Heath Evans on Holmgren's shortcomings

I really don’t care what a FB has to say. “Mommy! The boss doesn’t want my input!” Dude is a joke.

Going a little further – not sure it is the same interview or not – but the FOX host asked him who the best player he ever played with and he said Walter Jones – said he was a dancing bear. They then asked him his most overrated or biggest disappointment as a teammate – and he said he didn’t want to comment negatively on his teammates – and then adds out of nowhere that Holmgren was his biggest letdown. He said he really bought into his hype and that Holmgren was totally hands off, somewhat aloof, and he only communicated through Haskell who was perceived as a total puppet.

I was worried until the last sentence. I will disregard this.

Solomon Wilcots was on 92.3 the same day and really shot down most of these comments when asked directly about them. In a very classy, well spoken and thought out manner I might add. I gained more respect for Wicots from his response than I"ll ever have for some D-bag that calls out his old boss years after the fact.

Am I worried about a FB who has thrown 2 former HCs under the bus who maybe he left on bad terms with?

Evans claimed Holmgren’s purist old-school West Coast offensive philosophy is no longer as effective, that what wins games now is heavy game planning and versatilty, specialties of Bellicheck and Payton, and a weakness of Holmgren’s.

Funny, Mike McCarthy, a Holmgren tree disciple, is doing just fine.

First of all, Shurmur is the coach of this team so this is all kind of irrelevant.

Second “heavy game planning” is exactly what “the” West Coast offense is about. This was the real brilliance and innovation of Walsh, not any formation or type of play. I’ve written about this and others have extensively as well.

In fact, Belicheck reaffirmed his beliefs as a coach when he was fired in Cleveland after he read Walsh’s book—he has a tremendous respect for Walsh. If anyone runs a ball-controlled passing offense, it’s Sean Payton.

There is no way a team with Hasselbeck as QB has more talent than one with Drew Brees or Tom Brady at the helm. Seriously, no way. Hutchinson and Jones were great players, but Brady and Brees will go down as two of the best players at the most important position ever.

Any miscommunications between Holmgren and Haskell are irrelevant, Shurmur and his OC will need to be on the same page—and it is clear that they are making sure they find the right guy for the job because they’ve taken over a year to get him. They could have brought in a random guy if they were willing to settle, but they didn’t.

Thanks for all the perspective and feedback all! I was only aware of Evans as a player, so I’m glad it’s more likely a guy who makes a habit of trashing his old coaches than an outing of serious organizational problems.

I’m even happier to hear that about the West Coast O. I had thought the fundamental principles of it were centered around replacing a traditional run game with a quick-release, often short-distance timed passing game. I wasn’t aware of its emphasis on game planning over any other system, thanks Rufio.
I have always believed that the best coaches are those that derive gameplans from copious study of their opponents and who are able to see in-game patterns quickly and make appropriate adjustments. I also think adapting plays to the strengths of your players makes sense.

Here’s a though: Gil Haskell as OC.