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- May 8, 2014
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Whether you are a coach, GM, or owner I think it's important to note some things from his success with Minnesota:
1. Hiring an expert on one side of the ball is efficient. Sure, you can win with ST coach background, but the nice thing about having an expert on offense or defense is you have locked down one side of the ball where your "elite brain trust" cannot be poached by other teams.
Zimmer is an elite DC. In locking him down they ensured they would get the most from the talent on that side of the ball from day one just like Green Bay did some years before with an elite OC in McCarthy.
I will argue that locking down an elite OC in your head coaching role is preferable given the direction of the league towards favoring the passing game, but it would be a mistake obviously to overlook a better leader simply based on what side of the ball his background is.
2. The most critical hire is the coordinator opposite of the expertise of your head coach.
This of course seems so basic, so obvious, that you would think coaches know it. But they jack it up all the time. Whatever the expertise of the head coach, it is imperative they have the other side of the ball represented by an outstanding coordinator if you want to win in this league. If you hire a guy who is a matchup problem against good coordinators, you're gonna suffer. A lot of fans act like this doesn't matter, but it is integral to winning in this league.
If possible locking down a coordinator who has recently been fired from a head coaching job, or who otherwise for whatever reason won't be a hot HC candidate again even given success as a coordinator, is the way to go. The Vikings accomplished this with Norv Turner who many owners see as a coordinator not a head coach. Additionally, this shadows what Green Bay did as well with Dom Capers, who represented the defensive side in an elite capacity to go with McCarthy while also being a guy who is not going to be running out to a head coaching interview immediately after a great season.
If you extrapolate all this to Fish, it is clear he got the hire right on the defensive side of the ball because Williams is a good coordinator who is not going to get a head coaching job any time soon thanks to the scandal. But of course offensively it's all jacked up, with the selection of a guy in Schotty who was not only represented by poor production but who also a risk to be hired away had he put together a strong offensive showing.
So of course the key for Fisher is that OC hire. He requires a strong hire so that he can sort through this offensive roster and properly trim the guys who he overvalued, and identify what he needs for the way forward. The QB acquisition in particular looms large, and I do not see that going well without a strong OC hire unless they somehow get lucky like the Rams did with Faulk in '99 being a lucky recipient of an enormously beneficial trade.
Anyway, I know this was long but needed to get that off my chest.
1. Hiring an expert on one side of the ball is efficient. Sure, you can win with ST coach background, but the nice thing about having an expert on offense or defense is you have locked down one side of the ball where your "elite brain trust" cannot be poached by other teams.
Zimmer is an elite DC. In locking him down they ensured they would get the most from the talent on that side of the ball from day one just like Green Bay did some years before with an elite OC in McCarthy.
I will argue that locking down an elite OC in your head coaching role is preferable given the direction of the league towards favoring the passing game, but it would be a mistake obviously to overlook a better leader simply based on what side of the ball his background is.
2. The most critical hire is the coordinator opposite of the expertise of your head coach.
This of course seems so basic, so obvious, that you would think coaches know it. But they jack it up all the time. Whatever the expertise of the head coach, it is imperative they have the other side of the ball represented by an outstanding coordinator if you want to win in this league. If you hire a guy who is a matchup problem against good coordinators, you're gonna suffer. A lot of fans act like this doesn't matter, but it is integral to winning in this league.
If possible locking down a coordinator who has recently been fired from a head coaching job, or who otherwise for whatever reason won't be a hot HC candidate again even given success as a coordinator, is the way to go. The Vikings accomplished this with Norv Turner who many owners see as a coordinator not a head coach. Additionally, this shadows what Green Bay did as well with Dom Capers, who represented the defensive side in an elite capacity to go with McCarthy while also being a guy who is not going to be running out to a head coaching interview immediately after a great season.
If you extrapolate all this to Fish, it is clear he got the hire right on the defensive side of the ball because Williams is a good coordinator who is not going to get a head coaching job any time soon thanks to the scandal. But of course offensively it's all jacked up, with the selection of a guy in Schotty who was not only represented by poor production but who also a risk to be hired away had he put together a strong offensive showing.
So of course the key for Fisher is that OC hire. He requires a strong hire so that he can sort through this offensive roster and properly trim the guys who he overvalued, and identify what he needs for the way forward. The QB acquisition in particular looms large, and I do not see that going well without a strong OC hire unless they somehow get lucky like the Rams did with Faulk in '99 being a lucky recipient of an enormously beneficial trade.
Anyway, I know this was long but needed to get that off my chest.
