Post by mpbears68 on Nov 11, 2024 18:22:31 GMT -6
B) I really love when organizations talk about accountability but demonstrate none of it. If there truly was "accountability", Poles would have fired Flus & Waldron at 9am and taken the podium himself to explain, answer questions and, yes, face the music for the trash heap this season has become.
Read Leming's "10 Takes" article today on WCG. He flat-out says what we all have long suspected -- personnel decisions like this aren't really being made by the GM or the President of Football Ops. They are being made by non-football people like George and Teddy and based largely on cash flow considerations. IOW, they didn't fire Flus today or upgrade him last offseason like they could/should have because they didn't want to incur the additional short-term payroll costs.
Ownership of this team is incredibly short-sighted. "Winning" requires long-term investments and those deliver long-term returns. These guys only think short-term. They only think about what is the bare minimum I can get by with for the next year or two. There was no other reason to retain Flus in January. He hadn't shown anything promising, he was a defensive coach, and he had zero experience or track record in hiring OCs or developing new QBs.
He was kept because he was ON A CHEAP CONTRACT and that's it.
More and more I believe that Warren is just a figurehead who's only real role is to schmooze politicians for stadium money.
Poles likewise is only a quasi-GM. He has authority over the draft and probably FA signings but his hands are tied when it comes to the coaching staff. He can only hire or fire if George & Teddy say so and they care mostly about the numbers on this year's W-2s. I am sure those two "want to win" but they are not willing to do the things that makes winning more possible.
On one hand, you recognize that Poles & Warren don't really have full authority but on the other hand you also should recognize that both of them are just cashing their checks too. Neither one seems to have the balls to threaten to quit. They will just go along no matter how dumb the decision-making is from above just to keep their jobs.
I have really lost a lot of respect for both of them. This is as obvious a decision as there ever was in the NFL (no other team would hesitate to make major changes right now with the season effectively over) but neither of them have the balls to insist.
My personal opinion is that George does not make the decision on the coaches. I think he lets the GM do it and gives it the final blessing. I have no way to prove or disprove that. Just my gut. I think George REALLY wants to just find a staff to run the franchise for him. I really do. I do not see him as a micromanager.
As far as the double payment, yeah.... I think that plays a part. But he needs to have a talk with Poles about extending guys that have won to long term contract. With all the HC mistakes they make, if they fired them all when they needed to be fired, they would probably have three or four of them on payroll. I think it's a factor, but I bet it's not the determining factor. They know they have a shelf life in CW. They need to get the right guy in and I'm sure he knows it. I'm also sure he knows he doesn't know how to do it. And he will rely on others. Whether that is Warren and Poles, or yet another outside consultant or a blend of both (most probable). I think there is a good chance they make a HC change. I don't think they do it before the end of the year. And I also think there is a good chance Poles scapgoats the OC (not sure you can call it scapegoating if he is at fault though), and gives Flus another year. I give both those options good chanced. Not sure which will prevail
To me, injecting short term cash flow considerations is the very essence of meddling or micro-managing. It is basically the owner telling the GM he can't replace a guy because he doesn't want to pay his replacement, not because he is truly the best guy for the job. It has long been rumored this stuff was going on. They completely missed the boat on that last January when everyone knew we were moving on at QB and it was the perfect time to pair a new rookie QB with a new HC who has demonstrated proficiency with NFL passing offense.
You and I are just dumb fans and we both saw that clear as day but somehow people who's life business this is missed it or more likely just cheaped out.
As for this moment right now, it sure looks like Waldron is being set up as the scapegoat (well-deserved as you said) for Flus to point to. This franchise just can't bring itself to fire a HC mid-season no matter how richly deserved it is or how many failed coordinators he has gone through.
So my guess is they will limp through the rest of this season with Flus and a new play caller and he will be fired on Black Monday. I see virtually zero chance Flus can be back in '25 (which is why he should be gone NOW) as the clock on Caleb is ticking and you have already squandered a year.
To survive, Flus would have to pull off some miracle finish in the last 8 games and the odds of that happening are the same as me becoming the King of Spain. The team hates him. The players hate him. You can see it in how they answer the difficult questions. He lost the team with his shameful performance two weeks ago both during and after the game. The moment the team falls behind 2 scores, they are gonna pack it in every week and we are gonna fall behind two scores in the first half almost every game from here on out.
I'll be shocked if Flus can do better than 2-6 the rest of the way and even that is likely too optimistic.
All they did is kick the can down the road until Jan and delay the inevitable by 2 months. Then....they can **** up the next HC hire just like they do everything else.
