Where's Saintz08?
 

Anyone seen or heard from Saintz08 lately? He doesn't call, he doesn't write...

Where's Saintz08?
 

pak has no clue of 08\'s whereabouts

Where's Saintz08?
 

he and saintfan are MIA

Where's Saintz08?
 

Both of them are AWOL.....geesh I didn\'t notice until you guys mentioned it.

Where's Saintz08?
 

Halo

Feelin good about the thought here :cool:

Now on to issues at hand .

Having been born a Saints fan , dealing with last years season finale is by far the worst most humiliating experience I could imagine .I have endured bad players , coaches and owners . Never have I had to endure a coach and his relentless desire to watch a team fall to pieces with an injured quarterback under center and a capable backup on the sidelines .Then have to hear him try to justify it to the local media in an after season all nighter .
By the way lets not forget that losing those games was partly the fault of the fans .......

My absense has been partly work and partly the unwilling desire to talk football when the coaching staff is not willing to do what it takes to win .Haslett lied to Saints fans about Brooks condition and has expected us as fans just to follow along and wag our tails , when Haslett decides it is better to lose the season rather then have a quarterback controversy and potentially upset Brooks frail ego .

Some will say \" Look Haslett went out and got Bouman to challenge Brooks \" , there is not much of a challenge from a 1 year unrestricted free agent , as Bouman is .Had Bouman been brought in and resigned for 5 years , he would pose a threat , as it stands now any playing time will only pad his contract next year when he signs with the Panthers .Not knocking Delhomme but that heavy Cajun acccent in Carolina has already caused some issues .

My only satisfaction is the thought that as season ticket sales reach an all time high , it is because 54, 000 + loyal Saints fans have the desire to make Haslett pay dearly for last seasons remarks about the fans ....................

[Edited on 6/8/2003 by saintz08]

Where's Saintz08?
 

exactamundo about haslett, fans will want him out if there\'s a repeat this yr..........as i said a while back, hopefully, he\'s learned from his mistakes........smitty

Where's Saintz08?
 

Saintz08 is back...and in fine form I might add. Still on the Delhome bandwagon and still convinced Haz is purposfully trying to ruin the New Orleans Franchise. By the way, \"08\" wasn\'t working, he was out in Hollywood auditioning for the latest Oliver Stone Conspiracy Movie! LOL

You know I\'m Kiddin 08...along with Whodat and Gatorman you make this board a large part of what it is, and I\'m glad to see you\'re back. I love a good fight anyway!

Where's Saintz08?
 

That\'s pretty funny stuff, but why would Haslett have to lie about Brooks? He didn\'t need our permission to play Brooks. And as far as Bouman not being a threat to Brooks, I\'m sure that\'s the samething that Blake said about Aaron.

You need to jump on board the Haslett and Brooks band wagon.......

Where's Saintz08?
 

To me, the only decision that openly displayed a failure to achieve success was the release of Randy Mueller as GM. You hire a guy to run your company, he makes solid decisions and basically earns the praise of his peers around the league for his achievements in a short term, and then you axe him because he didn\'t get authorization for some of his purchases.
Brooks not getting pulled was a coaching judgement call. It was not to blatantly undermine the teams success, and I\'m sure the intention was for success, regardless of the potential motives. I have to take the act at face value and assume he never knew the extent of the injury and was basically telling Brooks to \"suck it up\" and prove you are a winner. Hindsight is always 20/20.
Turfing Mueller was an ego shot, and that\'s the only way I see it. So what if Mueller was a power trip. This is all about winning. Nothing else matters but winning. As much as the 49ers and the Cowboys of the 80\'s and 90\'s whored themselves in situations, they have rings to show for it. I\'d take a successful dictatorship for a ring anyday.

Where's Saintz08?
 

Welcome back Saintz08, been a long time. Ok guys the gloves are off the MAN is back! LOL

Where's Saintz08?
 

what u mean \"the man is back\" is back?
I NEVER LEFT :D

Where's Saintz08?
 

Damn,, I thought I was talking about me? LOL.

