Lack of leadership key issue for Cowboys
Originally posted by One.Cool.Customer from a sport forum:
As America???s Team the Boys deservedly get more flack than any other franchise in the NFL, including an inordinate amount of grief from their own fan base. Much of the beef is focused on individuals in the organization. And after a disappointing season, it is only natural that the criticism is focused on the most prominent faces of the franchise.
Heated debates are raging about Romo???s performance, with the verdicts ranging anywhere from mediocre to a statistical argument that after 39 starts he has better stats than Favre, Young, Aikman, Staubach, Bradshaw, P. Manning and Montana himself.
Coach Wade Phillips (he of the 0-4 postseason success) even has a curse associated with him, the ???Curse of Flutie??? (check out http://coldhardfootballfacts.com/Articles/11_2578_The_retur n_of_the_Curse_of_Flutie.html), and the Dallas Media has taken to fondly calling him Coach Cupcake.
Jason Garret is widely touted not only as the heir apparent for the Cowboy coaching job, but after the 12-3 season also as the greatest offensive coordinator to walk the face of this planet. Nobody so far has been able to answer a fairly simple question about that, ???Why????.
But I digress: The issue at the heart of the Cowboys difficulties is lack of leadership. All the other stuff, from Romo???s Cabo Trip, Coach Wade???s recent ???gag order???, the December meltdowns and even the whole T.O. situation are just symptoms.
But what does leadership look like? The role of a leader, be it formal or informal, is to influence a group or team to achieve a common goal, particularly in the face of adversity. Leadership inspires a group to come together as a team and play at the best of their ability - even when they are losing.
Importantly, leadership is inextricably linked to accountability. This means accepting responsibility for the outcomes expected of you, both good and bad. You don???t blame others. And you don???t blame the external environment. There are always things you could have done, or still can do, to change the outcome. Until you take responsibility, you are a victim. And being a victim is the exact opposite of being a leader. Victims are passive. They are acted upon. Leaders are active. They take initiative to influence the outcome.
The first place to look for leadership in any franchise would obviously be the head coach or coaching staff. Yet both Phillips and Garret, at least in public, have shown a remarkable aversion to taking a leadership role in this franchise, particularly with regard to the accountability part. To some extent, this is due to Jerry Jones and the role he plays with this franchise, but it does not absolve the coaches from responsibility. To his credit he does have three rings, but Jerry is displaying all the classic signs of a Micromanager, taking perfectly positive attributes - an attention to detail and a hands-on attitude - to the extreme. Either because he???s control-obsessed, or because he feels driven to push everyone around him to success, Jerry risks disempowering his staff. Micromanaging can ruin a staffs confidence, hurt their performance, and frustrate them to the point where they resign. A typical sign of a micromanaged organization is the inability of staffers to make important decisions on their own. Who in the end had to step in and release T.O.? I rest my case.
So, is the solution to fire Coach Phillips, like so many people seem to believe (see firewadephillips.com), and replace the current player-friendly coach with a no-nonsense disciplinarian? Look how well that worked with Parcells! No, the answer is for Jerry to stop meddling and empower his coaching staff.
The second place to look for leadership is obviously within the team itself. A leader makes his teammates believe deep in their hearts that if you follow him, you will win. This requires a lot of responsibility and charisma on the part of the leader, but it???s also what separates good players from the Hall of Fame players. Often, this role falls to the QB as the most exposed player (Brady, P. Manning, Big Ben, others), but also to other players on the roster (Ray Lewis, L.T., Marvin Harrison etc.).
Which current player displays these leadership abilities? The answer, I believe, is simple. Not one. We certainly have a number of outstanding players but a LEADER OF MEN? Not one. Case in point: the whole T.O. disaster is a direct result of the absence of leadership in the locker room and on the field with this team. Allowing a petulant child to act up will only happen in situations where there is no leadership to put that child down. And in our case, neither the coaches nor the players were willing or able to step up to T.O.. Nope it had to be handled by the head honcho J.J. himself.
Vince Lombardi once said "Leaders are made, they are not born. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile."
Without some players stepping up and taking on visible and strong leadership roles, we will continue to be an average team with great individual players that disintegrates at the slightest bit of pressure.
Now more than ever, the Cowboy nation is looking to our veteran players to man up, take leadership, unite the locker room and instill a sense of accountability. If the team can get this done, playoff glory beckons.
