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If you look at the totality of the NFL coaching ranks, it’s getting better. The league’s started to weed out dinosaurs who depress the product. However, this is not an institution that enthusiastically embraces change. Two steps forward, one step back. And this week has has been a banner week for head coach hubris, including two of the NFL’s most ossified skippers.
Actually, a lot of people want to play for Jon Gruden. Just ask Jon Gruden.
First up is the $100 million man himself. Gruden’s dumb quotes are endless and well-documented, so this one is fairly innocuous by those standards. But it’s still pretty dumb!
From an interview with Fox Sports:
“I got a cell phone just like you and everybody else, and I get a lot of phone calls from people who are dying to come and play here.”
Pretty sure this man never left the 90s, given his obsession with making football boring again and being impressed with having a cell phone.
And, by God, he’s going to build that roster the way he wants and you’ll all be sorry.
“I’m just telling you, to have salary cap space, to have a chance to talk to the people that you really want to wear the silver and black and represent this team, that’s exciting.”
Matt Patricia needs you to respect the process. No, not that process.
The Lions head coach gave some reported a lesson in posture on Wednesday.
Jesus. The guy’s just asking a question and Patricia demands that he “be respectful” and act “professionally” ... while being awfully pissy about it himself.
Hey, if the president can treat journalists like second-class citizens, why can’t the head coach of a sub-.500 football team?
Gregg Williams is back!
Congrats, you’re the temporary head coach of the Cleveland Browns.
But he’ll have you know he could be doing whatever he damn well pleases, because he’s already had PLENTY of coaching job offers.
#Browns interim HC Gregg Williams: "Since I left Buffalo, I had 11 letters to interview for HC jobs, 4 of them didn't even have to interview, just show up and sign the contract"
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) October 31, 2018
Were these supposed offers NFL jobs? I have my doubts.
Why is Williams coaching the NFL anyway? He’s a pariah who encouraged his players to injure opponents. For a league that says it’s concerned about player safety, the well-being of quarterbacks in particular, it’s a farce that Williams is allowed to hold a job coaching players.
Whatever. Gregg Williams doesn’t hear our criticism.
#Browns Gregg Williams: "I'm not looking for a whole lot of friends in life anymore. If I want a friend, I'll buy a labrador."
— Keith Britton (@KeithBritton86) October 31, 2018
But the my favorite and by far the most telling statement from Williams’ introductory interim head coach press conference was this:
Gregg on changes to the routine/team rules/etc.: "Things were being done here really well."
— Zac Jackson (@AkronJackson) October 31, 2018
Hard to disagree with that assessment. Sure, he’s at the podium because the head coach and the offensive coordinator just got fired, but it’s pretty clear things are going very well, as usual, for the Cleveland Browns.
The three most hubris filled head coaches this week have a combined record of 6-15-1.