Fire Green, just not now
By Scott Bordow, Tribune Columnist
October 31, 2006
In a dark corner of an office at the Cardinals’ training facility, tucked away behind a filing cabinet, is the chart Dennis Green used to boast of his credentials the day he was hired as Arizona’s coach.
Asked why he thought he would succeed when so many coaches before him had failed, Green took a step to the right and pointed to the chart — which listed him as having the fifth-highest winning percentage (.610) among active NFL coaches. That seems so long ago. As Peter King of SI.com noted Monday, Green’s 17-39 record the last 56 games is just ahead of the 15-41 pace set by former New York Jets boss Rich Kotite, who is widely considered to be the worst coach in modern-day NFL history.
And Green still has eight games left this season to make Kotite look good.
Yes Virginia, Green is still the Cardinals’ coach.
He showed up for his 11 a.m. press conference Monday, deflected questions about his future and went back to work.
“It’s my job to coach the football team,” Green said. “That’s what I’ll do.”
(In a related story, thousands of tickets for upcoming Cardinals home games just went on sale at half price.)
There’s no point in arguing with the voices that want Green’s head served on a platter. He’s responsible for this mess, and he’ll deserve the pink slip whenever it’s handed to him.
But really, what good would it do to make a coaching change midway through the season?
Yes, yes, the Bidwills could have made a statement that 1-7 wasn’t acceptable, that they were willing to eat the $3.75 million left on Green’s contract because winning is more important than wealth.
But how long would fans chew on that bone? A day? A week? As soon as the Cardinals started losing again, the anger would rise to the surface.
Anger, by the way, that would be directed at the Bidwills because fans wouldn’t have Green to kick around anymore.
There’s something else to consider. Arizona fired Vince Tobin seven games into the 2000 season because it felt it had a coach-in-waiting in defensive coordinator Dave McGinnis.
That isn’t the case with this coaching staff. None of Green’s assistants — including defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast — will be the head coach next year, so it’s not as if the Cardinals can get a head start on 2007 by promoting from within.
Nor will firing Green suddenly motivate a frustrated locker room. If the players are tuning Green out now, how deaf will they be to the pleas of an interim coach who they know won’t be here next year?
No, as illogical as it sounds, Green should finish out the year, if for no other reason than he should be made to sleep in the lumpy, creaky bed he’s made. The Cardinals would do him a favor if they let him land at his San Diego beach house with a golden parachute.
On a side note, can we put an end to this crazy Pete Carroll talk? Carroll will have his pick of NFL jobs in the next couple of years, so why would he come to the graveyard that’s Arizona?
Sure, he’d be reunited with former USC quarterback Matt Leinart, but if he has doubts about winning here — and why wouldn’t he? — he’ll just wait for a better opportunity. Say, San Diego, if the Chargers fire Marty Schottenheimer.
Here’s what the Bidwills should do: When they fire Green at the end of the season, hire an outside consultant — former Green Bay Packers executive Ron Wolf comes to mind — and let him conduct the search for a general manager (assuming Rod Graves follows Green out the door).
Then, they should let the GM select the coach. Michael Bidwill may mean well, but he knows stadiums, not football. The sooner he gets out of the way, the better off the franchise will be. Until then, it’ll be business as usual on the corner of Warner and Hardy (or is that Leinart and Hardy?). The Cardinals will lose a lot of football games, Green will say very little and fans will start counting down the days to the NFL draft. I wonder if there’s a chart listing most seasons lost before November.
By Scott Bordow, Tribune Columnist
October 31, 2006
In a dark corner of an office at the Cardinals’ training facility, tucked away behind a filing cabinet, is the chart Dennis Green used to boast of his credentials the day he was hired as Arizona’s coach.
Asked why he thought he would succeed when so many coaches before him had failed, Green took a step to the right and pointed to the chart — which listed him as having the fifth-highest winning percentage (.610) among active NFL coaches. That seems so long ago. As Peter King of SI.com noted Monday, Green’s 17-39 record the last 56 games is just ahead of the 15-41 pace set by former New York Jets boss Rich Kotite, who is widely considered to be the worst coach in modern-day NFL history.
And Green still has eight games left this season to make Kotite look good.
Yes Virginia, Green is still the Cardinals’ coach.
He showed up for his 11 a.m. press conference Monday, deflected questions about his future and went back to work.
“It’s my job to coach the football team,” Green said. “That’s what I’ll do.”
(In a related story, thousands of tickets for upcoming Cardinals home games just went on sale at half price.)
There’s no point in arguing with the voices that want Green’s head served on a platter. He’s responsible for this mess, and he’ll deserve the pink slip whenever it’s handed to him.
But really, what good would it do to make a coaching change midway through the season?
Yes, yes, the Bidwills could have made a statement that 1-7 wasn’t acceptable, that they were willing to eat the $3.75 million left on Green’s contract because winning is more important than wealth.
But how long would fans chew on that bone? A day? A week? As soon as the Cardinals started losing again, the anger would rise to the surface.
Anger, by the way, that would be directed at the Bidwills because fans wouldn’t have Green to kick around anymore.
There’s something else to consider. Arizona fired Vince Tobin seven games into the 2000 season because it felt it had a coach-in-waiting in defensive coordinator Dave McGinnis.
That isn’t the case with this coaching staff. None of Green’s assistants — including defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast — will be the head coach next year, so it’s not as if the Cardinals can get a head start on 2007 by promoting from within.
Nor will firing Green suddenly motivate a frustrated locker room. If the players are tuning Green out now, how deaf will they be to the pleas of an interim coach who they know won’t be here next year?
No, as illogical as it sounds, Green should finish out the year, if for no other reason than he should be made to sleep in the lumpy, creaky bed he’s made. The Cardinals would do him a favor if they let him land at his San Diego beach house with a golden parachute.
On a side note, can we put an end to this crazy Pete Carroll talk? Carroll will have his pick of NFL jobs in the next couple of years, so why would he come to the graveyard that’s Arizona?
Sure, he’d be reunited with former USC quarterback Matt Leinart, but if he has doubts about winning here — and why wouldn’t he? — he’ll just wait for a better opportunity. Say, San Diego, if the Chargers fire Marty Schottenheimer.
Here’s what the Bidwills should do: When they fire Green at the end of the season, hire an outside consultant — former Green Bay Packers executive Ron Wolf comes to mind — and let him conduct the search for a general manager (assuming Rod Graves follows Green out the door).
Then, they should let the GM select the coach. Michael Bidwill may mean well, but he knows stadiums, not football. The sooner he gets out of the way, the better off the franchise will be. Until then, it’ll be business as usual on the corner of Warner and Hardy (or is that Leinart and Hardy?). The Cardinals will lose a lot of football games, Green will say very little and fans will start counting down the days to the NFL draft. I wonder if there’s a chart listing most seasons lost before November.
