Sources: Gruden the front runner

[freddyg12]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

Wouldn't it be something if suddenly things just start to click with Smith or Gray as head coach? Snyder is going to be like "Uh oh. I wasn't expecting this"

I've always liked D. Smith & wondered if he had head coach potential. He might be just what the team needs (along w/young, talented O linemen, wr's, and LBs)!

[SmootSmack]

Originally Posted by freddyg12

I've always liked D. Smith & wondered if he had head coach potential. He might be just what the team needs (along w/young, talented O linemen, wr's, and LBs)!

The irony of course is that both Gray and Smith are Gregg Williams' disciples.

But no, I don't expect that either would make a huge difference. But what I've found interesting is that for weeks we've heard players saying it's not the coaches' fault, we need to execute, play smarter, etc.

But in all my years of hearing players say that usually either the coach is already gone and they've said it, or they say it and then go out and do it. These players are saying it and not really doing anything about it. It's almost like "yeah well we should be...but we won't" Maybe one of these guys will change that mindset?

[freddyg12]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

The irony of course is that both Gray and Smith are Gregg Williams' disciples.

But no, I don't expect that either would make a huge difference. But what I've found interesting is that for weeks we've heard players saying it's not the coaches' fault, we need to execute, play smarter, etc.

But in all my years of hearing players say that usually either the coach is already gone and they've said it, or they say it and then go out and do it. These players are saying it and not really doing anything about it. It's almost like "yeah well we should be...but we won't" Maybe one of these guys will change that mindset?

good point. I don't put too much weight into what players say under most any circumstance, unless they say something stupid or inappropriate. Otherwise, players are politicians for their teams when before a mic. It's not like they're going to say, man, Zorn is sorry.

I think Smith would be a logical follow up to Zorn; the fiery coach replacing the nice coach. And sometimes a change in the workplace is enough simply to kick people in the ass & let them know they're being evaluated, no matter who takes over.

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

The irony of course is that both Gray and Smith are Gregg Williams' disciples.

But no, I don't expect that either would make a huge difference. But what I've found interesting is that for weeks we've heard players saying it's not the coaches' fault, we need to execute, play smarter, etc.

But in all my years of hearing players say that usually either the coach is already gone and they've said it, or they say it and then go out and do it. These players are saying it and not really doing anything about it. It's almost like "yeah well we should be...but we won't" Maybe one of these guys will change that mindset?

But the execution errors aren't due to a lack of focus necessarily. The execution errors really boil down to procedure penalties on offense, and shoddy tackling on defense. The tackling is something we specifically approached lightly in the offseason and preseason, seemingly in exchange for having the players healthy later on. That seems more like a give-take tradeoff to me. The offensive procedure penalties are about 75% attributable to offensive line turnover and 25% attributable to sideline disorganization.

The only thing the coaches can actually fix at this point is the sideline disorganization. But that won't fix a majority of the execution issues. That just has more to do with the natural fluctuations of the game of football and the subsequent deficits in talent caused.

All assumptions made in this post are those of the authors' alone, and are not attributable to any palm reading that may or may not have occured this weekend.