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How much blame belongs to George Paton?


jolly red giant

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Some time ago there was a discussion about what would determine the success or failure of George Paton’s tenure as GM of the Broncos. My view, and I think a view held by a few others on this forum, was that the key factors in determining his success would be 1.) who he hired as HC – and 2.) how he solved the QB problem.

Well – Paton has hired the HC and Paton went out an got his QB – so it is appropriate to make an assessment of where things are at.

In my opinion there are a number of serious questions to be asked –

 

1.) Did Paton hire Hackett out of a belief that by doing so he could get Rodgers into Denver as QB?

If this is the case, then Paton deserves to by kicked to the kerb for using this as the criteria for hiring the HC. Such a move was almost guaranteed to blow up in your face – and it is possible that this is what has happened.

 

2.) What kind of research did Paton do into Hackett before appointing him?

Hackett’s record is as follows – while OC for the Bills they ranked 29th in offence. He got the job because Doug Marrone, who he worked under at Syracuse, was hired as HC for the Bills. Marrone was sacked after two inept years and Hackett was out the door with him. After a year as Jags QB coach he was promoted to OC – why – because Marrone was hired as HC by the Jags. Despite having a league best rushing attack and the Jags going to the AFC CG, Jags fans were constantly critical of Hackett as OC and with the wheels coming off the Jags bus the following season, Hackett was sacked by Marrone halfway through the season. It could be argued that Hackett had nothing to work with at QB – but he also did not get near a job with a quality QB until GB. After that Hackett became Rodgers best buddy in GB – having a laugh and playing darts – but not calling plays. In my view this is not the resume of anyone showing the ability to be a HC.

 

3.) What evidence did Paton have that Hackett’s supporting staff would be up to the job?

Hackett hired Outten as OC – he was not the first choice – GB’s OL coach Adam Stenavich was first choice but he was promoted to OC by GB. Outten has very little NFL experience and nothing in his resume to show that he can operate as an OC. What makes this decision worse is that the Broncos hired Klint Kubiak the same day as Outten to act as QB coach. Unlike Outten, Kubiak actually has experience as OC and did a half decent job. Much of the rest of the offence are buddies of Hackett from GB – maybe they played darts with Rodgers as well. It is clear that Evero has done a good job – but unlike the other hires by Hackett, Evero has 14 years NFL experience working with the Bucs, the 49ers, GB and the Rams before coming to the Broncos – he has some pedigree. Several of the defensive coaches are here because of Evero, not Hackett – and Stukes (who also has significant NFL experience) also came because of the Rams connection with Evero. So – Hackett’s side of the ball has been a disaster while Evero brought people with him with some ability. This points to Paton not analysing correctly the coaching staff that Hackett intended on hiring – or accepting Hackett proposing staff that he couldn’t get – which also falls back on Paton.

 

4.) What was Paton’s understanding of the nature of Wilson’s entourage and its role in affairs?

Wilson and his image have been groomed from a young age – if you are practicing news conferences at the age of 7 you are going to create a persona that will appear fake to most people. This is tolerated when you are winning – but becomes a major issue when you are not.

It appears that the stuff outside of football is given equal standing by Wilson and his team as playing the game. When you are playing well this is pushed to the background – when things go wrong then it becomes a major distraction.

You have to question why Paton agreed to Wilson having an office for his entourage in the Broncos facility – the club facility should be about football and nothing else – let Wilson sort out his off the field stuff himself, the GM has to send the message that football is the first and only thing that matters.

 

5.) What knowledge did Paton have of the dynamic in Seattle between Wilson and the coaching staff and Wilson and the team?

It is clear from comments that have emerged from Seattle (both before and after the trade) that many players in Seattle with what they considered as Wilson’s ‘aloofness’. To make contact with Wilson you had to go through a maze built by his entourage – and that is not how you build personal relationships and a team ethic. Wilson won a SB in Seattle and constantly had them as a play-off team which gave him a certain leeway with the players – but it is now clear that many did not consider as a leader on the team because he didn’t act like a leader.

Unlike in Seattle – the Broncos players and fans have no loyalty to Wilson. The onus is on him to build those relationships and he has do everything in his power to ensure that it happens. It is clear that there is a deep and growing frustration with Wilson’s play on the field and his antics off of it. There are many players who are relying on getting another contract to set themselves in a good financial position post-football – and they see Wilson (and Hackett) blowing their chance of getting a better contract.

