raleigh-panther

I have a subscription. Thought I’d share from S. Kapadia From the Athletic Dear NFL owners, don’t screw up your next head coach hire! Here are 10 guidelines to follow So far, we know that two NFL teams — the Jacksonville Jaguars and Las Vegas Raiders — are in the market for a new head coach. But more jobs are expected to open in the days and weeks ahead. Picking the right NFL head coach is challenging, and there are a lot of variables (and luck) that will determine whether the candidate succeeds or fails. The key for owners is to have a good process, give the coach the resources he needs, and hope for the best. Yet over and over again, we see teams make baffling decisions when it comes to the hiring process. So I’m here to help. The first version of this column published a couple years ago, but it’s time for an update. Below are 10 guidelines to follow when searching for a new head coach. Feel free to pass them along to your favorite owner! 1. Focus on leadership above all else Head-coaching responsibilities go far beyond scheme and X’s and O’s. You need someone who can build relationships with people at all levels of the organization — from the billionaire owner to the practice squad linebacker to the equipment staff. The truth is that winning consistently for an extended period of time is really, really hard. And adversity is pretty much always going to strike. Remember, Bill Belichick’s teams finished under .500 in five of his first six seasons as an NFL head coach. Andy Reid’s teams went 12-20 in his final two years with the Philadelphia Eagles. Mike Tomlin’s Pittsburgh Steelers teams haven’t won a playoff game since 2016. And those are some of the best coaches in the league. When things don’t go according to plan, does the coach have the ability to draw everyone together? Will members of the organization — from the players to the assistant coaches to the front office — believe in the head coach to right the ship? Or will the adversity lead to finger-pointing, a lack of accountability, and power struggles that only exacerbate the issues? There’s no perfect way to define leadership in this context. Authenticity definitely matters. Players can spot a phony from miles away. Consistency matters too. There are going to be a lot of ups and downs. An even temperament can be valuable. It usually means the coach is process-oriented, and that should trickle down to everyone else. Volatility can wear on people. If a coach has the belief of his players and the trust of his staff, he can navigate through many of the other challenges associated with the job. But if he’s not a great leader, the other stuff probably won’t matter. 2. Make sure you believe in their plan for building out a strong staff Aside from leadership, this is the biggest key to being successful. Pretty much every first-time head coach talks about all the things that come across his desk every day that he wasn’t expecting. The coach needs to be comfortable delegating. And the people he’s delegating to need to be good at their jobs. The process here is really important. How much thought has the candidate given to filling out his staff? You should be able to tell. Is he committed to searching far and wide for the best people? Is he looking for assistants who have expertise in schemes and systems that are different than his own? Does he embrace the advantages of building a diverse staff? Or is he just hiring guys with whom he’s friendly or shares an agent and then filling out the remaining spots with his sons? Don’t laugh. That’s actually a thing! This part of the interview process should tell you a lot about the candidate, including whether he’s going to be someone who people want to work with. The truth is the coach doesn’t need to be brilliant with X’s and O’s, scheming, and game plans. If he can hire the right people to lead the charge on those things, he can still be successful. 3. Find someone who can connect with players A couple years ago, Kalyn Kahler wrote a story about the end of the Matt Patricia era in Detroit that included a great anecdote: A group of 10 to 15 players made mimosas in the locker room before the final team meeting in 2018 as a way to celebrate the fact that they didn’t have to see Patricia again at least until OTAs. If you think that type of anecdote might apply to a coaching candidate you’re considering, it’s probably best to go in a different direction. Building relationships with players is crucial. They will be more invested when they feel their voice is being heard. There is great value in creating a culture where players enjoy going to work every day. They spend a lot of hours in the team facility. Discipline is important, but there’s a fine line. These are grown-ups, not teenagers. They don’t need coaches to be father figures. They need coaches who can help them maximize their potential. Make sure you’re hiring a coach who understands that. 4. Find someone who has a plan for achieving sustained offensive success There are two ways to go about this. The first is to hire an offensive head coach. Finding the next Reid or Sean Payton isn’t easy, but it does offer huge upside. An adaptable, innovative play-caller with the ability to do more with less or the ability to build a consistent, offensive juggernaut is a clear path to sustained overall success. Among the 20 teams that have made it to the conference championship over the past five years, 19 (95 percent!) finished in the top 10 in offensive DVOA. And 14 (70 percent!) finished in the top five. Over that same period, six (30 percent) finished in the top 10 in defensive DVOA, and five (25 percent) finished in the top five. That doesn’t mean defense is unimportant. But a great offense with a below-average defense generally profiles to a contending team. A great defense with a below-average offense does not. And offensive efficiency is more sticky year to year than defensive efficiency. So does that mean you should always target an offensive coach? Not necessarily. Refer back to the first guideline. Leadership trumps everything else. Some of the NFL’s best coaches — Tomlin, John Harbaugh — coached defense or special teams previously. But they are great leaders. The key, if you are hiring a defensive-minded or CEO-type head coach, is you need to make sure he has a well thought-out plan for building an efficient offense. And that can be complicated. Because if you employ a strong offensive play caller who produces impressive results, he’s probably going to get a head-coaching opportunity before long. That could make it difficult to build continuity. If a head-coaching candidate does not come from an offensive background, what’s his next move if his top offensive coordinator leaves after a couple years? What’s his plan for building a pipeline? Will he have impressive position coaches on staff who could be promoted? Those are important questions. In some ways, there are advantages to hiring a coach who doesn’t have an offensive background. He won’t be tied to a specific scheme, and theoretically, that might mean more of a willingness to adapt scheme to personnel. Plus, the offensive coordinator job for this type of head coach should be attractive, given that it likely would include more autonomy. Bottom line: Having a plan to achieve sustained success on offense is a must for any candidate. 