This seems to be a black-and-white issue
Three for the price of one ...
During Black History Month, is it proper to honor white men?
That question arose when some folks in Boston wanted to salute the late Red Auerbach. When he coached the Celtics, Auerbach had the NBA’s first all-black starting five, and he hired the first black head coach.
What about Al Davis? Should he be saluted this month? He was a one-man wrecking crew, tearing down racial barriers in the NFL.
Auerbach and Davis were both arrogant and condescending, traits that enabled them to defy the herd of “color-blind” coaches and owners.
My guess: Auerbach and Davis would laugh at this debate. They didn’t do what they did for the glory. Throw ’em into the black-history mix and salute ’em if you want to do so. You honor them, and barrier-busters of all colors, by refusing to accept the status quo.
Steve Kerr’s experiment with letting his players run a game might have been a one-time thing, but I hope it planted some seeds.
What if Jon Gruden and Derek Carr work so well together that Gruden tells Carr to call his own plays for a quarter, or a game?
It would take a head coach as supremely self-confident as Gruden to cede that control to his QB.
Coaches/managers in every sport, at all levels, have hijacked all the thinking and game-managing. They see themselves as working the joystick of a glorified video game.
Maybe it will be the progressive Kyle Shanahan who lets Jimmy Garoppolo call his own plays, with the goal of creating a more effective quarterback.
Maybe Bruce Bochy will turn over pitcher decisions to Buster Posey for a game. Let Posey decide when to go to the ’pen. Who knows better than Posey when a pitcher is toast?
Give some of the game back to the players.
Watching Rory McIlroy at the recent AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, I noticed two things: One, he looks super-buff and pumped from a lot of time in the weight room. Two, he missed the cut.
Tiger Woods, man does he look fit, and jacked. And like McIlroy, not exactly killing it on the golf course. Hmm.