Say hello to 1999...again
[url]http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/pit/1999.htm[/url]
If it's not this year, it will be next, unless something is done differently. In 1999 we had lots of defenders, coming off huge contracts, and laying a wet turd that stunk from downtown to Butler. Cowher and company put too much loyalty into former great players who were late 20's or over 30 and it resulted in a 6-10 turd season. Kirkland, Gildon, Scott, Steed, Staat, Oldham, Deewayne Washington, Kordell, et el, just stunk the joint up. But Cowher was insistent his "buddy buddy" players were retained, and, in many cases, got new big deals, since they were such buddies and all. They rewarded him with a 6-10 stink turd season. Football is a business; treat it as one, unless you are an idiot. Be buddies with your college mates. Be professional with your staff (in this case, football players). That doesn't mean you have to be a jerk to the players, but don't mistake being on the same team for being from the same family. Only fools do that when it comes to business. I remember when a country bumpkin told me, "They say don't go into business with friends, well I say that's BS." The same guy promptly went out of business within 2 months of saying that.
If this team doesn't watch it, they are looking at 1999 all over again.
Back then Dan was too old to be running things, and ran it as a grandfather figure. (There is a reason there are not many 80-year-old CEOs out there - it's time to play with grandkids, not run a billion dollar biz.) Maybe now with the more "with it" Art 2, we won't suffer this same fate from being buddies and treating the players as family members. We can only hope so.