David Tepper was famously known for only hiring Ivy League graduates at Appaloosa Management

[bobowilson]

There was even a joke that people shouldn't even bother with internships unless they went to one of the ivy league institutions.

There's been a lot of talk about Tepper sticking to 'the Steelers way', or trying to find a coach in the model of the Steelers organization.   None of that is going to matter to Tepper when he's hiring a young candidate.  If you want to predict what he values, look to his career as a hedge fund manager, not what the Rooney family did when he had a 5% vanity stake in the franchise.

This presents Tepper with a unique challenge, as it's incredibly rare to find the kind of analytic driven, ivy league young men he's impressed with at the coaching level.  Not many coaches went to elite institutions, and the ones that did are typically not fit for leadership.

So take this to the bank, the new head coach of the Carolina Panthers will be Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski.  You almost couldn't create a candidate in a lab more perfectly suited to what Tepper values and is looking for than Stefanski.

Stefanski, an ivy league graduate (University of Pennsylvania), is known to be a bit of an analytics geek within the Vikings organization.  Forget the fact he scored a 1400 on his SATs, he's precisely the kind of offensive minded young reformer (see the concepts he implemented with the Vikings) that Tepper is looking for.  And to whatever extent you think 'Pennsylvania' ties matter to Tepper, Stefanski was born and raised in Tepper's home state (for what it's worth, I don't think he cares about this much, although it might bring some sense of comfort and cultural familiarity) 

And here's something to chew on 

Report: Browns analytics department recommended Kevin Stefanski as head coach

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/browns-analytics-department-recommended-current-vikings-oc-for-head-coach-over-freddie-kitchens/

Jason LaCanfora of CBS Sports is reporting that, when the Browns were searching for a head coach this offseason, their analytics department went to Browns’ ownership and told them that th best choice for the job was Vikings’ offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski. However, the Browns again went against their advice and went with Freddie Kitchens, who served as the Browns’ interim head coach last season following the firing of Hue Jackson.

 

[Mr. Scot]

Using this logic, our next quarterback is Ryan Fitzpatrick.

 

 

 

Quick Tip: Football ain't business, at least not on the field.

Stefanski may well be our next head coach, but if he is it'll have nothing to do with where he went to college.

[LinvilleGorge]

Seems pretty hypocritical since Tepper wasn't an Ivy League guy himself.

[Dex]

Credit for thinking outside of the box for a new thread.

[bobowilson]

2 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

Using this logic, our next quarterback is Ryan Fitzpatrick.

 

 

 

Quick Tip: Football ain't business, at least not on the field.

Stefanski may well be our next head coach, but if he is it'll have nothing to do with where he went to college.

Cognitive ceilings are not very important in quarterbacks or athletes, but the major reason Tepper and Rivera could never get on the same page.

I've worked around people like Tepper most of my adult life.  Unless you've been around them, it's easy to underestimate how much they care about pedigree and g-factor.

You can take this one to the bank, Stefanski is our next head coach.  

This will be a fun thread to bump in a few months.

 

[TheSpecialJuan]

[DubE_4MR]

Interesting take. 

[Tbe]

7 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

Using this logic, our next quarterback is Ryan Fitzpatrick.

 

 

 

Quick Tip: Football ain't business, at least not on the field.

Stefanski may well be our next head coach, but if he is it'll have nothing to do with where he went to college.

The point is Tepper wants highly intelligent people running things. Makes sense. Rivera was a good guy but couldn’t ever out smart his opponents. Tepper wants a strategist (among other things). The best strategists are smart people.

Fitzmagic was smart but he wasn’t a great athlete.

[Ricky Spanish]

I'm not against it. 

[LinvilleGorge]

Just now, Tbe said:

The point is Tepper wants highly intelligent people running things. Makes sense. Rivera was a good guy but couldn’t ever out smart his opponents. Tepper wants a strategist (among other things). The best strategists are smart people.

Fitzmagic was smart but he wasn’t a great athlete.

There's quite a history of well pedigreed people getting into Ivy League schools because of their last name and family wealth too. Stellar academics is only one of the avenues.

[Mage]

4 minutes ago, Cracka McNasty said:

I'm not against it. 

Yep.  Vikings offense has been outstanding this year.  

[Tbe]

1 minute ago, LinvilleGorge said:

There's quite a history of well pedigreed people getting into Ivy League schools because of their last name and family wealth too. Stellar academics is only one of the avenues.

Of course, but I think you misunderstand my point. Forget what school someone went to. Tepper likes very smart people. That’s the type.of person he hires.

[Untouchable]

It won't have to do with where he went to school but Stefanski would be a very good candidate.  It would have to be vetted how much influence Gary Kubiak has on his offense though.

[Mr. Scot]

Just now, bobowilson said:

Cognitive ceilings are not very important in quarterbacks or athletes, but the major reason Tepper and Rivera could never get on the same page.

I've worked around people like Tepper most of my adult life.  Unless you've been around them, it's easy to underestimate how much they care about pedigree and g-factor.

You can take this one to the bank, Stefanski is our next head coach.  

This will be a fun thread to bump in a few months.

Stefanski very well could be our head coach, but if it happens, it won't be because Tepper sees where he went to college and goes "this is the guy". It'll be because he interviewed well and did the best job of selling himself as the long term answer.

Side Note: Marty Hurney went to Catholic University in DC. If an Ivy League education is that important, doesn't bode well for him..