Where's Saintz08?
 

I agree this is pretty funny stuff .

\"That\'s pretty funny stuff, but why would Haslett have to lie about Brooks? He didn\'t need our permission to play Brooks. \"

The real amazement is he did lie . Haslett did not have to bring the media in and run hours of film to prove Brooks was not the sole responsibility for the loses with his injury , but he did .

Hey Saintsfan , good too see you are around and still working the P.R. thing , funny thought , both Delhomme and Bulger had better ratings then Brooks last year .

When report after report come out of Airline Drive stating that the team has lost something or is being disturbed by something , you have to wonder about leadership . Has Haslett finally gotten rid of all the Pro Bowl trouble makers on the Saints ??

Where's Saintz08?
 

saintz08-Maybe this will clear it up for you.



Posted on Fri, Jan. 03, 2003

ANALYSIS
Don\'t blame it all on Brooks

Aaron Brooks is not the worst quarterback in the NFL.

Aaron Brooks is not the reason the Saints lost to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday...

I never heard the cell phone ring.

That\'s what happens when you try to call a sportswriter at 7 o\'clock Tuesday morning after the final game of the season.

I didn\'t even get out of bed when my home phone rang about 20 minutes later. It was the head of the New Orleans Saints\' media relations department inviting me to a film-study session with coach Jim Haslett.

Sounded interesting, but it was rainy and miserable outside. I went to bed late and thought this was going to be a class like one I\'d suggested a couple of weeks before the end of the season, one that would give the coaches a chance to teach us lowly wretches a thing or two about the game of football.

Valuable stuff, to be sure, but I didn\'t see a big sense of urgency in getting over to New Orleans.

Until the phone rang again. \"Haz really wants you guys to come over for this. It\'ll be worth your while.\"

A quick shower and a 90-minute road trip later, a group of seven media members were escorted into the inner sanctum of the Saints\' practice facility.

Haslett greeted us, somewhat grumpily, by saying he wasn\'t going to defend Aaron Brooks. Of course, we knew that\'s what was going to happen, but he told us we would sit in the quarterbacks\' meeting room with offensive coordinator Mike McCarthy and quarterbacks coach Mike Sheppard.

Over the next couple of hours, they broke down every offensive snap during the Saints\' season-ending, and season-crushing 10-6 loss to the Panthers. They showed us what was supposed to happen, what did happen and why there was a difference between the two.

In short, it was a fascinating look at the inner workings of an NFL team, virtually unprecedented stuff in the sometimes contentious world between professional sports coaches and the reporters who cover them.

McCarthy and Sheppard gave us a crash course in the Saints offense. They answered questions, the smart ones and not-so-smart ones, and answered them all well.

When somebody screwed up, they didn\'t try to hide it. They weren\'t out to crucify anyone, but it was a remarkably frank look at what went on during that game, a game where the vaunted Saints offense didn\'t cross the goal line once.

You have to trust me on this one, folks.

Aaron Brooks didn\'t play that badly.

Did he play great? Probably not, but you can\'t pin the loss on him when you see all the evidence and see it over and over again in the coaches\' tape.

• A wide receiver runs a sloppy route and doesn\'t create the necessary separation to squeeze a pass in. Another lines up in the slot 3 yards too wide, letting a safety cover him and the two wideouts to the same side more easily.

• The offensive line screws up pass protection and leaves Brooks with a defender tearing into the offensive backfield with bad intentions on his mind.

• A running back misses a blitz pickup, leaving Brooks to scramble for his life.

One of those came on the Saints\' final offensive play of the game. You remember: the one where 66,000 folks at the Superdome saw Jake Reed wide open toward the end zone. Everybody saw it but Brooks, and you were left wondering if Jake Delhomme would have even been able to scramble long enough to throw the final interception (when a receiver failed to come back up the sideline for the pass and let a cornerback undercut him and get the game-ending interception).

• Brooks air-mailing one throw when he was indecisive on a read, but being on the mark for the vast majority of his throws. There were a total of seven drops during the game, including a pair that could have drastically changed momentum early.

