The Place for Football Education
Here are 3 current stories covered by the NFL media that continue to bug the living #$%@& out of me. Just sayin'. NFL Head Coach Candidates I’m going to use a story I saw about San Francisco 49ers Offensive Coordinator Greg Roman to illustrate a point. I’m not directly targeting Roman nor singling out his particular situation. The recent success of the 49ers has deservedly brought attention and the spotlight to both the … [Read more...]
How did we get here? The infatuation of the media and fan base with NFL player contract structure and negotiation? Seems every season during the free agency period there’s an intense debate about how much NFL players are paid and whether they’re worth it. The latest deliberation revolves around the extension of Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo and so called the $108 million commitment made by “America’s Team”. Perception isn't … [Read more...]
Recent cases involving veteran NFL players have reinforced to me the importance of NFL ownership. Proprietary control of a professional football franchise is an elite club and one that many successful businessmen and women have aspired to. Only a small number ever get the opportunity to own an NFL franchise. Membership has been garnered through a number of avenues. Membership required Some teams have been handed down through generations … [Read more...]
In the movie classic “Braveheart”, England’s King Edward “Longshanks” invades Scotland at the Battle of Falkirk against the Scottish army led by Sir William Wallace (Mel Gibson). Longshanks had secretly organized the invasion while sending his daughter-in-law to negotiate a truce. The English army initiates the attack pushing Irish conscripts to the front, only to have them turn and side with the Scots. Wallace counters and calls … [Read more...]
One by one they parade up to the podium at Lucas Oil Field; General Managers and Head Coaches. Some look a bit grizzled for the many long seasons that put the wrinkles and gray hairs in place, others look as if they just crossed the stage at their high school graduation. Fresh starts Each tries to put on a fresh face of positive enthusiasm, answering any and all questions with the vaguest of vagueness and happy at the moment for being … [Read more...]
It’s interesting to analyze the logistical strategy that was built into the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the Player’s Union (NFLPA) and the National Football League (NFL). Since its inception the official start of the free agency period has coincided with the start of the new League Year. Traditionally that’s around the first week of March and with it, the feeding frenzy of NFL clubs looking for a quick fix to what ails … [Read more...]
Another professional football season has come to an end and focus now transfers towards retooling and rebuilding for the 2013 NFL Regular Season. All 32 Clubs will shift their efforts to the start of the new League Year, the beginning of Free Agency, and the preparations for the annual College Draft. Piecing together an NFL Roster Building an NFL roster requires a bit of finesse in handling the right combination of young talent, experienced … [Read more...]
I recently received a great question via Twitter asking how to handle the Head Coach – General Manager dynamic in the War Room during the annual NFL Draft. It’s important to note that inherently built into this relationship is a dichotomy of thought from a short versus long term perspective. As I’ve mentioned before, coaching is responsible for the here and now. The focus is immediately on the present; preparation, execution, … [Read more...]
“Black Monday” as most of the media outlets like to call it. However within the ranks nobody ever refers to the day after the last regular season game as “Black Monday”. That’s a contrived moniker for another day at the office in the National Football League. Part of what makes professional sports appealing to both the fans and the media is the undertow of critical judgment that comes with the job, "Black Monday" included. Our … [Read more...]
The Smashing Pumpkins have a song “The Beginning is the end is the beginning”. And so it goes for twenty of the thirty-two NFL teams as they enter the last week of regular season play in 2012. What started as optimistic hope in late July has become realistic fate in late December. Another chapter in the history of twenty NFL clubs will come to a close, permanently archived as a season of unfulfilled expectations. The end As the … [Read more...]
