hawaiiansteeler
05-14-2016, 01:16 PM
Is Mike Tomlin Next in Line for a ‘Game Management Coach?’
by steeldad
Remember the Seinfeld episode where Kramer gets an intern? As if Kramer really needed an intern right?
Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin is no Cosmo Kramer but there’s an argument to be made that he really could use someone at his side. Perhaps the term ‘intern’ doesn’t quite fit here but could Mike Tomlin use someone to help him in certain situations week in and week out?
The answer is “yes” but that doesn’t mean you’re going to see a youngster with a pocket protector standing next to Tomlin every week. As you know, Tomlin doesn’t always manage the clock real well and he sometimes jumps the gun when it comes to throwing his challenge flag as well. With teams increasingly moving towards adding staff members whose sole job is game management, will the Steelers get on board?
New England’s Bill Belichick uses such an adviser and new Tampa Bay Head Coach Dirk Koetter hired a man for a similar position this week. I’m of the mind that as football has gotten more and more specialized, the head coach actually has less to do. That should make the need for a game manager pretty much unnecessary but that isn’t how this is playing out.
Every one of the 32 NFL franchises have similar expectations for their head coaches but there always a few differences too. Some allow more input on personnel while others do not. Some put limitations on the size of coaching staffs and some don’t. There many other examples as you can imagine. The bottom line is that coaches with resumes like Tomlin usually get what they want but I’m not so sure Mike Tomlin wants a ‘game manager.’
If you aren’t sure what I’m talking about, let me give you a couple of examples.
The Steelers have the ball with under two minutes left in the first half and they are driving. The job of the game manager is to be in the ear or hip pocket of Mike Tomlin. “Coach, you have two timeouts left. Don’t forget you have no challenges after the two-minute warning. Those are handled by the officials at this point.” And so on…
OR
The Steelers are on defense and there’s a catch made along the far sideline. The game manager, or “managers,” would bear the sole responsibility for telling Tomlin whether the play should be challenged or not. This would eliminate three, four or five coaches from all putting their two cents in. When that happens, it often creates more problems for Tomlin because not every one of the coaches will see things the same way.
There is a risk in putting so much faith in one or two guys like this because regardless of what they do it will come back on the head coach. I personally, don’t think Tomlin is humble enough to allow for such a position on his staff. That’s not meant to be a knock on Tomlin – he is what he is – but I just can’t see him turning over the keys to game management decisions to someone else regardless of how much help he could use.
I think that ultimately, just as the game has evolved, so too will coaching. I have a feeling ‘game managers’ will become almost after-thoughts in another decade or so meaning every team will have them. I’ve always believed part of being a head coach is that you have to show you can balance everything from personnel to clock and game management every week but I can see this happening.
Keep in mind, there was once a time when when offensive and defensive coordinators didn’t exist and now you can’t find a team without either. So whether Tomlin ends up with his version of an ‘intern’ or not I can’t say but don’t be surprised if it ultimately happens.
http://steelcityblitz.com/2016/05/13/mike-tomlin-next-line-game-management-coach/
by steeldad
Remember the Seinfeld episode where Kramer gets an intern? As if Kramer really needed an intern right?
Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin is no Cosmo Kramer but there’s an argument to be made that he really could use someone at his side. Perhaps the term ‘intern’ doesn’t quite fit here but could Mike Tomlin use someone to help him in certain situations week in and week out?
The answer is “yes” but that doesn’t mean you’re going to see a youngster with a pocket protector standing next to Tomlin every week. As you know, Tomlin doesn’t always manage the clock real well and he sometimes jumps the gun when it comes to throwing his challenge flag as well. With teams increasingly moving towards adding staff members whose sole job is game management, will the Steelers get on board?
New England’s Bill Belichick uses such an adviser and new Tampa Bay Head Coach Dirk Koetter hired a man for a similar position this week. I’m of the mind that as football has gotten more and more specialized, the head coach actually has less to do. That should make the need for a game manager pretty much unnecessary but that isn’t how this is playing out.
Every one of the 32 NFL franchises have similar expectations for their head coaches but there always a few differences too. Some allow more input on personnel while others do not. Some put limitations on the size of coaching staffs and some don’t. There many other examples as you can imagine. The bottom line is that coaches with resumes like Tomlin usually get what they want but I’m not so sure Mike Tomlin wants a ‘game manager.’
If you aren’t sure what I’m talking about, let me give you a couple of examples.
The Steelers have the ball with under two minutes left in the first half and they are driving. The job of the game manager is to be in the ear or hip pocket of Mike Tomlin. “Coach, you have two timeouts left. Don’t forget you have no challenges after the two-minute warning. Those are handled by the officials at this point.” And so on…
OR
The Steelers are on defense and there’s a catch made along the far sideline. The game manager, or “managers,” would bear the sole responsibility for telling Tomlin whether the play should be challenged or not. This would eliminate three, four or five coaches from all putting their two cents in. When that happens, it often creates more problems for Tomlin because not every one of the coaches will see things the same way.
There is a risk in putting so much faith in one or two guys like this because regardless of what they do it will come back on the head coach. I personally, don’t think Tomlin is humble enough to allow for such a position on his staff. That’s not meant to be a knock on Tomlin – he is what he is – but I just can’t see him turning over the keys to game management decisions to someone else regardless of how much help he could use.
I think that ultimately, just as the game has evolved, so too will coaching. I have a feeling ‘game managers’ will become almost after-thoughts in another decade or so meaning every team will have them. I’ve always believed part of being a head coach is that you have to show you can balance everything from personnel to clock and game management every week but I can see this happening.
Keep in mind, there was once a time when when offensive and defensive coordinators didn’t exist and now you can’t find a team without either. So whether Tomlin ends up with his version of an ‘intern’ or not I can’t say but don’t be surprised if it ultimately happens.
http://steelcityblitz.com/2016/05/13/mike-tomlin-next-line-game-management-coach/