This is something people took for granted with Carroll.
The reality of most organizations is that they're not as culturally resilient. Not quite as eternally filled with the belief that they can manifest glory.
That was Carroll's biggest strength. He was an organizational tonesetter like no other.
Mike is a first-timer. Most of these dudes are NFL first-timers. We don't know if he's built to handle the challenge of a locker room that's losing it's focus and, more importantly, could be losing it's belief in his vision. I think that's fair to speculate about without entirely writing him off as a disappointment at HC.
Winning cures all, and they need to win fast. This could get ugly as hell if they don't. I suspect it's already a little worse than we know based on Leonard Williams and Tyler Lockett talking like they have in the media. Those guys are leaders, and for it to spill into the public record indicates some real frustration.
Go watch the game against the Steelers last year. Players gave up on PC and his coaches as well.
I think part of the issue (a big one) is that young Mike is trying to maintain intensity and focus during games via coordinators who are vastly inexperienced and in Grubb's case, ebtirely absent from the sideline and up in the booth.
He's suffering from a similar issue as PC - his generals arent strong enough to hold things together when they go wrong.
Durdy seems like a knowledgable guy, but that doesnt mean he commands respect.
Grubb seems like a creative enough playcaller, but would he be able to keep DK in check when he starts throwing a tantrum? With Grubb, i have a sneaky suspicion he has little interest in managing player emotions, maintaining focus ans stoking moral on the sidelines.
So its not so much that Mike's method is failing. But if he is the type of leader to stand there stoically with his back to the bench while he's calling the D and working with Grubb to handle substitutions on O, he cant have a bunch of absent or quiet nice guys backing him up, especially when things go bad. Its not that it cant be done. Bill B was a quiet leader but led with a big stick and had young guys he groomed who maintained the sidelines... and he had Brady. A Reid is quiet, but had Spags and had Bienemy to chew guys out l, build them up and keep players heads in the game.
It remains to be seen if MM has the generals he needs
And therein lies the chasm in the execution of the culture on gameday. Pete was everywhere on the sideline, talking to everyone. Mike might be masterful monday to saturday and entirely competent (even moreso) on gameday, but if his way is less engaging in terms of interaction with guys on gameday and keeping things together, he needs men to do that for him.
I dont see it in Grubb (and he cant do it from the booth) and I cant say that I have seen Durdy at all.
Just my .02
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