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Our next Head Coach.....

It's gonna take a lot more than a young, hungry guy in his first gig.

Turner, Spurrier, Zorn ?

Zorn what a joke, that guy didn't even know our team colors. You take a QB coach and hire him as an OC then when nobody else wants the job you promote him to HC. I would have loved to be a fly on the wall when they decided to hire him.

Spurrier was not young or hungry, that was all about ego for him and Dan..... We knew that in the preseason when he kept the starters in so we could run the score up.

We gave Turner a shot and as you can tell from his other coaching stops that he does a fair job, but just can't get over the hump. Some guys are just better coordinators.
 
I know it sounds like I'm waaay down on Bruce Allen. I just think that we talk out of both sides of our mouth when it comes to his role (both with Shanahan and going forward). On the one hand, Bruce was powerless to do anything to stop the franchise meltdown we experienced this year, because he's 'not a football guy' and was only brought in to manage the cap, contracts, etc... On the other hand, he's suddenly a football guy and coaching svengali who will no doubt find us our coach of the future. I just can't reconcile those two positions. I want him to succeed, and I think from all appearances, he is one of the few 'grown ups' we've had at Redskins Park. I still don't think he's a 'football guy'. I also wonder if the reason we are spending days with Bill Cowher is exactly for that reason - because Allen doesn't have the personal expertise we need to make a good decision on the next coach and we're basically using Cowher as a consultant. Just a guess on my part. Again - I hope Allen is successful, but while I don't discount his previous success, I'm not convinced he has any more 'football knowledge' than the average fan.
 
I'm not convinced he has any more 'football knowledge' than the average fan.

I hope that you are not confusing us BGO members with average fans, obviously we are much much more intelligent and better looking! Well except for El, have you seen him, my eyes burn thinking about it?? How he scored his wife is beyond me :rotflmao:
 
One positive that I see coming out of all this? Bruce Allen is going to be 100% accountable for the success of the next coach. It was clear from the firing press conference, he alone owns the selection of the next coach. If it turns out to be another exercise in failure and futility, there won't be any wavering or dispute over who made the bad hire. That's the kind of pressure that might result in picking a coach for all the right reasons - the ones most likely to lead to success and a winning team. I believe we've picked coaches in the past for lots of the wrong reasons, such as which coaching selection might get the most media buzz, excite the fanbase, or who can be most easily 'controlled'. I like that Allen has taken it all on himself here. He's going to live or die by this decision, and frankly, that's the way it should be.
 
I know it sounds like I'm waaay down on Bruce Allen. I just think that we talk out of both sides of our mouth when it comes to his role (both with Shanahan and going forward). On the one hand, Bruce was powerless to do anything to stop the franchise meltdown we experienced this year, because he's 'not a football guy' and was only brought in to manage the cap, contracts, etc... On the other hand, he's suddenly a football guy and coaching svengali who will no doubt find us our coach of the future. I just can't reconcile those two positions. I want him to succeed, and I think from all appearances, he is one of the few 'grown ups' we've had at Redskins Park. I still don't think he's a 'football guy'. I also wonder if the reason we are spending days with Bill Cowher is exactly for that reason - because Allen doesn't have the personal expertise we need to make a good decision on the next coach and we're basically using Cowher as a consultant. Just a guess on my part. Again - I hope Allen is successful, but while I don't discount his previous success, I'm not convinced he has any more 'football knowledge' than the average fan.

interesting angle on Cowher. if reaching out to be better informed is the ticket - works for me! many roads can lead to a good decision. what matters, in the end, is the decision.

IMO...setting culture and vision is certainly something Allen can do quite well. I stake myself to the core assumption that as George's boy and living the life he has, he is loyal to the marrow to the Skins and dedicated to the team's success. Placing Allen and Cerratto in the same Universe is an unimaginable stretch! Once a coach is brought onboard, Allen sits in the center of it all from an operational sense:

- coach....what players do ya need and want?

- here are the qualifications on players according to the culture, vision, and identity we as management are setting for the long term. your list is acceptable except for....

- misters campbell and brown, who fits these needs? what is your assessment on their potential in our system? let me see the report and I'll cross check with my contacts around the league.

- here's where we're headed coach. work for you?

- Dan...you gave me a budget to work with. here's what we're gonna do and why. don't want you getting caught off-guard.