The same with the fans – with Wilson came expectations – and we got the polished image of ‘let’s ride’ – but the shine is gone.

 

6.) Did Paton consider the skillset that Wilson has and how it would mesh with Hackett’s offensive scheme?

As broncosfan has pointed out – the WCO of Hackett is a very difficult scheme to learn and it relies on precision and timing. These are not traits that Wilson has ever demonstrated – he is not and never has been that type of a QB. It is trying to put a square peg in a round hole and it is proving to be a disaster. Paton should have been conscious that the offensive scheme that Hackett intended to install was not what Wilson needed and if you are going to use draft capital and five years of cap space then the GM must be sure that the HC and QB are compatible – Paton did not do this and Seattle are laughing all the way to next years draft (they are currently getting the 1.7 and 2.38 picks).

 

7.) What measures is Paton taking to sort out the problem?

From the outside it doesn’t seem like he is doing anything. Hackett is not getting any better – Wilson if anything seems to be getting worse. The Broncos could lose to the Jets and the Jags in the next two games and go into the bye-week 2-6. The 10 days between the Colts and the Bolts did nothing to show that Hackett has learned anything – why would two weeks produce a different result.

 

The Broncos are married to Wilson for four years at a minimum – so the only move is to try and fix the other major issue – the fact that Hackett is not an NFL HC.

Paton has to acknowledge that he made a major blunder hiring Hackett and he should fire him after the Jags game at the latest (even if the Broncos win the next two). Then he needs to pull Wilson into his office – read the riot act – and tell him that his image and reputation is heading down the toilet unless he puts everything else in the bin and focusses on football. Paton should kick the entourage out of the facility and lock the door.

Let’s see if Evero is HC material – and see if Kubiak can put some sort of a scheme together that utilises Wilson’s skillset and stop jamming that square peg where it won’t go. If that doesn’t work then Paton needs to find a HC or OC who can scheme for Wilson and can minimise his limitations. Then we might have some hope of progress.

In the meantime, I think Paton deserves an unmerciful kick in the behind for not one – but several blunders during the past offseason. And if Paton does not act then the Walmarts need to act and find a GM who can fix this mess.

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That is a lot of writing...sheesh.  I'd say the hiring of Hackett wasn't necessarily a mistake.  He comes across extremely intelligent, which he probably is.  He seems extremely personable with a lot of energy.  He has been around football forever.   You would think that he would have a good handle on how to manage and plan for a game.  Hackett has all of the ingredients to being a great head coach.  However, I am not sure how that isn't translating to the field where it matters.  

I am not going to pin this on George.  It seemed like a good hire, and it might still be a good hire.  Maybe Hackett needs a season to figure this out, because I like the guy.  I think the players like him.  But again, maybe he is good as a QB coach or something. 

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2 hours ago, jolly red giant said:

My OP was a collection of stuff that has been spoken about over the past 2/3 weeks - I don't necessarily agree with all of it - and I posted it to see the opinions of others.

There are clearly issues with Hackett and with Wilson - should Paton get a free pass?

What a great thread JRG!  Things certainly are a mess and you left out one very major major point.  Staring directly at all this ugliness is a new ownership group who must clearly not like what they see so far.  They will clearly have many of the same questions raised by your thread.  It is an ownership group who paid a lot of money for this franchise and who sunk a lot more money into a qb who has not been fairing well.  Clearly they will be evaluating all this.  Yet Paton has to be aware of this and I find it odd that he is doing so little to rectify this mess.  I would expect Paton to turn on Hackett so to speak and really how can you do that other than by firing him.  Ps when I look at Wilson I get that feeling I had when we broke Newton in SB 50.  I think Wilson is feeling the pressure to succeed in Denver and clearly that hasn't happened and so the pressure only mounts so to speak and you can see it's there in his eyes.  Has this franchise broken or is in fact in the process of breaking yet another QB, albeit in a very different way?

