Maybe you’ve covered SJ I’ve been ill for a couple weeks, but I don’t get the Raheem Morris high on the list considering his first attempt at coaching.
Kenny.......... Been following you since Field Gulls and continually find myself with a tremendous appreciation for the objectively analytical fashion in which you write. I think it's no coincidence that you also tend to have an eerily premenecient ability to be correct far more often than not. That being said, I'm having a difficult time convincing myself that there's a valid reason to think that the major indicators of whether or not a head coach will be successful has any meaningful, causal relationship to which side of the ball they coached. Not convinced it doesn't either, nor do I necessarily believe you're implying as much. I'm beginning to think it has far more to do with leadership, their degree of self awareness in terms of strengths and weaknesses and their ability to surround themselves with solid pieces that compliment their strengths and fill the gaps of their weaknesses. All this capped off with solid interpersonal and relational skills, although this may be optional. Just thoughts but I am eager to follow this process.
Full disclosure......I have a horrible record of predicting whom will make a good HC and whom will not. In short, I think I trust your assessments more than my own but this doesn't stop me from thinking it through in any case.
Keep up the good work. You're very much appreciated in the Hawks community!
I don't know that there is any real functional coaching or scheme differences between any of the OC's, but there is a lot of extra responsibilities required of a head coach and I expect that's what the interviews are all about. Right now I'm likeing Ben Johnson and Bobby Slowick. In JS we trust.
If John wants to be aligned with a more analytic approach, then I'm positive they have done their analysis on the coaches, specifically, and coaching, in general, just as you have tapped into here. They're pretty smart people, especially if Jody has any of her brother's genius DNA, and I'd be shocked, shocked I tell ya, if they hire Quinn!
I'm looking forward to the team being different next season. No more Geno/ Lock competition. Hopefully the bend don't b soft middle defense, will be replaced with a fight for every yard mentality type defense.
I think I would have a little more confidence in the coaching search process if we were screening the candidates down to a top four or five instead of interviews with 9 to 12. I mean we just told a really good coach to shove off and apparently had no idea where we were going.
My other random thought came from the number 3. In 48 years the Hawks have played in 3 Super Bowls. What should I be expecting from the new hire?
Hope is great. But realistically I would expect the team to win less games.
There is some easy fixes to get better: 4th down/2-point decisions, timeouts/challenges, but to expect the offense to be better than last year? Is very optimistic imo
Last year Vegas win total was at 8.5 we won 9 games. I would take the under 8.5/9 if someone offered it to me knowing what I know right now.
Hopefully will be wrong! But I don’t see it - my expectations are very low and am expecting a bottoming out for this organization over the foreseeable future (hope not).
Why would they bottom out if the talent is on par or potentially better if John nails the draft, and the coaching is ostensibly better? An "adjustment" year, maybe, but why for the foreseeable future?
We have the least draft capital in NFC west. Not sure the draft will do a whole lot. But maybe!
“coaching is ostensibly better?”
Is it? We just lost a hall of fame head coach. One that gets the highest level of play out of his players throughout his career. we had an offense that was top 10 in the league and top 3 over the final 5 games (even with a backup for 2).
Can you really expect to get better than top 10 that trended to top 3 offense? It’s possible but far from probable
The low hanging fruit to get better would be to keep the offense in tact while changing the defensive scheme to modernize it. But will the new coach see it that way?
Typically, new coaches come in and want to get “their guys” which means they cut players and undermine the existing players.
If we hire a new coach, he will almost certainly play politics and blame Geno for any issues while he tries to buy time to draft a QB.
But we don’t have a path to a QB as good as Geno. So maybe we get smoked next year, coach blames Geno, gets a top draft pick and drafts a QB in 2025. That maybe the best chance.
Unfortunately, it is a low probability the QB will be as good as Geno. Maybe 10-15% chance? So then the QB likely fails coach gets fired or GM and the process starts over again.
Just my 2 cents ... hopefully I am very wrong! Lots of assumptions in there ... we will see who the new hire is and what the plan is. But I’ve seen this movie before and it typically isn’t pretty
I agree with you about AZ, they can be crazy good "if" they hit on their round 1-3 picks. And I hear you about not having great draft capital and QB roulette - no one knows if a QB will pan out. But I'm going to trust that the new coach will come in with a great plan, that well-orchestrated with John, will put us in the right direction. Perhaps a judicious trade or two, probably some tough cuts to get out and stay out of cap hell, and some good FA signings, and who knows? If new coach can fine tune the offense and the new DC can rehaul the scheme and get the players to give it their all (because there was a lot of soft play out there, scheme-wise as well as effort-wise), then I am bullish on this team moving forward. I know, a lot of "ifs" and maybe some tall asks, but I didn't see Pete getting the best of his players, so I'm hoping the new coach will. If they do an overhaul and go with a new QB, there might be a couple of rough years, and I'm ok with that.
