Quote:2. You cite me to come clean there, but have an awful lot of inaccuracies of your own with that paragraph. 

 

Yes, I championed Bradley to be a candidate but it was NOT for the entire offseason by a longshot. When that offseason first began. My hope was Andy Reid. He was my first choice. He was going to be fired by Philly and everyone knew it. As a matter of fact I remember reading stories/ rumors that last week of the regular season that linked Khan to having interest there (which proved futile even if they were true). 

 

The next candidate on the wish list was Chip Kelly. He was flirting with offers from the NFL and I believe Cleveland was one at that point, but he turned them down and cited that he was staying in college. 

 

After that my next hopeful turned to Bill O Brien. The Jags had been rumored to be after him the year prior, but instead chose Mularkey for whatever reason, probably Gene Smith. O Brien also quickly turned down the possibility of the NFL at that point and publicly stated he was staying at PSU. (for what turned out to be only one more year....) 

 

OK, back to the drawing board...

 

My next 2 candidates on the wish list were Brian Kelly from ND and Mike McCoy, OC of the Broncos. Brian Kelly quickly took his name out of the running for NFL jobs and McCoy was still out there but interviewing with other teams. 

 

Ok, so that leaves us at option 6. about 2 weeks into the process....

 

Yes, at this point I bring up Gus Bradley, stating he might be a very good, under the radar choice. The pickings were becoming slim at that point and Bradley appeared to possibly be the best left or one of. 

 

The Eagles had interviewed Bradley the day before he interviewed in Jacksonville. Per all accounts it was a good interview. They were all set to hire him, and then somehow at the 11th hour, Chip Kelly announces that yes, he does indeed want to coach in the NFL this season and was subsequently hired by the Eagles. and on the same day we hire Bradley on the same day of his interview. 

 

At that point I'm feeling burned as I would have much rather had Kelly coach the Jags, had it been privy that Kelly indeed did want to coach in the NFL and wasn't blowing smoke about staying in college. So that was part of my anger that manifested in being upset to only get Bradley when it appeared the bigger fish could have been landed. 

 

I also had issue with - hiring Bradley so quickly. It would have been one thing to hire Chip Kelly off of one interview as he had head coaching experience. I felt that hiring Bradley who had no head coaching experience, after one interview, was a bit reactionary and sudden. I wanted a little more due diligence done, if someone that inexperience was going to be one of the final choices. Roman could have been interviewed (and was a candidate I was high and low on during the weeks leading up to that point. I initially was low on Roman when I thought he might be rubber stamped through given his reported friendship with Caldwell) but after another good offensive showing in the playoffs, I started to warm up to the idea of Roman being a candidate. In any event, If Bradley was going to be one of the final candidates, I wanted a couple more interviewed just to be sure. 

 

Alas, Bradley was hired the same day, and some frustration ensued on my part via posts- via taking all of the above into account. 

 

You were accurate in that I did want a proven OC to be hired by Bradley as I thought that was a very important aspect to ensure a novice/ first time, defensive minded head coach would succeed. Initially the reports were that Pete Carmichael was coming aboard, and I liked this idea due to his being a part of such a productive offense in New Orleans. But he shot us down quickly. Disappointed. Then Norv Turner was my next choice there....but he either shot us down or Bradley had no interest. Turner eventually went to Cleveland. 

 

We wind up with Jedd Fisch, who at that point has a resume filled with short stops and frankly a lot of mediocre on it. I was concerned that he wasn't going to be a success at the pro level without a more impressive track record. 

 

In the end, things seem  to be on the right track. Yeah, I was all over the place during that hiring process, but guess what? When the team has such a poor track record over the last 13 years (at that point) you're going to be skeptical if things don't end up as perfectly as you hoped they could have. Yeah, I likely wound up wrong in any bashing I gave Bradley and Fisch at that time....won't deny that. But it was a very manic few weeks.  

1.  I didn't say the entire offseason.  I said you championed him for the ENTIRE POSTSEASON of 2012 through the early part of 2013.  Not sure where the inaccuracy is there.

 

2.  I didn't say you had no other coaching candidates you liked or that Bradley was your first choice.  My only assertion is that Gus Bradley was a coaching candidate you liked and for whom you advocated.  Again, I'm unsure where the inaccuracy was.

 

3.  Your objection to the "one interview" of Bradley is as silly now as it was then, considering IT WAS AN ELEVEN (11) HOUR INTERVIEW.  Not an "11th hour interview" meaning it was at the very last minute.  The interview Bradley had with Caldwell was eleven hours in duration.

 

4.  Norv Turner was named as Browns OC, IIRC, either the day before or the morning of the Bradley introductory press conference.

 

5.  All of the above is largely immaterial.  At one point you championed Bradley, then immediately turned on him.  At one point you trashed Fisch and now you like him.

 

That doesn't strike you as the least bit reactionary?

 

Would it have hurt you to take a wait and see approach?

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