Brian Billick, after leading his team to a resounding win over the Pittsburgh Steelers at M&T Bank Stadium last Sunday, must not only be lauded for his move to fire Jim Fassel and take over play calling himself, but should now also be considered a candidate for coach of the year. There are other deserving candidates as well, mind you, including Lovie Smith of the Chicago Bears, Mike Nolan (former Ravens Defensive Coordinator) of the San Francisco 49ers and Marty Schottenheimer of the San Diego Chargers. Billick, however, was fighting for his coaching life last off-season and went into meetings with Ravens Owner Steve Biscotti and club GM Ozzie Newsome to determine his fate at that time. After agreeing to tone down his media persona and get back in touch with his players, Billick was allowed to stay. Now, the move seems like pure genius on the part of the Ravens’ braintrust, as does Billick’s move to supplant Fassel.

Since the beginning of this run, we’ve documented Billick’s success in the interest of assessing his management style and comparing his role to that of a middle- or upper-level manager of a more conventional business. In many ways, what Billick has done in taking a hands-on approach to managing his club’s offense is what some managers must do when they find that their supervisors are “dropping the ball”, as it were. Billick’s focus on the offense means that he has to stretch himself thin on the organization side of things, but ultimately, it appears that one-on-one contact with Billick and his offensive philosophy is what the team needed. It also shows that sometimes employees are not performing up to their potential (in this case the entire Ravens offense) when they’re not properly directed. Getting the most out of employees is always the point and goal of good management, whether in the NFL, a multi-national company or a small startup.

Tags: nfl jobs

Share This | Posted in Management | No Comments