

Why just Jason Garrett? Why not every NFL coach of a team that fell short of it's goals? There are some real criticisms to be made of Garrett, but this isn't one of them.
 
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