Final

For my final project in this class, I have decided to write letters to ten NFL coaches and ask them questions about coaching, their teams this season, and concussions. This relates both of my topics from quarters one and two into a ten hour project. The teams I decided to write letters too were the Los Angeles Rams, the Baltimore Ravens, the New Orleans Saints, the Chicago Bears, the Green Bay Packers, the Atlanta Falcons, the New England Patriots, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Los Angeles Chargers, and the Minnesota Vikings. I chose to write to teams as my final project because throughout the quarter I have been reading and blogging about coaches and their lives, but I wanted to get some personal answers and or stories that I can use to further my knowledge about what it takes to be a coach in the NFL. I also wanted to know how concussions have affected these men personally, and the game they love. I first started my project by choosing coaches I wanted to write too. I did this by looking at my essential questions for the quarter and finding teams I know could answer them, and also there are a few coaches I would like to ask questions too such as Sean McVay of the LA Rams, Andy Reid of the Kansas City Chiefs, and Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots. To contact these teams, I first had to research the offices of each NFL team that I wanted to contact, and address each letter accordingly. I then had to think of questions I wanted to ask them. I decided on asking every coach a few of the same questions and then a few specific questions based on the coach I was writing to in particular.

Each of these letters contained questions about coaching, their team in particular, and concussions in the NFL, along with a few questions I wanted to ask particular coaches. The questions that I asked to every coach were, what are the affects, positive and negative, that coaching football has had on your life?  Being a head coach, do you ever feel solely responsible for the outcome of a season? and, do you believe that concussions are a problem in the NFL today, and if so, what can people with influence such as yourself do to fix this problem? My first letter was to Mike Zimmer of the Minnesota Vikings. On top of the questions listed above, I asked Mike if their was an advantage, in his opinion, of playing in a stadium with as loud a reputation as Minnesota? I also asked him although he is a fairly recent head coach there, what kind of effect do the constant swinging seasons have on the team and the fan base? My second letter was to Sean McVay of the LA Rams. Along with the standard questions, I asked Sean if he believes there was an impact on the team moving them to LA? I also asked him if it is tough keeping control of a team being younger than most of the players, and how he tries to lead them? I then asked him what he attributes this super bowl season too and if he thinks the Rams have begun a new era with him and Goff. To Sean Payton of the New Orleans Saints, I asked what has kept him with the Saints for so many years, and if he ever sees himself coaching anywhere else? I also asked how working with the same quarterback for many years gives the team an advantage? To John Harbaugh of the Baltimore Ravens I asked, what is your next move to get this Ravens team back in playoff contention? I also asked if he believed that Lamar Jackson was the new face of the franchise, and if he believed he would coach a team led by Lamar to the Super Bowl? Along with that I asked him with him struggles on defense this year, if he had a plan to replace key players such as Suh and Reed on the defensive line? To the head coach of the Bears, Matt Nagy, I asked hoe big of an effect he believed Khalil Mack had on this team, especially late in the season. I also asked with a season so close to winning a playoff game, what adjustments does he believe this team has to make to win big games such as the wild card game that they barely lost this year? To brand new Packers head coach Matt Lafleur I asked, what challenges do you believe you will have to face starting off with this team? I also asked if he felt any pressure to do well immediately due to the fact that the Packers have been a playoff contender for years now? Lastly I asked what approach will he taking leading this team when there is so many leaders already on the team? To Dan Quinn of the Atlanta Falcons, I asked what his next move was too beef up his group of receivers? I also asked what he is going to do to turn this team into a consistent playoff contender? To Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots, I asked, along with if he will ever stop winning, what he contributed his un-parralelled success too, and how much longer he thinks it will last. Being a die hard patriots fan it was hard to narrow it all down into one letter, but I also asked if he will ever coach anywhere else, and what made New England special enough for him to stay for so long? To Andy Reid of the Kansas City Cheifs, I asked what makes him so good at creating all star quarterbacks? I also asked why he thinks everyone who comes out of his program makes a great head coach? To Anthony Lynn of the LA Chargers, I asked how he plans of channeling the success of his team, and his all star players, into next season and hopefully the first playoff win in 6 seasons. I also asked what affect Todd Gurley has in the locker room, aside from his excellent play on the field. Along with my questions I asked every coach, I tried to get a variety of information from all the coaches, differing from team to team.