5. Avoid coaches who want to flip the field, take the points, or end every drive with a kick Are there exceptions? Sure. If your offense stinks and your defense is elite and you need to coach to your strengths, then fine. But that should not be the default mindset. In football, over the long run, aggressiveness is going to be rewarded. Look for someone whose expectation on every drive is to score a touchdown. During the interview process, give them specific game situations. There are 57 seconds left in the first half, you have all three of your timeouts, and you are down by 7. If they say they’d probably take a couple kneeldowns and regroup at halftime or if they pontificate about the importance of momentum, you might want to thank them for their time and move on. If they get excited about punting on fourth-and-2 from midfield or running a coward’s draw on third-and-9, end the interview. That’s not the coach you want. 6. Find someone who is open-minded This one is admittedly vague, but it applies to a number of different areas. The big-picture theme is: A great idea can come from anywhere. The coach doesn’t have to be an analytics whiz, but is he open to incorporating data into decision-making? This could apply to anything from game-planning to using analytical models for in-game decision-making to sports science. What about scheme? The game is constantly cycling through different phases with new trends emerging each year. Having core principles is fine. But is he willing to adjust and be flexible? That’s another crucial part of the job. What’s his approach for working with players who might have “difficult” personalities? Earlier this season, Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Chase Claypool was criticized for performing a first-down celebration when the offense was trying to move quickly in a two-minute situation at the end of a game. Tomlin was asked about Claypool days later. “These guys don’t come to you as finished products,” Tomlin said. “That’s another part of coaching that I embrace, we collectively embrace. It is the reason why we make what we make, and there are so many of us because these guys are less than finished products when we get them. There is a growth and development that has to take place.” It’s amazing how many coaches fail to realize that their job is actually to coach. They criticize college programs for not delivering them with finished products, or they whine about a lack of practice time even though the rules are the same for everybody. Find a coach who understands, like Tomlin does, what the job is. Talent matters — a lot. And not every player is going to fit the coach’s prototype. Is he willing to do everything in his power to help each individual maximize his potential? Because that’s the job. Or as Don Draper would say, that’s what the money’s for. 7. Cast a wide net, and interview a lot of people If you’re a good organization, you’re not going to be doing this a lot. And if you’re a bad organization, just pretend that you’re a good one and won’t be doing this a lot. In other words, take advantage of the opportunity. You get to pick the brains of a bunch of really smart football minds. And they are incentivized to bring their best ideas to the table. You might interview someone who is a complete disaster, but he offers up one really great idea. Guess what? You can steal that idea! There are no rules against that. This is also a great opportunity to get to know minority candidates and female candidates. Maybe someone wows you. And even if that’s not the case, there is value in getting to know them and hearing their ideas. Maybe it leads to an opportunity down the road, or perhaps they’d fit in another role in your organization. Owners often lean on agent recommendations or media-reported lists. They look for a coordinator who had success the previous season and assume he must be a great candidate. Is that really the best process? Of course not. There could be an innovative defensive coordinator from an NCAA Division III program that you read about. Bring him in for an interview! There is literally no down side — especially for teams that get an early start on the process. 8. Settle on a defined power structure between the coach and GM These two members of your organization need to be aligned to achieve sustained success. If possible, let them know that their fates are going to be connected. If one succeeds, they both succeed. If one fails, they both fail. There’s a lot of politics in the NFL, and when things go south, it can be a race to convince the owner who to blame. That’s why it’s important to be clear about expectations. How much say will the head coach have in personnel? What will the process be like? Who makes the final call with free agency, the draft and the 53-man roster? You want to get ahead of any potential issues. There needs to be a directed effort to get both the coach and the GM on the same page from the start. 9. Don’t overvalue big-name endorsements and coaching trees Peyton Manning is one of the best quarterbacks of all time. Peyton Manning recommends hiring Adam Gase. That doesn’t mean you should hire Adam Gase. Bill Belichick is the greatest coach of his generation. Bill Belichick endorses Matt Patricia. That doesn’t mean you should hire Matt Patricia. You get the point. Should you talk to as many people as possible when considering a candidate? Of course. The point is to evaluate everything in the proper context. Just because someone once drove Sean McVay to the airport doesn’t mean he’s going to be able to call plays like McVay. Just because someone used to brunch with Belichick doesn’t mean he’s going to devise great game plans like Belichick. Find out where the candidates draw their coaching influences. Follow up with people they’ve worked with to find out more. But don’t overrate the candidate just because he worked with someone you like and admire. 10. Don’t convince yourself you’ve found the next Belichick If an owner were following a lot of the guidelines here, he probably wouldn’t have found Belichick. That’s OK. Belichick is the exception. Organizations that have tried to find their version of him have often failed. In general, a good rule of thumb during the hiring process is: Don’t fall in love. Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper was convinced he’d hit a home run with Matt Rhule, signing him to a seven-year, $62 million deal. Now, Tepper is “unhappy and embarrassed” and Rhule’s future in Carolina is in question. The Baltimore Ravens once tried to hire Jason Garrett, and when he turned them down, they had to “settle” on Harbaugh. Those types of stories are common around the league. The point is that the hiring process is hard. In some ways, it’s like the draft. Every team thinks it’s hitting a home run, but often that’s not the case, and there’s plenty of luck involved. All owners can do is employ a sound process, avoid some of the pitfalls mentioned above, and acknowledge that they’re operating in a world of uncertainty.