Game management is HUGE! That in itself could be a difference -maker because Pete was horrible at it. I really like Slowik b/c he also brings defense and analytics to the table.
However, why does a point like this not pertain to Ben Johnson?
“If Quinn’s defense can prove to be just as bad as Clint Hurtt’s defense, why are the Seahawks going to replace Hurtt with Quinn AND replace Carroll with Quinn?”
The lions barely had a better offense than the hawks last year. And had worse offense than the hawks over the final 5 games.
If Johnson’s offense can prove to be similar to Waldrons offense, why are the Seahawks going to replace Waldron with Johnson?
The more I think about the gamut of coaches we are interviewing the more I wonder if John Is crafting a team of sorts for the young HC. What if he said to Slowik (and less of an extent Johnson) “we have these candidates considered for the DC role so that you can focus on the HC and offensive scheme”. In a way that mitigates a young HC from reaching on coordinators because of the pressure to bring a staff. And maybe John is hinting at this with all the rhetoric he is using on “personal report to me”. I actually think this kind of evil genius is mutually beneficial especially if it is Slowik. Joe you told us to tell you when we wanted someone moved up, I think we need to seriously consider Slowik as a primary candidate.
I like Lions OC Johnson the best. He took a former QB bust in LA and made Goff a top 10 QB. Please don't stick him with Geno. Draft a young, mobile QB and start fresh at the most important position in football. 2nd choice... hire Pete back minus most of the Hawks assistant coaches. Guaranteed he will be a HC in the NFL in 2024.
Listening to the Lion's 3-coordinator press conference today, they outlined how Game Day preparations will go through Saturday into the evening. I don't see how Ben Johnson has any time to meet with anyone, unless they come to him. When not attending to his Team, he is focused on his young family. Earlier, Campbell described the hiring process as initially a light-hearted discussion focused on chemistry with guys like JS. They will later be expected to give a full analysis for what needs to be fixed, requiring major time and attention that Ben can't be expected to spend until the outcomes are determined. My bet is he'll find time with JS on a Zoom call Saturday, with any hiring announcement no earlier than next week. Later, if they keep winning. The longer we go, the better for picking Johnson.
“Now is the time to get uncomfortable “. Maybe the best thing you said in this edition. It’s the biggest challenge whenever contemplating any significant change and moving on from a 14(?) year HC is significant. So maybe management feels that just moving on is uncomfortable and thus are inclined to go with a ‘comfortable’ (DQ) choice for a replacement. I'm with you on Quin, and I think he represents a choice to maintain the status quo which would be very disappointing. We all want to see things change so I hope mgt looks for someone who can effect positive change, has the football skills and the emotional intelligence required to get the absolute best out of all the resources at his disposal.
Keep bringing it, you’re making this more fun than I figured it would be.
When you say management what you should say is John because John is now the management that counts. John has been going out of his way to point out that he is in charge. Yes the Seahawks seem to be interviewing almost everyone but I think a lot of that is a smokescreen. A few weeks ago a story came out that the Seahawks had a plan if Pete retired. I bet dollars to donuts that John was the source for the story. John did not do that without a plan. Reading between the lines, after the last game Pete laid out a plan for the present and John laid out a plan for the future. Pete may have competed but in the end I doubt it was close. Why that matters now is I cannot believe John did that without a plan of what he was going to do at the HC position and at quarterback. I personally think he is targeting either Johnson, Slowik, or Canales. Johnson is the most likely to win this weekend, so getting an in person with him interview next week will be tough next week if they don’t do a Zoom this week.
I agree and thought this from the first week. They have a plan because if they didn’t, you keep Pete for another year but demand some change internally? What’s the benefit of walking away from Pete completely unprepared for the coaches out there? Doesn’t make sense. They knew they had opportunities or else the logical position is to keep Pete for at least another year. He is beloved and the team didn’t tank this year even if they didn’t meet expectations.