Because of my project consisting of me sending out letters, I have no immediate response or conclusion to my project. There is no guarantee that I will get any responses, but I am exited to see if I do, and what the coaches say in response to my questions? I am especially wondering what they will say to my question about concussions, considering they are the people sending these players into the situations where they are vulnerable for a concussion. This project, and class in general, affected me in a fairly significant way. I love the game of football, and I hope for it to stay a part of my life for the rest of it, but it opened up a harsh reality of concussions and the side of them one normally doesn't see. It is a very dark side to a game that doesn't deserve to have a dark side, and it is not easily fixed. There needs to be much more funding that goes into Concussion and TBI research, and players need to be more aware of the risks they are taking. The second semester in particular opened up my eyes to how much work coaching an NFL team is and the amount of time they put into these teams. Knowing that, it was interesting asking them the toll coaching takes on them because on the outside they don't show it, but some are definitely overworked and exhausted. Overall this class taught me so much about the game I love and I enjoyed reflecting on it in this way being able to write letters to NFL coaches.

1/18 vocab

This week I have read from pages 72-147 in the book Coach, by Andrew Blauner.

Dismal (74): causing gloom or dejection; gloomy; dreary; cheerless; melancholy:

Aforementioned (81): cited or mentioned earlier or previously.

Engorged (85): to swallow greedily; glut or gorge.

Kinship (88): the state or fact of being of kin; family relationship.

Idyll (90): a brief or inconsequential romantic affair.

Provocation (96): something that incites, instigates, angers, or irritates.

Multiradial (107): having spokes, bars, lines, etc., arranged like radii, as a machine.

Provenance (113): place or source of origin:

Protract (117): to draw out or lengthen, especially in time; extend the duration of; prolong.

Adulation (133): excessive devotion to someone; servile flattery.

Antithesis (135): opposition; contrast:

1/16 Analytical

While reading about NFL coaches throughout the quarter, I can say I have answered my essential questions about them. My first essential question was what does it take to be an NFL coach? I have learned that it takes a ton of time, effort, and knowledge, but it also takes another factor. It takes more than a love for the game and an insane work ethic. Sure those are great qualities to have and are essential to success in general, but the NFL is a different animal. Dealing with athletes of that caliber every week, it takes something special to consistently come out on top. In the case of Bill Belichick it is his inability to take a loss. He is so obsessed with being the best, everyone in his program must work their tail off for the team win, or they will be replaced. This is one of the reasons why he is the most decorated coach in NFL history. In Tony Dungies case it is the influence of god. Throughout his shaky early career in the NFL, he always knew that god had a master plan for him and he must be patient for gods will to come into play. Eventually he brought a great NFL team to the Superbowl and won for the city of Indianapolis. The power of the lord shown through him onto everybody else in the organization and it ignited a spark for the colts that season. To go from a meaty ocre NFL coach to a winning, dynasty creating NFL coach takes an X factor. It is different in every successful coaches story, but they all have one. This also answered another one of my essential questions, what makes an NFL coach hall of fame worthy?  My next essential question was what kind of tole being an NFL coach took on them and their families, and I have learned it is a big one. Being a coach in the highest league requires 24/7 round the clock attention. From scouting players, to coaching practice and holding team meetings everyday, to scouting other teams and watching their film, to getting the team ready to travel and play in other stadiums, their to to list is never ending. With a schedule that packed, many coaches have said that they feel like they live at the team clubhouse, not their actual home. During the season teams are constantly traveling to be in opposing cities a few days before games to prepare. This is hard on the players and coaches, but especially hard on the families of them. In Tony's book, there is a section written by his wife about how hard it is being a wife of an NFL coach. Not only because they never see them during the season, but of how unprecedented the business is. One minute the team could be doing well, winning games, the next minute you have a losing record and are fired solely because you are the head coach. There were many times when Tony had been fired and the family had been without income, and his wife claims that is the worst part.

1/16

https://www.ted.com/talks/john_wooden_on_the_difference_between_winning_and_success?language=en

This is a ted talk from a former football coach about the difference between winning and succeeding. This is a very good video and although a little long, it hits many points I have talked about such as working hard and as a unit, and buying into the coaching scheme.

