Inqui

I can't remember if it was Ozzie or Steve, but it was mentioned in the EoY presser last year.

The last time the Cowboys went 13-3, the Giants won the Super Bowl after qualifying as a wild card.

Wade Phillips for HC Josh McDaniels for DC

Wouldn't be any worse than Zuttah.

I love the way he's been able to compensate for weak/banged up OLs. A guy like that might have a use or two here.

I've been saying this since at least the middle of last season so it's not just me hoping we mimic the latest side to find success, but I love the Dallas model and I hope we follow that. What we're seeing with the Cowboys is the culmination of years of investing big in their OL, arguably starting with the Tyron Smith pick in 2011. Adding Frederick and Martin gives them arguably the best OL core in the league, while keeping Doug Free around keeps their chemistry intact and Collins is a great plug and play option (and no doubt they won't have a problem finding a new one when his contract expires). They've done well to find Dak, but that OL sets him up perfectly to succeed. Chuck in a few defensive playmakers who can make just enough stops and that's a really good team in this fan's opinion. I'd love to see us do the same around Stanley. Focus on making that core group of LT, C and RG elite (easier said than done I know), which would also revolve around Yanda's replacement in a big way, and that process may end up taking long enough that we've got a strong foundation to at least be fringe contenders as Joe winds down his career as well as keeping the rebuild fairly painless once he moves on.

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I don't care if Kubiak lit up bag of poop on fire in front of Ozzie's office on his last day and flipped everyone two middle fingers on his way out - if he's available to be an OC I'd love to have him back. (that's one hell of a mental image though, Kubiak doing all that)

Well put. I think we'll keep our DC but move on from Marty. It'll be interesting to see how crazy things get around the league though - I feel like a lot of teams that have known they wanted to replace their staff for a while have already made their moves earlier than the traditional Black Monday (in the interests of supposedly getting a head start) and that trend will continue in the coming yeas, so if I had to guess I'd say it'll be more subdued than previous years gone by.

I haven't read in detail through all this thread yet, but I think it's tough to grade a GM by how each class looks because the entirety of every draft class is different. It's not really fair to say Ozzie's lost the plot because of the 2012 and 2013 draft classes when both classes were pretty diabolical on the whole. It's more accurate to compare his hits and misses to what other GMs were doing that year. I've been meaning to compare every draft class from the AFCN since the Jimmy draft, but that alone would be a massive undertaking so I probably won't ever get around to it. But what I will say is that I think the FO may be a little stuck in the early 2000s mindset when it comes to drafting (build through the trenches, stuff the run and let everything else fall into place). I have to cringe a little when I think about how Ozzie would have taken Mosley over OBJ in 2014.

It's fun to talk about the Madden curse (as one who talks about said curse), but the reality is that it's similar to being on the cove of SI - the athlete's already at such a high point in their career that sadly the only way to go is down (or staying at that height as a best case). Though talking about it doesn't necessarily mean you believe wholesale in it either - like I say it's just interesting to talk about, especially when a Steeler gets on there.

Hope we win, but meh.

I'll be around. I'm just too lazy to set up an ESPN account and PM you my details.

Yeah, I really don't see the enthusiasm for bringing in Wade Phillips as a HC. I think the McDaniels love is misplaced but at least that's understandable.

Was that the first game you went to see? My first was when the Steelers beat us 43-23 in 2014, so I can empathise. It's a pretty deflating feeling.

In a way I want to see him given another season, but with better coordinators. Last year was kind of a write-off but between that and the 2013 season we showed far more grit than you'd expect from a team having the seasons we were having. So a better football mind or two at coordinator might be what the doctor ordered instead of firing Harbaugh. I dunno. I don't envy the people tasked with (re)building this side.

At least we'd be able to beat the Seahawks if we hired him.

I can think of 7-9 reasons why we don't want Jeff Fisher.

Tell that to Tony Dungy.

The kind of season where Dallas winning the SB is actually the silver lining. I'm going to be sick.

I can see Ozzie in the EOY presser: I know the best scouts, we're going to find the best players, and we're going to make the Steelers pay for them.

GG season.

It must have been Dungy who called him Justin. And he did it twice so it wasn't just one of those minor slips you expect from a live broadcast.

A reference to the commentator's earlier mistake.

Alright boys, season on the line here in these last two minutes. Let's get it done.