Leadership Redefined

The Philadelphia Eagles are keeping Andy Reid, the San Diego Chargers are keeping Norv Turner, and America will almost certainly reelect Barack Obama. Leadership has been redefined in this country.

Spanos said that he is keeping Turner because the players really like him and that they "play hard for him." Did he watch the Detroit game? In the last game, winning against Oakland, the defense gave up 520 yards. In the entire season, the team defeated only one opponent which had a winning record. In any case, the fact that his subordinates like him is probably the very worst reason to keep a manager.

In Obama's case, of course, he's being retained by his subordinates, so... And yes, I do know precisely what I just said.

In the Chargers case, I think it's money. Turner has two years remaining on his contract and Smith three, and Spanos doesn't want to pay off those contracts and have the expense of hiring to replace them. Sure, they'd both get new jobs, but he'd have to pay the difference between their present contract and their new ones. Some other team would get cheap leadership and he would pay the price. Without a fancy new stadium, which he isn't going to get, he's not willing to spend that much money.

Spanos doesn't care about the fans; doesn't need to because his real income is from television revenue. When the NFL strike was pending it was pointed out that owners actually made more money if games weren't played, because player salaries didn't eat into the money that television still had to pay.

Alternative Thoory: Jim Trotter of Sports Illustrated, who wrote locally for many years, suggests that it is simply that Dean Spanos lacks the courage to do what is necessary, and I suspect that may well be the case. It would certainly not be the first time that a family business has been ruined by the second generation because the children thought that simply growing up rich made them intelligent and brave, and exempted them from having to actually learn how to do anything.

I think we saw that with George W. Bush, where many in his administration openly admit that much of the reaction to 9/11 was simply to panic. "We were terrified that another attack might be coming."