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What we too easily forget...


Mr. Scot

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...when it comes to coaching searches, free agents, drafts, etc.

These are real human beings with complete lives that we're discussing here. Many of them, especially the coaches, have families. Those families have lives outside of football too. Ron Rivera, for example, has had to move his wife and children clear across the country. If you think that's easy, then chances are you've never done it.

We sometimes wonder why a coach might make a decision to stay with an inferior team or keep a job with less money and/or prestige. For guys who have families, just imagine walking in on your wife and kids one day and saying "Hey guess what; we're moving clear across the country. Say goodbye to the friends and/or family, jobs, school, activities and places you love because in two weeks they're going to be a few thousand miles away."

Try that, and see how it goes over :eek:

Likewise, free agents sometimes have families, friends, girlfriends, or perhaps just lifestyles that they really enjoy. It's part of the game that they know what they have could be gone without much notice, but that doesn't make it any easier. Draftees, less of an issue because they have little control, but still it's worth remembering that they're not only moving from one place to another, but also going from being a student to being a professional.

And yes, you do have to keep personalities in mind. You might ask "why didn't we sign that coach / go after that free agent / draft that guy"? Think of it this way. How many of you have had to work with someone that got on your last nerve pretty much from the moment you saw them? Well, that happens in locker rooms and team offices too.

Fans lamented for a long time that the team let Scott O'Brien move on to a new job. Nobody that had to work with him was especially sad to see him go, though. Likewise, we remember Charles Haley being phenomenal on the field with the Cowboys. Teammates remember him as the guy who used to sit naked and touch himself inappropriately in the middle of the locker room. We don't always hear about those things, but it goes on, and sometimes it plays a part in whether a team decides to draft or sign a particular player.

It's pretty easy to look at a Madden screen or a fantasy roster and make changes, on a weekly basis if needed.

In the real world, there are families to consult, houses to sell, offices to clean out/set up, people to get along with, and a million other things that regular people have to deal with too.

Keep that in mind when you look at team movements and changes.

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my wife would try to kill me if i passed up on a promtion on the other side of the nation.

Maybe so, but not every wife thinks the way that yours does.

Blah blah blah, it's all about wins for the Panthers. Nothing else matters. :)

From the team perspective, sure.

But the team and it's staff are made up of individuals whose real lives tend to be more important to them than winning football games. And truthfully, that's not a bad thing.

Loads of fans whine about why we don't get this guy or that guy. The point here is that it's not as simple was saying "we want him, so we'll get him".

Pretty easy for us to bellyache about not going after a Chad Johnson or a Terrell Owens. We wouldn't have to work with them. The guys who do may not see it that simply.

as a fan, Superbowl or bust, nothing else matters, we dont buy tickets to see coaches families.

So those guys should just put their lives on hold and sacrifice anything and everything to make sure you're entertained, right? :rolleyes:

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I get what you're saying Scot and I agree but the money these guys make does make these thingd easier... they can afford to have two houses for a while and travel.

We can't generally relate to them in that regard, though. It's relative.

Most of us on here would jump at the chance to make a fraction of what these guys make, but they're in a position to be a little more choosy on the matter.

Think of it this way: Would you uproot your entire existence and move to a place you'd never been (with a higher cost of living and a lousy school system) for a 4% raise over what you were making now?

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Maybe so, but not every wife thinks the way that yours does.

From the team perspective, sure.

But the team and it's staff are made up of individuals whose real lives tend to be more important to them than winning football games. And truthfully, that's not a bad thing.

Loads of fans whine about why we don't get this guy or that guy. The point here is that it's not as simple was saying "we want him, so we'll get him".

Pretty easy for us to bellyache about not going after a Chad Johnson or a Terrell Owens. We wouldn't have to work with them. The guys who do may not see it that simply.

So those guys should just put their lives on hold and sacrifice anything and everything to make sure you're entertained, right? :rolleyes:

I know...I kid. Moving across the country as a kid sucks.

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I think the whole "there's currently no free agency and there may not be for a while" thing should probably be a pretty big part of conversation too, but oh well.

Whether or not I believe there'll be a lockout tends to vary from one day to the next :(

Kind of a disconnect that in a year when there may not be football, there were more early declarations than ever. People were predicting the exact opposite.

Never quite as cut and dried as people like to make it, is it?

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