Pierce looking confirmed at the Raiders. Still want to figure out what the Titans & Panthers are doing. I've got Evero climbing up my personal list having gone to watch some more interviews. Strong man, and somehow came through this mess of a Panthers year looking solid. I'm not sure I want him as a HC, but i'd love to get him as a DC. Can see him being relieved to get out of Carolina, and if he can survive Reich & Tepper i'm sure a new HC would be able to work with him. Yes i'm also trying to figure out the OC/DC situation as well.
The Panthers have to let Evero interview for HC but can prevent him from going to another team as the DC. So his availability for DC is in question. If he doesn’t get a job as a head coach- unlikely then I suspect Evero stays in Carolina absent a DC head coach and he could stay even if that happens.
Talking to a player or coach under contract about a position with your team without permission is tampering. The panthers gave permission to talk to their DC for head coach not assistant head coach/DC. What you are proposing is tampering and it costs draft picks. If the Panthers later release him then we will have a head start but teams cannot use the head coach interview process to poach other teams coordinators to be their coordinators. One way to think about this how would you feel if things were reversed. NFL teams don’t bid against each other for coaches under contract.
I'm sure he could interview for a HC job, and be asked what he would envision for the defensive coordinator position to entail. If he doesn't get any HC offers, maybe John and Ben (?) could be impressed enough with his defensive vision that they offer him DC from out of that HC interview. Just a thought. I have interviewed people for a postion before and found that they might fit a different spot really well, then offered that position to them.
That is the norm for the NFL no cross poaching. That is why the Broncos had to trade for Payton even though he had retired. The NFL has unique restrictions. The Seahawks granted all of their coaching permission to seek positions with other teams but I have not read that the Panther’s did. The exception is that a team cannot block a coach from a promotion with another team. So coordinators can interview to be HC and position coaches can interview to be coordinators but coordinators cannot interview to be coordinators for other teams unless they have been let go by their current team.
I'm just hoping that Tepper continues to make enough of a mess of things that he's caught between a rock and a hard place. Retain Evero against his will with a new HC who doesn't really want Evero either, leading to yet more behind-the-scenes mess in Charlotte. Or Tepper for the first time in his life eats a little bit of humble pie and lets Evero move onwards, even if latterally. (Bascially i just want Tepper to suffer because the mans an ass).
Somewhat hopeful thinking, but we will need an OC & DC and i'm just starting to branch out thinking and hvn't yet got to those positional coaches and assistants would be promoted upwards.
One of the things about the Seahawks is that they have historically treated coaches and players better than other teams. Example 49ers and Jimmy. After the 49ers realized they couldn’t trade him they held till the day before his contract guaranteed and then cut him force him to resign for a fifth of the contract because no other team had a spot. It was good business but the ultimate commodity vs person move. I suspect that Temper views players and coaches the same way.
I would presume he would have to return a portion of any signing and might get sued for breach of contract. More likely, general managers are in the doghouse with the league for doing such a thing; otherwise, GM's would do that all the time. Anyway, JS is always a straight shooter and likes to retain good relations with other GM's, etc.
Coaches are bound by many of the same rules as players see the above they cannot just return the money and go to another team. The billionaires do not play the game that way.
You are making some compelling arguments... I really think your take on Quinn is solid and I think the Hawks should be looking at on offensive wunderkind for their coach as opposed to a defensive guy as not to lose him if he were just hired as the offensive coordinator instead.
I had no idea that the Dallas D had so many bad games.
Maybe you’ve covered SJ I’ve been ill for a couple weeks, but I don’t get the Raheem Morris high on the list considering his first attempt at coaching.
Kenny.......... Been following you since Field Gulls and continually find myself with a tremendous appreciation for the objectively analytical fashion in which you write. I think it's no coincidence that you also tend to have an eerily premenecient ability to be correct far more often than not. That being said, I'm having a difficult time convincing myself that there's a valid reason to think that the major indicators of whether or not a head coach will be successful has any meaningful, causal relationship to which side of the ball they coached. Not convinced it doesn't either, nor do I necessarily believe you're implying as much. I'm beginning to think it has far more to do with leadership, their degree of self awareness in terms of strengths and weaknesses and their ability to surround themselves with solid pieces that compliment their strengths and fill the gaps of their weaknesses. All this capped off with solid interpersonal and relational skills, although this may be optional. Just thoughts but I am eager to follow this process.
Full disclosure......I have a horrible record of predicting whom will make a good HC and whom will not. In short, I think I trust your assessments more than my own but this doesn't stop me from thinking it through in any case.
Keep up the good work. You're very much appreciated in the Hawks community!
