04/18/24
January 26, 2023
SportsFilter: The Thursday Huddle:
A place to discuss the sports stories that aren't making news, share links that aren't quite front-page material, and diagram plays on your hand. Remember to count to five Mississippi before commenting in anger.
And the Panthers went with Frank Reich instead of staying with Steve Wilks. Not sure why, but there you have it.
posted by NoMich at 05:03 PM on January 26, 2023
I wasn't sure Reich was going to get another HC job so quickly.
Doug Pederson called the plays when they were both in Philly. And Pederson has a lively offensive mind.
I'd like to see Reich get hired as a play calling OC first and see how that goes before re-anointing him.
Wilks certainly deserves another shot somewhere after the job he did at Carolina. He probably isn't getting near the termination money David Culley got from the Texans. Culley's money was the only positive thing that emerged from the way he was treated by Houston.
It's a story that's oft been told, an assistant coach of color stepping up to serve as a stopgap HC in the wake of another big coach hiring and firing disaster.
As much as Black coaches not getting fair opportunities to lead teams, it's the money that front offices willingly throw at questionable or unproven White coaches that then turns into crazy buyouts that I find bothersome.
Sometimes it's coaches like Rhule - I thought Tepper was supposed to be smarter than to back up the Brinks truck for a coach with very limited NFL experience. Or fuck, who in their right mind would think of bringing in Jeff Saturday, even as a temp? That's right, Mr. Irsay, no one in their right mind.
Trent Baalke takes the cake. He hired Jim Tomsula, Chip Kelly and Urban Meyer. Spreading his genius across the entire contiguous US.
Sometimes, teams compound their idiocy: first they sign a HC of questionable merit to a huge extension, THEN they fire them. What the hell did Kliff Kingsbury put in the Cardinals' punch bowl?
In the end, a coach who has proven his worth under adverse conditions deserves proper consideration, color regardless. Guys like Gruden, Josh McDaniels, Hackett, or Dennis Allen ought not be whisked to the dotted line at the signing table while coaches like Rich Bisaccia and Steve Wilks get a pat on the back and have to go looking for their next jobs hat in hand.
posted by beaverboard at 07:26 PM on January 26, 2023
Baalke is the worst ever. No other GM in history has inherited a 14-2 team that was 1 play from winning a Superbowl and turned it into a 2-14 team within 2 years. Hall of Fame caliber players retired in their prime rather than continue playing because of the guy. Coaches quit. Free agents moved on to other teams for less money.
posted by cixelsyd at 02:42 PM on January 27, 2023
The man who once coached the immortal Blake Bortles and recently oversaw the Broncos' tanking to provide Seattle with the #5 pick in the draft has been hired as the Jets' new OC.
To borrow from Liza Minnelli and Sinatra's ode to New York, if you can Hackett there you can Hackett anywhere.