Growing up, I had neighborhood friends who were very good athletes.  Me?  Not so much.  I don’t have too many athletic genes in my family line, and what I have today was cultivated during my young adulthood.  In any event, I feel that I do have something in common with the NFL.  Not quite the athletic prowess we see on the field today, but something that is experienced more often that I believe most realize.  Let me relate a little story with you.

From March 2006 until about the same time in 2007, I worked as a Sales Supervisor for a worldwide fitness equipment company.  Very well known and I’m sure you’ve seen much of their equipment in the gym.  Now, I won’t say what the name of the company is but it rhymes with Schmautilus.  Anyway, in the spring of 2007 the company had handed out bonuses for the Sales staff, with the exception of supervisors.  Kind of par for the course where our subordinates made almost twice as much as we did, which led for some interesting coaching and disciplinary sessions, but I digress.  My direct supervisor came to me one day and informed me that HR had some problems with bonuses a few of my team members had received and they needed my assistance in sorting it out.  Imagine my shock and surprise when I got to the HR office I was informed of being laid off.  With recent events up in Seattle, I wonder if Jim Mora has some of the same feelings that I did.Word on the internet is that Mora walked into his meeting with team CEO Tod (1 d?) Leiweke thinking they would be discussing possible candidates for the team’s General Manager, only to be dismissed.  Now, I’m not saying that Mora was the right man for the job.  He wore out his welcome in Atlanta, though he did some good things while there.  There is a subversive approach that is used too often in determining the fate of NFL coaches.  It definitely is a cut-throat business.  Back-room deals are made all the time (see Washington Redskins and Jim Zorn for an example) and one’s job security is only as safe as their last performance.  Did Mora lose control of this team?  T.J. Houshmanzadeh, who is more famous for the butchering of his name in that great fantasy football commercial (“T.J. Who’s Your Mama”) than he is for anything done on the field, openly questioned play calling.  I mean, part of why he left the ‘nati was that he wanted to be considered the #1 receiver.  He doesn’t have the skills necessary to be that and his play in Seattle proved as much.  Oh sure, blame the coach and the play calling but results are the true barometer.  Your spot as #2 is about right and playing alongside Chad Johnson (I refuse to call him by that other name) was the best scenario for T.J.  While Johnson’s getting the attention of the other team’s best corner, Houshmanzadeh would have been prime for a lot of looks.  You want to be “the guy”?  Succeed at being the #2 first and earn that right.  As is the case more often that I’d like to see, a new coach was already being courted and a big deal is forthcoming for a man who was mediocre at best in the NFL, but golden in the NCAA.  How do you think Hoshmazode and the others who were dissatisfied with Mora will react to all the “rah rah” that is certain to come their way?  I see a lot more strife coming to you folks up in Seattle.  First you lose the Sonics and now this?  Kind of makes me glad that all we have here is the Blazers.  If this doesn’t pay off for the Seahawks, who’s the next to go?  Carroll?  Leiweke?  How about that crazy moose at the Mariner’s games?  Maybe they can sell the Space Needle to recoup their costs on this potentially catastrophic mistake.  Who knows, but maybe if this fails miserably the Seahawks will relocate to Los Angeles.  They’re used to not having a football team which wouldn’t change much as what’s been on the field the past couple of years in Seattle barely qualifies.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 11th, 2010 at 2:20 pm and is filed under NFL. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.