It was a real eye-opener, to be sure. Listen to Haslett and the coaches after a game and during the week and you wonder if it\'s just them trying to protect their decision to invest all that money and time in Brooks.

See it in the coaches\' film (you know, the views that Ron Jaworski says nobody can hide in) and you believe it.

Really.

There was no exchange of vast quantities of unmarked bills.

I think all of us, including three beat writers from the New Orleans paper, one from Baton Rouge, radio icon Buddy D. and radio play-by-play announcer Jim Henderson, were swayed by the presentation.

It ended with Haslett talking about trying to break the cycle of bad Saints football. It\'s the one that says when things go badly, change quarterbacks.

He points to the Mike Ditka years, when quarterbacks were changed more often than Osama bin Laden changes caves. Haslett thinks quarterback roulette is a destabilizing strategy, and he\'s right.

My paycheck comes from The Sun Herald, not Tom Benson.

It\'s not a beat writer\'s job to help the team he\'s covering. He\'s supposed to be objective. Our job is to praise where appropriate and criticize where needed.

To criticize Aaron Brooks and Aaron Brooks alone in this case is neither appropriate nor necessary.

Does he need some help in the leadership category? Undoubtedly.

Should he learn not to smile on the field after something goes wrong, and instead chuck a helmet or two on the sidelines in disgust? Absolutely.

Those who know Brooks well say he\'s as competitive as anybody they know. He\'s not the world\'s best communicator with the fans (through the media) but he\'s more than capable of running an offense.

Brooks has a lot he can do to help himself, things that can help get the fans off his back.

Ultimately, everyone knows that will happen when (OK, and if, for all you doubters) the Saints finish better than 9-7.

That\'s what will elevate Brooks up the ladder of the NFL\'s signal-callers.

But right now, Aaron Brooks is far from the worst quarterback in the NFL.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----
Don Hammack can be reached at 896-2326 or at dthammack@sunherald.com.

Where's Saintz08?
 

Welcome back Saintz08!!!!!! :yltype:

Where's Saintz08?
 

1 at bat. 1 hit. Batting average 1.000, but that don\'t make me a hall of famer. Brooks is gonna rock your world this year \"08\". LOL

Where's Saintz08?
 

So what you are saying Saintsfan is that Brooks is going to hit Stallworth instride on a streak or fly pattern for 6 . Instride now , no stalling to comeback for lame duck passes and no turn on the jets finger tip catches .Just a fly and bye in perfect rythym .

I will be waiting .........

Billy , I read that article when it was written . Personally chatted with a reporter at that meeting and posted those results on B and G , he himself was not willing to say it was not all smoke and mirrors . The simple fact Haslett had to pull that manuever off , shows there was a problem . Bare minimum coaching ......

Rough read on the whole thing , late season collapse . Haslett : It is not Brooks fault see I can show you film , It is the other players fault , wait it\'s the fans fault , hmmm , how about Turley , that who is too blame Turley ......

Simple answer to the late season collapses , Brooks throwing technique .
Defenses cheat up looking for the slant and stop routes , making it harder for Duece to get out of the backfield , more men in the box make it harder for Brooks to find an open target leading to lineman having to hold blocks longer , henceforth frustrated linemen . By the season end , teams realize Brooks deepball is a joke and almost defy him to throw it .

Where's Saintz08?
 

See, the thing is...

That big long speech on why Brooks was not at fault in the Carolina game takes the focus off the week before.

Was Brooks also totally not at fault in the Bengals game as well? How about at Minnesota? How about the second game against Atlanta? A win in any one of those would have gotten us into the playoffs.

Call it hindsight all you want, but it isn\'t hindsight. It was seen then. Play your magic tricks all you want, I\'m watching the left hand as well as the right. Follow all you want, believe all the propaganda you want. Brooks needed to sit down. NOT be replaced as the starter, but he needed to sit down.

Where's Saintz08?
 

Now that I will agree with.

Where's Saintz08?
 

