Team and organization building dynamics has always been very interesting to me. The 'process" is what in most interesting. What are the essential core values? What kind of plan do you have? Long term sustainable success models don't grow on trees. If you look deeper at any long-time successful venture, you can see what matters to them. They have obviously gotten a lot of people to 'buy in" to the process. Some organizations have intense fiery leaders , operate with a chip on their shoulders . Some are more laid back and business like . Strong emotions aren't part of the equation.
The NFL draft has really become a major production and countless hours , often monotonous , of pontificating about what teams will do and why and the players involved near the top of boards are picked apart like a dead carcass on the open plain . Some players like Justin Fields are over scrutinized and sillily picked on .Others are the new shiny toy who is looked at with wonder and awe and are elevated to the top of the board{ BYU's Wilson }
Humans are emotional being's ; we all have these emotions and how we deal with them is important . Strong emotions cloud judgments. It makes people and decision makers sometimes act irrationally . At this time of the year I delve into the NFL { and CFB after that} futures market . Win totals and ML plays to win conference and division titles etc. Notebooks will be and are being filled with information about how teams are being put together at this point of the off-season. Or just maintained . New regimes with new philosophy's being implemented makes getting a certain vibe or opinion about a team trickier.
Coffman is in this process of building a new and different culture. The old culture worked and was pretty successful for two decades. It's a new day on Coffman road just as it is in some NFL and College FB 'Programs". Yes even at the NFL level many of the top leaders consider what they have as a program. Belichick and his coaching offspring and tree certainly does and other look at this process as 'program building". Most of the elite groups in any field take pride in the process of building a culture . A program .
Free agency acts like a draft supplement. Teams fill needs and add to their teams with often high priced 'Star" players .This is usually assumed by most that it's a guarantee of improvement within the team. Wow this team is loaded now ". The over looked aspect is how the new guys are going to be used within a different scheme .You see free agent busts all the time .They didn't stop being really good players overnight . What often happens is they are used differently than they were with their old team where they had good success. They sometimes never quite fit in with their new team, they are asked to do things they aren't used to , they don't connect well with thier new coaches , never fully grasp their responsibilities. FIT is important. Most of us at one time or another have gotten a new job and pretty early on it became apparent that it may not be a good fit for you. A few months in and you're just not feeling it with your responsibilities or the people who are leading.
Athletes feel this disconnect sometimes as well. Team building , program building and changing cultures don't proceed in a linear fashion . They go through up's and down's sometimes go a bit sideways. It takes time for a program to hit a point where it's sustaining a certain success level . Operating more smoothly with all its people working together with a similar purpose and energy. Being all on the same page is a well-used term for this dynamic .
The draft is the final piece of the off-season team building process . It's entertainment now . Big ratings , intrigue , over analysis , pre pandemic it was an EVENT with players showing up trying to outdo each other wearing often outlandish suits with garish colors. Trying to be creative. The NFL is the most successful sports league in the country for a reason. They adapt . They change things up. They try new things to improve their product. There have been ups and downs like any business has of course but it perseveres , readjusts and keeps moving forward.
They learn from their mistakes and keep going. They stay current , change or tweak rules as conditions and realities change within the game. They are always looking ahead and avoid being stuck in the past. Trying to learn and evolve. Some fans resist but in the end the league stays strong. It's a great television product , it hasn't run away from the betting aspect of the game as more states legalize sports betting. Heck you can even wager on where players are going to be drafted . Less than a week out now. Great QB classes make great drafts .
This is one of those classes. HS football teams are also setting a foundation for thier 2021 seasons. Team building , developing a certain closeness and sense of purpose. Strength , speed , skill development and improvement . Figuring out how to get as many of your people to work to be the best version of themselves which will strengthen the organization along with figuring out how to best use these people is a universal process in any successful organization . Another day to put the head down and embrace the process.