Stillers seal
their fate:
Today, the
Stiller FO, bowing to Coach Cowher�s demand for a contract extension, prolonged
his tenure through the 2005 season.�
This move is solidly in the tradition established here; again, the FO has
waged a bidding war against itself and come away with dubious value.� Fathomless stupidity; the Head is entering
the 4th year of a (5) year deal.�
During his (last) new deal, the Stillers rolled to a 22-26 mark.� Arguably, the trend is upward but that is by
no means clear.� True, 9-7 is better
than 6-10, or 7-9, but it is bad science to predict a trend from a couple data
points; it would have been far better to wait and see what happens this season.
�From �97 thru �99, the Stillers win
totals dwindled from 11 to 7 to 6.�
Maybe 9-7 in 2000 marks a turnabout; maybe 9-7 was a micro-bump on a
long-term skid.
Whatever; there
would have been no downside to waiting.�
If the Stillers are rebounding, do the deal; if not, well, Marvin Lewis
will be on the market next year and Tony Dungy may be too.� Those are defense-minded Pittsburgh guys,
just like Das Jaw.�� Perhaps, after the
Stillers now certain 2001 Super Bowl season, Coach Cowher would attract some
enormous offer; fine, let him go, collect the draft compensation and move on to
Marvin.�
It could be said
that $3M/year is market for a head coach; in fact, ESPN cited Butch Davis and
Jim Fassel as having comparable deals.�
Well, Davis hasn�t coached for even a minute in the NFL; the new Browns�
absolute lack of direction clearly has shown that Bill Walsh, not Policy and
Clark, was responsible for the 49ers dominance through the 80�s and into the
last decade.
Fassel came to
the NYG as an offensive guru but in just a couple seasons, fell from that
exalted state.� Lord Jim was on a ledge
last year when he, somehow, managed to cajole his talent-deprived Giants into
the Big Bowl.� There, they were beaten
savagely but, hey, they weren�t really a very good team.� Fassel got the most out of his troops and,
for that, a very big contract.� However,
it is worth noting that John Fox and Seth Payton, coordinators on either side
of the ball, figured prominently in the NYG rise to near-glory.� In mid-season, Fassel handed the O-side
reins to Payton and the Giants took off; all year, that Fox-headed Front 7
concealed the fact that the NYG DB couldn�t cover anyone.�
In contrast,
Coach Cowher goes through coordinators like fat boys eat chips.� Maybe, that�s not all his fault but he is
the constant factor in a repeating pattern.�
It may be tough to work with genius but not even his staunchest
supporters award Coach that status.� Mr.
Cowher is not an X/O man; he hasn�t out-coached anyone on any game day since
Barry Switzer swayed half-baked across the field in Phoenix and, as an evaluator
of talent, well, consider the Stiller drafts since Modrak blew town.���
No genius, no
tactician, no talent scout; no, Coach Cowher is, in fact, considered to be a
fiery leader.� Well, I guess; what is
described as leadership looks like bluster to me but, no doubt, some like it
like that.� I prefer insight from my
leaders but it is absolutely clear now, in the reign of Bush the Younger, that
IQ is only a minor pre-requisite to ascension.�
Be that as it might, Mr. Cowher certainly seems to be a stubborn, proud
and determined individual.� Tempered,
those all are considerable attributes but unchecked this is not so.� Coach Cowher�s characteristic strengths as a
man have doomed the Stillers to a defensive scheme that has been entirely
abandoned elsewhere, to an offensive scheme that has been effectively
neutralized by the top teams within the division and to a means of talent
evaluation that depends more on personal predilection (�Spike returned all my
calls�) than any rational look at the league as it is today.�� Famously, Coach Cowher has gotten the most
from modest talent; tragically, so long as he stays on the scene, that will be
the most we can expect.���