Good point. The only reason I can come up with as to why he hasn\'t already been hired by another team is that the owner\'s that have needed to fill the GM position the past couple of years are \"good ole boys\" with Benson.
I will say this about Benson, I will always have respect for the man, no matter what anyone else says, as long as he keeps the team in New Orleans. Owning a team in NO is not like owning a larger market team, I can assure you.

Where's Saintz08?
 

It\'ll happen 08, and I\'ll be ready to gracefully serve you that plate of crow when it does; however, that\'s not what I meant. I was trying (and apparantly I did a poor job) to point out that comparing Delhome and/or Bouman\'s numbers to Brooks\' numbers is essentially pointless since the playing time for the afore mentioned BACKUPS precludes them from being sized up against a starter. But then you knew that already...stir the pot baby, and lemme know if ya want that crow baked or fried!

...and as far as pinning the collapse on a single individual, I\'d pick Mr. Turley, since he\'s the guy that wiffed on the block that hurt Brooks\' arm to begin with.

:P

Where's Saintz08?
 

One thought on the Mueller/ Benson debate . Timing .

Benson had to make a pitch to the state of Louisianna to help suppport the team in a smaller market . Fielkow was brought in and the points were being tallied , some points against the Saints winning percentages and player name recognition , Saints are trying to market the gulf coast south to prove to the state they are worth spending millions and BOOM , Mueller sends the most recognizable figure in black and gold to the Dolphins .

Marketing nightmare ..........

Did Mueller perform his duties to better the team ???? Not if that single moment jepordized keeping the Saints in New Orleans .

Saintsfan , you one of those individuals who thinks it is easy to come off the bench and throw strikes ??? 3 years and counting on that crow , its gonna be some old bird by the time I get a taste ..........

Where's Saintz08?
 

There appears to be three subjects running in this one post. Here are my opinions.

Brooks - we\'ll find out this year if he is a NFL player or not. Haz can\'t afford to cover his butt this year. He has shown some physical talent but it takes more to succeed over the long haul of an NFL career.

Haz - I think he has leadership problems. Looses the team late in the season and blames everyone else but himself and his coaches. If he tries it this year he\'ll be gone. this is HAZ make or break year. With the talent on this team there will be good coaches begging to come to New Orleans. The potential for a dynasty exist ... it will only take good coaching.

Randy Mueller - I see his continued unemployment as confirmation of Bensons decision. The NFL is a win and make money business and if you think one owner can black list anyone else from getting a job in the NFL your nuts. I think there is something about Randy that for his sake has not been made public.

The ricky trade to miami was a great move. I don\'t think this was a factor in randy being fired. There may have been the fear of the unknown for benson but i don\'t think he was too concerned in regards to the image of the saints with the state or the fans.

Where's Saintz08?
 

On the Benson note , well lets let Benson say it for himself .

Article inregards to the Mueller firing :

\'\'He asked me to resign,\'\' Mueller said. \'\'I refused. I didn\'t want to leave here. I had hoped to make New Orleans my home for the rest of my career. When I refused, he fired me.\'\'

Benson said he heard about too many things too late. One example, he said, was the team\'s trade of running back Ricky Williams to Miami this spring.

\'\'I was told about it after it was done,\'\' Benson said.

Where's Saintz08?
 

There were alot of things occuring that got Mueller fired.The quote by Benson above cuts to the heart of the matter. Mueller wanted total control of the orginization and over stepped his bounds continually. I have an old college friend who was an executive with the Saints untill this year. He described a very contentious work enviroment in which Mueller would come over to there buisness side of the team and have full out screaming matches with both he and his boss(Fielkow), over how he wanted things done. Cameras were placed in all areas of the facility with only Mueller having control of what they saw. Mueller did whatever he felt needed to be done whether it was under his control or not, and was very rough with anyone who objected. Things degraded to significant point before Benson was brought in. Interviewing for another GM spot did not help when it came time to decide how to deal with the growing problem.



[Edited on 8/7/2003 by saint5221]

Where's Saintz08?
 

