In search of a second chance, former NFL coaches share valuable lessons learned

First of all, the head coach must be able to drive – not just the locker room, but the entire building. Most of them look to the HC to set the tone. Questions that seem simple on the surface can have a huge impact on Sunday’s outcome. Things like, What do you serve in the cafeteria; How long to train and at what time of the day; Travel clothes for those who play and those who do not. Whether you want to challenge a call or go to it in fourth place; Should the player be disciplined, and if so, how severe is it? Some questions may not be heavy in and of themselves, but they can get heavy when you pair them with other questions.

“Through experience, you learn a lot, so I think it helps get that experience,” said Chargers’ Defense Coordinator Gus Bradley, who was 14-48 as the head coach of the Jaguars from 2013-16. “There are things you go through for the first time that I don’t know how to prepare for, from game management to match situations, to building a team in the hat, to situations arising within the team. I went to look at that like, I’m in charge of leading 30 players in defense and now I’m 60 men. It’s the same command. But it is clear that other things are in line with that on a daily basis. “

“It’s a big job,” Joseph said. “You don’t know how big it is until you take on the mission. You have been in the league for a long time and assume you’ve seen other coaches do the job, but the behind-the-scenes things are important for building culture and winning games – you have no idea what someone hasn’t guided you through the process.”

These words may be self-serving, but that doesn’t make them less true. The truth is none of this really matters if the coach and front desk aren’t on the same page. In fact, this has been the common denominator throughout discussions with previous coaches, and that the vision of how to move forward must be shared – and real – at every level.

Joseph didn’t find that in Denver. He had an established general manager with a special vision of how the team was built, so he chose not to speak up early when he noticed flaws in the scheme. He trusted Elway more than he trusted at that point, realizing that Broncos was only one season away from winning the championship.

“This is my biggest regret in Denver,” Joseph said, “because I didn’t use my voice enough to help us pick better players to make our team better.” “This part is a learned behavior that comes with time and confidence with a GM. But when you have a guy in his place for a long time, you kind of trust his process. It’s never been my process, so I think I’d definitely be nice to talk more about the staff (in the future) because … My league is people-driven; to create a soccer team in your vision and image you have to have the right players sound. That part in Denver I didn’t get the tasks done in time to keep my job. I was naive in thinking that the mission was not broken. I was naive in thinking. In that someone else can actually pick your players from top to bottom and you don’t have a voice in that. It’s impossible to win this way because your main role as a coach is the soccer team. You are the soccer expert, not the general manager, so to speak. So it should be You have a voice in the personnel who will operate your systems.

“You have to go in and know what’s important, the number 1 important thing in this league is the season of player selection. How do you acquire your players? The wording and the agency is clearly free, but you have to have a say in that as a soccer coach because your experience is the success of the team.” And if you can’t, as Bill Barsels used to say, have an say in choosing the grocery, you will have a hard time preparing dinner. Sorry for that part. But in terms of football, in terms of team training, attack, defense and special teams, I have no regrets about This part. Led by men, I have no regrets about leading men. But I have regrets that there is no great voice in choosing the players. Not being forced; just being more insistent on taking a part in it. This part, I’m sorry for that. “

Joseph, Maurice, Bradley, and Allen are all hoping for a second chance, but they also admit that it has to be a fitting as a third chance isn’t likely. Jim Caldwell is also open to another opportunity after successful spells in Indianapolis, where the Colts went to the Super Bowl, and in Detroit, where the Lions have gone to playoffs twice in four seasons after advancing only once in the past 14 years.

Bradley said, “I didn’t have time to sit down and talk to Jim Caldwell, but if you talk to the people I talk to about the NFL, people think about him a lot and there is a lot of respect for him.” Scratch your head and say. “Why doesn’t he get another chance?” He is well respected, a strong leader, has a presence in the room and develops people. Why doesn’t Jim Caldwell get another chance? I don’t know why, but he probably will. You kind of pull him. “

Morris did a remarkable job after inheriting the Falcons 0-5 this year. Atlanta surged to win four of his first six under his supervision, but have fallen four times in a row since then, all by five points or less. He gave an official interview for a full-time Falcon job on Friday, Per colleague Ian Rapoport. Bradley, for example, thinks Morris has clearly shown that he deserves another chance. But he’s also hinting that beginners can be successful as well, referring in particular to Sean McVeigh from Rams. The bottom line, he argues, is that the door should be open to everyone.

Bradley said, “I don’t know if one method is better than the other, but you don’t denigrate the man who went through it and might not have been successful the first time.” “There are valuable lessons they have learned, and I think that part of them deserves to be appreciated.”