A Double Standard
Now that the Bobby Petrino national media bashing has all but ended, I have taken some time to reflect on general criticism surrounding employment changes in college/pro football.
I'm sure any of you hog fans who did some Arthur Blank research would already know that when Dan Reeves was fired as head coach a few years back, it was three games left in their season. (Blank's crucification must have been postponed indefinitely.)
And after Jim Mora Jr. never finishes less than .500 in his three seasons with Atlanta, he gets the axe as well. What, did Jim say no to Artie on having too much of a 'hands on' approach to the team?
But then "Billionaire" Blank gets all upset because coach Petrino decides to pull the plug before Artie had the chance. It looked like a high school kid's pride was on the line in a case of "who dumped who."
And my personal favorite was Joey Harrington's comment of, "He quit on us!" No Joseph. You all quit on that coach long before that December day. It just wasn't official. Oh, and I'm sure you getting benched because of your earned reputation as a poster child for "NFL draft busts!" had nothing to do with your opinion.
The reason I bring all of this up now is the ongoing conflict between Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis and head coach Lane Kiffin. After the 2002 season, Oakland has done nothing but underachieve. So now before Davis even gives his coach a second season to improve, he's trying to force him out.
Like the title suggests, this is totally a double standard. Firings are okay, quitting isn't. The way I see it, the choice to remove a head coach and his staff is giving up. You give up head coach Jon Gruden, he wins a Super Bowl, you don't (although the Raiders made it with the team Gruden helped assemble.)
Davis' lack of patience is the reason that franchise will never find ultimate success (Super Bowl win) in the salary cap era. Where's the prime time bashing now?
I'm sure any of you hog fans who did some Arthur Blank research would already know that when Dan Reeves was fired as head coach a few years back, it was three games left in their season. (Blank's crucification must have been postponed indefinitely.)
And after Jim Mora Jr. never finishes less than .500 in his three seasons with Atlanta, he gets the axe as well. What, did Jim say no to Artie on having too much of a 'hands on' approach to the team?
But then "Billionaire" Blank gets all upset because coach Petrino decides to pull the plug before Artie had the chance. It looked like a high school kid's pride was on the line in a case of "who dumped who."
And my personal favorite was Joey Harrington's comment of, "He quit on us!" No Joseph. You all quit on that coach long before that December day. It just wasn't official. Oh, and I'm sure you getting benched because of your earned reputation as a poster child for "NFL draft busts!" had nothing to do with your opinion.
The reason I bring all of this up now is the ongoing conflict between Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis and head coach Lane Kiffin. After the 2002 season, Oakland has done nothing but underachieve. So now before Davis even gives his coach a second season to improve, he's trying to force him out.
Like the title suggests, this is totally a double standard. Firings are okay, quitting isn't. The way I see it, the choice to remove a head coach and his staff is giving up. You give up head coach Jon Gruden, he wins a Super Bowl, you don't (although the Raiders made it with the team Gruden helped assemble.)
Davis' lack of patience is the reason that franchise will never find ultimate success (Super Bowl win) in the salary cap era. Where's the prime time bashing now?
posted by John Laws at 9:41 PM
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