BB pulls out a full bag of tricks to build team unity and inspire his players. There's the annual ritual of the lineman catching a punt to give them an afternoon off; the team screenings of inspiring movies followed by talks from the real-life people behind them; etc. etc.
But those are full-team exercises, in a football context. Ryan instead hand-selected the players he described to the media as his team's "leaders" and sequestered them from practice for a day-long seminar in how to be leaders. The rest of the team has been officially declared followers.
Think about it: the head coach just explicitly divided his team into castes. Not based on seniority or position or even leadership skills, mind you, but apparently based on how much he thinks they matter. Is there such a thing as "team dis-unity building"?
Imagine how you'd feel as one of the players left on the practice field that day, as your coach proudly explains how he whisked all of the leaders elsewhere. Let's say you're a hard-working NFL veteran who has been trying to show the young players how to be a pro. What kind of authority do you have now. Or let's say you're Greg McElroy, trying to, you know, lead the team?
It's fine to have meetings of your leadership, but you don't do it like that. It seems to me that the individual most in need of leadership training in Jets land may be Mr. Ryan.