I don't know that there is any real functional coaching or scheme differences between any of the OC's, but there is a lot of extra responsibilities required of a head coach and I expect that's what the interviews are all about. Right now I'm likeing Ben Johnson and Bobby Slowick. In JS we trust.
I've got Bobby Slowik at 2, because he has also coached defense and he'll be strong on analytics. I also want a QB in the draft.
Mike Holmgren told JS he should hire an offensive minded head coach. Hope John was paying attention.
If John wants to be aligned with a more analytic approach, then I'm positive they have done their analysis on the coaches, specifically, and coaching, in general, just as you have tapped into here. They're pretty smart people, especially if Jody has any of her brother's genius DNA, and I'd be shocked, shocked I tell ya, if they hire Quinn!
I hope you are right.
And I would be disappointed.
Me too
I'm looking forward to the team being different next season. No more Geno/ Lock competition. Hopefully the bend don't b soft middle defense, will be replaced with a fight for every yard mentality type defense.
I think I would have a little more confidence in the coaching search process if we were screening the candidates down to a top four or five instead of interviews with 9 to 12. I mean we just told a really good coach to shove off and apparently had no idea where we were going.
My other random thought came from the number 3. In 48 years the Hawks have played in 3 Super Bowls. What should I be expecting from the new hire?
They are filling out the whole coaching staff, not just head coach. Some of these folks will end up being assistant candidates.
Hope is great. But realistically I would expect the team to win less games.
There is some easy fixes to get better: 4th down/2-point decisions, timeouts/challenges, but to expect the offense to be better than last year? Is very optimistic imo
Last year Vegas win total was at 8.5 we won 9 games. I would take the under 8.5/9 if someone offered it to me knowing what I know right now.
Hopefully will be wrong! But I don’t see it - my expectations are very low and am expecting a bottoming out for this organization over the foreseeable future (hope not).
Why would they bottom out if the talent is on par or potentially better if John nails the draft, and the coaching is ostensibly better? An "adjustment" year, maybe, but why for the foreseeable future?
Fair questions and just my opinion but I’m not optimistic:
“if the talent is on par or potentially better if John nails the draft”
- every team is getting better every year, the question isn’t getting better it’s getting better relative to competition.
Arizona: (2) 1sts, 2nd, (3) 3rds, (2) 5ths, (2) 7th
We have the least draft capital in NFC west. Not sure the draft will do a whole lot. But maybe!
“coaching is ostensibly better?”
Is it? We just lost a hall of fame head coach. One that gets the highest level of play out of his players throughout his career. we had an offense that was top 10 in the league and top 3 over the final 5 games (even with a backup for 2).
Can you really expect to get better than top 10 that trended to top 3 offense? It’s possible but far from probable
The low hanging fruit to get better would be to keep the offense in tact while changing the defensive scheme to modernize it. But will the new coach see it that way?
Typically, new coaches come in and want to get “their guys” which means they cut players and undermine the existing players.
If we hire a new coach, he will almost certainly play politics and blame Geno for any issues while he tries to buy time to draft a QB.
But we don’t have a path to a QB as good as Geno. So maybe we get smoked next year, coach blames Geno, gets a top draft pick and drafts a QB in 2025. That maybe the best chance.
Unfortunately, it is a low probability the QB will be as good as Geno. Maybe 10-15% chance? So then the QB likely fails coach gets fired or GM and the process starts over again.
Just my 2 cents ... hopefully I am very wrong! Lots of assumptions in there ... we will see who the new hire is and what the plan is. But I’ve seen this movie before and it typically isn’t pretty
I agree with you about AZ, they can be crazy good "if" they hit on their round 1-3 picks. And I hear you about not having great draft capital and QB roulette - no one knows if a QB will pan out. But I'm going to trust that the new coach will come in with a great plan, that well-orchestrated with John, will put us in the right direction. Perhaps a judicious trade or two, probably some tough cuts to get out and stay out of cap hell, and some good FA signings, and who knows? If new coach can fine tune the offense and the new DC can rehaul the scheme and get the players to give it their all (because there was a lot of soft play out there, scheme-wise as well as effort-wise), then I am bullish on this team moving forward. I know, a lot of "ifs" and maybe some tall asks, but I didn't see Pete getting the best of his players, so I'm hoping the new coach will. If they do an overhaul and go with a new QB, there might be a couple of rough years, and I'm ok with that.
Great comment! I especially liked this part:
“ If new coach can fine tune the offense and the new DC can rehaul the scheme” - I’m on board for this!