Edited by anewdawn
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If Hackett does indeed fail, which seems extremely likely, it will certainly be a major blemish on Paton’s reputation. No question. But the narrative that he was only chosen as a gateway to acquiring Rodgers has to die. Hackett had, at least, 3 other interviews for HC jobs this winter, and none of them were from teams with any hopes of having Rodg come with him (Vikes and Bears, no way GB trades him inside the division, and JAX, who were obviously rolling with Sunshine). He was highly regarded around the league, full stop. Hiring an entire staff of inexperienced buddies would’ve certainly come up in interviews, but we also don’t know how many of Hackett’s suggestions were blocked from coming, or chose different jobs around the league. It’s tough to fault the interview process for this gaffe when we don’t know exactly what was presented to Paton. He might even deserve some kudos for allowing the coach to sink or swim with his own hires, with minimal input from the front office. 
 

As for the ‘Wilson has never been a timing QB,’ again, he was the top rated passer over the previous three seasons on “in rhythm throws”. He was top 8 in comp% in 2019/20. There were many analysts after the trade who were very excited about the idea of Russ in a WCO. In no way was this pairing doomed to failure based on scheme. 
 

Something else that needs to die: the “Evero for interim HC” talk. Dang, I can’t believe how many smart people are in favour of this. Absolutely not. No way no way no way. This is his first year as a coordinator, and people wanna plop THE HEAD COACHING RESPONSIBILITY IN MIDSEASON on top of him?? Why would we wanna change anything, literally anything, about the way the defence is functioning right now? This would be the only decision worse than keeping Hackett around for the rest of the season. Interview him for the position in the off-season, absolutely. But midseason would be completely unfair to him and the entire defensive personnel and staff. Insanity. No.

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14 hours ago, broncosfan_101 said:

As for the ‘Wilson has never been a timing QB,’ again, he was the top rated passer over the previous three seasons on “in rhythm throws”. He was top 8 in comp% in 2019/20. There were many analysts after the trade who were very excited about the idea of Russ in a WCO. In no way was this pairing doomed to failure based on scheme. 

This, this and this. Why is it so often that everytime something bad happens in sport (well, in life too) we have to attach a "blame" to people?

I said in the offseason that irrespective of how things turn out with Russ, I'd do the move over and over again to avoid QB purgatory. I stand by that, 1000%. There can be no doubting that all signs right now point towards the trade being a disaster. Almost certainly giving up a top 10 pick with a monster contract. But this is the NFL - you HAVE to take those swings on getting a QB.

So naturally, because this has (likely) failed, Paton is now going to get it from all angles. Personally, I don't get it. The HC hire, sure. I understand the criticism to an extent, although I agree with everything @broncosfan_101has said to counter this. But not the Wilson trade. There was enough evidence out there that it was a move we almost had to make.

There are those who have been consistent in their opposition to the trade, @AKRNAbeing the most prominent example. But then you get trolls like BP, claiming he knew it along, yet the beauty of this website is there are enough receipts to show his opinion wasn't really the same when Wilson wasn't a Bronco:

 

Edited by lomaxgrUK
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19 hours ago, jolly red giant said:

My OP was a collection of stuff that has been spoken about over the past 2/3 weeks - I don't necessarily agree with all of it - and I posted it to see the opinions of others.

There are clearly issues with Hackett and with Wilson - should Paton get a free pass?

Should he get a free pass? Absolutely not. Should he be fired? I would say no to that as well.

Hindsight is 20/20, but we were stuck in QB purgatory and Paton went out and got a QB widely accepted to be inside the Top 10 in the league. The compensation, while steep, wasn't astronomical, and there was obviously reason to be optimistic about the season.

I think Paton deserves criticism for giving Russ the contract he did before any games were played. That's looking mighty foolish.

As it relates to Hackett...how Paton handles things going forward will shape a lot of his legacy, IMO. The Hackett hire is what it is. Now it's about properly assessing the situation and making the right determination on whether this relationship will work or not, and if not, quickly cutting bait and finding a new coach. The absolute worst thing that could happen would be to hang on to Hackett too long.

