Written by Two off-the-field stories have dominated the headlines in the NFL this week. Both involve grossly inappropriate conduct by head coaches, although neither is surprising except that we heard about them. The “clubby culture” in the NFL may be beginning to break down. Finally.
First, a short cell phone video of Jacksonville Jaguars coach Urban Meyer “grinding” with a much-younger woman went viral on Twitter. After losing a road game in Cincinnati, Meyer chose to stay in Ohio to party at his restaurant in Columbus rather than fly back to Jacksonville on the team plane.
Then, disturbing emails began to surface during the investigation into workplace misconduct by the Washington Football Team regarding Las Vegas Raiders coach John Gruden. Gruden’s correspondence with a former colleague exposed him as a racist, misogynist, and homophobe.
Meyer and Gruden are high-profile public figures due to their coaching successes and exposure as television analysts. The Jaguars hired Meyer to fill empty seats in their stadium with Florida Gator fans, and the Raiders paid Gruden $100M to come out of retirement to energize their fan base during their transition from Oakland to Las Vegas.
So far, the Jaguars appear to stay committed to Meyer but did give him a public reprimand. Perhaps they are more concerned with their winless start. On the other hand, the Raiders chose to ask Gruden to resign after the New York Times released reports of the second batch of emails dramatically during Monday Night Football, where Gruded once starred.
Meyer was ashamed as he publicly discussed how he had apologized to his team for his behavior. His motto is to “own it,” and he appeared to be doing so. Gruden issued a statement where he said, “I’m sorry, I never meant to hurt anyone.” Both claimed that they did not want to be a distraction.
Though sincere in their apologies, It appears to me they both were surprised that they got caught. They belong to a very select club, the elite club of coaches in the world’s most powerful professional sports league.
Clubs have existed for centuries. According to Wikipedia, once people started living together in larger groups, there was a need for people with a common interest to associate despite having no kinship ties. Initially, they were social groups who met at a tavern but eventually, they evolved in two directions. One became a fixed institution, a clubhouse, and the other for a specific purpose, such as athletics.
The words team and club are used interchangeably in sports. Most team sports started as competitions between clubs. Teams have many cultures. While researching this article, I came across this excellent description by Janssen Sports Leadership Center of eight different types of team cultures. A team’s culture is determined by how it balances relationships and results.
Clubs highly value relationships in their culture. Popularity and politics are more important than merit in clubs, and style trumps substance. To be more competitive against other clubs, they realized they needed to bring on players outside their social circle. Those that chose to do so became teams.
Some clubs have evolved faster than others. They have stubbornly holed up in their clubhouses, where the rules of the outside world do not apply, and use their established relationships to wield power rather than rely on results. Secrecy and loyalty are essential to club culture, and what happens at the club stays at the club. Accountability is only to the club.
Club cultures are struggling to survive in this age of transparency. Internet videos and whistleblower accounts threaten their survival, forcing them to rely on their popularity and remaining influence to survive. Maybe these two dustups this week will nudge the NFL coaching fraternity to be more open and inclusive. It’s time for deserving assistants outside of the traditional hierarchy like Eric Bienemy to be given opportunities for head coaching roles rather than familiar names that generate more headlines than results.
Relationships are still meaningful, and meritocracy alone focuses on competitiveness and can become too cut-throat to be effective. We see this in baseball, where teams who go too far with their analytics in their decision-making process lead themselves into traps. This year, such was the case with the Tampa Bay Rays in the MLB playoffs by relying too heavily on their bullpen. As Jomboy said on Twitter, “nerds lose.”
Championship cultures successfully balance relationships and results. Team members are treated with respect and enjoy being part of something bigger than themselves. Values drive a mission and a purpose, and engagement drives alignment on meeting goals. There is no gap between what they claim to be and what their actions demonstrate. Therefore, transparency is encouraged because there is nothing to hide.
Unfortunately, the news this week shows the NFL has a lot to hide. The slogans we see on helmets and goalposts are merely words that do not apply to those in powerful positions. It’s time for them to “own it” and take the steps necessary to break up the “clubby culture” that connects them to their past.