Allen has people inside and outside the bldg in Ashburn to talk to. he doesn't have to be a football expert. he has to be a good decision-maker who knows what questions to ask and who to get the most accurate information from to decide the questions.

You're right to speculate on what went on behind the scenes and what role Allen played. until proven otherwise, I'll run with the narrative that Shanahan had a contract that titled him President of Operations and controlled all the major decisions.
 
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Just for clarity's sake, I have not and would not lump Allen into the same bucket as Cerrato. I think Allen has more brains in his little finger than Cerrato ever had. I don't doubt Allen is sharp - all you have to do is listen to him for 5 minutes and that's apparent. I just don't know how comfortable I am with him being the football decision-maker. And he clearly has said that's what he will be. You can get advice and input from plenty of people. But ultimately, someone has to decide and that someone is now Allen. He's going to get a lot of conflicting advice. And really, wading through all of that information, deciding what matters and what doesn't, and finding a gem of a young coach (if we go that route) - it's not easy to predict who will shine in the role and who will not work out. I hope he is up to the task.

On Cowher - way I see it is, if we were going back to the seasoned vet well again, I think he'd either already be hired (or he unofficially already has been and everything we're seeing now is a smoke screen). It pains me to say it, but I'd be willing to be Cowher has already been offered the job but is too smart to want to work for a guy like Snyder. And with a firm 'No thanks' in hand, we're picking his brain on what it takes to set up a new young coach for success, since he clearly knows a lot about how best to do that.
 
Just for clarity's sake, I have not and would not lump Allen into the same bucket as Cerrato. I think Allen has more brains in his little finger than Cerrato ever had. I don't doubt Allen is sharp - all you have to do is listen to him for 5 minutes and that's apparent. I just don't know how comfortable I am with him being the football decision-maker. And he clearly has said that's what he will be. You can get advice and input from plenty of people. But ultimately, someone has to decide and that someone is now Allen. He's going to get a lot of conflicting advice. And really, wading through all of that information, deciding what matters and what doesn't, and finding a gem of a young coach (if we go that route) - it's not easy to predict who will shine in the role and who will not work out. I hope he is up to the task.

On Cowher - way I see it is, if we were going back to the seasoned vet well again, I think he'd either already be hired (or he unofficially already has been and everything we're seeing now is a smoke screen). It pains me to say it, but I'd be willing to be Cowher has already been offered the job but is too smart to want to work for a guy like Snyder. And with a firm 'No thanks' in hand, we're picking his brain on what it takes to set up a new young coach for success, since he clearly knows a lot about how best to do that.

The part I put in bold is my take on what's going on with the Cowher talks as well Boone.
 
I hope that you are not confusing us BGO members with average fans, obviously we are much much more intelligent and better looking! Well except for El, have you seen him, my eyes burn thinking about it?? How he scored his wife is beyond me :rotflmao:

Ha! You need more pics of Mike for you to single HIM out instead of me?


I think Boone has a great point...how do we reconcile Allen as the GM with final decision on player acquisition when many of us wanted him shoved into the depths of the FO somewhere to handle money alone.

I think the easiest way to answer that is hope...hope that he is wise, not necessarily smart, wise enough to let Morocco Brown and the rest of that staff do their jobs. As for the head coach decision, I gotta say, he got Gruden to Oakland and Tampa. I am not a huge Jon Gruden fan, but Allen brought him in to both teams and he was successful in both.

I think the idea of the proven structure of the Front Office in DC is enough to be excited. We can only hope at this point that Allen is just enough of a good manager to let others do their jobs. I am tired of micromanagers here, hopefully he will let each one do their job. We are fairly confident Shanahan didn't do that. We know Marty didn't. Not sure Gibbs did it enough. And Zorn? Well...
 
Ha! You need more pics of Mike for you to single HIM out instead of me?


I think Boone has a great point...how do we reconcile Allen as the GM with final decision on player acquisition when many of us wanted him shoved into the depths of the FO somewhere to handle money alone.

I think the easiest way to answer that is hope...hope that he is wise, not necessarily smart, wise enough to let Morocco Brown and the rest of that staff do their jobs. As for the head coach decision, I gotta say, he got Gruden to Oakland and Tampa. I am not a huge Jon Gruden fan, but Allen brought him in to both teams and he was successful in both.

