футбольский университет

glad to see i got to this in a timely fashion
it's only been about six 'tomorrow's' since last time
at least i got to it
god knows i need to be doing physics homework
BUT i'm not gonna, not yet [bad move on my part]
i'd rather do this

also, i've seen two ambulances on campus this week
which is more than i've seen in the past year here
people need to stop dying/getting injured

——————

like i said last time, i'm gonna bitch about coaching changes
mostly because the way they're handled pisses me off
under NO circumstances can i see why you'd fire a coach after one year
hell, even bill peterson got more than that
and he ended up going 1–18 with the oilers back in the 70s
most coaches sign three year contracts at the beginning
and usually they're given that time to do what they do
even if they end up doing poorly,
they're at least given a shot to prove what they're worth
but there's really no reason to fire a coach in under three years
unless there are serious mitigating circumstances
that's just ridiculous

this year, jim mora got fired from the seahawks
after only a single year
what the fuck, seattle?
were you seriously expecting another holmgren after one season?
i really don't see where there was any reason for this
they did have a losing season [5–11]
but they did better than last year under holmgren [4–12]
i don't remember hearing any bad press about mora all year
he didn't cause any scandals or problems for the seahawks
there weren't any huge stories of coaching misconduct
and he seemed to be a decently likable guy
and unless you're an interminably unlikable person
[i.e. bill belichick or bobby petrino]
there's really no reason you should be denied that opportunity

joining the ranks of coaches fired before their contracts were up:
jim zorn [redskins] and dick jauron [buffalo]
i sort of understand why they let dick jauron go
the man's only had one winning season ever
and he's never been an overly impressive coach
but my complaint isn't with his termination
it was the fact that he was fired halfway through the season
you shouldn't do that EVER, under any circumstance
what motivation does the team have after that?
i don't think any coach is deserving of that
[barring some sort of violent megalomaniac]
besides, that kind of shakeup mid–season is really bad form
rebuilding is what the offseason is for
i honestly don't have much to say about jim zorn
i never really watched him coach
but, considering this was his first head coaching job
he should've at least been given his final year
shanahan's first two years with the rams didn't exactly go well, either
but look what he developed into
who knows, maybe zorn would've too
[for the record, i doubt it, but you still can't ever be sure]


adding to my frustration with these coaching changes comes this:
rumors that the lions will fire jim schwartz
which are mostly unfounded, for the record
i wouldn't put it past the lions to do that,
especially since they've shown how goddamn stupid they can be,
but i highly doubt they will
but, this brings up another issue i have with them:
firing coaches before their time is up
do you know who the only lions coach this decade to complete their contract it?
rod marinelli
rod fucking marinelli, who led them to the worst team record ever
he was allowed to complete his three year contract unscathed
WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?
seriously?
they fired mooch and mornhinweg mid–season
and bobby ross resigned halfway through the season
wayne fontes was the last one to complete a season before being fired
also, fun fact?
the last coach to to not get fired or resign from the lions was don mccafferty
he only coached one season [1973], and then died after the season was over
in fact, as far as i've been able to research,
only one coach has ever left the lions on his own terms: dutch clark
he was actually the coach and quarterback for his two years,
and he retired at the end of 1938
how fucking sad is that? one coach retired, the other one died
the other 23 have been either been fired or resigned
i guess this means we can't really blame the current lions organization too much
they've been fucking stupid since the beginning
tell me, lions fans, does that make you feel any better?
cuz i wouldn't

i guess i can't bitch too much about this year's spate of coaching changes
it is, after all, better than last year's post season,
in which 11 teams changed coaches [which is fucking absurd]
sure as hell makes ya wonder which teams believe in franchise coaches
seriously, do teams even bother investing in long term staffs anymore?
here's a sampling of numbers of head coaches since the afc/nfc merger,
which was a scant 41 years ago:
detroit: 14
san francisco: 11
tampa bay [started 1976]: 8
philadelphia: 10
buffalo: 13
new england: 12
dallas: 7
new york [jets]: 15
new york [giants]: 9
cleveland: 14
indianapolis: 14
pittsburgh: 3

is it coincidence that pittsburgh's only had 3 coaches since 1970,
and also this list of achievements?:
most super bowl wins [6]
most conference championships [7]
most conference championships hosted [10]
most total wins [569]
best winning percentage
one of the biggest fanbases
one of the longest sellout streaks [299]
some of the best rivalries in the game
yeah, i didn't think so
teams like dallas, chicago, washington, denver, and miami can attest:
patience with and dedication to coaches produces the best results
if you want to be champs, you gotta take it one step at a time