Does this have to happen in a specific order? Do you need to have the GM first, then let the GM help you hire the coach, or can you go the opposite direction?
I am so glad you remembered this question, because … oh boy, oh boy. You just pitched that one soft and easy over the middle of the plate for me, because this is a peeve of mine. Hire the right people. And don’t worry about the order in which you hire them.
I recognize that my view on this is very different from the view of the majority. This has been my view for decades; it was my view throughout my career in the National Football League; it has remained my view since leaving the league. The order in which you hire people should not matter. Most people will say to you: “You’ve gotta hire a GM and let him bring in ‘his guy.'” This should not be about bringing in “your guy,” this should be about bringing in the right guy, and I am forever perplexed and dismayed when a GM comes into a situation and says, “Well, I’ve gotta have my guy.” You know what? Get the right guy, don’t worry about it being “your guy.”
Lemme tell you something: If the New England Patriots decided tomorrow to go out and hire a GM from outside the organization, that GM should walk in and say, “Bill Belichick is my guy.” Because to walk in and say, “I need my guy,” when you’ve got someone good in place, is just absurd. In this instance, of course, the Lions don’t have someone in place.
I do not believe the order matters. Look, at the end of the day, both the general manager and the head coach are employees of an organization. Their responsibility is to do their best to make that organization as best as it can be. And I know this: If I were the owner of a team and I found that the GM was mumbling about not having his guy and wanting to make a change, or a head coach was mumbling about not wanting the GM and wanting to make a change, I would call them both into my office and say, “If either of you ask me to choose between you two, the answer is I choose neither. Find a way to work together.”
We tell kids, little kids, all the time, “All right, you two, find a way to work it out. Find a way to work together.” Why do we expect less of adults than we do of children? And, that was my TED Talk.
I am sorry to just rant like that, but I am so passionate about it. Find the right people, the order in which you find them should not matter. Frankly, if I was interviewing someone who felt the order in which they were hired mattered, I would think very, very long and hard about whether or not I should continue to interview that person. You’re both employees.
