The Redskins FO and the rest of the sports world should take a look at Joe Dumars....

[kleese]

During the past NFL playoffs, Jimmy Johsnon said on the pre-game show on Fox that the most important thing a coach had to do in crunchtime was "be bold." That point was played out perfectly when Mike Martz played it safe, took the tie, and then watched his Rams lose to the Panthers in OT. He wasn't bold. He lost.

Joe Dumars was bold last off-season.

Under coach Rick Carlisle, the Pistons shot up in the standings, had their best seasons in years, came close to making the NBA Finals, and were clearly a team on the rise. In a short time, Carlisle had overseen a huge turnaround and made himself a caoch of the year candidate. Then, Joe Dumars fired him.

Despite the great record, despite the clear improvement, despite the good vibes and good future Carlisle seemed to be inspiring.

He fired him anyway. I think he did it because something inside of him KNEW that there might just be something missing in Carlisle. Despite his incredible success, I think Dumars sensed that maybe Carlisle had already gotten them as far as he would ever get them.

Dumars also saw an opportunity to get a coach he thought might be a little better: Larry Brown.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Dumars fired Carlisle and hired Brown. Most admitted that Dumars really couldn't go wrong with Brown, but then again, most still panned the move as another sign of lack of loyalty and the "what have you done for me lately" mentality of modern day sports.

But Dumars saw what he believed was an opportunity to upgrade and he pounced on it regardless of the heat was likely to receive from firing a highly successful coach (that Dumars had hired just a few years earlier).

Ironically (or maybe not so) the Pistons, coached by Larry Brown, beat the Pacers (coached by Rick Carlisle) in the Eastern Conference Finals, despite not having homecourt advantage. The games were close, but the Pistons were just a little bit better.

Now, the Pistons are NBA Champions. All because Dumars had the guts to make a bold move.

Every FO executive in sports should take heed. That includes the Redskins. Sometimes, you need to think outside the box and ask yourself "Am I trying to build a competent team, or am I trying to build a championship team?"

I am NOT saying that every GM needs to fire successful coach's or make dramatic moves every off-season. What I am saying is that sometimes FO people need to look beyond the numbers and look beyond public perception.

Joe Dumars just taught every GM in every sport a valuable lesson. I hope our FO was listening.

The good news is that I have no doubt that our FO makes an attempt to win the SB every year--- it's just I think this is a good lesson for ALL sports executives.

[Whiskeypeet]

I wonder how the Pistons under Carlisle would have faired had Rasheed been a Piston when he was coaching.

[w33dh0l3]

Or let a really crappy Wizards team farm 3 of your 4 stars, and an extra role player to boot.

[Whiskeypeet]

I suppose the point that I was trying to make was that the Piston's sucess had as much to do with the player personell moves that were made as the coaching change.

Unlike the NFL, success in the NBA relies more heavily on the player than on the coach. Not to say that players don't influence a team's success in the NFL....just not to the same degree as they do in the NBA.

The coaching change was a good one but I would argue that the personell moves made by Dumars over the years and especially this year with Rasheed have more to do with the teams success.

[21dave]

Its like the Rams and the Pats a few years ago. Everyone kept waiting for the Rams superstars (Warner, Faulk, Bruce, Holt) to take over, but a well coached team that played together was able to win a championship.

[SlinginSammy HOF '63]

It may have just been a successful crapshoot. You put together a certain group of players and they just happened to click.

[Skins11]

Originally posted by Whiskeypeet

I wonder how the Pistons under Carlisle would have faired had Rasheed been a Piston when he was coaching.

Exactly. Although Carlisle may or may not be a better coach right now, having Sheed wouldn't have hurt at all. I mean the Pistons really only started dominating after he arrived. Before that, they were looking pretty average.

As a side note, what a great series. I loved the selfish play by Bryant. Why don't you just cry about it again Kobe?

[kleese]

sammy-- luck?

C'mon, they "just happened to click?"

Then the reverse must true:

Signing Deion was a great move, just bad luck that it didn't all click.

[SlinginSammy HOF '63]

I didn't mean dumb luck. No one knows if a team will click and develop chemistry. This was a hard working team that did just that. When Detroit went out and got some of these guys did they know 100% for sure that they would click?

[bulldog]

Gibbs has gone back and done precisely what he did in the 1980's, bring in solid veterans at a number of spots at reasonable cost.

