General Thoughts

[Mr. Scot]

So here's a collection of random thoughts on today's news...

Remembering Polian

The first thing that went through my mind when I heard the story (besides wondering if it was April 1st or it came from The Onion) was "Bill Polian, Part 2".  Despite Polian's track record of success, his "angry yankee" persona never really meshed well with Richardson's "southern gentleman" attitude. 

There was a story that during a particularly nasty negotiation with an agent, Richardson subtly flashed a note at a highly agitated Polian that had "C - A - L - M" written on it in oversized letters. On the flip side, Polian was reported to have once thrown a chair at an agent (I'd put my money on it being Rosenhaus),.

Perhaps we need to be certain our next GM grew up in the South.

For whatever you think of him - and I'm certainly not his biggest fan - Polian won Super Bowl rings as an executive.  Jerry Richardson can't say that, and I've got a bad feeling he won't ever be able to do so if he values personality over ability.

Keeping Up with the Joneses

Jerry Jones hired Bill Parcells on the urging of many who told him he needed a "football guy" to run things the right way. Parcells failed to win it all in Dallas, and when he was out Jones felt vindicated in going back to doing things "his way' since he saw Parcells tenure as not being a significant improvement.

I won't be surprised if Richardson comes out with a similar sentiment and does his own GM hiring rather than letting someone like Ernie Accorsi run the search again.  It'll be a step back in the franchise's evolution, but that looks to be where we're headed. 

Quick Tip: If you see guys like Mark Koncz getting serious consideration for the job, it'll be a really bad sign for what lies ahead.

The unfortunate reality: The worst stretch in team history came at a time when Jerry Richardson was his most "hands on" as an owner. The most successful stretch (i.e. the Gettleman era) came at a time when he stepped back and let others run things for him.

If he is now going back to being "hands on", it's not a good thing.

The Timing Issue

This may not be the most ill-timed decision in NFL history, but it's probably in the running.

Most of the decisions of who to start / who to play / who to keep, etc over the next few weeks will be made primarily by coaching staff (God help us) but having Gettleman be here for that process still would have been better. 

Once the final 53 were set and the season was underway, that would have been 'coast time" for the GM, and the far better time to part ways with him than eight days before camp, particularly at a time when other leadership positions are also unfilled.

This was a bad choice made at a terrible time.  Multiply those two things together and you've got a huge mistake.  Would still have been a mistake to do it at the beginning of the season, mind you, but at least the timing would have been less disruptive.

And I won't lie: Having the roster decisions primarily resting on a coach whose biggest weakness is talent evaluation and depth chart building scares the living crap outta me.

What Matters Most

People have long said that Jerry Richardson cares more about money than about winning. I've never believed that, and I still don't. 

But with that said, there is something that he does value above winning.

Loyalty.

Richardson has long been known as someone who rewards loyalty over achievement. Those are his personal values, and while that makes him a nice guy and probably a decent person to work for, it doesn't do as much to create a winning atmosphere as does running the team like a business. 

If you really want to win consistently, teams like the Patriots and the Steelers have provided the best examples of how to do so.  And hint: loyalty isn't exactly one of their highest priorities.  Neither is making sure their veterans all have happy endings (something which is extremely rare in the league, anyway).

Successful teams letting go of beloved players happens plenty, and it's happened with far better players than we have here.  Jerry Rice, Joe Montana, Emmitt Smith, Brett Favre and many other Hall of Fame level players have been let go when age started taking a toll and they were no longer worth big money. 

That might suck for fans and the guys who are let go, but if you want to run a winning organization you have to take the emotions out of the business decisions.     

You can't run a professional football team in a "winning is all that matters" league like a family business and expect to be successful.

But apparently we're darn sure gonna try.

Rivera Didn't Know

Haven't seen it posted here yet, but for anyone thinking Ron Rivera had any part in this, wrong.  Rivera had no idea it was happening and wasn't informed until after the fact.

That really shouldn't come as a shock.  Rivera and Gettleman had, per pretty much everyone with actual inside knowledge, a very good working relationship.  they certainly didn't agree on everything, but no one does.

More importantly, when they worked together, they won football games.

Unfortunately for whomever takes the job, Rivera also now may have a bit of a rep as a "GM killer".  The team will be hiring its third GM in his tenure.  Rivera won games under Gettleman, less so under Hurney.  What's next?  Stay tuned.

Inmates Running the Asylum

Ron Rivera is a former player.  So is Jerry Richardson.  Both have reputations for rewarding loyal, workmanlike, "try hard" guys over actual achievers.  Basically you have a "player's coach" and a "player's owner".  Being in-between those two is not exactly a good spot for a GM who wants to run the team to win rather than to be nice to players.

Richardson has a particularly egregious rep given the story (which I believe) of former OC Jeff Davidson being forbidden from even talking to Steve Smith.  If you undermine your authority figures that way, you create an environment of entitlement, and entitlement doesn't win games.

I had thought the release of Smith was a sign that the "players can run to daddy if the boss hurts their feelings" mentality was gone for good.  Now I fear it's back, and might turn out to be worse than ever.

Frankly, if I were a GM or a GM candidate, I'd probably steer clear of this job for that very reason.  And there's a very real risk that good candidates might do just that.  In which case, say hello to the latest Yes Man / Loyal Employee / Guy Ready To Fall On His Sword.

Al Davis Territory

So have the Panthers now become heir to the legacy of Al Davis?  Is this a team that won't win as long as its owner is making bad decisions?

I don't know, but I'm starting to think the unfortunate answer is "yes".

And much as I hate to say it, what we're poised to see could wind up being even worse. 

