dogfish
12-07-2010, 02:11 AM
Seriously, the tipping point could be rapidly approaching. The upcoming hire could be your one bright, shining moment, Bowlen. Don't **** it up! We're teetering on the bare edge of respectability-- two Super Bowls not yet entirely forgotten, nor a long string of non-losing season-- staring down the long drop of mediocrity into the abyss of failure. We don't want to be down there, down with the ghosts of the Lions, Browns and Cardinals. Especially when the Cards just went to the Super Bowl, the Browns are fighting towards relevance on the back of the guy we gave them for nothing, and the stinking Chiefs and Raiders are using our corpse as leverage to crawl out of the dire muck that we're drowning in.
So don't **** it up. One push in either direction is all it takes. The franchise isn't belly up just yet. The epic meltdowns that ended the Shanahan era and the more recent abortion can both be forgotten if we turn it around quickly, but another two-three year disaster followed with another fired coach officially puts us on the shit carousel-- and probably then leads to another complete housecleaning/rebuild.
Not trying to be dramatic, but I honestly think this hire has even more than the typical potential for any regime change to define the organization for a long time. Less than two years ago the Denver job was viewed as a "premium" position, as noted by many different media sources. We screw this up, while possibly wasting more resources and/or further depleting the talent base, I doubt that will continue to be the case. Although at least it's always a nice place to live and raise a family-- that doesn't sound so appealing if you think it'll only last a couple years, though.
I really feel like this hire will tell us whether Bowlen is still serious about competing or not. And the structure of the new regime will be scrutinized as closely as the personnel. I know the widespread sentiment here is that we SHOULD hire a "strong GM," AKA an experienced personnel executive to be in charge of all football decisions, including both player personnel and coaching staff. I most certainly agree with that sentiment. We see how first-time execs (Tom Demitroff, Scott Pioli, not sure about Jeff Ireland) did with first-time head coaches like Tony Sparano, Mike Smith and Todd Haley, as well as first-time head coach Jon Harbaugh with a top front office, so it can definitely be done. Looks like the key in all those cases was having a General Manager type with solid NFL experience who acts as the final authority.
That's ultimately the model I want, in some form. My choice would be hiring an up-and-coming junior guy from a proven staff, like Demitroff-- Baltimore's Eric Decosta is a good example. I doubt Chris Polian would leave Indy, but there are probably some other guys. With that type of senior executive having the final say, I would be okay with a "non-sexy" hire at head coach-- someone like Ron Rivera, Rob Ryan, Gary Kubiak, possibly even Jim Harbaugh. Demitroff and Smith are killing it in Hotlanta.
If not that, I could also live with the "consultant" model. I don't see Parcells as a likely option, but I suppose I could stomach Martyball with his son Brian as the HC, as long as pops brings in some proven scouts and a good DC. Holmgren and Mangini look to be on track in Cleveland, although that brutal division puts them at long odds.
What worries me, though, is that's never been Bowlen's approach. After firing Shanahan and promising the new coach wouldn't have the same type of total control, he gave the exact same control to McScandals like a month later. Pretty much set the guy up for failure with a token bean-counter GM, and no dissenting voice past the Nolan fiasco. Naturally I'd love to think Bowlen has learned from these mistakes, but I haven't seen any evidence yet.
And if he does hire another head coach and let the guy be the franchise's executive decision maker and final say on personnel as well, he damn well BETTER hire a real ****ing coach, a guy with a ring and some credibility. Not some wet behind the ears up-and-comer who's barely qualified to be a coordinator at this level. You hand full control to somebody like that again, we damn well deserve to suck-- and we will.
The fact that various media outlets have already reported that we won't make a "sexy" hire pretty much look like advance warning leaked by the franchise that we aren't getting someone like Cowher or Gruden. Which is fine, as long as the non-sexy hire is qualified and accompanied by an equally qualified personnel guy-- not Troy Calhoun and Brian Xanders. We're hiring for the Broncos here, Pat, not the CU Buffs.
Don't screw this up! You go cheap and save a few million on some off-the-map coach or retread, it could cost a lot more than that in ticket and merchandise sales. Think about it. This fan base has been loyal, but it hasn't been accustomed to last place in the division and home humiliations from the Raiders. You bring in some woefully inadequate clown that continues that stuff for a few more years, see how long that home sellout streak continues.