That\'s some very interesting news about Benson and Mueller. Benson has always been loyal to GM\'s and coaches in the past. I just can\'t see him firing Mueller without good reason.

I completely agree with FWtex on the above statement. Muller, IMO, did a great job while he was with the Saints, and for him to still be unemployed just doesn\'t make any sense, unless the reports are true about Mueller being a contol freak. I don\'t care how good you are at your job, if you go against the owner, you\'ll find out real quick who really has the power.

I was very concerned when I first heard the news about Mueller being fired, but it doesn\'t seem like the Saints missed a beat.

Where's Saintz08?
 

Heh.

If you can call me Jeffrey Dahmer, I get to call you Corky (please don\'t make me explain why). It happens. Not just in football, but every sport. My original statement was \"The only reason I can come up with as to why he hasn\'t already been hired by another team is that the owner\'s that have needed to fill the GM position the past couple of years are \"good ole boys\" with Benson. Hello genious, that doesn\'t mean all 32 teams.
If you think that the Saints would be where they are today without the Mueller brothers (both, not just one) then you should be slapped with the dumbass tag and have your internet privileges taken away. If the synaps\' in your brain are too busy mis-firing to come up with a list of players that the Mueller brother\'s have brought in, please say something, I\'ll be more than happy to post one. And if I was Benson, Mueller could be ****ing my sister on the trinitron in the Super Dome, during half time, and I wouldn\'t care, as long as the Saints were winning.

Please. Like we were going to keep TWO running backs of that caliber on the same roster. The minute, and I remember exactly where I was when I heard it on the radio, that the Saints drafted Deuce, I knew Ricky was gone. You would have been a fool not to. He was the second best running back in the draft (and even that\'s debatable, as many teams thought he was too fragile), and he happened to fall into our laps, and Mueller (rightfully so) jumped at it. He knew we could recoup some of our lost draft picks by trading Ricky, in which he did.
But, I will agree with Saintz08, I think that the timing that everything fell into place could not have gotten much worse for Randy. It was a transition time, and we had NO marketable players after Ricky was traded.

Where's Saintz08?
 

B&B,

I have to tell ya, I really laughed on that one. Did you just get home from happy hour again?

By the way, what does your sister look like? :P

LOL

Where's Saintz08?
 

The problem for Benson was not that the trade was made or weather or not it was the right thing to do as much as Mueller did\'nt let Him in the loop on this decision or any others.

[Edited on 8/7/2003 by saint5221]

Where's Saintz08?
 

Lets not forget this one as far as Mueller went ,

There is no cut-and-dry answer. However, many close to the Saints feel that one of the main reasons Mueller was let go is because of the manner in which he dealt with defensive end Joe Johnson\'s contract negotiations.

Johnson said he was extremely close to signing a multi-year deal with the Saints, but then Mueller put a stop to negotiations. A few days later, the Pro Bowl end signed a $33 million deal with the Packers. Many in New Orleans feel that this shocked owner Tom Benson and that his decision to fire Mueller was a result of Johnson\'s departure.

The thought that Benson has somehow black balled Mueller seems a little off to me , Mueller was in line for the dirty bird job and Blank thought differently after the meeting . Mueller helped the Saints and hindered by taking chances , Albert Connel comes too mind . In the end I have trouble believing that if Mueller had proven himself that some multi million dollar team owner would not make up his own mind and sign him . Casserly had been kicked around alot coming out of Washington and has a job in the N.F.L......

Where's Saintz08?
 

Actually, had just got back from a card game. Yes, I ALSO should have my internet privilages taken away when I\'ve been drinking. Not that I was wrong, I just could have used a little more tact.

No comment

There was something else there, and while there may be some truth to the above statement, I don\'t think you can pinpoint any one reason. I make changes that effect million dollar contracts for multi-million dollar companies, and I\'m not getting fired for it. Sure, I get questioned as to why we changed the configuration, but I\'m not losing my job. You put people in positions that they are qualified for. But the NFL is not just any business. People don\'t buy a NFL franchise to make money, this is like a grown man\'s video game. Some will make a little, a few will break even. The only time they will see any major profit, is when they turn around and sell the team. So I can see both sides of the coin.

