AFM RSS Feed Follow Us on Twitter       
AMERICAN FOOTBALL MONTHLY THE #1 RESOURCE FOR FOOTBALL COACHES
ABOUT |  CONTACT |  ADVERTISE |  HELP  



   User Name    Password 
      Password Help





Article Categories


AFM Magazine

AFM Magazine


Breaking Bonds

Cutting players from the squad
by: Steve Silverman
© More from this issue

Click for Printer Friendly Version          

It had been one of the most embarrassing nights of Marty Schottenheimer's career. After a two-year absence from the head-coaching ranks, Schottenheimer decided to get back into the business when Redskins owner Daniel Snyder came calling. While that decision may have been questionable considering Schottenheimer's criticism of the Redskin owner, he ultimately decided to take the job because he thought he could get the Redskins back to the playoffs and into the Super Bowl.

Schottenheimer is often described as an "old-school" football coach who won't take any nonsense from players under any circumstances. His Redskins got off to a miserable start when they were beaten by the Chargers 30-3 in Week One. Offensively, there was no cohesion. QB Jeff George was having a difficult time understanding and executing the short-pass offense the Redskins were now employing. During the game, Schottenheimer lit into George because of his poor execution of the Redskin offense and the two could be seen arguing back and forth. Not a very positive way to open the season.

It would only get worse. In the Redskins' second game of the season, Schottenheimer took his team to Green Bay for a Week Two Monday night contest. If the Redskins had been beaten soundly by the Chargers, they were absolutely eviscerated by the Packers and blanked 37-0. George, a strong-armed quarterback with a quick release, didn't go deep down the field until midway through the fourth quarter when the Redskins were already trailing 27-0. On the play, he hit WR Michael Westbrook in stride, but the receiver dropped the pass. George completed 15-of-24 pass, but his yardage total was 102 yards and his long play was only 17 yards. Early in the third quarter, the ABC cameras focused in on George as he took a snap from the shot gun formation while the Packers blitzed. The unmistakable look of panic and fear was in George's eyes as he took two steps to sidestep the blitz and then fall down in the fetal position. It was a less-than-inspirational performance and Schottenheimer was left with a hard decision to ponder. Is this the man he wanted leading his team throughout the rest of the season? Was George his quarterback of the immediate future?

As the team flew home from Green Bay, Schottenheimer still didn't have many answers about his team, but he knew one thing was sure: George would not start again for the Redskins. He immediately demoted the quarterback in favor of the shaky Tony Banks, who had been cut by the Cowboys earlier in the summer because he was "unprepared" and did not have significant knowledge of the offense.

The Redskin players were off on Tuesday, and as Schottenheimer considered his demotion of George, he realized that making him the No. 2 quarterback was not the answer either. Instead, he had to take it one step further. Schottenheimer decided he was going to cut George from the squad. Even though George had signed a four-year, multi-million dollar contract extension in the offseason, Schottenheimer believed the quarterback would be a divisive influence if he remained on the team. Few around the NFL disagreed with that conclusion.

At 7:15 am Wednesday morning, George reported to the Redskin lockerroom. Team officials were waiting for him and he was ushered into Schottenheimer's office. With George sitting directly in front of him, Schottenheimer told the quarterback that his services were no longer needed and that he was being waived from the team.

Schottenheimer did not get emotional with George sitting in front of him. He did not blame George or cast aspersions; he merely told George that the team would be going in another direction and that he wished him luck.

Cold, dispassionate and clean. Schottenheimer had long established that philosophy when cutting players from his team and he stuck with it even though he was seething and embarrassed by the way his team had played for two weeks.

As ineffective as George had looked in a Redskin uniform, Schottenheimer still had to recognize the human factor in this situation as well. As badly as he felt about losing and putting a non-competitive team on the field, George felt just as badly. There was no reason to throw blame around in the meeting. Schottenheimer was best served by just shaking hands and saying goodbye.

Cutting players from a team is often the most difficult and distasteful job a coach at any level of football has to do. Sometimes a player is cut for poor performance and bad attitude in the middle of the season. Others get cut because they simply don't measure up to the standard prescribed by the head coach. Still others get separated from the squad because of disciplinary measures. A player won't follow the rules of the team and he loses the privilege of playing football. No matter what the reason for the dismissal, it is usually a difficult decision and a painful task to accomplish.

"Any time I have to cut a player, I find it to be one of the most difficult things I have to do," said Brian Billick, the head coach of the world champion Baltimore Ravens. "In professional football, you don't have a choice. You are limited by reality. You only have a certain number of roster spots (45) and the players that aren't going to make your squad have to be told and told immediately. Cutting a player is difficult because you don't like playing God with someone's life or career. Nevertheless, you are the one making a decision that will have a huge impact on their life and income."