I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm on the season ticket waiting list, and I know damn well I'll pass the chance to buy them whenever it comes along if we're doing shit like hiring college coaches or raw assistants and giving them full control of the franchise. No way I'm going to pay to watch that kind of halfhearted ineptitude.
So don't **** it up. One push in either direction is all it takes. The franchise isn't belly up just yet. The epic meltdowns that ended the Shanahan era and the more recent abortion can both be forgotten if we turn it around quickly, but another two-three year disaster followed with another fired coach officially puts us on the shit carousel-- and probably then leads to another complete housecleaning/rebuild.
Not trying to be dramatic, but I honestly think this hire has even more than the typical potential for any regime change to define the organization for a long time. Less than two years ago the Denver job was viewed as a "premium" position, as noted by many different media sources. We screw this up, while possibly wasting more resources and/or further depleting the talent base, I doubt that will continue to be the case. Although at least it's always a nice place to live and raise a family-- that doesn't sound so appealing if you think it'll only last a couple years, though.
I really feel like this hire will tell us whether Bowlen is still serious about competing or not. And the structure of the new regime will be scrutinized as closely as the personnel. I know the widespread sentiment here is that we SHOULD hire a "strong GM," AKA an experienced personnel executive to be in charge of all football decisions, including both player personnel and coaching staff. I most certainly agree with that sentiment. We see how first-time execs (Tom Demitroff, Scott Pioli, not sure about Jeff Ireland) did with first-time head coaches like Tony Sparano, Mike Smith and Todd Haley, as well as first-time head coach Jon Harbaugh with a top front office, so it can definitely be done. Looks like the key in all those cases was having a General Manager type with solid NFL experience who acts as the final authority.
That's ultimately the model I want, in some form. My choice would be hiring an up-and-coming junior guy from a proven staff, like Demitroff-- Baltimore's Eric Decosta is a good example. I doubt Chris Polian would leave Indy, but there are probably some other guys. With that type of senior executive having the final say, I would be okay with a "non-sexy" hire at head coach-- someone like Ron Rivera, Rob Ryan, Gary Kubiak, possibly even Jim Harbaugh. Demitroff and Smith are killing it in Hotlanta.
If not that, I could also live with the "consultant" model. I don't see Parcells as a likely option, but I suppose I could stomach Martyball with his son Brian as the HC, as long as pops brings in some proven scouts and a good DC. Holmgren and Mangini look to be on track in Cleveland, although that brutal division puts them at long odds.
What worries me, though, is that's never been Bowlen's approach. After firing Shanahan and promising the new coach wouldn't have the same type of total control, he gave the exact same control to McScandals like a month later. Pretty much set the guy up for failure with a token bean-counter GM, and no dissenting voice past the Nolan fiasco. Naturally I'd love to think Bowlen has learned from these mistakes, but I haven't seen any evidence yet.
And if he does hire another head coach and let the guy be the franchise's executive decision maker and final say on personnel as well, he damn well BETTER hire a real ****ing coach, a guy with a ring and some credibility. Not some wet behind the ears up-and-comer who's barely qualified to be a coordinator at this level. You hand full control to somebody like that again, we damn well deserve to suck-- and we will.
The fact that various media outlets have already reported that we won't make a "sexy" hire pretty much look like advance warning leaked by the franchise that we aren't getting someone like Cowher or Gruden. Which is fine, as long as the non-sexy hire is qualified and accompanied by an equally qualified personnel guy-- not Troy Calhoun and Brian Xanders. We're hiring for the Broncos here, Pat, not the CU Buffs.
Don't screw this up! You go cheap and save a few million on some off-the-map coach or retread, it could cost a lot more than that in ticket and merchandise sales. Think about it. This fan base has been loyal, but it hasn't been accustomed to last place in the division and home humiliations from the Raiders. You bring in some woefully inadequate clown that continues that stuff for a few more years, see how long that home sellout streak continues.
I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm on the season ticket waiting list, and I know damn well I'll pass the chance to buy them whenever it comes along if we're doing shit like hiring college coaches or raw assistants and giving them full control of the franchise. No way I'm going to pay to watch that kind of halfhearted ineptitude.