In 2001 the Bills took a bullet in the form of Greg Williams instead of choosing Donahoe buddy John Fox or Marvin Lewis after they both interviewed. Lewis was a year removed from his defense putting up a season of historical dominance including a Super Bowl win and Fox was interviewed just days after his own defense played in the big game. We all know how it played out- we ended up with the guy with virtually no executive skills and the other two DCs went on to compile cumulative records of 57-49 from teams who were doormats when they arrived- Cincy and Carolina had combined regular season records of 3- 29 when their respective coaches arrived.
On the other hand Greg Williams gave us a 17-31 run.
The common factor between the coaching prospects is that they were all Defensive Coordinators who were among the best in the game at the time of their interviews, with Lewis being arguably among the best DCs in history. Our management obviously went after the ideal pool of talent; we simply lost the bet on which one to take. In cold weather cities there is far more evidence supporting the success rate of former DCs as Head Coaches versus OCoordinators in the modern game of football. It seems the things we should have learned from the Williams experience is that we should be focusing on DCs but we must find some gauge of their executive skills- the job as a Head Coach is hardly removed from the job of CEO in a medium sized business.
The traditional business community has developed a vast body of tests to measure the executive skill sets of candidates- from the University level to the military to Blue Chip companies, there are thousands of written, oral and observational tests available to determine the executive skill set of candidates. It’s time the braintrust of OBD pays attention to these tools that can help them avoid the mistake made with Greg Williams, a fine DC but a poor executive. And if the powers that be are willing to embrace those things available to them, we can avoid the retread coaching carousel and look to the names where the head coaching successes of the future are most likely to come from:
Mike Trgovac- DC Carolina
Mike Smith- DC Jacksonville
Both are under 50, have never had a shot at the top spot, and are among the best at their job in the NFL today. One can’t be interviewed yet, but the other is available. Here’s one fan hoping the names like Sherman and Haslett end up being little more than window dressing for the better decision to pick someone with a far greater upside.
On the other hand Greg Williams gave us a 17-31 run.
The common factor between the coaching prospects is that they were all Defensive Coordinators who were among the best in the game at the time of their interviews, with Lewis being arguably among the best DCs in history. Our management obviously went after the ideal pool of talent; we simply lost the bet on which one to take. In cold weather cities there is far more evidence supporting the success rate of former DCs as Head Coaches versus OCoordinators in the modern game of football. It seems the things we should have learned from the Williams experience is that we should be focusing on DCs but we must find some gauge of their executive skills- the job as a Head Coach is hardly removed from the job of CEO in a medium sized business.
The traditional business community has developed a vast body of tests to measure the executive skill sets of candidates- from the University level to the military to Blue Chip companies, there are thousands of written, oral and observational tests available to determine the executive skill set of candidates. It’s time the braintrust of OBD pays attention to these tools that can help them avoid the mistake made with Greg Williams, a fine DC but a poor executive. And if the powers that be are willing to embrace those things available to them, we can avoid the retread coaching carousel and look to the names where the head coaching successes of the future are most likely to come from:
Mike Trgovac- DC Carolina
Mike Smith- DC Jacksonville
Both are under 50, have never had a shot at the top spot, and are among the best at their job in the NFL today. One can’t be interviewed yet, but the other is available. Here’s one fan hoping the names like Sherman and Haslett end up being little more than window dressing for the better decision to pick someone with a far greater upside.
Comment