NFL Coaching Carousel I

Jan 05

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The NFL regular season just ended and immediately the firing, resigning and retiring of coaches started:

Head Coaches Dennis Green ( Arizona Cardinals) and Jim Mora, jr. ( Atlanta Falcons) got fired immediately on Jan. 1st 2007.

Let me comment the firing of these two firings before I go on to other (Head)coaching changes:

- Dennis Green: Got fired after 3 disappointing seasons, during which the team didn’t make any progress at all (6-10, 5-11, 5-11).

I think after 3 seasons without any progress in the win column, yes, you should go for a change at the Headcoach position – that is, if the (only) goal for your organization is winning - remember there are organizations which have different priorities and rank other goals higher than winning (well everybody wants to win, it’s just a question of what price you are willing to pay and I’m not talking about money). But this is the NFL and the only thing that counts in the end is wins…

Just why did they give Dennis Green a 4-year contract in the first place? If you evaluate him after 3 years – which I think is a fair timespan – give him a 3-year contract for crying out loud, and extend his contract if he proves to be the man. On the other hand if you are totally convinced he’s the man, then give him a 5-year contract and save some money on the last 2 years (avoiding or postponing the raise when extending). But 4 years? That’s not neither nor, neither a "He’s the man" commitment nor a clear "Prove yourself" statement. That’s just in between – and a costly in between: $2.5 million.

to be continued…