It's important to emphasize this point at the top. I can offer fair and winning testimony that neither of the New York football teams should have considered changing their head coach.
With Brian Daboll, it's even easier. He is one year removed from being the NFL's Coach of the Year. His team is 6-11 this year, and although the man he used to work with always warned him, “You're a record guy,'' the Giants also played much better at the end of the year than they did during the season. Ta. From the start, it didn't take much imagination (or more than a few plays) to turn six wins into nine. In that case, they would have had a legitimate shot at making the playoffs.
If Daboll is being portrayed in certain circles these days as a fringe tyrant with a temperament that's a cross between the late Indiana's Bob Knight and the drill sergeant from “Full Metal Jacket,”… well, a little anger. The package doesn't seem to have any negative impact on Vince Lombardi or Bill.
It's a little harder for Robert Saleh. Despite last year's underwhelming 7-10 record, his career record of 18-33 is fair enough on the surface, and his performance on the sideline still leads many to rank him among Wiebe Eubank. It's not enough to declare that it's coming again. Or even Walt Michaels.
Still, Saleh's job security is even stronger than Daboll's for one reason only: He has Aaron Rodgers' endorsement. Now we can argue 15 times over whether that's the best way to run a football team — spoiler alert: it's not — but that's simply the law of the land at Florham Park. As long as Rodgers is signed for a second year, Saleh will get a fourth year.
But the problem is:
Coaching in the NFL (only 32 people hold the job at any one time) is enough of a pressure cooker. Doing it in the highly anticipated fishbowl that is New York only heightens the intensity. But next year, Daboll and Saleh will not only be judged by what their teams do on the field, but how these teams would look if someone else was running on the field next to them. You will always be evaluated against this.
These days, it turns out to be an absolutely terrible time for a team not looking for a coach, as the market is flooded with multiple coaches with championship pedigrees. Bill Belichick is out. So is Jim Harbaugh. So is Pete Carroll. If the price is right, so is Nick Saban.
Nothing can be taken for granted in the NFL right now. All of them except Harbaugh have a little longer teeth. The NFL instantly turns horrible dregs into winners by Lombardi going to Green Bay (and briefly Washington), Don Shula going to Miami, Parcells coming to the Jets, and just showing up. His success in the modern NFL relies more on talent than ever before. Just ask Sean Payton about that.
still …
It would be logical to believe that an elite coach could at least establish the credibility of a team that has been in contention for more than a decade. Payton may not have been the miracle he said he was in his first few weeks in Denver, but he certainly stabilized a sinking ship, and it's his dignity that made it difficult to part ways with Russell Wilson. It looks like it's part of a bigger plan.
Perhaps Daboll is in the early stages of building the Giants into the kind of team that many (including our humble narrator) believe he is. Perhaps Saleh could become the Jets' hub considering Rodgers serves as his co-pilot on the full 17-man roster. Some (including the same narrator) have doubts about that.
What matters now is that the men signing the checks believe they are the right people. And all of those men had the opportunity to make bold choices in the past few weeks, and they didn't. After all, even if you hire the best talent, you'll still have a coach who just went 1-15, like when the Jets fired Rich Kotite, or a national punchline, like when the Giants parted ways with Joe. It's not as easy as firing a coach who has become one. judge.
In some cases, the decision may be more difficult. Carroll won with the Patriots and later proved to be a Canton-level coach. Robert Kraft ejected Belichick even though he believed he could attack him.
Villanova Basketball already had a winning coach in Steve Rapace, but when Jay Wright was hours away from signing with Rutgers, the school made Wright a tough offer.
The rest of the story of Foxboro and Philadelphia is history.
Let's see what the story is for locals this time next year.
Wack's Wack
This was the first issue of Sports Illustrated that arrived in my mailbox in West Hempstead when I was 9 years old. I continued with the same subscription for the next 40 years. Friday's sad news will never erase the impact this magazine had on so many of us.
The next 40 years.
This is great. The New York Giants Preservation Society will honor Willie Mays with an Appreciation Zoom on January 31 at 7 p.m. Members will reflect on all things Willie and all participants are required to wear Willie regalia. The association will gift a copy of Zoom to the Giants organization. Google it for more information.
The more you like a TV show, the more important it is that the plane lands properly at the end. And if this was “Fargo,” we arrived at the gate perfectly on time.
I think I could watch an entire 17-game season of football just Chiefs vs. Bills. Sunday will be a good night.
hit back vac
George Colchia: For those who plunked down $6 for a one-sided Dolphins-Chiefs game to get a Peacock: On the bright side, 'Vanderpump Rules' and the canceled dinosaur show 'La Brea' are now streaming This means that it is now available for distribution.
vacuum: Personally, I think “Ted” is worth the price of admission.
Mark Dantonio: Thank you for paying tribute to Cindy Morgan. Until she came along, only a few people knew that skinny skis and Benihana interiors were amazing.
vacuum: Some people are born with greatness, some people have greatness thrust upon them, and some people are skinny skiers.
@JIKaufmann: Right now, every team in the NFC East is irrevocably broken.
@Mike Vac: Is it possible that the Giants and Commanders are somehow happier with themselves than the Cowboys and Eagles right now?
Thomas Crehan: That's the Joe Flacco that we New York Jets fans remember. Bubbles always burst.
vacuum: Or, as a sad Browns fan friend of mine said, “Flacco will be Flacco.”
