What to call it: The Man Who Fires Goats?
Got a crazy book idea. Actually, forget the book and let's go straight to the TV mini-series. A camera-resistant owner (Richard Dreyfuss) of a 1-7 football team just parted ways with his second general manager in less than a year.
In the furor over yet another losing season, he tries to head off a protest by meeting with two disgruntled fans.
As an entire football-loving city awaits answers from the owner about the latest sign of chaos in his organization, the first one to speak on behalf of the man in charge is one of the aforementioned fans who used to go to games dressed like a French fry.
He appears on a newspaper Web site wearing what looks to be a fuzzy bone hat.
Some people give the owner credit for recognizing his hiring mistakes so quickly. Others have even lower standards. They're simply happy he didn't hire the bone hat guy as a consultant.
The owner is not comfortable facing a wider audience of inquisitors concerning how his team has unraveled so soon under the coach he coveted (Andy Richter). Greater transparency in the organization is one of the owner's latest stated goals...just not now.
No one doubts the owner means well. You'd probably even like to have a beer with the guy. But the situation is so far beyond giving him credit for meaning well.
Reed Saxon/Associated PressIs that a devil-may-care gleam in our make-believe coach's eye? Or just another amused reference to following the "process" of rebuilding/decimating a venerated franchise?A husband who enrolls his wife in Weight Watcher's classes as a birthday surprise might mean well, too. But, yo, pal, what were you thinking?
The owner's stated goal is to hire an experienced, credible football man to lead his organization -- this less than a year after hearing a call for an experienced, credible football man to lead his organization and instead hiring a just-fired coach first.
Worse, his last coach (Forrest Whitaker) is showing up in Coors Light commercials on TV while the owner's current team is driving people to the beer fridge.
And it's so bad now some people are pining for the last guy, whose 4-12 record looks like the stairway to heaven.
The owner's No. 1 running back (Jamal Lewis as himself in his first post-retirement acting role) says he has an idea for how to run a franchise. His model? He says he'd model it after the one run by the city's Public Enemy No. 1 -- let's call him Art -- who took the team to another city in the mid-90s. Beautiful.
In a two-week period the team has been outscored 61-9; the GM no one knew is gone; the quarterback's passer rating is officially subterranean; the coach assures everyone the organization is as strong as it's ever been in losing seven of eight games; and in an email interview, the owner responds to a list of questions and says he doesn't see any scenario where the head coach won't return next season.
I don't want to give away all the planned episodes. But in one, the frustration of the team's fans continue with a late-season petition in favor of the down-on-his-luck, somewhat wild and wacky former star quarterback taking an expanded role in the organization despite no NFL front office experience.
The first casting call for that role is expected to go to Michael Richards.
