The real reason we don't name coordinators

I may be mistaken, but it seems like BB doesn't want to "officially" name coordinators for fear of his staff being cherry picked on a yearly basis. Not naming somone to a position creates doubt as to what their responsibilities may be, making them a possible risk and less attractive to coach poaching teams. Thoughts?

Iron Helmet said:

I may be mistaken, but it seems like BB doesn't want to "officially" name coordinators for fear of his staff being cherry picked on a yearly basis. Not naming somone to a position creates doubt as to what their responsibilities may be, making them a possible risk and less attractive to coach poaching teams. Thoughts?

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I think NFL teams are smart enough to figure out who's responsible for the successes and failures of individual teams, the title is relatively meaningless. The Giants weren't talking to Pepper Johnson a few weeks ago about him being the Defensive Coordinator over there for no reason.

I think this represents Bill Bellichick's lack of faith in his own staff to step up and be successful more than his fear of losing his own guys.

the wrothbroughterer said:

I think NFL teams are smart enough to figure out who's responsible for the successes and failures of individual teams, the title is relatively meaningless. The Giants weren't talking to Pepper Johnson a few weeks ago about him being the Defensive Coordinator over there for no reason.

I think this represents Bill Bellichick's lack of faith in his own staff to step up and be successful more than his fear of losing his own guys.

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His lack of faith? Huh?

Do you believe he had a lack of faith in Josh McDaniels?

I really wondered this myself. Maybe it'll make people wonder who really is responsible, thus not giving a coordinator two years at most with us like usual.

That might be it. It seemed like most people thought it would be either Patricia or Pepper though, which means one of them would be upset if a DC were named. Maybe BB didn't name a DC to trea his coaches equally Kind of like having 2 DC's working together?

I think the simple answer is the right answer in this case. As of yet, no one has earned those titles.

emoney_33 said:

I think the simple answer is the right answer in this case. As of yet, no one has earned those titles.

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Bingo. :singing:

the wrothbroughterer said:

I think this represents Bill Bellichick's lack of faith in his own staff to step up and be successful more than his fear of losing his own guys.

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I'm missing your logic. Almost every team hires OC and DC from the outside, at least part of the time. BB always uses his own staff for these positions. So how does that represent a lack of faith?

It isn't that there aren't coordinators. They just don't have the title.

He also announced recently that all players will be unnamed, practice will be shut off to the media at all times, and on gameday the mystery players will wear shaded motorcycle helmets with no identification.

Ice_Ice_Brady said:

He also announced recently that all players will be unnamed, practice will be shut off to the media at all times, and on gameday the mystery players will wear shaded motorcycle helmets with no identification.

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all jerseys will not have numbers or names on them, and all positions players bodies will have the same height and weight

emoney_33 said:

I think the simple answer is the right answer in this case. As of yet, no one has earned those titles.

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really? theres no one out there in the entire NFL world worthy of being the DC of the NE patriots?

sorry that just does not sound right

emoney_33 said:

I think the simple answer is the right answer in this case. As of yet, no one has earned those titles.

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And it also takes pressure off whoever is going to take on those huge responsibilities.

Pees got crucified because people aren't happy we were the 5th ranked D this past season and instead of pulling a Pitino "BRUSCHI, MCGINEST, AND HARRISON AREN'T WALKING THROUGH THAT DOOR!" he went and had problems with his health, including shortage of breath.

Badluck said:

really? theres no one out there in the entire NFL world worthy of being the DC of the NE patriots?

sorry that just does not sound right

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BB is a former DC, he is not going to import someone who is going to potentially clash with his philosophy. He prefers to groom from within.

wow, and all this time i thought BB didnt name coordinators because he's an evil emperor

Iron Helmet said:

I may be mistaken, but it seems like BB doesn't want to "officially" name coordinators for fear of his staff being cherry picked on a yearly basis. Not naming somone to a position creates doubt as to what their responsibilities may be, making them a possible risk and less attractive to coach poaching teams. Thoughts?

Click to expand...

Any team can hire these people as their coordinators now, and it would likely be more difficult for BB to keep them, since the raise involved would be substantial. Pepper Johnson was being looked at by the Giants, so it's not as if taking this approach will keep interest from accruing.

From a management position, I think this strategy is somewhat of a gamble since other teams can hire the Pats defensive coaches to be their DC and the Pats couldn't stop it. Nevertheless, I also think there is an element of this in BB's thinking. I also think there is an element of possible discord between Matt Patricia and Pepper Johnson, ie. if one were named DC the other may bolt.

So, imo, it's not in BB's best interest to name a DC.

Here's the thing. There is a certain amount of work and tasks, roles and responsibilities. All of the tasks will get assigned and the work completed. There just isn't the same titles that everyone else is using or that the public is used to.

This goes along with the "middle management" concept Kraft has addressed in the past:

Patriots owner Robert Kraft has endorsed that line of thinking. In the Times piece, Kraft explained the approach by saying: "When you want to get a message through, you want accountability. It's like middle management: If you have a lot, it's hard to get through.''

We're all just guessing, but I think Belichick's only doing what businesses have been doing for years. He's flattening his organization, doing away with titles and a layer of management and focusing on the roles that people play week by week. Unless I'm wrong, most teams didn't formalize the OC and DC roles until the 1980's anyway.

This means that, as a General Manager, he has to be hands on engaged with both the Offense and Defense as they get ready for every game, but my guess is he was already engaged like that.

And, it's a copy cat league. If the Pats win another SB with this kind of organization, a half dozen other teams will try it the next season.

William of Ockham and Aristotle are getting short shrift these days...

It was my thought that if Belichick named either Johnson or Patricia Defensive Coordinator then the other would run to Denver either angry or scooped up by McDaniels. By not naming one Belichick is able to try and keep both somewhat happy and possibly evaluate both's ability to call a game on the defensive side. Neither Patricia or Johnson were calling in defensive plays last year. It will be interesting to find out if either is doing so this year.