1/14 quote

In the book, Coach, by Andrew Blauner, each chapter is a different story about a coach who held significance in somebodies life, almost like an interview in story form. One particular story that stood out to me was about a girl who had a gym teacher who always failed her and tried to hold her back because of her lack of effort in sports. She then gets into the benefit of gym class to young kids and the meaning behind competitive games and the lessons they teach you. One quote that stood out to me was,

"Physical education, and especially team sports, teaches you in a visceral way about success and failure. Someone wins, someone loses, there are no pluses and minuses, no extra credit for showing up" (Blauner 81).

I really liked this quote because I believe it reigns true to all competitive sports, especially at a young age. When a child is very little their parents usually don't like to upset them, so in turn they don't know what disappointment really feels like. If they are introduced to sports at a young age, then within a short amount of time they will be playing competitively if they stick with it. Even if it is only once a week, going to practice and working towards a goal of winning is very good for children, and will naturally make them competitive if they enjoy putting in the time and effort. It teaches them the value of hard work along with how to win and lose. I especially like when it says that in sports, there is no extra credit given for just showing up. This is a very important message to send to children early in life, so it sticks with them and helps shape them. In many aspects of life this reigns true. One must work to achieve success in life, just showing up doesn't count. You must be ready to work and learn, just like in sports, to gain a competitive edge over your opponent and succeed in your goals. I can relate to this quote because I have played sports since I was very little, and I believe that they played an essential part in shaping me into who I am today. I have always loved the competitiveness, and they have taught me how good it feels to achieve success after you work hard for it. I know that I will be able to transfer these skills into my life when I enter the workforce. It is important to me to work hard and try to work my way up in whatever company I get a job in, and I know that amount of work it takes to succeed due to sports. Even though it is not exactly the same, it is the same principle behind it, and this principle was implemented into my through sports.

1/11 vocab

This week I have read the first 72 pages of Coach, by Andrew Blauner. It is a collection of 25 writers who reflect on the coaches that made a difference in their life and why. 

Adulation (3): Excessive flattery or praise.

 Extrapolate (5): To predict or estimate something based on known information.

 Laconic (11) using very few words, brief.

Renege (13): To not fulfill a commitment.

 Aesthetic (17): Relating to beauty.

Clairvoyant (22): Seeing events in the future.

Hackneyed (31): Overused to the point it lacks significance.

Partisan (40): Strongly in favor of a person or cause.

Matriculate (47): Become a student at a college or university.

Orator (50): One who excels at speaking in public.

1/10 Analytical

In my readings this week, I read an article about when Tony won the ring of honor after coaching the Indianapolis colts to a Superbowl win. This is a very prestigious award, only given out to 11 people in the entire history of the NFL. Receiving a ring of honor signifies that the recipient put their all into what they did for the team, whether it was coaching or playing. A recipient of this award is somebody who never takes defeat as a loss, but as a learning experience, someone who never gets negative in times of trouble, but instead uses the adversity as a building block of success. There was many ups and downs in Tony's Indy coaching career, but he always stayed true to his team and the vision he had for them. After only 3 seasons as the head coach, Tony lead the Colts to their first Superbowl in 18 years. For the players, coaches, administration, and fans this was an accomplishment on its own, but not for Tony. His mission was to hoist that Lombardy trophy at the end of that game, and he would settle for nothing less. When he led the Colts to a decisive victory in that Superbowl, he became the first African American head coach to ever win a Superbowl, and everybody recognized the significance of this. He had made NFL, and Indianapolis history, and would be remembered forever. In his acceptance speech at the ring of honor ceremony, Dungy still stayed true to his roots, and gave his wife, his team, his fellow coaches, and god the credit for his success. He claimed that he only played a small role in a grand scheme that was destined by god for success. This is a classic Dungy line, never taking the credit for his great success, but some say this is the reason for his success. Sure the ideas were his, the players and coaches hand selected by him, and game plan always his. In Tony's eyes however, it is more about the surrounding parts than the head man. A machine cant run if one small part is broken, just like a football team cannot be successful unless everybody is on the same page. Tony was very aware of this and made sure everybody knew the plan and was ready to succeed. This is just one of the reasons that Dungy was so successful, and it was a main reason he was given the ring of honor.