Schlereth: Amid NFL coaching searches, youth doesn’t always mean good
Jan 8, 2019, 11:39 AM | Updated: Jan 9, 2019, 7:45 am
With the first head coaching dominos having fallen in the NFL, there’s seemingly been a trend: youth. Newest Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur is just 39 years old. As is new Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury.
But while the league seemingly has it’s preferences set to hiring that youthful, innovative head coach, “Schlereth and Evans” co-host Mark Schlereth said Tuesday to pump the brakes a bit on the notion.
“Stop thinking that young means good, that young means ability to communicate, that young means great leadership, and start focusing on guys that can lead, guys who have respect, guys who can teach and coach and groom and mentor, guys who build the kind of family-type of atmosphere,” Schlereth said.
According to Schlereth, the “Xs and Os are the Xs and Os,” and while there has been a “few tweaks here and there,” the same stuff that won football games in the past — like dominating the line of scrimmage — wins them now.
Schlereth also pointed to Wade Phillips, who turned 71 in June, as an example of a master communicator, which is not determined by his age.
“You can either communicate or you can’t communicate. I don’t care if you’re 100 or if you’re 22. You have the skillset or you don’t have the skillset,” Schlereth said.
With the Denver Broncos coaching search, the two frontrunners for the opening are both above the age of 55 — Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, 60, and Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line coach Mike Munchak, 58.
Denver, however, did interview a pair of 30-somethings last week — New England Patriots defensive coordinator Brian Flores, 37, and Los Angeles Rams quarterbacks coach Zac Taylor, 35.
Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @JohnnyHart7