Tweak O (4th downs, timeout usage), new scheme on D ... to me that is the path.
I do think highly of JS - it’s possible!
Game management is HUGE! That in itself could be a difference -maker because Pete was horrible at it. I really like Slowik b/c he also brings defense and analytics to the table.
Unless, of course, if they go with a rookie QB right out of the gate.
This is a great article with compelling points!
However, why does a point like this not pertain to Ben Johnson?
“If Quinn’s defense can prove to be just as bad as Clint Hurtt’s defense, why are the Seahawks going to replace Hurtt with Quinn AND replace Carroll with Quinn?”
The lions barely had a better offense than the hawks last year. And had worse offense than the hawks over the final 5 games.
If Johnson’s offense can prove to be similar to Waldrons offense, why are the Seahawks going to replace Waldron with Johnson?
The more I think about the gamut of coaches we are interviewing the more I wonder if John Is crafting a team of sorts for the young HC. What if he said to Slowik (and less of an extent Johnson) “we have these candidates considered for the DC role so that you can focus on the HC and offensive scheme”. In a way that mitigates a young HC from reaching on coordinators because of the pressure to bring a staff. And maybe John is hinting at this with all the rhetoric he is using on “personal report to me”. I actually think this kind of evil genius is mutually beneficial especially if it is Slowik. Joe you told us to tell you when we wanted someone moved up, I think we need to seriously consider Slowik as a primary candidate.
I like Lions OC Johnson the best. He took a former QB bust in LA and made Goff a top 10 QB. Please don't stick him with Geno. Draft a young, mobile QB and start fresh at the most important position in football. 2nd choice... hire Pete back minus most of the Hawks assistant coaches. Guaranteed he will be a HC in the NFL in 2024.
No college HCs .
Apparently Mike Holmgren reads SSJ
https://www.fieldgulls.com/2024/1/19/24044341/mike-holmgren-john-schneider-advice-seattle-seahawks-head-coach-search-offensive-minded-nfl
Is Seaside Joe a person or a team of people?
It's unbelievable how good these write ups are everyday! Thanks for all the work you(s) put in!
It’s one very talented man. If there were multiple writers they would have bylines.
Incredibly talented... enjoy reading everyday.
Can’t believe he has new stuff to write about.
The gift of creatives is an overwhelming level of curiosity.
...plus Clark.
Listening to the Lion's 3-coordinator press conference today, they outlined how Game Day preparations will go through Saturday into the evening. I don't see how Ben Johnson has any time to meet with anyone, unless they come to him. When not attending to his Team, he is focused on his young family. Earlier, Campbell described the hiring process as initially a light-hearted discussion focused on chemistry with guys like JS. They will later be expected to give a full analysis for what needs to be fixed, requiring major time and attention that Ben can't be expected to spend until the outcomes are determined. My bet is he'll find time with JS on a Zoom call Saturday, with any hiring announcement no earlier than next week. Later, if they keep winning. The longer we go, the better for picking Johnson.
“Now is the time to get uncomfortable “. Maybe the best thing you said in this edition. It’s the biggest challenge whenever contemplating any significant change and moving on from a 14(?) year HC is significant. So maybe management feels that just moving on is uncomfortable and thus are inclined to go with a ‘comfortable’ (DQ) choice for a replacement. I'm with you on Quin, and I think he represents a choice to maintain the status quo which would be very disappointing. We all want to see things change so I hope mgt looks for someone who can effect positive change, has the football skills and the emotional intelligence required to get the absolute best out of all the resources at his disposal.
Keep bringing it, you’re making this more fun than I figured it would be.
When you say management what you should say is John because John is now the management that counts. John has been going out of his way to point out that he is in charge. Yes the Seahawks seem to be interviewing almost everyone but I think a lot of that is a smokescreen. A few weeks ago a story came out that the Seahawks had a plan if Pete retired. I bet dollars to donuts that John was the source for the story. John did not do that without a plan. Reading between the lines, after the last game Pete laid out a plan for the present and John laid out a plan for the future. Pete may have competed but in the end I doubt it was close. Why that matters now is I cannot believe John did that without a plan of what he was going to do at the HC position and at quarterback. I personally think he is targeting either Johnson, Slowik, or Canales. Johnson is the most likely to win this weekend, so getting an in person with him interview next week will be tough next week if they don’t do a Zoom this week.
