I'm just writing here so you don't feel bad for that goose egg in the reply column.

 

If the general manager was truly qualified to evaluate talent or team needs, he or she should be a scout or head coach.

It's my philosophy that a general manager's duty is to get the players they are told to get under contract.

In my opinion, this should all be going through Sparano, not Ireland.

There are, of course, exceptions to this hierarchy wherein positions are made up (such as "Football Czar"), but we all know how those work out.

 

Coaches are generally bad roster managers. They take short-sighted views and can be pretty reckless in the pursuit of winning now. Not to say that general managers are saints, just that coaches with final personnel authority usually regret it later. Dave Wannstedt and Mike Shanahan come to mind.

 

You can find equally unimpressive, yet isolated, examples of interfering owners and general managers.

I just think coaches calling the shots it how it should be in a perfect world.

 

Yes, something I’ve already alluded to. Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean that coaches are better at personnel acquisition, roster management, and working within the salary cap than general managers. You’ll notice that the elite teams in the NFL vest personnel power in a general manager and not the head coach: the Colts, the Packers, the Saints, the Ravens, the Steelers, the Eagles, the Giants, arguably the Chargers, and the Patriots until Pioli left (and Belichick is gradually ceding power to Nick Caserio) all come to mind. Several teams on the rise also have power vested in a GM: the Chiefs and the Falcons are good examples.

In an ideal world, the coach would coach and the general manager would acquire the players.

 

but he was a scout....... for like 10 years. It's my opinion that this stuff is better run through someone who has an actual scouting background as well as direct & involved knowledge of the team's goals and direction (Ireland) rather than someone who has possibly never broken down a CB on film (Sparano?) or a scout who might not merit a billion dollar franchise resting on his shoulder. Important decisions should come from people higher on the totem pole. All of us work etc, yet we still find hours a day to watch games, break down fill, discuss players, chat about the team yada yada yada. What make you think Ireland can't do the same?

My only concern is developing an ego complex to where he ignores scouts' advice in areas of player assessment that he might be weak in (like offense it would appear).

 

exactly. They don't always have a clear opinion because they're directly involved. It's like trying to give yourself advise. We don't always give the same advise that we'd give others in the same situation. Someone on the outside looking in can have a clearer perspective. Plus, a head coach is so wrapped up in the season (during the season) when part of the assessment process is going on.

 

A coach should tell a GM what kind of players he wants on the team, and the GM should identify and sign them, keeping in mind the longterm goals of the franchise.

Coaches do not and should not generally have lots of time to be hanging around grading draft picks and free agents. I do expect them to know and identify team weaknesses and pass along a recommendation to the trigger man (the GM).

 

added to this----- you also want the system to remain stable. What if you go through 3 coaches in 5 years and all three of them have a completely different outlook and approach? That would be devastating. Get the coach to fit your system and the type of team you want to be, not the other way around.

That's like taking a Hooters restaurant that specializes in wings, has a specific "type" of personnel it hires (drafts), and operates an entertaining, lively place for 13 year old boys to have fun...... and then hiring a new manager who then turns it into fine-dining Italian...... and then he gets fired and the new guy wants it Mexican with all Mexican employees. You keep it "Hooters" and restrict the manager (coach) to running it the way Hooters wants it run. He can still manage it the way he wants, but the restaurant remains Hooters.