Greg Knapp and Ed Donatell
Knapp is still technically employed by the Raiders, but let’s face it - having been stripped of play-calling duties by the worst organization in the history of the NFL basically means he has a spot waiting for him in the unemployment line after this season.
Ed Donatell completely disappeared from existence after last year. Last I heard he was asking people “Paper or Plastic” at the Publix checkout lane.
These were Jim Mora hires, who in turn was a Rich McKay hire.
Then our team basically turned into the Atlanta Hokies, recruiting everybody we could from Va. Tech.
And we all know how wonderful that turned out.
But the entire chain of events started at the top, with Rich McKay. I could include Arthur Blank at the top of that chain but I wont because he hired McKay to make the right decisions, so the responsibility to build a winning team started with him. Arthur provided the money, and Rich succeeded in wasting it.
But you can see how the chain of misery started at the top and filtered all the way down to the roster. If things are messed up at the top, things are going to be messed up at the bottom.
People say the Matt Ryan acquisition was the greatest thing that happened. Or signing Michael Turner. No. The best thing that happened was the decision Arthur Blank made by relieving Rich McKay of GM duties. Then the next best thing he did was hire McKay’s replacement after a web-cam interview (which still boggles my mind), and hire perhaps the *only* man who had the tenacity and smarts and dedication to right the ship that McKay wrecked. Thomas Dimitroff? Who?
Then what happened next. Thomas Dimitroff re-staffed the front-office with “his people”, and “his-people” found Mike Smith (Dimitroff had never spoken to Mike Smith prior). And a brilliant move was made again. Mike Smith - the man with the most “nobody-name” and “nobody-reputation” in the world was hired. Who?
Then what did the new HC do? He continued the pattern that started with Blank and Dimitroff. He did what they did. He turned over the roster and brough in “his people”. His coaches. His staff. And then they promptly let go of everyone that did not fit into the plan of “Our Team”. Our New Team.
Common complaints:
“Why did we let go of Crumpler???”
“Why did we let go of Dunn???”
“Why did we let go of Hall???”
Now we know why. And now we all know why that we really don’t know anything about running an NFL franchise. But Blank now does. It took Arthur a few years and a lot of turmoil but that man did not make his fortune by letting set-backs like these force him to quit trying. Blank is a smart business man and he learned from his mistakes of the Vick-era, and corrected them. And the most important next move he made was relieving Rich McKay of GM duty and finding this absolute diamond-in-the-rough (who the **** ever heard of Thomas Dimitroff before last year?).
That one, single hire for GM set in pattern a sequence of events that made what was supposed to be a 1-15 team this season into a 6-3 Division Title contender in November. And that’s how you run a business. You hire that 1 right guy. Then that 1 right guy hires his right guys. And so on.
As much credit goes to the whole staff, really most of this credit needs to go to Blank. Because it all starts at the very top and trickles down, and a wrong move at the top - JUST 1 WRONG HIRE AT THE TOP - and everything below that is doomed.
So while we all should applaud Mike Smith and Thomas Dimitroff, let’s start congratulating Arthur Blank a little more around here. He deserves it.
Source >> Atlanta Falcons Blogs
