Harlan Delays Retirement...."Management Issues" sidetrack Jones
This entry was posted on 5/28/2007 10:06 AM and is filed under uncategorized.
A stunning and unexpected move happened this weekend when 70 year old Bob Harlan essentially sacked his hand picked replacement as President, John Jones. According to stories in the JSO, some "management issues" had kind of really come into focus in the last three weeks (the draft? Favre's little Randy Rant?) and Harlan just felt like he hadn't left the franchise in good shape with Jones at the helm. So, he'll stay on why they try to find a new guy.
A member of the PackerNation Discussion Group had a pretty good take on the whole thing.
Simply put the recent confusion at 1265 Lombardi Avenue is not good. Not good at all. There’s no way to positively spin John Jones’ last minute expulsion. I initially gave Harlan the benefit of the doubt because there was a chance Jones went from capable to incapable of leading the franchise as a result of his heart attack. Harlan assures us that is not the case, but there’s still a sliver of a chance it is. But would Harlan be honest about the situation if that were the case?
However, Harlan did convincingly deny it so if Jones’ ouster was not due to health reasons but rather due to “management issues” as we are being told, Paul Jadin tells us (from the JSOnline article), "My perception is that there was a culture shock there…. The change from Bob to John was stark. I just don't think that anyone there was prepared to go from Bob to John in terms of personality. That was apparent to me."
Asked how the two differed in style and personality, Jadin said he would only speak about Harlan.
"Bob was nurturing," Jadin said. "He saw the Packers as an extension of his family. John, a little less so."
We can read this in a few different ways. Perhaps Harlan just misjudged Jones from the beginning and it took him from February, 1999 to sometime in the first quarter of 2007 to figure that out and then panic at nearly the last minute. That’s not good.
Perhaps as he got closer and closer to leading the franchise, Jones changed the way he interacted with the staff. This is perhaps the best scenario for the Packers IMO but like the possibility above calls into question Harlan’s judgment about Jones after being associated with him closely for more than eight years. If Harlan made a mistake in choosing Jones it’s a bigger error than promoting Sherman to GM IMO. But at least he caught this one in time and it’s better than the next possibility.
Another way to read this is the Packers’ staff is a collection of insecure souls who need to be nurtured like teenagers rather than treated like business associates. If that’s the case, the new Chairman and CEO better be prepared to do some firing of his own. An even worse possibility is that Jones would be fine but a collection of employees wants to undermine him immediately for their own reasons. If that’s the case, again the new boss should begin by firing and hiring… not a great way to endure oneself to their new staff.
This is not good but it’s far from a fatal blow to the franchise – not that anyone is suggesting that. In fact some good can come out of this situation. The Executive Committee, according to the JSOnline story a “powerful and influential body of CEOs and other professionals” which made the decision to begin the process of casting Jones out, can now ensure that a comprehensive search be done for the next CEO and Chairman. I have implored the Packers in the past when a GM or HC or assistant coaching position opened to conduct a comprehensive search for the best possible candidate. Unfortunately, more often than not, that’s not what happens. But we can hope that the “powerful and influential body of CEOs” can make it happen this time.
Mike Reinfeldt may be the best guy for the job. Hell, he probably hasn’t even had time to unpack boxes from his recent move to Tennessee, so it would at least be convenient for him. But I hope the search for the next leader of the franchise isn’t restricted to just those who have a current or previous “tie” to the franchise. There’s no magic in that. The great Bart Starr and the (IMO embarrassing as) HC Forrest Gregg had the strongest of ties and neither worked as HC in Green Bay. And, oh yeah, the guy they named the street mentioned above after had no previous ties and he did quite well. So throw Reinfeldt’s name into the hat if you think he belongs, but don’t give him the slightest advantage because of “ties”. Just pick the best damn guy for the job. BTW, no need to give Bob Harlan’s vote the slightest notice. Sorry, Bob.
This is a public relations black eye for the franchise and the timing of it could be worse, but not by a whole lot. The closer the reality of what’s going on at 1265 Lombardi Avenue is to the ‘new and not improved’ perception this creates, the more important the job of the Executive Committee in picking it’s, and the franchise’s new leader. Interview every good candidate you can identify without restriction. Time isn’t of the essence - you don’t have to find the new guy in a couple of weeks, but don’t dawdle either. Bob Harlan, although he’s made a couple of substantial mistakes, has served this franchise well. But it’s time for him to go, too.
