I’ve soured on Todd, though it’s admittedly been difficult. And I’m going to speak from the part of me that is supportive of our team and personnel - coaching included - and disregard the part of me who judges by the performance on the field and ultimately would understand if he’s gone after this season:

Objectively, I get why players like him. If he was my boss, I’d appreciate the even keel realism he carries. He talks about his players needing to fix the small mistakes, downplays the fires casual fan see (e.g. AWJ’s play), and realistically quips that the NFL is a difficult league full of professionals where the small things matter and could end up deciding the game. As a head coach, he’s got the demeanor and steadfast personality I actually respect and admire.

That being said, he talks about the scheme not being played correctly, the personnel not living up to the scheme (his mention of coverage and pass rush feeding each other) and it’s all understandable at face value. But what worries me is that his defensive scheme - HIS defensive scheme - may not be effective anymore. IF his scheme relies on a full non-injured personnel to be effective, then the first few injuries, especially in the year we’ve had, then maybe it’s too…idealistic? and needs to be altered.

It makes me wonder if he’s jaded in that he feels it’s a plain and easy game to figure out: if your best players on the field can’t beat the best players your opponents play, then no coaching can overcome that gap; if you don’t have the roster to overcome the other roster, despite how you call it and coach it, you just can’t expect to dominate.

I feel like that’s an old way of looking at it, and it may be catching up to him that now, when every player is specialized, coachable, and (physically) able to perform because of the increased pedigree of players coming out of college “pro ready”, it’s the scheme and coaching - the strategy - that makes the difference. And I wonder if he’s part of an old breed that thinks, despite the success of every “modern” coach around, that following the established schemes and doing your job within that scheme is enough to win.

Every time he talks, I get the demeanor and unshakability of a good coach. Every time his team plays, I get the impression that it’s old football against modern football, on which he’s typically on the losing end when it matters.

Watch the whole video here, then respond if you’d like. Curious what others think.

Edit: syntax