BillyC

Dan Reeves
| 1997 atl 7-9
| 1998 atl 14-2 Superbowl (lost)
| 1999 atl 5-11
| 2000 atl 4-12
| 2001 atl 7-9
| 2002 atl 9-6-1 one playoff win.
| 2003 atl 3-10

Jim Fassel
1997 nyg 10-5 playoff (lost)
| 1998 nyg 8-8
| 1999 nyg 7-9
| 2000 nyg 12-4 Super Bowl loss
| 2001 nyg 7-9
| 2002 nyg 10-6 playoff loss
| 2003 nyg 4-9

Jim Haslett
2000 nor 10-6 1 playoff win
| 2001 nor 7-9
| 2002 nor 9-7
| 2003 nor 6-7

I've have supported Jim Haslett but recently have decided he needs to go. Being the loyal person that I am, I felt like I needed to justify my decisoin and make sure I'm not having some kind of knee jerk reaction ( and we all know that doesn't happen on this board)

I looked at other coaches that have either been fired or probably will be fired. You have Dan Reeves that took the Falcons to the Super Bowl and made the playoffs last year. But, he get's fired this year. Then you have Fassel who has also done better and made the playoffs last year and he's more than likely gone after this year.

Then you have Jim Haslett. Jim won one playoff game in his first year and then went on to have one more winning season (9-7 no playoffs) While I don't feel comparing the 3-coaches isa a deciding factor in getting rid of Jim Haslett, one thing is clear and that's some teams won't tolerate losing or average teams.

But, the deciding factor I feel Jim Haslett must go are these.

1. Team doesn't have and never had any discipline.
2. Team has constantly underachieved.
3. Players don't progress under his coaching.
4. Finishes with late season collapses.

Now, to be fair. I'm going to list his positives.

1. I can't really think of any and the sad thing is I'm being serious. If anyone can think of any, please list them.





[Edited on 12/12/2003 by BillyC]

JOESAM2002

He found Deuce! Of course even a blind hog can find an acorn.

DarkSaint504

HAZ NEEDS TO GO - SIMPLE. But I really think another late season collapse and he should be gone.

canucksaint

Originally I did support Haz when he came in to New Orleans. However he has continued to disappoint. Sure he was the first one to win a play off game for the Saints. And he did win the coach of the year for that. However wasn’t that essentially Ditka’s team?
Now I understand a coach wanting to have his own team, and his own vision, but sometimes you can take that a bit too far. Within 4 years he has changed the whole face of the team. There is (I think) only 1 player that was on the team during the Ditka years (Fontenot). Isn’t that a bit too much of a turn around. How is a team supposed to meld when they are constantly in upheaval? And where is the direction that Haz wants to go? Does he want a big team that will hit hard and stuff the run, or does he want a smaller fast unit that will be able to respond faster? I don’t even think that he knows. The only thing that I would hazard a guess at is that he doesn’t want anyone that won’t go along with his status quo. At the earliest sign of any type of controversy, someone is labeled a “Cancer� and let go. Is he afraid of people who live their life how they should play... and that’s with intensity! Look at the caliber of people that he has let go. Were there good reasons for getting rid of them? Who knows? Hindsight is always 20/20. But I would have loved to see some of them stay (insert whoever’s name you want here). The Saints used to have a strong O line and a great D. That’s how we won our first playoff game. What happened after that? We got rid of all of our impact players. How are those players doing now? A lot of them are doing really well. I guess Sammy Knight (later said again by Michael Hawthorne) was right when he said that the Saints developed players, but get rid of them before they hit their potential.
Is this Haslett’s entire fault? Probably not all of it. But leadership starts at the top. Often teams take the personality of their coach. At this point I would guess if that’s true, then Haslett is a schizophrenic. This team has no direction and no heart. Show him the door, and let’s get someone who can use all of the talent that the Saints have in abundance and do something with it.
Ok, that’s my rant for the day…

WhoDat

A better question might be - WILL Haslett get fired? Anyone think he will? What if they end up 9-7? Does he get canned? If they tank he probably will, but what if they end up 8-8 or 9-7?

saint5221

From the reports I\'m reading it seems we would have to lose out to lose Haslett. 9-7 or 8-8 proably gets him another year.

Isn\'t a shame the way we do.

canucksaint

Hopefully it isn\'t our decisson to make. Lets hope he takes the option to go to Buffalo.

BillyC

I don\'t know what Benson is going to do, but if I were him I wouldn\'t be basing my descesion on our record, unless that record traslates into going to the playoffs. The thing I\'d be looking at is if Haslett\'s coaching philosiphy is helping win us games or if it\'s hindering us. I mean, how many games has coaching actually helped us win? None pop in my mind. I CAN think of some games where an arguement could be made that it cost us.

I don\'t think that Haslett is all to blame. To be fair, I think the Tom Benson and Randy Meuller fiasco, played a big part in undermining this team. The timing of Benson firing Meuller was odd. I\'m quite sure that Benson had a justifiable reason to fire Randy Meuller but his decison to put Mickey Loomis in charge isn\'t exactly what I call the best decision in the world.

If this team is ever truely going to get on the right track that is going to fall squarely in the hands of Tom Benson. I don\'t know exactly what Benson should do and I don\'t think he does either. If I were him, I\'d be finding a GM that has a proven track record and give him the support that he needs.

My guess is that Haslett and all of the assistants will be back next year. They\'ll go out and sign some free agents, draft a few players, and find some kind of way to spin it............

Danno

OK, I\'m Tom Benson, (only younger, better looking, and a lot less money)
Here\'s my thought process...

Hmmm.
I have always thought he is a good coach.
We had an UNUSUAL amount of injuries this year. (not Jim\'s fault)
Several players did not live up to everyone\'s expectations. (arguably not Jim\'s fault)
I paid this guy a zillion dollars, and it would cost me a fortune to replace him this year.
2 or 3 plays should have gone the other way, and we should be 8-5 right now.
If I did replace him it would mean another re-building year, or two.
Is there anyone out there that would do better right now? I doubt it.
I\'ll demand he change coaching personnel.
I\'ll demand he change QB\'s.
I think I give him 1 more year to sink or swim, unless a Parcells type falls in my lap.

If we don\'t excel next year, I\'ll fire his azz!

Cassady37

Hmmm...I think Benson keeps him one more year with coaching changes a definite must, but then Haslett opts out and leaves anyway because he has probably had enough at this point and there are too many greener pastures to go to. Just a thought...