[skins89moss]

Originally Posted by Lotus

I'm sorry but I beg to differ with your Belichick example. Yes, Belichick has made "tough decisions even at the cost of his closest players." But that does not mean that Belichick is distant from them. Plenty of former New England players have had nothing but nice things to say about him as a person. They say that in the locker room Belichick is much friendlier than his cold press conference persona might indicate. So, even though he makes "objective" personnel decisions, he is still friendly. Therefore, if New England is the desired standard, having a friendly and open atmosphere is not a problem.

Compare Mangini, who by all accounts is distant and perhaps sometimes rude to his players. Notice that he has a new job because he did not turn the Jets into strong contenders. Mangini would be an example of a "cold" locker room becoming dysfunctional.

As for Jason Taylor, by his own account he was hurt, didn't jell with the defensive scheme, didn't jell with Blache, and missed his family in Miami. These might be factors in what you perceive as his loss of competitiveness.

As for the Redskins making tough personnel decisions, there are many examples, including a recent one: Jon Jansen.

I couldn't agree more.