COMMENTARY : Owners will tell you, it's never their fault
BY WILLIAM C. RHODEN NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE
Posted on Friday, January 2, 2009
Just as we were getting over a string of head-coach firings in the NFL, the stunning news came out of Denver on Tuesday that the Broncos' president, Pat Bowlen, had fired Mike Shanahan.
Bowlen walked into Shanahan's office and, in the course of a five-minute conversation, ended a 14-year marriage.
Why? After all, they had made pretty good music together, winning two Super Bowls. Perhaps Shanahan had become too entrenched. Perhaps Bowlen, like Jerry Jones when his Dallas Cowboys had Jimmy Johnson, wanted his franchise back.
"After giving this careful consideration, I have concluded that a change in our football operations is in the best interests of the Denver Broncos," Bowlen said in a statement Tuesday.
A day later, Bowlen was teary-eyed at his news conference as he discussed Shanahan's dismissal. But all these news conferences have the same feel: gloom with just a tinge of excitement about the execution.
Once, just once, I'd like to hear an owner call a news conference to make the following announcement: As the quarterback of this franchise, I realize that I've made a number of bad reads. I've held the ball too long and taken some bad sacks. We are where we are today because of my bad decisions. I'm going to make a good decision today. Effective immediately, I am firing myself as owner.
This is a dream, of course.
The reality is that team owners place the blame for failure everywhere except in the owner's suite. That's one of the perks of being an owner: You can fire the coach in midseason, make folks push other folks overboard, make employees take the fall for your frailties.
They do this with impunity. Owners are, as B.B. King astutely points out, paying the cost to be the boss.
Before the season, the Jets' owner, Woody Johnson, called Eric Mangini one of the great up-and-coming coaches of our time and said he would be back in 2009.
Four months later, he fired Mangini. I know; that was then, this is now.
As the former coach Bum Phillips is often quoted as saying, "There's two kinds of coaches, them that's fired and them that's gonna be fired."
Shanahan's firing brings to seven the number of coaches who have been dismissed since the 2008 season began. This week, Romeo Crennel of the Cleveland Browns, Rod Marinelli of the Detroit Lions, Mangini and Shanahan were all axed.
During the season, the Oakland Raiders' owner, Al Davis, angrily dismissed Lane Kiffin, the St. Louis Rams fired Scott Linehan and the San Francisco 49ers fired Mike Nolan. And who knows if we're done?
Meanwhile, don't shed any tears for Mangini or Shanahan. The Jets owe Mangini $2 million and Shanahan's contract still had three years left, worth about $20 million. Construction is being completed on Shanahan's palatial estate just outside Denver, although he could easily wind up in Dallas as a perfect fit for everything - except perhaps Jerry Jones' ego.
Owners are like children. Their teams are their multimillion-dollar toys. When children don't get their way, they throw tantrums. When things don't go right for owners, they fire people - the head coach, his assistants or maybe the general manager.
Mangini was fired after the Jets' devastating loss to Miami at the hands of the ex-Jet Chad Pennington. For Shanahan, the end came two days after the Broncos' embarrassing 52-21 loss to the San Diego Chargers. Denver became the first team to let a three-game lead with three games left slip away since divisional play began in 1967.
For the Jets, the search begins, especially now that Bill Cowher has removed himself from consideration. Woody Johnson and General Manager Mike Tannenbaum have to do what they might not be capable of - roll up their sleeves, dig, scour and find a diamond in the rough.
I'm not sure the Jets even know what they are looking for. What type of football personality do they want to forge? They made the easy calls last season, bringing in Brett Favre, improving the offensive line. No rocket science there. But replacing Mangini will be more difficult.
If Shanahan expresses interest, the Jets just might drape themselves around him. Who could blame them? Shanahan develops quarterbacks, and the Jets, unsure of Favre's status, need to start preparing alternatives.
If Shanahan is not interested, the Jets will have to look below the surface for talent. Can Tannenbaum do what Bill Parcells did in Miami when he hired Tony Sparano? Can Tannenbaum do what Thomas Dimitroff, a first-year general manager, did in Atlanta when he hired Mike Smith? Can he do what Ozzie Newsome did in Baltimore when he hired John Harbaugh? Those general managers found coaches who just might be jewels.
All we know about Johnson is that he loves Favre, loves the idea of having a likely Hall of Famer as the face of his franchise. But will Favre help the Jets forge an identity, or will he simply help sell more personal seat licenses? Will Johnson, at some point, be sharing a news conference with Shanahan? Who knows? What I do know is that just once, I'd love to see an owner call a news conference and fire himself. Just once.
