Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Let’s say you were doing a poor job at your particular place of employment, but your intention and heart was to work to the best of your ability. Would you not want your boss to inform you of this reality instead of feeding you feel-good, sugar-coated lies?
I’d think we all would.
Well, apparently Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Greg Schiano missed that memo when it came to being a leader. The quandary that was the Bucs’ quarterback situation is now at rest since Schiano has named rookie Mike Glennon as the starter this week, thus benching former starter Josh Freeman.
Let’s rewind the past four days here for a second. Bear in mind that I fully believe Freeman should have been benched. It’s the way things were handled that deserves plenty of criticism.
After the Bucs fell to 0-3, Schiano endorsed his then-starting quarterback in Freeman on Monday:
“Josh is our starter,” Schiano said. “That’s where we are. He’s done some good things and he’s done some things that we’d like to change and he’d like to change. But it’s the whole offensive unit. We need to be more precise. We need to be coached more precisely… I think he understands what we’re trying to do with our offense.”
Freeman had to be feeling pretty good about himself after that vote of confidence. Schiano clearly knew his quarterback was struggling, but was sticking with him knowing that the entire unit needed help. I can respect that.
Fast forward to Wednesday — just two days later — and Schiano had abruptly changed his mind, deciding to go with Glennon.
“Mike’s our starting quarterback from this point forward,” Schiano said. “We’re moving forward and Mike’s our quarterback. That’s the plan, and that’s how we’re going.”
Mr. Schiano, if this was the plan all along — and I fully believe it was — then the least you can do is man-up and deliver the news in a manner worth respecting. Don’t turn yourself into Nick Saban a few years back when he swore he would not be taking the Alabama job. Don’t do it.
Well, actually, he already did it, and because of that should not be respected an ounce by his players.
I wouldn’t trust him if I were Glennon — not a chance. Have you ever heard the phrase “If he did it for you, he’ll do it to you” in reference to dating scenarios? A guy cheats on his partner, leaves them for another and swears his faithfulness to the new one.
Sound like a familiar situation?
The moral of the story is: If you stay honest, you will be respected in this game for a long time. Somebody like Schiano is off to a terrible start in his young NFL coaching career in terms of maintaining integrity.
Good luck, Tampa. Good. Luck.
Ryan Heckman is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @ryanmheckman, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
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