I think the idea of the proven structure of the Front Office in DC is enough to be excited. We can only hope at this point that Allen is just enough of a good manager to let others do their jobs. I am tired of micromanagers here, hopefully he will let each one do their job. We are fairly confident Shanahan didn't do that. We know Marty didn't. Not sure Gibbs did it enough. And Zorn? Well...



The early trend appears to be going in that direction. Lets not forget who Bruce Allen's dad is. Not saying he is his father, but he did grow up in and around NFL locker rooms. You cant tell me that SOME of that wore off on him... or he at least can respect the structure that he grew up witnessing. Hopefully it carries over and he does what's necessary.
 
Jack Kent Cooke hired Bobby Beathard.

So, the FIRST decision the Redskins had to make way back when was what football guy was going to be selected to build the team by a non-football guy :)

I am not worried Allen is going to make the call on the next head coach. While he was not a scout he has been a football guy with various roles in several organizations.

As long as Allen is not going to do what Shanahan did in regards to personnel - employ front office executives and field scouts but refuse to listen to them - I think this set up can work.

For all of his scouting experience Beathard listened to his personnel folks he sent out on the road.

As I recall Beathard admitted others in the personnel department were the ones that brought guys like Charles Mann and Clint Didier to his attention and went to bat for drafting them.

I am glad we are interviewing COACHING candidates like Bevell and McDermott and not running hat in hand to another Caesar that wants to commission a bust of himself to be placed outside of Fedex Field when he takes over as Dictator.
 
We you really think about it hiring a successful NFL coach requires a good amount of luck even if you are a skilled NFL manager. If you're not its like trying to hit the lotto. I listen to what everyone says and have just come to realize I don't know who will be a good coach and any thoughts I have lack information to really have any substance. Really how many successful NFL coaches are there?? Only 32 slots available and half of those people are not happy about. So lets be generous and say 16 head coaches people are happy with.

There were lots of good NFL experienced people picking these guys and they miss all the time. To be able to have the personality to deal with the players, the press, and to master the X's and O's is hard enough then to have the work ethic and drive to persevere through the storm that is an NFL season is rare and hard to find in an individual and harder to identify.

I'm just gonna shut up and follow the news and cross my fingers and toes luck is with us in our selection this time around. I just wanna win.
 
Really how many successful NFL coaches are there??

Couple their skills with the situation they're in. Do we believe Belicheat would have won 3 SB's with Drew Bledsoe? i mean...probably one, but 3?
 
Drew Bledsoe threw too many costly picks. Like Favre he was arrogant enough to think any spacing was enough to get a completion.

Bellichick wouldn't have won with Bledsoe.

As it is New England won 3 Super Bowls, all by 3 points.

That means the team was not dominant the way others had been in the past and it took all of Brady's heroics to beat the Panthers and Eagles.
 
Drew Bledsoe threw too many costly picks. Like Favre he was arrogant enough to think any spacing was enough to get a completion.

Bellichick wouldn't have won with Bledsoe.

As it is New England won 3 Super Bowls, all by 3 points.

That means the team was not dominant the way others had been in the past and it took all of Brady's heroics to beat the Panthers and Eagles.

And they played 2 more that they lost.

5 superbowl appearances in 13 years is pretty dominate if you ask me.
 
But they did not have a dominant performance in any of those games.

There was no signature win like the Packers had against KC 35-10, or the Cowboys 24-3 win over Miami, or the 49ers 55-10 win in 1989.

More recently you can look at the Bucs, Ravens (Giants), or Saints wins, etc.

I would call the Patriots with Brady and Vinatieri clutch but not a dominant club overall.

Their 2001-2004 run is not quite the same as the Cowboys 1992-1995 sequence where they won convincingly 52-17, 30-13 and 27-17.
 
Ok, just to follow up on this thread.....
We have our next HC. Bruce Allen seems to be accountable for this decision.

Now; let's hope he's our guy for the next 20 years! He's certainly saying all of the right things right now. I recognize that it's a tough question, but do you guys think he could be the guy who's here for a while?
 
Ok, just to follow up on this thread.....
We have our next HC. Bruce Allen seems to be accountable for this decision.

Now; let's hope he's our guy for the next 20 years! He's certainly saying all of the right things right now. I recognize that it's a tough question, but do you guys think he could be the guy who's here for a while?



I do. With the promotion of McVay to OC and the fact that Gruden is 46 and McVay is 27... yes 27... I think both guys are going to be around for a while. Young team, young staff.. I like the direction, a lot.
 

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