Great Post on Bomberblitz about Voss and coaching styles..
[quote=No32,Jul 25 2007, 10:35 PM]
Now after todays events the airwaves have melted, the websites have fallen down, the nuff nuff's have come out of the wood work and threatened to tear up their non existant memberships.
So in the effort to move on, which I have. This Blitzers mind has been thinking a little too hard and I have out my back out in the process and I think this club is on the verge on a coaching evolution.
What is required of a Head Coach in the current status of the game? I think the days of Mr Everything are gone and it may have started with the Parkin/Brittian experiment which really was just a hand over but they may have struck a cord which no one is yet to strum.
The next person to tackle the coaching role in a manner much like Parkin/Brittian was Grant Thomas. Lets leave all the football department/contract control he had an focus on the coaching aspect.
His primary function which he has said himself as a Head Coach was to be a Man Manager and Motivator of Men? And I think everyone would agree that he must have done this very well because the player culture at the club is vastly different and the reaction from many of the players suggested he was Manager/Motivator.
Now we would all agree his match day and tactical sense was questionable, especially his distaste for ruckmen which was his major flaw, but the creator and drive of the game plan and strategy was Matt Rendell.
Now lets pull back from this and take a look at the NFL. Many AFL clubs have ventured to the US to spend time with and observe NFL teams for many ways in terms of strategy, set plays also internal workings such have rehab, preparation and the NFL are widely regarded as have many Best Practice in Sports Medicine and Training.
The other thing the NFL does which is that the Head Coach is not always the creator of the offensive/defensive game plan/strategy/plays. He may bring with him his play list from when he was an Offensive/Defensive Coordinator, but in his new role it will be his own Offensive/Defensive Coordinator who will take on some of the Head Coach play book but also adapt and have his own thoughts/ideas and creations and these general will fit around the game style and philosophy of the Head Coach.
The planning on week to week and dissection of each teams offense or defense lies within the Coordinators basket and he is to de-construct the opposition to create and exploit weakness to defeat the opposition. The Head Coach will not always call the plays, but his focus will be reading and feeling the flow of the game, motivating his stars, his warriors and making decisions and changes based upon instinct and educated gambles... He is the Manager and Motivator of Men.
My best example of this is George Seifert, very astute and with a clear philosphy on game style, not renowned for his strategy. Between 1992-1994 had lead the 49ers to 2 NFC Championship games only to lose to Dallas and then to the Super Bowl title in 1994...it was the playbook and indepth "code breaking" if you want to call it of Mike Shanahan as Offensive Co-Ordinator which was the catalyst for the resurgent Niners.
If you also take a brief look at Shanahan's history as OC at SF and Denver these were some of the more prosperous times for both clubs.
Now you may think I have gone a little off track, I just wanted to trace some history in my thoughts and to where I am going.
MICHAEL VOSS should coach Essendon* FC in 2008 and beyond!!! WHY?
He is a proven Motivator and Manager of Men, a leader, an astute and measured football mind with the will, strength and above all the right tools to become a great Head Coach.
Does he need to serve an apprenticeship? No, because the key will be the people he surrounds himself with because coaching is vastly different to what everyone thinks it is now. Some Assistant coaches when asked can he walk straight in and they wiffle and waffle about how much they have to do, match day, planning, strategy.... and I dont think once I have seen any of the mention
"Working with and Developing/Motivating the players".
Its seems the focus is so much on the mundane and the complex the overriding key to success have been forgotten....the players!! Football is a not a complex game, yes there can be game day strategy/plays and matchups but these should be secondary and can be carried out the Assistant Coaches.... it is the job of the Head Coach to spend quality time with his charges, motivating, managing and getting the best out of them, also allowing more time to be spent with recruits, rookies and players out of form... Head Coach should be the leader, the visionary and not the pen pusher/administrative role.
This is where an Assistant Coach or even a former Head Coach with a reputation for Strategy/Game Plan and Deconstruction of an Opposition is Key. The RIGHT HAND MAN so to speak.. to understand and execute a plan on the Head Coaches vision.
This is where a Wayne Brittian or even Neale Daniher comes into play, both renowned for strategy and planning. Ross Smith for the Hawks, all his job is watching and anylsis of the opposition and help with strategy
Then the other Assistant Roles can be filled with specialists in each area, such as a forward line coach (Terry Daniher), the midfield coach (Craig McCrae) and backline coach (Damien Hardwick).
Add to this a another restructure of the football department with GoD as Footy Manager (much like Robbie Shaw/Neale Balme), Player Development headed up by Brad Scott (current Pies Player Development Coach) and Recruiting Manager being Trevor Woodhouse (current Eagles Recruiter) and the list goes on....
There is nothing to stop the club from tacking a calculated risk with Michael Voss and taking the club into a true evolution and on the path to success. One key comment from Ray was the club had players such as Lloyd, Lucas, Fletcher & Michael all playing well or coming back from injury.... in 2 years time they will be all 30+, and the club is about their 2012 plan which is a 3-5 year plan, so work needs to be done on the current and incoming crops of players to take the Essendon* Football Club into the next era of sustained success and maybe it needs to start now with the changing of Head Coach Duties and Expectations as I have outlined above....
As much as I would like a Daniher or Harvey to coach Essendon* in 2008 and beyond, the prospect of a Michael Voss at the helm excites me and instills a vision of a club maintaining and strengthening the tradition and era Sheedy has created.
Also Michael Voss brings a leadership and quality we are currently devoid of and one I do not see as much in a Mark Harvey or Neale Daniher
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