He would be a true superstar with the chargers

….and what would they ever do with all the CMC merchandise in the team store? its 90% McCaffrey and 10% the damned soccer team. not one legitimate star in the team besides the injury prone Rb that is what the Tepper ownership and Rhule as de facto GM has brought to us.

He will not get rid of ‘his guys’. It simply won’t happen he isn’t going to relinquish roster control he isn’t a x and os guy either why keep him ? you see lefleur McVay. Kingsburry Other top coaches, calling plays. This guy walls around looking confused at a sheet

You don’t know that. You think you do and that’s ok Some would say he was a bit disingenuous with Temple and Baylor and his little trip to the Giants with the Panthers offer in hand If you feel things aren’t ‘fair to Matt’ here, the NY media would have buried him for incompetence and been quick about it.

It’s over and done now what comes after Sunday is what matters now i do find it interesting that Tepper, who never met a microphone he didn’t like, is silent

Headline. Matt Rhule experiment ends in Carolina justification. Tepper, who is not known for being silent, has not publicly said one thing on this matter. Nothing If he were as sold on Rhule as we think, that piece from Person would not have been published. He is not deaf to what the public is saying

I’m tired of being sad over something that’s supposed to be joyful i guess if he keeps him well if I continue it’s on me

Yep. We had a culture change go hit the DBO sign

Lol

I pray to sweet baby Jesus every night that he is fired take a closer look at the defense against better teams….you won’t like what you see.

I have zero hope the panthers are the worst combination of irrelevant and apathetic if he fires Rhule at end of season, it will at least give us ‘Eyeores’ some hope of joy and passion and fun returning watching Rhule is like getting a root canal with no pain killers ….over and over and over again.

You do know Rhule controls personnel….yes?

I won’t be anonymous

Not enough the way I feel is I can have my say and be done with it or I can do nothing and complain in here he needs to hear what he is deaf to from many of us

It’s time he be contacted I will send through my rep but i doubt he would send it forward all I see his Appaloosa email Didn’t he sell out? all we have left to us is to bombard him with emails

You need to send this to the panthers

Best take yet

Worse. They at least have Lawrence

I read that article and he is right imo One thing is certain, darnold could be put behind Tampa’s line and he would still fail he Simply does not process and react quickly enough if the first read is not there it really is the bottom line

You should share this link with Tepper….since he is so big in to analytics and projections You know, to help him see next year will be worse

I read the article. To be honest, I didn’t post it as it just doesn’t matter anymore Tepper decides. The only thing I decide is what I do after 26 years of caring about and investing in a a pro team Tepper, in all probability, will keep this fool another year and there is nothing season ticket holders like me can do other than this turn in our tickets and walk away or pray we can sell individually and recoup. Unfortunately there is only two games that might sell in 2022 and they will sell below value. I did sign the change.org petition to fire Rhule yesterday after the last game, I will email my rep and ask he get it to Tepper. It’s probably below his pay grades

I cannot support the Panthers one more second if this owner keeps incompetence in the HC position after 26 years, it is finished for me. The owner won’t care but my bank account and Sundays will be better Tepper has taken the joy away. End of story

Yep. I had a USC alum text me ‘I’m sorry’ when Rhule traded for him

Disagree on this one some college players are never going to be NFL level players, they just aren’t Darnold is one of those guys always has been. Always will be If I’m Tepper, Rhule is gone for this mistake alone the qb ranks are littered with ncaa Heisman trophy winners and contenders who fail in the pros also, a qb should elevate what is around his not drop them lower.