Yes, there are the 'star' acquisitions like Brunell and Portis, but most of the players we have signed or traded for, guys like Rasby, Kozlowski, Raymer, Thrash, Daniels, etc. are solid work effort players that will help us win games.

We won't see the kind of system breakdowns that the team suffered the past few years where players looked lost and ended up out of position due to a lack of discipline and knowledge of the schemes.

These veterans are just the types of players that won't make these mistakes.

[rfdc]

Dumars had good enough forsight for this:

1. Carlisle was the coach of the Pistons, so Dumars knew "who" would have to be hired to have an edge on him, because, aside from Brown, Carlisle is second to him. You have to beat Carlisle to win the Eastern Conference. He did (Brown).

2. To beat the team (Pacers), that Carlisle was coaching, in detail, two players had to be eradicated from dominating;

Jermaine O'Neal and Ron Artest. Reggie Miller could only be a pain, if Detroit fell far behind, then those 3's would drain the life from the Pistons.

Brown did to the Pacers, what he did to the Lakers, and dared the Lakers to stop him. He sent wave after of wave of interior penetration, with much more success against the Lakers, to his surprise, than the Pacers (Chauncy Billups wasn't - he noted the stronger defense by Carlisle's Pacers, but he knew Carlisle inside out). He could execute like he wanted, so Ben Wallace and Rasheed Wallace smothered the O'Neal injured Pacers, and disrupted Artest at correct intervals. Brown silenced Miller for the most part, and sicked Prince all over Miller, showing his age. Brown smelled blood, but the Pacers were tough as nails.

The Lakers weren't even close to the D of the Pacers.

[TODD]

Originally posted by w33dh0l3

Or let a really crappy Wizards team farm 3 of your 4 stars, and an extra role player to boot.

We have one of those crappy teams that farm our stars-- They're called the New York Jets.

[FullbackIsKey]

That wohle story just goes to imply that the insane turnover in the sports world is a good thing. Sure, you can put together a team in an offseason, get the best coach out there, and win a championship if everything works out.

But, A great team, a great franchise, a dynasty, is <i>BUILT</i>, plays together for years, builds a psychic connection with each other in knowing how each other is going to react to things and where everybody else is going to be. The patriots...built, 49ers of the 90's...built, past 5 redskins teams...<i>BOUGHT</i>

Neither is coaching turnover a good thing for a team. Jimmy Johnson was speaking for the coaches being bold. The "FO" shouldn't be so quick to judge the performance of the coaching staff. These are a bunch of guys who went to business school and sat in the stands of games as kids, not having a clue what was going on. The coaches have immersed their lives in the schematics and specifics of the game of football(except Spurrier, but who knew the Fun N' Gun would falter in the No Fun League)

I know i'm a new guy to this board, but i'm kind of surprised that somebody would be on a redskins board, talking up a coaching change and saying good things about Jimmy Johnson.

[kappaluvacee]

Basketball and football clubs are two different types of organizations. You have 52 players on a roster competing for a victory versus 12 men. With that said the way you go about managing a team is completely different. Dumars fired Carlisle because of something that none of us were privy to. Larry Brown became available and he fit the identity that Joe wanted for the team. Keep in mind that the Pistons would not have gotten beyond round two of the playoffs without the midseason pick-up of Rasheed Wallace. He was a brilliant personnel decision for Dumars. Larry and Co. tried the same type of move in Philly when the acquired Dikembe from the hawks and Mortgaged the Sixers whole future for that one playoff run. As for thinking the great teams of today are built not bought, that argument really has not been proven. Yes Snyder has been unsuccessful in his efforts, but does Snyder actually wear pads of Sundays? Last I checked, he is in the owners box. Cohesion is the true factor for success. Each team in the NFL overturns 1/3 of their roster so change is constant. Also the best example of building a team for failed success is the Philadelphia eagles. That nucleus of that team has been together for 5+ years and they continue to fall short of the super bowl. It all comes down to the type of players on the field and the correct leadership. It has less to do with a team being built or bought. When Snyder wins a super bowl all his detractors will shift gears and applaud his dedication. Hell his detractors even mimic him as we speak. Didn't the Eagles go on a FA spending spree to win a super bowl now? Wasn't every team in the league actively awaiting the start of free agency to fill team needs? With those things being the case, why is Snyder getting blasted time and time again? It's time the Snyder haters just admit that they hate the man and quit criticizing his leadership. His detractors may not agree with the way he runs his team, but the fans must not disagree with his style too much considering he has the highest revenue generating franchise in professional sports.