As America???s Team the Boys deservedly get more flack than any other franchise in the NFL, including an inordinate amount of grief from their own fan base. Much of the beef is focused on individuals in the organization. And after a disappointing season, it is only natural that the criticism is focused on the most prominent faces of the franchise.
Heated debates are raging about Romo???s performance, with the verdicts ranging anywhere from mediocre to a statistical argument that after 39 starts he has better stats than Favre, Young, Aikman, Staubach, Bradshaw, P. Manning and Montana himself.
Coach Wade Phillips (he of the 0-4 postseason success) even has a curse associated with him, the ???Curse of Flutie??? (check out http://coldhardfootballfacts.com/Articles/11_2578_The_retur n_of_the_Curse_of_Flutie.html), and the Dallas Media has taken to fondly calling him Coach Cupcake.
Jason Garret is widely touted not only as the heir apparent for the Cowboy coaching job, but after the 12-3 season also as the greatest offensive coordinator to walk the face of this planet. Nobody so far has been able to answer a fairly simple question about that, ???Why????.
But I digress: The issue at the heart of the Cowboys difficulties is lack of leadership. All the other stuff, from Romo???s Cabo Trip, Coach Wade???s recent ???gag order???, the December meltdowns and even the whole T.O. situation are just symptoms.
But what does leadership look like? The role of a leader, be it formal or informal, is to influence a group or team to achieve a common goal, particularly in the face of adversity. Leadership inspires a group to come together as a team and play at the best of their ability - even when they are losing.
Importantly, leadership is inextricably linked to accountability. This means accepting responsibility for the outcomes expected of you, both good and bad. You don???t blame others. And you don???t blame the external environment. There are always things you could have done, or still can do, to change the outcome. Until you take responsibility, you are a victim. And being a victim is the exact opposite of being a leader. Victims are passive. They are acted upon. Leaders are active. They take initiative to influence the outcome.
The first place to look for leadership in any franchise would obviously be the head coach or coaching staff. Yet both Phillips and Garret, at least in public, have shown a remarkable aversion to taking a leadership role in this franchise, particularly with regard to the accountability part. To some extent, this is due to Jerry Jones and the role he plays with this franchise, but it does not absolve the coaches from responsibility. To his credit he does have three rings, but Jerry is displaying all the classic signs of a Micromanager, taking perfectly positive attributes - an attention to detail and a hands-on attitude - to the extreme. Either because he???s control-obsessed, or because he feels driven to push everyone around him to success, Jerry risks disempowering his staff. Micromanaging can ruin a staffs confidence, hurt their performance, and frustrate them to the point where they resign. A typical sign of a micromanaged organization is the inability of staffers to make important decisions on their own. Who in the end had to step in and release T.O.? I rest my case.
So, is the solution to fire Coach Phillips, like so many people seem to believe (see firewadephillips.com), and replace the current player-friendly coach with a no-nonsense disciplinarian? Look how well that worked with Parcells! No, the answer is for Jerry to stop meddling and empower his coaching staff.
The second place to look for leadership is obviously within the team itself. A leader makes his teammates believe deep in their hearts that if you follow him, you will win. This requires a lot of responsibility and charisma on the part of the leader, but it???s also what separates good players from the Hall of Fame players. Often, this role falls to the QB as the most exposed player (Brady, P. Manning, Big Ben, others), but also to other players on the roster (Ray Lewis, L.T., Marvin Harrison etc.).
Which current player displays these leadership abilities? The answer, I believe, is simple. Not one. We certainly have a number of outstanding players but a LEADER OF MEN? Not one. Case in point: the whole T.O. disaster is a direct result of the absence of leadership in the locker room and on the field with this team. Allowing a petulant child to act up will only happen in situations where there is no leadership to put that child down. And in our case, neither the coaches nor the players were willing or able to step up to T.O.. Nope it had to be handled by the head honcho J.J. himself.
Vince Lombardi once said "Leaders are made, they are not born. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile."
Without some players stepping up and taking on visible and strong leadership roles, we will continue to be an average team with great individual players that disintegrates at the slightest bit of pressure.
Now more than ever, the Cowboy nation is looking to our veteran players to man up, take leadership, unite the locker room and instill a sense of accountability. If the team can get this done, playoff glory beckons.
posted by The Gryphon at 8:43 PM
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