Our next coach??

[BigHairedAristocrat]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

I don't have a huge problem with Shanahan as the head coach. He's very creative and a good offensive mind. Though for all his genius, I would have expected more dominance in the AFC West from him.

But he tends to rotate defensive coaches with relative ease, which ruins continuity on that side. And he's made some very poor personnel decisions both through the draft and free agency-Clarett, Willie Middlebrooks, Courtney Brown, Dale Carter, Quentin Griffin, Leon Lett, Eddie Kennison and so on.

It's easy to sit here and say that Cerrato is the worst personnel man in the league, but upon closer inspection it's hard to say that replacing him Shanahan is a marked improvement.

If you're just talking about improvement in talent evaluation/personnel decisioning skills, then i'd agree with you. I'd even argue that Cerrato is better. However, the problem with Cerrato is that he is essentially a puppet to Snyder and allows Snyder to be involved in the decision-making process. Due to their friendship, that will never change. Cerrato will never tell Snyder no. The same won't be true with someone from the outside.

While Shanahan is not my first choice, if I had to chose between him and Cerrato, i'd chose Shanahan, if for no other reason that it would eliminate Snyder from the equation (other than signing checks of course).

[SmootSmack]

Originally Posted by BigHairedAristocrat

If you're just talking about improvement in talent evaluation/personnel decisioning skills, then i'd agree with you. I'd even argue that Cerrato is better. However, the problem with Cerrato is that he is essentially a puppet to Snyder and allows Snyder to be involved in the decision-making process. Due to their friendship, that will never change. Cerrato will never tell Snyder no. The same won't be true with someone from the outside.

While Shanahan is not my first choice, if I had to chose between him and Cerrato, i'd chose Cerrato, if for no other reason that it would eliminate Snyder from the equation (other than signing checks of course).

Did you mean to say you'd choose Shanahan. Either way, I don't think even Shanahan is going to significantly change Snyder's input. I mean it's not like Snyder stepped in when Cerrato decided he couldn't work with Williams or Fassel or when Cerrato said I'm bringing in Sherman Lewis.

Cerrato needs to go more than anything to give the perception that changes are being made.

[BigHairedAristocrat]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

Did you mean to say you'd choose Shanahan. Either way, I don't think even Shanahan is going to significantly change Snyder's input. I mean it's not like Snyder stepped in when Cerrato decided he couldn't work with Williams or Fassel or when Cerrato said I'm bringing in Sherman Lewis.

Cerrato needs to go more than anything to give the perception that changes are being made.

Yeah i did, thanks for pointing that out - i guess i'm not very good at multi-tasking...

I agree that perception is a big issue here - what fans want is a Head Coach and GM (whether one person or two) who are "bigger" than Snyder. Frankly, the fans need to feel that the franchise is being run by someone who a) demands immediate respect and b) knows what theyre doing.

Regarding Snyder, I think his involvement mainly relates to offseason player acquisition issues. I think Haynesworth was a great addition to the team, and his impact has been significant, but I don't beleive that Snyder didn't have any input there. I also would be shocked to learn if Snyder wasn't the primary force in pushing to acquire Cutler and Sanchez in the offseason. And do you really think the current playcalling situation is all of Cerrato's devising? Cerrato may have been the one to suggest Sherm specifically, but I fully beleive that he was brought in in an attempt to get Zorn to quit (after Snyders attempts to lure Shanahan [and possibly Gruden and others as well] had failed. A neutral GM wouldnt give a crap about trying to save the owner money by trying to force a coach to resign instead of being terminated (with pay).

I honestly think Cerrato would be fairly good at his job somewhere else - he just either doesnt have the balls or authority to tell snyder to stay out of his way here. I seriously doubt that anyone from the outside (who doesnt play racquetball or go on skiing vacations with the owner would have the same reservations.

[SmootSmack]

Originally Posted by BigHairedAristocrat

Yeah i did, thanks for pointing that out - i guess i'm not very good at multi-tasking...

I agree that perception is a big issue here - what fans want is a Head Coach and GM (whether one person or two) who are "bigger" than Snyder. Frankly, the fans need to feel that the franchise is being run by someone who a) demands immediate respect and b) knows what theyre doing.

Regarding Snyder, I think his involvement mainly relates to offseason player acquisition issues. I think Haynesworth was a great addition to the team, and his impact has been significant, but I don't beleive that Snyder didn't have any input there. I also would be shocked to learn if Snyder wasn't the primary force in pushing to acquire Cutler and Sanchez in the offseason. And do you really think the current playcalling situation is all of Cerrato's devising? Cerrato may have been the one to suggest Sherm specifically, but I fully beleive that he was brought in in an attempt to get Zorn to quit (after Snyders attempts to lure Shanahan [and possibly Gruden and others as well] had failed. A neutral GM wouldnt give a crap about trying to save the owner money by trying to force a coach to resign instead of being terminated (with pay).

I honestly think Cerrato would be fairly good at his job somewhere else - he just either doesnt have the balls or authority to tell snyder to stay out of his way here. I seriously doubt that anyone from the outside (who doesnt play racquetball or go on skiing vacations with the owner would have the same reservations.

I see your point overall, but it's the owner's team. Better said, it's the owner's business. There really can't be any such thing as a neutral GM. It's the owner's money he's playing with and it's the owner he reports to. No General Manager is going to act without input, sometimes significant input from the owner (or owners). It's like any business. It's the case throughout the league. Some owners may not be as in the public eye as Snyder so it may not appear to be that way, but that's how it is. As I've said before, the only owner I've ever heard that's really entirely hands off is Paul Allen. But even he steps in when it comes to organizational changes.

[BigHairedAristocrat]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

I see your point overall, but it's the owner's team. Better said, it's the owner's business. There really can't be any such thing as a neutral GM. It's the owner's money he's playing with and it's the owner he reports to. No General Manager is going to act without input, sometimes significant input from the owner (or owners). It's like any business. It's the case throughout the league. Some owners may not be as in the public eye as Snyder so it may not appear to be that way, but that's how it is. As I've said before, the only owner I've ever heard that's really entirely hands off is Paul Allen. But even he steps in when it comes to organizational changes.

You make a good point; although I just can't see Snyder exherting as much control with someone other than Cerrato - he just seems like too much of a "Yes, man." Perhaps Snyder is the type of guy that won't take no for an answer and insists on having "final say" on everything. If thats the case, then were just screwed. However, I'd like to think Cerrato is more of an "enabler" to Snyder and is allowing and relying on his input too much. Conversely, someone from the outside wouldnt solicit his involvement as much. Further, if we had a "big name" in house, someone Snyder respected (and preferably Snyder would be somewhat intimidated by [i.e. Bill Cowher]), then perhaps Snyder would be less inclined to say, "Get me [insert biggest name of the off-season]" every year.