Posted on Friday, January 2, 2009
Just as we were getting over a string of head-coach firings in the NFL, the stunning news came out of Denver on Tuesday that the Broncos' president, Pat Bowlen, had fired Mike Shanahan.
Bowlen walked into Shanahan's office and, in the course of a five-minute conversation, ended a 14-year marriage.
Why? After all, they had made pretty good music together, winning two Super Bowls. Perhaps Shanahan had become too entrenched. Perhaps Bowlen, like Jerry Jones when his Dallas Cowboys had Jimmy Johnson, wanted his franchise back.
"After giving this careful consideration, I have concluded that a change in our football operations is in the best interests of the Denver Broncos," Bowlen said in a statement Tuesday.
A day later, Bowlen was teary-eyed at his news conference as he discussed Shanahan's dismissal. But all these news conferences have the same feel: gloom with just a tinge of excitement about the execution.
Once, just once, I'd like to hear an owner call a news conference to make the following announcement: As the quarterback of this franchise, I realize that I've made a number of bad reads. I've held the ball too long and taken some bad sacks. We are where we are today because of my bad decisions. I'm going to make a good decision today. Effective immediately, I am firing myself as owner.
This is a dream, of course.
The reality is that team owners place the blame for failure everywhere except in the owner's suite. That's one of the perks of being an owner: You can fire the coach in midseason, make folks push other folks overboard, make employees take the fall for your frailties.
They do this with impunity. Owners are, as B.B. King astutely points out, paying the cost to be the boss.
Before the season, the Jets' owner, Woody Johnson, called Eric Mangini one of the great up-and-coming coaches of our time and said he would be back in 2009.
Four months later, he fired Mangini. I know; that was then, this is now.
As the former coach Bum Phillips is often quoted as saying, "There's two kinds of coaches, them that's fired and them that's gonna be fired."
Shanahan's firing brings to seven the number of coaches who have been dismissed since the 2008 season began. This week, Romeo Crennel of the Cleveland Browns, Rod Marinelli of the Detroit Lions, Mangini and Shanahan were all axed.
During the season, the Oakland Raiders' owner, Al Davis, angrily dismissed Lane Kiffin, the St. Louis Rams fired Scott Linehan and the San Francisco 49ers fired Mike Nolan. And who knows if we're done?
Meanwhile, don't shed any tears for Mangini or Shanahan. The Jets owe Mangini $2 million and Shanahan's contract still had three years left, worth about $20 million. Construction is being completed on Shanahan's palatial estate just outside Denver, although he could easily wind up in Dallas as a perfect fit for everything - except perhaps Jerry Jones' ego.
Owners are like children. Their teams are their multimillion-dollar toys. When children don't get their way, they throw tantrums. When things don't go right for owners, they fire people - the head coach, his assistants or maybe the general manager.
Mangini was fired after the Jets' devastating loss to Miami at the hands of the ex-Jet Chad Pennington. For Shanahan, the end came two days after the Broncos' embarrassing 52-21 loss to the San Diego Chargers. Denver became the first team to let a three-game lead with three games left slip away since divisional play began in 1967.
For the Jets, the search begins, especially now that Bill Cowher has removed himself from consideration. Woody Johnson and General Manager Mike Tannenbaum have to do what they might not be capable of - roll up their sleeves, dig, scour and find a diamond in the rough.
I'm not sure the Jets even know what they are looking for. What type of football personality do they want to forge? They made the easy calls last season, bringing in Brett Favre, improving the offensive line. No rocket science there. But replacing Mangini will be more difficult.
If Shanahan expresses interest, the Jets just might drape themselves around him. Who could blame them? Shanahan develops quarterbacks, and the Jets, unsure of Favre's status, need to start preparing alternatives.
If Shanahan is not interested, the Jets will have to look below the surface for talent. Can Tannenbaum do what Bill Parcells did in Miami when he hired Tony Sparano? Can Tannenbaum do what Thomas Dimitroff, a first-year general manager, did in Atlanta when he hired Mike Smith? Can he do what Ozzie Newsome did in Baltimore when he hired John Harbaugh? Those general managers found coaches who just might be jewels.
All we know about Johnson is that he loves Favre, loves the idea of having a likely Hall of Famer as the face of his franchise. But will Favre help the Jets forge an identity, or will he simply help sell more personal seat licenses? Will Johnson, at some point, be sharing a news conference with Shanahan? Who knows? What I do know is that just once, I'd love to see an owner call a news conference and fire himself. Just once.
posted by The Gryphon at 9:40 AM
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