The Passion of the Coach

Here's Nick Canepa's article about this year's wasted Chargers season. It's not too bad. Not terribly off the mark. He makes some important notes of how short fields may have skewed our defensive stats and how our safeties are pussies. Most importantly, he takes AJ and Norv to task for their part in this debacle. Sure, he pulls his punches and stops short of calling for their heads, but hey, he's not allowed to do those things anyway.

All in all, though, the article is on point, but wimpy. It's nothing that anybody who has been paying attention didn't already know or probably think. The following little nugget did jump out at me, though:

“I love playing for him,” center Nick Hardwick said. “People on the outside don’t see his passion or know how the players really care for him.”

Really? The players really care for him? After reading that I've never been so certain that Norv is the reason this team will never win a Championship. The players really care for him? That's the kind of sentiment reserved for cupcakes who never won a thing, like Wayne Fontes. Do you think anyone ever said that about Bill Parcels or Bill Belichek? Bill Cowher? John Gruden? Vince Lombardi? Tom Landry? Do those coaches seem like lovable characters to you? Players are proud of playing for those guys. They might say they loved it long after, when they see the rewards reaped from playing for those coaches, but when people speak of the greats they speak of respecting them, not caring for them or loving playing for them. They love the winning. And passion? Passion means nothing. I have passion for the game of football. Results are what matter. And the results have not been so lovable.