Was it JR?

The players don't get scapegoated for a coach. The coach is ultimately responsible for the group. I'm sure there will be an amount of holding the players responsible, especially given our cap situation, so it's not as if they're getting a pass.

As for firing for 3/5 of the players being hurt (one only in the last month), he had three of his handpicked guys starting in their place. I'm sure Maser and Henning had a say in the tackle depth we had(n't), so sure, I can put some fault there.

 

It is just a shake up. A necessay evil in the NFL. Hell we probably will suck next year with a new OC.

 

Everyone says we have a predictable offense. Literally Everyone. Then you have players on the team hinting at the play calling.

 

They were also concerned with their jobs.

 

Could it simply be that we've done the super conservative offense with a great defense thing for 5 years and the powers that be just want to try something else.

I've never seen Fox as an offensive mind and I've seen Hennig as an extension of Fox. I think the owners (and fans) just want to see more offense which is what is entertaining to most.

I hope this is a switch in philosophy. Having a great defense does not mean you have to have a conservative offense. And with exception of the superbowl playoff run I think our offense has greatly underachieved. I just don't see how with our weapons on offense like Smitty, DeAngelo, Keyshawn, and so much money spent on the o-line that we're always it bottom of the league in offense.

I liked Hennig a lot and really enjoyed his interviews but I'm happy to be trying something different on offense.

 

Well yeah, their jobs are to make the team win.

 

I doubt JR would force a different offense on Fox, but he did it with Capers and took some control away from Seifert (hence the lack of headset in 01). I'd gotten the feeling that things had changed.

Nonetheless, the approach is a good one. It's how it's being administered that was the problem. As long as we have a fresh gameplan set to deal with the team at hand, and not "well this worked against St. Louis four months ago, so why the hell not?"

I believe we'll still run the ball, and want to run it a lot. We'll still try to make plays downfield. I just hope we set things up better (deep shots after a pump fake, rather than playaction, for instance), and are able to mix it up in the run game (not a matter of running outside well or inside well - being able to incoroprate both).

I always saw it as a matter of Fox wanting one thing, Henning interpreting it as another.

He's a really nice guy. He's fun to talk to.

 

Now here's one approach that may be along the lines of how it went:

remember the rumor about a senior VP of football to oversee both the staff and Hurney/scouting? If there was any inkling of a power struggle or someone new crashing the party, I imagine that Hurney and Fox would do what they may not have wanted to do, but what was necessary and needed. Show they have the ability to make the tough decisions.

 

And Fox didn't do that either.

According to bascially everyone, Fox is responsible for the conservative playcalling, not Dan Henning.

Henning's interview with gantt today:

"We coached within the philosophy, and we did the best we could with it."

Again - I'm not saying we're doomed. I'm saying Henning was a scapegoat.

 

And his "their best" just wasn't good enough. What I think got him fired in the end was that Henning couldn't consistently come up with a good game plan and adjust when he needed to. In any job you are required to perform up to the expectations of someone and when you don't, your replaced.

Henning was and probably still is a good OC but what he has trouble doing anymore is using his personnel to thier strengths. He is also responsible for helping Hurney find the type of players that he needs to execute the "philosphy" that Fox wants to follow. He has not done that properly.

Maser lost his job for the same reason. He is responsible for getting the O-line he needs to fulfill Fox's vision. He has to make sure that if a starter goes down he has in place a capable backup who can step in and the O-line not miss a beat. It's tough to do but others do it, why can't our guys.

My 2 cents.