Recycled coaches

**don raven** · 02-18-2021, 03:47 AM

Why do teams keep recycling coaches e.g. Jaguars Doug Marrone and Bill Obrien. No wonder the mediocrity spreads throughout the league when the same guys keep showing up.

**Jazz1988** · 02-18-2021, 05:52 AM

I think we as fans need to realize the differents from a head coach, coordinator, and position coach. Guys like Bill O'Brien and Doug Marrione were great coordinators. It's how they got their chance at being head coaches either at the college level or NFL level. Like a guy like Adam Gase may have been apart of some bad teams in his career as a head coach but he still did quite well as a offensive coordinator. His most notable work was with Jay Cutler as The Bears offensive coordiantor at the time even though Peyton Manning names seems to come up to discredit some parts of his ability as a good or maybe great offensive mind.

**Ravenswintitle** · 02-18-2021, 08:42 AM

It's the same in business. Same guys go from one company to their competition

**Shas** · 02-18-2021, 09:22 AM

Originally Posted by don raven

Why do teams keep recycling coaches

Bill Belichick is a recycled coach. Parcells. Reid. Dungy. Gruden. Schottenheimer. Stramm. Mora. Just sayin'

Plus, there are just as many examples of first time coaches who flame out...Al Groh, Steve Wilks, Cam Cameron....

**Jfoh** · 02-18-2021, 10:07 AM

It is the reverse Peter principle. The Peter principal tells us that a capable person rises to one step above his competence then fails. The reverse Peter principal is an attempt to put that person back at the level they were successful and hope he over achieves again.

As to why things are so mediocre it all comes down to free agency, salary cap, missed draft picks and total information access for every team about every play and player. Teams can’t build rosters that are stacked with great players because players can leave. Teams can not build rosters by just buying the best players because of the salary cap. The draft limits teams building quickly and if they miss on any high draft pick they are screwed for three to four years. And last, with film and scouting there are no sleepers and even the best designed and executed play is diagnosed and neutralized in a single week. Parity.

**Shas** · 02-18-2021, 11:03 AM

Originally Posted by Jfoh

As to why things are so mediocre it all comes down to free agency, salary cap, missed draft picks and total information access for every team about every play and player. Teams can’t build rosters that are stacked with great players because players can leave. Teams can not build rosters by just buying the best players because of the salary cap. The draft limits teams building quickly and if they miss on any high draft pick they are screwed for three to four years. And last, with film and scouting there are no sleepers and even the best designed and executed play is diagnosed and neutralized in a single week. Parity.

I've long maintained that people put way too much weight on a head coach. When things go bad it's much easier to blame a coach or a coordinator because the illusion that one move fixes everything is too tempting not to buy into. On the other hand, people are reluctant to blame players for simply failing to deliver. Fans idolize players. They wear their jerseys. No one wears Belichick's sleeveless hoodie to games.

Speaking of Belichick, he isn't the genius we thought he was once he had and elderly roster missing Tom and Gronk.

Look at the 2018 draft. The decision to go with Rosen and Darnold preceded the firing of Bowles, Gase, and Wilks. Meanwhile, the same draft yielded Allen and Jackson. John Harbaugh went from a coach "on the hotseat" to a coach now frequently named top-five in the league. And McDermott is credited with turning around the franchise.

Not to suggest coaches don't matter. A bad one can sink a team. A good one can breathe new life and stability into a troubled locker room. (See Stefanski) But in general, players matter far more.

**Dropsalotaylor** · 02-18-2021, 11:05 AM

Because on some level the NFL is a club/good olde boys network.

**Shas** · 02-18-2021, 11:12 AM

By the way, evidence of my point is that that best NFL head coaches make upwards of $10MM a year. Wink is the highest paid coordinator at about $3MM a year.

The franchise tag for quarterbacks is $26MM a year. for Edge rushers it's up around $20MM. WRs and CBs are over $15MM too.

The market tells us what the relative value of a coach is.

**moose10101** · 02-18-2021, 12:07 PM

Originally Posted by don raven

Why do teams keep recycling coaches e.g. Jaguars Doug Marrone and Bill Obrien. No wonder the mediocrity spreads throughout the league when the same guys keep showing up.

O'Brien's biggest problem was that they let him play GM. If he hadn't been in a position to sabotage himself, he might still have the HC job.