As much as Marty Schott. would find a way (almost like clockwork) to lose in the playoffs, it did seem odd to fire him given SD had 14 wins as well as how damn hard it is to find an HC that can consistently produce winning seasons. 'He doesn't win enough in the playoffs' is certainly an understandable complaint but it's one of those proverbial first world problems. Sooo many organizations would be glad to have a team that most often disappoints in the playoffs versus rarely being in sniffing range of the playoffs.
I think the same thing happened in SF with Harbaugh. Both situations are owners who don't understand the uncommon value of having a HC that produces winning seasons and playoff appearances. These two placed too much value on HCs that say "yes sir, whatever you say sir".
,
This part. What winning coaches bring to a fan base is HOPE. Hope that this year will be THE YEAR. The fans have seen the winning seasons, have seen the team make it to the playoffs and know, just know,deep down inside that their team can go all the way and bring that Lomardi to THEIR town.
That's a powerful thing, hope. It's what drives fans to buy up tickets, to wear the laundry proudly, and purchase bucket loads of swag.
I attended a lecture once where one of the speakers was Ed Neiman, of the Neiman-Marcus company. He was talking about how businesses fail. He said that the surest way to fail in business was to place profit at the top of your list. In his words, going into business to make a profit was the surest way to fail.
Think about that for a minute. He wasn't saying you could NOT make a profit. What he is saying is that in order to succeed in business, you have to provide a product and/or service, for which people are WILLING to pay you a profit. That may seem like semantics, but it isn't.
For example, a business that sells, say, toasters, for $9.99 might seem like a great deal. But if you have to buy a new one every year because it breaks down, then it isn't so hot. Paying $40 for a toaster that will last you at least 10 years, and maybe many more, will actually be a savings to you of $60 over those 10 years. Not a lot, but it's a quality issue.
Same with a winning football franchise. Once the fans know that you are providing a product FOR them, and it's a top-flight quality product, they will buy in, and pay you that premium, that profit, because they understand that you put their interests into the equation, and not just lining your pockets.
So hope sells. Performance sells. Quality always sells. Great business leaders know that, and great franchises succeed, even through the down years, because the fans understand they they are seen as more than just meat-based ATM's.
The Chargers deserved better from ownership. Much better. Instead, they got owned by a guy with no skin in the game, who sees them as a tax-write off, and a source of arm-candy and bling for his personal pleasure.
Until that changes, the once-proud Chargers franchise will just be another football team.
