In 1946, Leo Durocher was credited with saying, “Nice guys finish last.” Whether that is exactly what the legendary baseball manager said, or some other variation on the theme, is open for debate. What isn’t in question, is that there are a lot of real life examples where people you might enjoy joining you at your dinner table fail in sports and those that you wouldn’t answer the door for succeed.
One of the nicest guys I ever met in football, Matt Millen, failed miserably as general manager of the Detroit Lions. Another gentleman who you might enjoy spending an afternoon with just got fired from an NFL head coaching position for the second time in 12 months. I think that’s a record, and he didn’t get dismissed because he wasn’t pleasant, he got canned because he lost.
An example of nice guys …
The coach, or should I say former coach, is Frank Reich. This week he lost his job with the Carolina Panthers in what appeared to be an ideal situation for success. Carolina had a solid defense and traded for the first pick in the draft to help bolster a struggling offense. With the first overall selection, the Panthers chose quarterback Bryce Young, who they hoped would develop into the next Patrick Mahomes.
In fact, 11 games into his professional career, Young looks a lot more like a carbon copy of Zach Wilson than the Kansas City star quarterback.
While Reich took the fall for Young’s ineffectiveness, the real problem in Carolina might be the owner, Dave Tepper. He made his 20 billion dollar fortune in the hedge fund industry and now owns a pair of sports teams. In addition to the Panthers, he has controlling interest in the Charlotte FC of the Major League Soccer league.
Tepper might well be the newest version of Daniel Snyder, who made money in the communication industry and then ran the NFL Washington franchise into the ground. Rich guys who think success in one endeavor makes them capable of running a sports franchise are often quickly in store for a wakeup call … running a sports franchise requires a completely different set of skills than the industries Snyder and Tepper made their fortunes with.
In any case, his latest move to remove Reich from his position on the sidelines only months after hiring the popular with his players coach was not totally unexpected or unwarranted.
Now, if it is true that Riech is too nice to succeed, it would be tough to explain his five year run with the Indianapolis Colts that included playoff appearances and an overall winning won/loss record of 41-35-1. His short tenure with the Panthers produced a pathetic 1-10 record with a team seemingly with enough talent to compete with at least half the teams in the NFL.
Now what?
The Panthers have hired Chris Tabor as interim head coach, a man who before this assignment served as the team’s special teams coach. Perhaps the Panthers are looking for the same kind of success the Las Vegas Raiders enjoyed two years ago when they replaced Jon Gruden mid-season with their special teams coach, Rich Bisaccia, who then guided the Silver and Black to a playoff berth. Or even the sudden success the Raiders had this year when they fired Josh McDaniels and Antonio Pierce led Las Vegas to a pair of wins in his first two games as their interim head coach.
In any case, Durocher’s rule for nice guys seems to have played out on the field again, because Reich is a nice guy, and with the Panthers, a loser. I don’t know what kind of guy Tabor is, but I expect in his first effort, this Sunday in Tampa, his team will have the same kind of kick back enjoyed by the Raiders in recent seasons.
Qoxhi Picks: Carolina Panthers (+5) over Tampa Bay Buccaneers