I agree and thought this from the first week. They have a plan because if they didn’t, you keep Pete for another year but demand some change internally? What’s the benefit of walking away from Pete completely unprepared for the coaches out there? Doesn’t make sense. They knew they had opportunities or else the logical position is to keep Pete for at least another year. He is beloved and the team didn’t tank this year even if they didn’t meet expectations.
"Doesn’t make sense."
Unless PC laid his badge on the table rather than agree to those changes.
The risk to laying your badge on the table is that you never really know whether the boss will pick it up.
As to whether they had a plan: the absence of evidence should never be construed as evidence of absence, And contrariwise.
The thing about laying your badge on the table, is you also have a plan. Two plans, actually. You can't just have your fingers crossed.
I thought they have him scheduled for tomorrow
I believe all interviews with candidates still in the playoffs are zoom.
They do he is interviewing today.
Is it a Zoom call or in person?
Pierce looking confirmed at the Raiders. Still want to figure out what the Titans & Panthers are doing. I've got Evero climbing up my personal list having gone to watch some more interviews. Strong man, and somehow came through this mess of a Panthers year looking solid. I'm not sure I want him as a HC, but i'd love to get him as a DC. Can see him being relieved to get out of Carolina, and if he can survive Reich & Tepper i'm sure a new HC would be able to work with him. Yes i'm also trying to figure out the OC/DC situation as well.
That would be a couple, Johnson and Evero!
*coup
Couple also works just fine :p
The Panthers have to let Evero interview for HC but can prevent him from going to another team as the DC. So his availability for DC is in question. If he doesn’t get a job as a head coach- unlikely then I suspect Evero stays in Carolina absent a DC head coach and he could stay even if that happens.
If he is named assistant head coach they can hire him because that constitutes a promotion.
Talking to a player or coach under contract about a position with your team without permission is tampering. The panthers gave permission to talk to their DC for head coach not assistant head coach/DC. What you are proposing is tampering and it costs draft picks. If the Panthers later release him then we will have a head start but teams cannot use the head coach interview process to poach other teams coordinators to be their coordinators. One way to think about this how would you feel if things were reversed. NFL teams don’t bid against each other for coaches under contract.
I'm sure he could interview for a HC job, and be asked what he would envision for the defensive coordinator position to entail. If he doesn't get any HC offers, maybe John and Ben (?) could be impressed enough with his defensive vision that they offer him DC from out of that HC interview. Just a thought. I have interviewed people for a postion before and found that they might fit a different spot really well, then offered that position to them.
Is it in his contract that he can't leave for a lateral move?
That is the norm for the NFL no cross poaching. That is why the Broncos had to trade for Payton even though he had retired. The NFL has unique restrictions. The Seahawks granted all of their coaching permission to seek positions with other teams but I have not read that the Panther’s did. The exception is that a team cannot block a coach from a promotion with another team. So coordinators can interview to be HC and position coaches can interview to be coordinators but coordinators cannot interview to be coordinators for other teams unless they have been let go by their current team.
I'm just hoping that Tepper continues to make enough of a mess of things that he's caught between a rock and a hard place. Retain Evero against his will with a new HC who doesn't really want Evero either, leading to yet more behind-the-scenes mess in Charlotte. Or Tepper for the first time in his life eats a little bit of humble pie and lets Evero move onwards, even if latterally. (Bascially i just want Tepper to suffer because the mans an ass).
Somewhat hopeful thinking, but we will need an OC & DC and i'm just starting to branch out thinking and hvn't yet got to those positional coaches and assistants would be promoted upwards.
One of the things about the Seahawks is that they have historically treated coaches and players better than other teams. Example 49ers and Jimmy. After the 49ers realized they couldn’t trade him they held till the day before his contract guaranteed and then cut him force him to resign for a fifth of the contract because no other team had a spot. It was good business but the ultimate commodity vs person move. I suspect that Temper views players and coaches the same way.
I would presume he would have to return a portion of any signing and might get sued for breach of contract. More likely, general managers are in the doghouse with the league for doing such a thing; otherwise, GM's would do that all the time. Anyway, JS is always a straight shooter and likes to retain good relations with other GM's, etc.
Coaches are bound by many of the same rules as players see the above they cannot just return the money and go to another team. The billionaires do not play the game that way.
You are making some compelling arguments... I really think your take on Quinn is solid and I think the Hawks should be looking at on offensive wunderkind for their coach as opposed to a defensive guy as not to lose him if he were just hired as the offensive coordinator instead.
I had no idea that the Dallas D had so many bad games.