I liked Nate Jackson's book, Slow Getting Up: A Story of NFL Survival from the Bottom of the Pile, on his experience as a professional American football player.
I remember how highly he regarded Mike Shanahan, his first coach on the Denver Broncos, and how much he distrusted Josh McDaniels when he eventually replaced him. When McDaniels was fired as the coach of the Las Vegas Raiders earlier this week, I wondered if Jackson would write about it.
He did. He notes early in the piece how "it has the air of a lover scorned. Of course I'd say Josh McDaniel is a shitty coach: He cut me". He does make a point to show the lack of success the Belichick coaching tree has had in comparison to the coaches groomed by Shanahan. It has become more apparent how much of the success of the Patriots was related to Tom Brady.
The article is worth reading in full but I liked this part about the importance of coaching and what it is. This goes for people in leadership in general. There are engineers promoted to management positions based on the quality of their code but some just aren't suited to the position. Sometimes all they need is time or training to change their mindset from personal to team success. Other times, they just don't get that it's not about them, it's about the team.
Ultimately, this should be a lesson to everyone in the sports world. If you don’t have the respect of your team, it doesn’t matter how clever you are on the fucking whiteboard. Coaching is about connecting with other humans. It's about paying attention to what they are going through and responding to it. It's about listening to what they tell you. It's about putting them in positions to succeed, challenging them to be their best, and respecting the effort they give you. Honoring their sacrifice. Believing in them. Showing them that you love them, not just as players, but as people.
It's about setting them to up shine, not running off the brightest among them so you can be the star instead.
The Problem Was Always Josh McDaniels by Nate Jackson
