The job of the HC is to put a plan together that works and that the players can execute. If the players cannot or do not execute it - it is the fault of the HC, not the player. Because the HC should not have put the player in that position anyway.
So if the QB could not produce given the gameplans by the OC, then HC is at fault for not making the OC put gameplans in place that the QB would be able to work with.
It makes no sense to plan things that won't work because the pieces cannot deliver the outcome, no matter how seemingly sound the plan is...if the pieces cannot be used to deliver it? Or likely won't deliver it? Then it is just a failed plan.
We call these things wishes.
Nobody cares about almost. You don't get points for plausibility. This is why being at the 1 and 'almost' winning the SB is still considered a colossal failure.
If you have a great QB but that QB can't do what the OC needs him to do, then the OC needs to ask him (or plan for him) to do something else.
The OC is responsible for the offense's success, not the QB. That OC is chosen by the HC to do this. The HC needs to delegate, then the OC needs to deliver. But the HC is culpable.
The HC is ALWAYS to blame. It is ALWAYS his fault. His responsibility. That is the job.
There's a baseline for expectation for a professional athlete. If a qb can't make a play to a certain part of the field or struggles to read coverage, a coach can devise a way to work around that, but at a point, a player needs to play his position.
But working around Russ and what he couldnt do is what Pete did. The reason its not evident and wanst even touched on in public until 2020 was because Pete RARELY calls out players in public. And of you asl Sherm and the LOB, he never called put Russ. The fact that people don't like is that the workaround for Russ not being able hit the shallow plays, or the quick developing routes, or seeing portions of the field, is leaning more on the run game.
A qb like Brady, Rodgers, etc. If you take away the long ball, they go short. If you take away the outside routes, they go inside. If they bring pressure, they hit the quick outlets.
You can look this up and watch tape yourself specifically over the last few years. Russ had control of the offense. It was made clear at the start of last year even. He could check or audible to whatever he liked.
How many times did he audible to a 3 step drop, 5 step, or pass from under center, not off of play action? Hardly ever. This isn't me making Sh!t up. It's statistical fact. It's not his preference because it puts him in a position to make throws he can't make or doenst feel comfortblable making. If he could he'd check to those as often as he did his longer developing reads.
But as a coach, If you take off the table 3 step quick hitters, 5 step drops and the routes off of them and your offense is predominantly run out of shotgun and deep drops, what does your OC or have to go to help the qb?
A logical xs and os answer is effective running. And running is in Pete's wheel house anyway. So, that's the relationship they developed. Until Russ thought he could fix it through a more dynamic passing game and 3 seconds of protection every drop. But 3 seconds is what you need if you're not taking the quicker stuff and playing the way Russ wants. Yeah. He will throw quick routes. But they are the type you saw to start the 2nd Niners game. Watch the condensed version and you'll see what I mean. And they are routes that often defenses will give him.
