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ARTHUR BLANK: Clueless in Atlanta or Money Doesn’t Make You Intelligent!
By Charlie O Mallonee January 10, 2008 |
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Blank talks with Pete Carroll about being “The Man” in Atlanta Arthur Blank’s Atlanta Falcons need a new head coach. Well to be honest, the Falcons need a head coach, a general manager and a NFL caliber starting quarterback –preferably one who loves dogs and volunteers at the ASPCA! This franchise is in such disarray that the last head coach quit with three games left in the season. Teams fire coaches with games left in the season, but coaches never quit in the middle of the season. Former Falcon headman Bobby Petrino ran out of town under the cover of darkness to take the Arkansas head-coaching job. In doing so, Petrino left a possible multimillion-dollar settlement on the table just get out away from craziness in “Hotlanta”. Now, Blank is talking about handing the “keys to the kingdom” over to Pete Carroll – including the General Manager’s power. More on that possibility later in this piece. Do not feel sorry for Arthur Blank Many reporters have portrayed Blank as a victim. Michael Vick becomes involved in dog fighting and Blank is without a starting QB. Bobby Petrino bails after 13 games leaving Blank without a head coach – the quitter! However, I would suggest that Blank is reaping what he has sown. Arthur Blank is a billionaire. He is a true “rags to riches” story. He built the Home Depot into one of America’s top retailers. Blank is a modern Horatio Alger in retail. The jury is still out on Blank as a sports franchise owner. Despite his success in retail, Blank has been a dud as a NFL owner. Here are just a few highlights and lowlights: Blank’s first mistake may have been buying the Falcons. This franchise has not had a successful history. Blank might have been better served by offering more money for the Braves whom he also wanted to own. In 2003-04, Blank looked as if he was on the road building a successful franchise when he hired Rich Mckay as G.M. and Jim Mora, Jr. as Head Coach. The only wildcard was Michael Vick and whether he would work out in the NFL. Many observers, including this reporter, had their doubts about the potential success of “Ron Mexico”. In 2004, Blank decided that Vick was the future of the Falcons and set him up with a $130 million dollar contract. Then came 2006, Jim Mora, Jr. gave a telephone interview to an old teammate on KJR radio in Seattle. The interview was friendly and rowdy as you might expect between two old buds. During the interview, Mora, Jr. said the University of Washington head-coaching job was his dream position. Blank became enraged. How could his coach speak of wanting another job even though the job was not open? Blank fired Mora, Jr. Jim Mora, Jr. is now an assistant head coach in Seattle and the heir apparent to Mike Holmgren’s job. That move will haunt Blank for years to come. Blank then decided to hire Bobby Petrino away from the University of Louisville to design a system just for Michael Vick despite the lack of recent success of college to the NFL hires. Petrino was brought in to design a modern “Run and Shoot” offense to accommodate Vick’s “skills”. Mouse Davis, who designed the Run and Shoot, could not make work in the NFL. Why would Petrino’s plan be more successful? We will never know thanks to Vick’s stupidity. On March 22, 2007, Blank allowed his number two QB, Matt Schaub, to be traded away to the Houston Texans. Since the success of the Vick experiment was still open to question, Schaub provided the Falcons an immediate option as a starter in a more traditional system. Schaub started 11 games for the Texans and threw for 2200+ yards. The Falcons used a trio of “has-beens” that led them to a record of 4-12 in 2007. Blank’s latest move was to remove Rich Mckay as General Manager and make him President of the Falcons. Instead of player personnel decisions, Mckay will be worrying about how many paper cups the vendors are using on Sunday. Arthur Blank has managed to turn the Falcons into an expansion team in less than six months. Who can blame Bobby Petrino for leaving? When you see a ship sinking and you stay on board without trying to save yourself, they call you stupid. Petrino would have been fired at some point before his contract was over. He saw it coming and opted to take care of his family rather than letting Arthur Blank decide his future. I think it is called being proactive. Why Pete Carroll is the wrong choice> Pete Carroll has been a NFL head coach. Carroll was a mediocre NFL head coach with a record of 33 wins and 33 losses. His real success came at USC where he has surprised many observers and has established a “god-like” status. The jump from college to the NFL has been a tough one in recent years. Lou Sabin is the most recent headman to make to move to NFL and then back to college gridiron. Reportedly, Blank and Carroll talked about a dual role as Head Coach / GM. The positions have become too big for one man to handle it all by himself. Mike Holmgren couldn’t handle both jobs in Seattle. Mike Nolan just lost his G.M. power in San Francisco. Pete Carroll is a talented man, but the two jobs are just too much for one man. It will take 3 to 5 years for the rebuilding effort to pay dividends in Atlanta. Whoever is hired as the next coach will not be there when the rebuilding effort pays off. It will be an experienced NFL coach who reaps the benefits and leads the Falcons to the promise land of the playoffs - not the poor sap who becomes the next head coach in Atlanta. Pete Carroll – please stay in L.A. and become the grand old man of college coaching leading the Trojans even greater heights. Arthur Blank – go spend some time with Dan Rooney in Pittsburg and learn how to be a successful NFL owner. |
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