This summer, many football fans had a chance to watch Billick accomplish that portion of his job up close and personal in HBO's look at the Ravens' summer training camp. In that television series, entitled "Hard Knocks," the Raven head coach was featured in meetings discussing individual players with his coaching staff and making evaluations on their ability to contribute to the team. There were several cases when it was clear that a player was not going to make the team and there were others who just missed out on making the team. In both cases, Billick handled the cutting with compassion and understanding.

"This is the worst part of this job," Billick said on several occasions. "There's nothing that's fun about this. I'm not saying you don't have a future in football, but we don't have a spot for you here. I wish we did because you worked hard and showed improvement, but it's just not going to happen here."

After the deed was done, the player would clear his gear out of the lockerroom, gather up his belongings and get sent home with a plane ticket and whatever money was due him. Done. Over. Clean.

Former Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs' head coach Marv Levy had to cut players every year and always tried to humanize the situation. "You look at a player and put yourself in their shoes," Levy said. "How would you want to be treated in the same situation. You would wanted to be treated honestly and with compassion. That's how I wanted to be treated so that's how I tried to act with the players that I had to dismiss."

In major college football, players usually don't get cut from the squad because they aren't good enough players. They are scouted throughout their high-school careers and the best ones are offered scholarships. Those scholarships normally take a player though a four-year career, but sometimes a player doesn't pan out.

"There's little doubt that it is difficult," said Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr. "Asking a young man to leave your team is not something I look forward to. But sometimes it has to be done. Players come to this team with very high aspirations and big goals; sometimes its not going to work out and you are best off telling them directly.

"In the case of a disciplinary measure, you have to make sure the rules of the team are firmly established and the players know them ahead of time. Then if somebody has done something that puts their membership on the team in jeopardy, you sit them down and explain what they have done and warn them if you can (if the offense is not too egregious). Being a member of the football team is a privilege, and that privilege can get stripped if they can't follow the rules of the team. If you have to let a player go, you let that player know what he's done wrong and offer your support for their other endeavors, but that's that."

While scholarship players generally don't get cut because they don't measure up, coaches will open up practices prior to the spring to walk-ons. Those players may not have the pedigree or background that some of the scholarship "stars" have, but they may care about football even more. As a result, Michigan State head coach Bobby Williams believes it's important to provide encouragement even as a player is being dismissed.

"You look forward to having a young man attempt to try out for your team," said Williams. "You appreciate the effort and emotion that players have when they are giving everything they have to make the team. Sometimes, it's not going to be good enough and a player is not going to be able to stand out or show enough talent. In those cases you have to let the young man know he isn't going to make your squad. In the case of a young player - a freshman or sophomore - I'm often going to be very encouraging when it comes to trying out again the following year. If a young man is going to give great effort one year, there may be improvement the next - and I encourage him to try out again. My philosophy is to make it as positive an experience as possible."

When handling disciplinary situations, Wisconsin head coach Barry Alvarez shares much of the same philosophy shown by Carr. The key thing is to make sure the player knows the rules ahead of time - not before it's too late.

"You have to make it clear to the player what the rules ot the team truly are and make sure players know those rules by the time they become a part of your team," Alvarez said. "If you have to, then you set parameters by saying a certain kind of behavior may be okay and another kind of behavior may not be. It's all about the communication.

"Of course, there will be times when you do have to separate a player from the team and make it final. You don't do it by getting angry. I think it's best to remain as calm as possible. You explain the circumstances to them and let them know that they no longer have the privilege of being on the football team. You have to be quite definitive about that, but once the separation is made, you offer your support and help wherever its appropriate. This player may have made a mistake that takes them off of the football team, but he still has a life to live after that. You have to let them know you care."

Many Division 1-AA, Division II and Division III programs don't offer scholarships and all players on the team are there because of their love of the game. As a result, coaches won't cut players just because they aren't good enough. If a player is going to show the heart, character and talent to make it through spring and summer practice, keep up their grades and attend regular practice sessions, they will be allowed to line up in uniform on the sidelines. However, the same rules often apply to those schools - if a player violates the team rules he will be asked to leave.

It may be the unkindest cut of all, but when it's done with humanity and compassion it does not have to be a nightmarish experience - for the player or the coach.






NEW BOOK!

AFM Videos Streaming Memberships Now Available Digital Download - 304 Pages of Football Forms for the Winning Coach



















HOME
MAGAZINE
SUBSCRIBE ONLINE COLUMNISTS COACHING VIDEOS


Copyright 2024, AmericanFootballMonthly.com
All Rights Reserved