Firing T.O. : The Cowboys’ Leadership Failure

March 8th, 2009 by admin

When the Cowboys released Terrell Owens the sports media declared almost in unison that it was about time.

Coaches and general managers apparently told reporters that few teams were interested in Owens. The consensus among most sports reporters and analysts was that only “wacky” owners like Al Davis of the Raiders or Daniel Snyder of the Redskins were likely to sign Owens for the upcoming season.

Jason Whitlock, a well known sports columnist for the Kansas City Star and foxports.com, likened Owens to “a reformed stripper” that some crazed NFL owner would sign in July thinking he could control Owens .

Owens is Still Productive

Kevin Hench on foxsports.com said:

All T.O. did in his three seasons in Big D was average 78.3 receptions,
1,196 yards and 12.7 touchdowns. The Cowboys were 31-16 with Owens in
the lineup (0-1 in his lone missed game). Could it possibly be a
coincidence that over the last five seasons Owens’s teams are 48-20
(.706) with him and 2-10 (.167) without him?

The Bills Take the Leap

The Buffalo Bills not the Raiders nor the Redskins signed Owens within two days after the Cowboys released him.Bills’ owner, Ralph Wilson Jr., a man never thought of as unconventional , was apparently the central player in the decision to sign Owens.

ESPN.com’s Tim Graham opines that the Bills “after years of doing business the same way-adopted a totally different approach and made the sort of bold move nobody expected.”

Graham goes on to note that Owens ‘”price tag is amazingly cheap” at $6.5 million. A number of commentators point to Owens’ $6.5 million deal as an indication that Buffalo was the only team intersted in signing the former Dallas receiver. It should be remebered that the Bills will pay Owens more than $700 thousand more thn he would have gotten from the Cowboys this coming season. Also it is important to note that the Cowboys gave Owens a new contract just last season which guaranteed him $12 million.

Killers and “Druggies” Si: Loudmouths No

An amazing fact about the National Football League and the media that covers it is ,that it has been able to accommodate players with criminal records but not loudmouths like Owens.

The most recent MVP of the Super Bowl, a star receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers, was suspended for one game this past season for DUI and marijuana possession.

A star receiver for the New York Giants is currently facing multiple years in prison for illegal possession of firearms. A Cincinnati wide receiver was suspended multiple times for a variety of criminal acts. Players have served time for selling and using drugs, vehicular manslaughter, and spousal abuse.

Somehow the NFL coaches and general managers can embrace common criminals but can not embrace a talented player with a “big mouth”.

Managing Difficult Employees

Leaders in any organizations whether they are churches, factories, government agencies or banks must learn to deal with difficult employees. Sometimes some of the most talented to people can be the most difficult to manage.There is a wealth of literature avaialble to help in learning to handle difficult people. Business schools across the country offer classes that can help in managing dificult people and the world is full of consultants who are available to help with this challenge.

NFL coaches and administrators need to learn to manage difficult players like Owens. Dallas wasted millions of dollars for their failure to effectively manage Owens. Releasing Owens, who has been one of the Cowboys most productive players is a testimony to a failure in leadership more than an an indicator of Owens narcissistic behavior.

Hopefully the Bills’ leadership will learn to manage Owens.

Share and Enjoy: Share this post with the world.

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 8th, 2009 at 12:57 pm and is filed under Managing Difficult People, Terrell Owens. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.