“If the play works, it’s great, if it doesn’t work, it’s terrible. Well, that ain’t really how it is.”
This past week, I took the opportunity to rewatch the first episode of the Chicago Bears ‘Hard Knocks’ series which aired this past summer.
In one scene, Matt Eberflus sits with his old college coach, none other than seven time National Championship winning Nick Saban.
Saban reels off the above quote to demonstrate that great plays can have bad outcomes, but you need to retain faith in your processes to succeed.
This is very true. Extrapolated over time, the more good plays you make, the better outcomes you will have, but in isolation a good play can turn sour. If this happens at the wrong moment your entire legacy can be judged on this one play.
I am probably in the minority in thinking that Pete Carroll made the right choice to mix up his play selection in Super Bowl XLIX. Down near the goal line, time elapsing, do you try and punch it in four times, or do you try and catch the opponent off guard?
We have all seen those 1st and Goals where the offense tries to use brute force each down, but the defense just stands firm, knowing what to expect.
Thinking outside the box, a great play, but a terrible outcome. And the legacy of Pete Carroll is not his Super Bowl ring, but an image of him bowed with his arms on his knees, staring at the ground, thinking of what could have been.
One bad Thanksgiving play
Eberflus himself has made calls to put the team in a winning position multiple times over the past few weeks, and the players just have not executed at crunch time. This left him in a position where he was hanging on by a thread. A bold call could backfire and end his time as head coach.
But the final nail in the coffin was self-inflicted. A bad play and an equally bad outcome.
Down at the opponent’s 40 with time expiring against the Detroit Lions, the Bears needed to hurry a play or call a timeout. In the end they did neither, until it was too late.
At which point, both the game clock and Eberflus’ tenure with the Chicago Bears had ticked down to zero. After the game, Eberflus spoke to the media and said: “We like the play that we had.”
In the same ‘Hard Knocks’ episode we see Eberflus at the barbers having a beard trim, wife Kelly is talking to the camera, advising how she gave him style advice to sharpen his image.
His planning and leadership processes appear to be as meticulous as his beard trim. He speaks to rookies and veterans in turn with respect and leads strongly from the front. He addresses the media with confidence and rapport.
I am confident in what we have seen that Matt Eberflus will be one of life’s winners long term. But his legacy as a head coach in the NFL may just be Thanksgiving Day in Detroit.
Well, either that or his immaculately trimmed beard.
