JudeThaddeus

Let me admit right up front here that I was a Haslett-fan. Yup, I did it. I crowed about him, when we won a playoff game. I defended his coaching through the late-season collapses, I blamed them on Brooks (still do, to a lesser degree). I defended his player-moves in Roaf (team tension), Turley("ole" manuever and team tension), Knight(speed), etc.

Even with all that above, I can still change my mind. I no longer know if Haslett is a good coach or a bad coach. I do know that he should be able to recognize the short-comings of his players (AB's lack of leadership - Jones' lack of covering/tackling) and coaches (McCarthy's predictability- and Venturri's......everything).

Teams in the NFL are businesses, pure and simple. At some point in the past, they may have been sports but not any more. An NFL franchise is successful when it makes money. It makes money by winning and attracting the fans to the games. With this in mind, the coach should also be man-enough to say "I was wrong". He should be strong enough to replace the parts that aren't working; the parts that are not helping the franchise to win and make money. He should be able to do this to friends, no matter how close they are to him. It is all business after all.

It may be a lonely job and it may take a rare man to do it, but it has to be done. A good coach knows this and acts on it. A bad coach does not.

Thus far Jim Haslett is showing that he is a bad coach. I won't give up on him just yet, but I think this should be the last year we endure waiting for him to mature and be able to make the tough calls. Am I certain what those calls are? No, but I can certainly make educated guesses.

1) Aaron Brooks must either step up and become passionate about the game and be accountable to the fans, his teammates, his coaches and himself for his actions, or he must go. This is his last year to prove that he can grow into this role.

2) Rick Venturi must be removed as defensive coordinator. I think the role is too big for him. He may be a great coach, but planning defenses at the NFL level is too much for him to handle.

3) Mike McCarthy must either learn to abandon his conservative approach to the offense or be removed. Our offenses strengths lie in explosiveness. Conservative play-calling does not play to our strengths. Deuce is good but he cannot carry the entire offense.

Maybe none of these things are the fix we need. Maybe it is all a question of money and "Mr. Tom" just won't come off with the bucks. Maybe N.O. is just too small and too poor a city to successfully support an NFL team. Maybe there really is a voodoo woman's curse. I have resorted to guessing and grasping at straws, but I do know that Haslett must pick a different road if he wants to win back the fans and I am not sure he is man enough to do it.