Quote:<p style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">My take on player development is a bit different than some other folks. I think very few head coaches have qa major role in player development and coaching fundamentals. They hire and fire the folks that do, and are responsible for course corrections. The also have a big effect on the daily routine and the culture of an organization. I think Gus has done a very good job of keeping things moving in a positive direction even when there wasn't too much positive about the roster at the time. 

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<p style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Your comments about Sullivan and Fisch are interesting. You give Gus no credit for keeping a good coach, or for releasing a bad one. I think the decision was harder for Gus and Babich given their history, But he did make the decision there as well. I really don't care too much about the argument, because first, the decision on Gus isn't mine to make, and second, this year will go a long way in settling it. Still, your thoughts on what the head coach does and what he is responsible for are interesting to me. 

 

Gus released Fisch because someone higher up insisted he do it. That's according to Alfie, and while I frequently find Alfie annoying and clueless, I haven't found him to make things up and he had no reason to lie about that.
 While I haven't read anything similar this time, I have my doubts that Gus was the one who decided to fire Babich after the season.

 

After the first Houston game last year it was clear that the defense was being mismanaged. That was a season where a few changes on defense could have been the difference between a division championship and a top five pick. Ask yourself, why wasn't Babich fired in mid-season and Wash installed as DC at that time?
 Is Gus that dense that he couldn't see it then, and had to wait until after the season to figure out that Babich wasn't very good? Or did Gus choose friendship over a chance at winning?

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