Let me start by saying that this is the absolute worst assignment of the year, and I take no pleasure in it. Coaching staffs are not just made up of head coaches, the people we wag our fists at and blame for every problem and the people who accept a healthy, seven-figure salary in exchange for taking such criticisms. Coaching staffs are made up of people who work exceptionally, mind-bogglingly long hours. They are people who don’t get to see their families for most of the year. People who put the rest of their life on hold to try to climb the ladder in what is, undoubtedly, one of the most cutthroat, chaotic and political businesses in our American ecosystem. People who sometimes have to accept the best coaches end up toeing the line of high school fields, and the worst ones end up coordinating professional defenses for 10 times the money, because they are friends with the right person.
And their jobs are not made any easier by reading stuff like this, which can often add paranoia and cynicism to a fold that already includes sleep deprivation and whatever nervous questions they’ll get from family members wondering whether they’ll have to pack up and move again at season’s end.
To those folks, we apologize.