Think real hard where all this speculation came from. Do you remember? This conspiracy theory was created by Joe Johnson during an ESPN interview.
http://espn.go.com/nfl/news/2002/0511/1381350.html
I said this before, and I\'ll say it again, I\'m glad he\'s gone. Hey, I have a bridge to sell you, you interested? Hey, if I said I have it, it must be true, right?

Actually, Mueller interviewed for the job, he wasn\'t in line for the position.
And Connell was one blemish on an otherwise steller career. What Randy did in bringing in who he did makes the Connell incident insignificant. Dale Carter, Jerome Pathon, Jake Reed, Victor Riley, Spencer Folau, Joe Horn, Aaron Brooks, Deuce McAllister, Sedrick Hodge....

Where's Saintz08?
 

and a partridge in a pear tree...... LOL.

You had to know someone would have something dumb to say. LOL. Leave it to me! :D

Where's Saintz08?
 

Too say that Mueller was responsible for bringing all those players is somewhat of an interesting thought .

Brooks was with McCarthy in Green Bay . There is some Kansas City connection , I think it is Sheppard , off the top of my head , that brings in Horn and Riley . Coaches have a tendenacy to steal or want familiar faces .

Parcel moved how many X giants around with him ??

Duece fell too the Saints on draft day , too me he was a no brainer at that draft position . Kind of like Moss too the Vikings , without the headache .

Inline in reference to the Falcons position simply means , inline to interview for the position . Which he did .

So far in the past few years , the Bouman trade has impressed me the most . He was a player with no coaching connection , not a free agent and might actually upgrade the position from where it stood last year . Certainly the Bouman trade made draft day amusing , rumor had Bouman leaking the fact the Vikes were after Sullivan .

Where's Saintz08?
 

There is a very big differance from changeing or adding to an existing deal to going out and signing a multi-million dollar deal with out consulting your boss about it first.

If you go back a read my previous post you\'ll see I was\'nt. As the situation was explained to me, it was a whole host of problems that were building for some time. Several months before the fireing came I was told it was a possibility and I remember being shocked. At that time Mueller to my outside eyes seemed to be steering this franchise in the right direction and that was all I saw. Sure the personel moves were not all good but the good ones seemed to outweigh the bad, even in retrospect. But the issue put to me was not just about the on the field moves but how they were made and the environment being created inside the organization. There was very bad blood being generated and the roar was getting loud in Benson ears. Mr. Benson wants his management team to work smoothly and it was\'nt. Mueller was not communicating his plans, pushing very hard on people Mr. Benson trusted and not responding to any attempts to do do anything differently. Pile in other factors such as some of the moves not being perfect, the cameras everywhere including personal offices, looking at another job with your longest rival and it just got to be to much. Agree or disagree the move was made.

Where's Saintz08?
 

The Bouman trade impresses you most? Wasn\'t Haz the driving force behind that. Didn\'t Jim wan\'t Bouman in a Saints uniform last year but was unable to get him?

That\'s as close as you\'ve come yet to giving the Head Coach any credit.

Where's Saintz08?
 

That\'s all fine and dandy, but, McCarthy only made a recomendation to get Brooks, Mueller was responisble for McCarthy being here and sure he took input from him. Mueller could have easily said no. You have to give him more credit than you are.


The same arguement could be made to take Duece 8 positions ahead of where he went. Again, it was Mueller who pulled the trigger on the deal, regaurdless of when he was taken and you do not give him enough credit.

I hope your kidding, but if you aren\'t, what exactly impress you about Bouman?

Where's Saintz08?
 

I will start with this on the Bouman thought :

Todd Bouman Interview
Date Posted: 08/19/2002

Being a Backup is Where He Wants To Be


Most of us saw Todd Bouman step up into the starting role last year when Daunte went out with an injury. Most thought he would be mediocre at best and that the Vikings were done for the year. Everyone forgot to tell Todd. He came in and threw the ball like a vet and even broke some team records until he was sidelined with an injury as well. He set a team record as the only Viking QB to have 60+ yards in 3 straight games and records in passing yards, passing TDs, completion percentage, and quarterback rating (131.5) for Vikings QBs in their first starts.

