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Monday, December 18, 2006
Blank, McKay share in blame for Falcons
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
If you open the Falcons’ media guide, you will get to page 42 before coming to the section on Jim Mora, passing, among others, the owner and the general manager. It seemed like a good time to point that out, given that there’s only one guy being pushed to the edge of the plank these days.
The owner (Arthur Blank) hired the general manager (Rich McKay). They supplied the players. They hired the coach. They defined his job description. They set the boundaries. They wanted a “consensus” guy — and the last time I checked, never has that been an adjective used to define “the best football coach.”
The Falcons today are smack on the corner of Humbled and Mediocre. I’m sorry. But whose fault is that again?
This is not to absolve Jim Mora of all blame. Injuries, personnel deficiencies and dropped passes notwithstanding, the Falcons should be better than 7-7. They are not a team that should lose four straight, or to Detroit and Cleveland in consecutive weeks. They are not a team that should struggle so often in the red zone or make opposing pedestrian quarterbacks look so intimidating. And for all of Mora’s post-loss praises about his team’s passion and effort, I can’t remember the last time I heard him admit, “We got outcoached.”
But the missteps have not been exclusive to Mora. Look north of him, starting with the first bio in the media guide.
In many ways, if not most ways, Blank is what any sports owner should be. He is a fan of the team. He is passionate. He wants to win and will back up that want with cash (or credit). But Blank also is as high profile as any owner in sports, and that has its downside.
This isn’t merely about him going down to the sideline for the last few minutes of a game. It’s about everything else in that deep pool: roaming the practice field, talking to players, meeting with coaches, sitting in the draft room. He’s omnipresent.
The problem comes when an owner is such a dominant figure that he diminishes the stature of the person who basically runs the football team. That’s usually the coach, sometimes the GM, but rarely the owner. Jerry Jones was dwarfed on the field by Jimmy Johnson, Jack Kent Cooke by Joe Gibbs, Eddie DeBartolo Jr. by Bill Walsh.
Nobody has ever dwarfed Al Davis. Seen the Raiders lately?
You might ask: What does this have to do with Mora? Everything. When Blank and McKay (perhaps feeling a bit scorched by Jon Gruden in Tampa Bay) set out to find a replacement for Dan Reeves, they didn’t want a dominant personality. The word consensus was used a lot. Blank wanted to have a significant voice, and he bought that right.
The risk in hiring Mora was no more significant than hiring any assistant coach without head coaching experience — except for one. Blank and McKay settled on him in part because Greg Knapp would come with him. Otherwise, it’s debatable whether Mora would have gotten the job. Once again: What happened to just hiring the best head coach?
If Mora gets fired, the current structure will figure into any coaching search. The best candidate often wants power. But McKay holds the only power that exists beyond Blank.
Mora is coaching what McKay has given him. That should be enough to contend for the playoffs, but this roster is not without shortcomings. The receiver issues have been debated ad nauseam. The offensive line can’t pass protect, or run block in the red zone. Alex Gibbs’ blueprint has not blended with the offense.
In terms of big-name free agents and trade acquisitions, McKay has had hits (Rod Coleman and Lawyer Milloy). He has whiffed too often. John Abraham had a history of injuries. Ed Hartwell suddenly can’t stay healthy. Jason Webster, Chris Crocker and Wayne Gandy -– all mediocre.
Rookie cornerback Jimmy Williams has been a bust. The Falcons are so weak at the position that Allen Rossum has started seven straight games. He started three in the previous eight years. Depth should never be that much of an issue.
There are two games left. Mora is the only one on the plank. But before assuming his plunge will fix all the problems, it’s worth remembering: This is whom Blank and McKay wanted. Maybe it’s time to change the criteria.
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