The last years under Davis were an absolute circus, but Davis could at least point to sustained success and even to having won it all in his history.  jerry Richardson can't say either of those things.  The closest he came to being able to say it was with Dave Gettleman in charge, and now he's gone.

I don't foresee Richardson taking the field in an Elvis outfit, but everything short of that would not surprise me.

Mind you, we're not necessarily in a bad spot for the current season.  But beyond that?  Be afraid! Be very afraid!

So What Now

For me, I go back to doing what I always do and hoping for the best.

But with that said, the optimism I had for the future of this team coming out of this offseason has taken a major hit, and I'm worried that more bad moves are set to follow.

I don't wanna see a return to the Hurney days, but many people would say that the Hurney days were actually the Richardson days.

Sadly, they may be right.

[davos]

A bottom line issue that I may be in the minority with--If DG's management style and highly cost efficient strategy when it came to retaining players was creating such a stir, then this timing is a-ok.

With the potential of our current roster, I don't want two of the most important players uncertain or displeased while under contract who happen to be the guys who pretty much carved our current culture and team identity.  That would have carried to the rest of the team on both sides of the ball and now assurances have been made that may make the team more relieved and a unit.  

If this was Rivera, or if we did something sudden with a star, then I would be more concerned, but man, if DG was going to create another tailspin of contract negotiations and players were seeing this arising again, then yeah, get him out of here.    

Quick edit: But outside of my attempt to rationalize this, yep, weird move today.  

[Ja Rhule]

Richardson built a statue to himself...  Dude is nuts.  I have a feeling he will never sell the Panthers and will die as the owner.  Too controlling, too power hungry.

[SIGCHI222]

Unless our GM search produces a blind-luck miracle, our 5 year window just got reduced to 1.  It's this year or bust.

 

Thanks Jerry.  You tried, but you could never get out of your own way long enough to let the water boil.

 

Congrats to TD and Olsen for inevitably getting their way and making it impossible for this team to have the necessary cap room over the next 3 years to sign young, core players to sustain playoff contention.

 

Today is the day that the music died.

 

I'll never, EVER pull for another team, as long as I live other than the Panthers but TBH, FU Jerry.

 

Southern Gentleman my ass, myopic prick is what he is.

[Paa Langfart]

Well said Mr Scot - Everything I have been thinking over the last few hours, plus some, put into a coherent post - thanks 

[Daddy_Uncle]

I just don't have any hope of things getting better around here. Jerry will live until 98 and Luke and Cam will never get a superbowl.

This day has exhausted me. Im going to bed

[top dawg]

We may take a hit short-term, but I still say that there is more than one path to a championship. A certain amount of flexibility is almost a must when team building. It is not a static proposition. Team building is dynamic. Flexibility and situational puzzle building is not necessarily Gettleman's strong suit. 

I'm any event, I will wait to see what pieces come together, and whether there will be impending fallout and/or collateral damage before I lean towards the-sky-is-falling type of scenario.

This doesn't have to be a bad thing. 

[Soul Rebel]

Excellent post and pretty much sums up my thoughts too. I love JR, but definitely think his loyalty (NFL shield at the 50, crazy contracts to aging vets, etc.) makes me nervous about our long term future.... something I was not concerned about with Gettleman.

I loathed the way Polian left here and this is right up there with memories that I wish to forget. Gettleman wasn't perfect, but he set us up, and IMO, knows the balance that it takes in this business to succeed. Smitty, Gross, and JNo were not easy decisions but they were small pieces in a bigger puzzle. It's like we just got our team rounded out with giving Cam weapons, digging ourselves out of cap hell for years by the previous regime and had our sights set on a return to the NFC Championship conversation, and then this. 

 

[top dawg]

I think that people are still missing the biggest issue, which is HOW you let people go. 

And, on an off note, I still believe that the release of 89 was a bad thing. Had we had him, this day would have never come because that magical season would have ended with a championship.

[Steve_Smith_Sr.]

I agree with the OP.  This is a horrible decision, and not a good sign of things to come.

We were poised for a fantastic season... maybe we still are, but you'd be crazy to want to come to a place where the owner fires you when you are trying to look out for the franchise.

 

[Snake]

This is a disaster. Like there is absolutely no one to make roster cuts, no one to negotiate contracts, and no one to fill vacancies when players get injured. No matter how you look at it this move was a knee jerk reaction that spells bad news no matter how you spin it. We just got set back 10 years. 

[Mr. Scot]

Backgrounds of some of the potential candidates:

- Trent Kirchner, Midwestern (grew up in and went to college in Minnesota)

- Ryan Cowden, Southern (grew up in Virginia, went to college at Wofford)

- Joe Schoen, Midwestern (grew up in and went to college in Indiana)

- Jeff Morrow, Midwestern (grew up in Illinois, went to college in Ohio)

- Don Gregory, Western/Midwestern (born in Hawaii, went to college in Montana and Oregon)

- Mark Koncz, Midwestern (grew up in Chicago, went to college in Kansas)

[iBBB]

12 minutes ago, Promethean Forerunner said:

... Our owner is incompetent and desires a franchise ran like a Mom & Pop store.

 

You took the words out of my mouth. 

This organization reminds me of a Mom & Pop's store that hired a "new-age" manager that started to introduce a debit card machine, internet, online store, advertising etc... Although Mom & Pop started to see an increased business and higher revenue, they fired the "new-age" guy because he was taking the business into a territory outside of their comfort zone and alienated them from the customers because there was more of them now. 

[jasonluckydog]

So does Nipples get a SB ring this year? Seems only fair he get some credit when we win it this year