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3 hours ago, lomaxgrUK said:

There are those who have been consistent in their opposition to the trade, @AKRNAbeing the most prominent example. But then you get trolls like BP, claiming he knew it along, yet the beauty of this website is there are enough receipts to show his opinion wasn't really the same when Wilson wasn't a Bronco:

 

Why do you have to drag me into the discussion of your GM's mess? Where did I say "I knew all along"? You pull a quote of me saying Wilson is one of the top athletic passers in the NFL, which up until he put an orange jersey on was consensus among everyone outside some Seattle fans. 

I think what we learned is Pete Carrol insulated Wilson for years. Trading him has exposed who he is a leader and passer without Seattle's safety net around him. 

Anyway.... go off. 

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So 1.5 season in, I give Paton 9/10 for drafting, 7/10 for free agency, 1/10 for coaching hires and 4/10 for his approach to the QB position. 
 

I would be willing to give him a mulligan on Hackett and a chance to hire a new coach, but he absolutely must find a way to bring a coach in that can achieve success with Russell Wilson. The rest of this season is a write off now but he needs to be planning ahead for a 3 year all in period with Paton, new HC and Wilson all joined at the hip. If things don’t work out then we clean house after 2025. 

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19 minutes ago, big_palooka said:

Why do you have to drag me into the discussion of your GM's mess? Where did I say "I knew all along"? You pull a quote of me saying Wilson is one of the top athletic passers in the NFL, which up until he put an orange jersey on was consensus among everyone outside some Seattle fans. 

I think what we learned is Pete Carrol insulated Wilson for years. Trading him has exposed who he is a leader and passer without Seattle's safety net around him. 

Anyway.... go off. 

Because you are one of many, many people who are playing Captain Hindsight when it comes to the Wilson trade. Don't make me dig out the receipts of you acting like this was obvious and that the GM should've seen it coming.

"Drag you in" - that made me smile, I must say. We need that right now. You post more here since the start of the season than you do in the Raiders forum. Nobody has to "drag" you anywhere when it comes to the Broncos forum.

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16 minutes ago, lomaxgrUK said:

Because you are one of many, many people who are playing Captain Hindsight when it comes to the Wilson trade. Don't make me dig out the receipts of you acting like this was obvious and that the GM should've seen it coming.

"Drag you in" - that made me smile, I must say. We need that right now. You post more here since the start of the season than you do in the Raiders forum. Nobody has to "drag" you anywhere when it comes to the Broncos forum.

That's not remotely accurate, but please keep going.... 

I post here to add to the discussion. Give me an example where I came in just to troll. I didn't even post in your game day thread or say anything after the loss to McDaniel's Raiders. Apparently having an outside opinion that isn't team friendly is trolling in your eyes. There are members of your own forum in that case who troll your GM, HC and QB more than anyone outside it.

And please dig out the receipts 

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4 hours ago, lomaxgrUK said:

This, this and this. Why is it so often that everytime something bad happens in sport (well, in life too) we have to attach a "blame" to people?

I said in the offseason that irrespective of how things turn out with Russ, I'd do the move over and over again to avoid QB purgatory. I stand by that, 1000%. There can be no doubting that all signs right now point towards the trade being a disaster. Almost certainly giving up a top 10 pick with a monster contract. But this is the NFL - you HAVE to take those swings on getting a QB.

So naturally, because this has (likely) failed, Paton is now going to get it from all angles. Personally, I don't get it. The HC hire, sure. I understand the criticism to an extent, although I agree with everything @broncosfan_101has said to counter this. But not the Wilson trade. There was enough evidence out there that it was a move we almost had to make.

There are those who have been consistent in their opposition to the trade, @AKRNAbeing the most prominent example. But then you get trolls like BP, claiming he knew it along, yet the beauty of this website is there are enough receipts to show his opinion wasn't really the same when Wilson wasn't a Bronco:

 

I totally agree with regard to doing the trade.  Except for a handful I think most of bronco nation was very stoked about it.  Nevertheless things are now a mess and I think we all know what usually happens when a new ownership group takes over and then things go south.  Things here have gone south in a way that I think no one saw coming.  On top of that you literally threw a quarter of a BILLION dollars into the fire.  I wouldn't be too happy about my money being burned at all.  This ownership group is going to hold someone accountable!  I think it's likely Paton and that's kind of sad as he was so good in the draft.   I would have jumped at the same trade and actually thought we didn't give up that much for Wilson but now it has all hit the fan............ very sad...........   

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