Running Coaching Change Thread

I hate for Mooch that he's been getting the shaft (errr, the business). It wouldn't be any less shaftish to get stuck in Washington.

 

My guess is that Fox believes injuries to key special teams players are more to blame for the poor ST play than the coaching. And to be fair, there's some credence to that notion. There has been very little continuity on special teams, with players constantly shuffling in and out, and players brought in to anchor ST going down to injury. I'm not sold on Crossman, but I can understand how circumstances he has no control over have negatively impacted his reputation.

 

Yeah, I will agree injuries made it tough on Crossman this season but ST have been a weakness throughout his watch, he has yet to get it done.

 

Injuries? To whom?

And didn't someone write recently that Ryne Robinson started improving in his return game because he talked to Steve Smith, NOT because of Crossman's coaching?

 

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Terrence Melton, Dante Wesley, and Curtis Deloach were all signed in the off season primarily to boost the ST's return and coverage units, and all three guys ended up on IR before the season even got started.

Having said that, I'm not crazy about Crossman myself, but who is even available to replace him anyway? You can't just fire a guy without having a good replacement in mind.

 

Dom Capers is interviewing with the Cowboys for an undisclosed position per KFFL

 

A lot of the injuries the last couple of years were to players that were counted on for ST. Without putting too much thought on specifically who, two names that jump out from last year alone include Melton and Goings. The year before, Carstens. There's quite a few more, just look up the injury lists.

I have no doubt that talking to Smith helped; SS could give a perspective that no ST coach can. But the biggest difference was that Robinson changes his approach and stopped thinking so much. Perhaps the biggest factor is that he finally started to adapt to the speed of the NFL. You have to remember that he came from a small school in a small conference, so was used to being able to out quick and out run everyone. However, in the NFL holes close much faster than what he was used to, and LB's can run you down. It was a whole different game for him. It's something he just had to figure out.

With that said, I'm not giving Crossman a pass, but I can see where many of the problems we fans complain about were legitimately related to things he had no control over. Just balancing out the ledger.

 

I'll add Seward to the injury list too, fwiw, there were plenty of them.

If Crossman must be given more time to get it right I hope this is his last chance, ST has been killing us ever since he took over. I actually think the decline started in O'Brien's last year but whatever, it's gone on too long.

 

Paul Boudreau to Atlanta, James Lofton to Oakland (who already has a WRs coach)