Kingsroots said:
Exactly, that was my point. Half of the story. Ok, yes, the Maloofs put out the line that it was a mutual agreement, fine. However, how do we know that in the 5 minute conversation between RA and the Maloof Bros that there weren't some heated words being said by both parties and hung up with each other. Then, the decision was made by the Maloof Bros, who in turn called Petrie (which explains why he said he realized that things were beyond fixing or whatever), then Petrie called Adelman. I am not saying this is what happened, just that it is possible, which is the definition of being objective.
I am talking about after the conversation that may or may not have had some heated discussion between the two.
That is debatable.
Also, VF, while your statements are valid concerning Marty Mac being a real insider for years, my personal opinion of his writing over the years is crap.
You are making all kinds of assumptions and what-if, pie-in-the-sky scenarios up about this 5-minute call. Why don't we assume that it went the way it was described until we hear otherwise, especially since Rick has always been very forthright and upfront about things he is asked.
Why would Rick go off on the owner if he wanted to keep his job, and all indications are (from Rick and his staff, and not disputed by Petrie or the maloofs) that he was interested, unless the situation was that the Maloofs had lost faith in him. All he wanted was the chance to talk about the team and coaching before any decisions were made about a contract. Any manager knows if an employee who is important to the team wants to discuss performance and possible goal-setting, etc, you do it to help them perform better.
Apparently they thought it wasn't going to get any better and wanted to change coaches. That is their right and perogative as owners.
However, they went about it in completely the wrong way, and
it may have damaged their chances of hiring a quality coach after watching how they treat "important" employees.
It isn't just about Rick, you know. It's setting a tone for the organization and establishing a good relationship with employees - players, coaches, everyone else associated with the team as well. This was not the way to do that.
There is always a long and short term effect to an action. Although the short term effect for the Maloofs (not having to get their hands "dirty" by personally talking with the coach that got your team to where it is today vs. where it was 8 years ago) may be a little comfort in having Rick gone via a call with GP, for whatever reason they aren't sharing - the long term effect is the erosion of "goodwill" between management and employees.