drdiags":233jc4rr said:
NFL Rules permit it for teams not playing this weekend. Pete has said he would do whatever he could to help his coaches get where they want to go. He cannot turn around and deny them the chance for his own short term gain.
The NFL should put a moratorium on hiring of coaches during the playoffs. The successful coaches get penalized since teams choose not to wait for them until after the Superbowl. This is better than Gus getting interviewed the evening before the Falcons last year. The NFL will not do this, since College coaches are also in play and the Universities need to replace ASAP any coaches hired away from them, due to recruiting.
It is just a big mess. I know posters got mad last year because of the interviews being done while the team had a playoff game but nothing will change until the NFL decides it needs to.
I get the employer analogy that others have made + the coaching tree legacy argument. Still, if one gets hired to be an assistant coach and that NFL team is in the position the Seahawks are in... the possible distraction argument is obvious.
I get what the always classy diags is saying here and do not intend to take his comments out of his intended context. So, the following is intended to comment only on what is said in bold in the quote as a surface level statement and take it under the surface a bit to make my point about this fans' perspective in regards to the OP topic (potential distractions to the team).
Of course, the Seahawks are not merely Pete Carroll. There's the franchise, the current players and all associated with the team who have poured their energies into this season for a common goal, there's the fans (from those since 1976 and even those who have only started rooting for them this season.) There's much more than simply the current head coaches' short term success or the success of any other individual, for that matter, that's part of the whole. In the era of free agency, etc. - players all want to be part of a winner. Think of what it would mean for current, former players, fans... and what would it mean for the Seahawks to establish itself as a Super Bowl winning franchise. There is certainly more ultimate importance in regards to NFL success at stake - even if we grant there's the "business" side of it or even that it's really just a business looking from the inside out and not the fans' perspective.
It's somewhat subjective as to whether allowing coaches to interview undermines these goals and to what degree. But, there's certainly good reason to dislike the current NFL policies due to any such potential distraction. I suppose that the Hawks have no more disadvantage than other teams have, though.
In one sense, yeah... perhaps too much can be made of this and I'm not as bent out of shape about it as I might sound. But, in another sense, there's the weight of what the Seahawks are trying to accomplish. Those factors are every bit as real and related to the potential business aspect of the team. One's personal ambitions affect the personal ambitions of others.
Is this truly a team sport or is that just lip service? What's about all that
"I'm In" business? Or, is that more "I'm in this for me?" So, there's nothing wrong with an expectation to live up to an agreed upon commitment one makes to the greater whole - no matter what NFL policies might allow. I would think that commitment to the team should be one of the most important desired character qualities that teams look for in coaching candidates. So, those coaches should be worth the wait.
By the way... I sincerely appreciate and love to read DrDiags posts. He is often a voice of reason when topics need perspective and focus.
