What scares me about Ross hiring a coach...

[Dave Gray]

I wonder if the guy has a plan outside of just pacifying the fanbase.

What I mean is this: I fear that he's going to select a "name" coach to get in the good graces with the community, the media, etc -- to put asses in seats next year INSTEAD of trying to choose the right long-term coach with a similar philosphy towards winning and building a franchise.

[Spider-Dan]

If he is just trying to pacify the fanbase, keeping Ireland (especially when that takes Cowher and Gruden off of the table) is precisely the wrong way to go about it.

[dolfan13]

ross isn't hiring a coach, ireland is...

[CF DolFan]

If he is just trying to pacify the fanbase, keeping Ireland (especially when that takes Cowher and Gruden off of the table) is precisely the wrong way to go about it.

That's what I was thinking too. Honestly I think he will dgo through the motions and hire some bland guy we know will not work but Ireland can work with.  For whatever reason he seems to be leaning on Ireland and that pretty much leaves out any coach that can have say in the job.

[Phishfan]

CF, it seems like you actually disagree with Dave. I think Dave is saying Ross is going to hire the sexy coach and you are saying it will be someone safe with ireland. I see those as opposites.

I disagree with Dave because I think keeping Ireland eliminates those "name" coaches. I expect they hire someone not on the front pages yet. This could be good or bad. We took a shot with Sparano and it didn't pan out. I wonder who the next one will be.

[Dave Gray]

I wouldn't be one bit surprised if Ross loses Ireland, if it means a sexy coach.  The reduced role might not mean a GM position for Ireland anymore.  They could hire a new GM after they get a coach and keep him as a puppet.  Who knows?

[Phishfan]

I meant to add something along those lines. If Ross is to lure one of the "big name" guys, he'll have to demote/fire Ireland as part of the deal. That is the only way it happens I think.

[Dave Gray]

I'm not saying I am predicting any of this.  I'm just afraid of it.  I don't really know Ross' motivations.

[CF DolFan]

CF, it seems like you actually disagree with Dave. I think Dave is saying Ross is going to hire the sexy coach and you are saying it will be someone safe with ireland. I see those as opposites.

I was saying I agree with Spider who was pointing out that Dave's perception was inaccurate. At least the way I see it.

[Phishfan]

Oops. I'm not sure where my head was. You clearly quoted Spider.

[Dave Gray]

Also, in regards to fanbase and Ireland, I'm guessing that 90% of fans don't know who the hell Ireland is.  The head couch is the face of the team, takes the blame, and gets the ax.

[BigDaddyFin]

my fear is he'll either hire the "hot name", "new stud" or "proven winner" without actually looking into the situation for what it is.

[Spider-Dan]

Also, in regards to fanbase and Ireland, I'm guessing that 90% of fans don't know who the hell Ireland is.  The head couch is the face of the team, takes the blame, and gets the ax.

You're missing the point.

The fanbase wants a big name coach.
Keeping Ireland (regardless of how well he is known) necessarily prevents a big name coach from accepting the job.
Therefore, by keeping Ireland, Ross is committing himself to an unknown coach.

There is another possibility: Ireland may have told Ross that he can get one of the big boys to agree to come on board while keeping Ireland as GM.  In that case, it may be a situation of Ireland betting his job on that claim.

[Brian Fein]

Keeping Ireland (regardless of how well he is known) necessarily prevents a big name coach from accepting the job.

Not sure how you can make this jump with certainty...

[Dave Gray]

I agree with Brian.  We only know that Ireland is still with the team, but we don't know in which capacity.