Now one other thing seems to impress me about Bouman , he can hit a receiver instride , he can make that fly and bye connection .We can add arm strength but at this point it would be a given .

Hopefully that is enough Billy .

Saintsfan if Haslett was the one who wanted Bouman , then yes it was a point in my book for him . Bouman can air it and with these receivers and running attack he could put on quite a show .........

Where's Saintz08?
 

That\'s not nearly enough for me........Sorry. Read on.


Doug Williams set some super bowl records but if we picked Williams up in is prime, I would not say that was the best trade we\'ve made.

Bouman could be great, but the only basis you have to say that is that in your mind you see him throwing bomb after bomb for touch downs. He played good for a few games........so what.





[Edited on 7/8/2003 by BillyCarpenter1]

[Edited on 7/8/2003 by BillyCarpenter1]

Where's Saintz08?
 

EXACTLY. McCarthy was the one that made the recommendation. But it was Mueller that made it happen.
And I too remember reading that Haslett wanted to get Bouman last year, but couldn\'t.

Actually, you are confusing the issue. Trading Ricky got Mueller into some hot water, not signing a multi-million dollar deal. He made a change at the RB position. And let me explain my position a little better. Multi-million dollar companies rely on me to provide them with mission critical equipment, that could easily effect the companies stability. If something has been discontinued (read traded), it is my job to make sure that a replacement is found and integrated into the configuration so that the company does not miss a beat. Quality of product is #1. Turnaround time is #2. If I had to report every change to my customer, I would lose a ton of hours and money, and it wouldn\'t be significant for my customer, ie, they respect me enough to make changes for the betterment of the company. My choices can make or break the financial security of many of them. So I really don\'t see much difference. Please correct me if I am wrong.

[Edited on 7/8/2003 by BlackandBlue]

Where's Saintz08?
 

When any business hires a \"General Manager\" they have empowered a single individual to act in any manner in the best interests of the business in all matters. Every owner is different in terms of desire to be involved within the operation of his/her business. The owner and the prospective GM must be on the same page before any hiring is ever made. The GM must understand what the owner expects and vice versa. Now if Randy Mueller was under the impression that he had carte blanche to operate the club in all manners, the only place he would have got that was from Benson. If Mueller was told he was only in control within certain areas then he should have been forced to respect those boundaries. Benson was probably used to a lap dog like Kuharich that needed to find out what his opinion was before he could give it. He wasn\'t used to a take charge doer like Mueller. If Benson didn\'t understand that Mueller was going to say \"this is my ship now, have a seat\", then he is employing the wrong hiring practice and is to blame. If Mueller said one thing and did another then he is wrong. We\'ll never know unless they talk about it, which is unlikely.
I also don\'t buy the \"black list\" idea, but rather that Mueller has developed a reputation from this incident and although it may be a year or two, he will get another shot at a floundering club. I will give credit to Mueller for ALL of the successes from the day he was hired, regardless of who brought who in, he brought in Haslett. Who Haslett brought in for staff and players couldn\'t have happened if Mueller had chosen Kubiak or Capers or whomever else was a candidate. Mueller made a good coaching decision and he empowered the subsequent staff to assist him in making smart personnel decisions. That is what a good manager does, surrounds himself with reliable individuals, uses their strengths and knowledge to the betterment of the business, and show growth for the overall business. Mueller did that. Benson is a smart businessman, but I think that Mueller challenged his ego.
I also am a General Manager of a company that currently grosses about a half M a month. I have been here 14 years and the owner knows my stance. The month that I fail to show growth you can criticize my work. Until then sit down, shut up, and count your cash. That was the story 14 years ago, that is the story now. He has never once questioned a business decision of any magnitude, and nor should have Benson as long as their was measurable progress.


[Edited on 7/8/2003 by lumm0x]