Quote:This is not the same situation as Cleveland or Tampa.  Gus has had three years and next would be four. 

 

That's not 3 coaches in 5 years. 

Yeah, but a lot of outside observers, players included, see this as a team headed in the right direction from a talent perspective.  It's not 3 coaches in 5 years, but keeping him in open and obvious lame duck status does the team no favors when it comes to attracting talent. 

 

We fans see things differently than players.  We've been through the losing all this time.  We didn't go anywhere.  We're sick of it.  We want results now.

 

Players can see the root causes of the losing, and may be able to keep that in mind.

 

Some players are purely money motivated.  If the team offers the most, the player will take it no matter where it comes from.

 

Other things factor in for other players, including franchise stability.  Q: Do you think Oakland will be an attractive free agency destination this offseason?

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