It's an interesting question.   My current thinking is that Gus will have half a season next year to prove he can coach an NFL team. 

 

My question is, is tanking a season a legitimate strategy?  Is making the team worse in the short term really a good way to make the team better in the long term?  I know teams have tanked and gotten better before, but going 0-16 has to damage team morale badly.   How does a coach maintain his credibility with the players if all they do is lose?  No matter how much the players like Gus, the one thing they want is to win.  Players don't want to be part of a grand plan to tank a season.  

 

And how about Shad Khan's stated goal of building an overseas fan base?   Going 0-16 has to conflict with that. 

 

There are teams that are perennially good, never tank a season, and that almost never have a losing season.  It's awfully convenient to say all this losing is the side effect of a grand plan, that this is the way to "do it right."   But is it really? 

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