Hey, when I saw it last night, I didn't have time. I needed some sleep 😴💤 But I listened to it this morning.
Very good post.
After listening to that, wild guess here, but I think Leonhard wants to be able to spend time with his family, while not having to move his family around. So basically I'm thinking, if he leaves, he wants a job he knows he'll be at for the next decade or so, or it's not worth leaving his family for the season nor moving his family to the job.
Also, more control, over both his players and scheme, which he has right now as the top defensive guy at Wisconsin.
Originally Posted by: beast
Sleep? How embarrassing of you need sleep!! GET YOU SOME COFFEE MY GUY!! Okay, time for me to be on decaf!
Okay, being non-prick here. Initially, I was feeling like, WTF did you even answer the call if you weren't ready? Well, it turns out the Packers called him and acquiesced. He and LaFleur hit it off pretty well during their zoom meeting. And then continued to hit it off well during their in-person meeting. He received an offer and after sleeping on it he decided it just wasn't the right time for him. I can respect that.
If someone calls me saying they want me as Director of IT, I'm going to interview. I'm going to interview because maybe THEY know I'm ready, even if I don't realize it. If I feel like whoa, this would be great, but yeah I am just not ready for this kind of time commitment or responsabi8ilty or whatever. Then I decline. I've been in similar situations before. And the pay was substantially more than I was currently making at the time. Turning down the money was hard, but I felt it was best for the company and myself.
I've read some morons on Twitter fault LaFleur for offering the position to someone who didn't accept it. And also saying LaFleur panicked and hired Joe Barry just hours after being turned down. I question if these people wipe their own ass because they clearly have no capacity to comprehend hiring processes or being prepared. That's not to ridicule though. It's better to inform and educate. (((Practice what ya preach, Kevin!))) I think LaFleur knew landing Leonhard was a long shot, however, it was WORTH the long shot. And knowing it was a long shot, he had another candidate lined up just in case. Instead of blasting LaFleur for not getting his primary candidate, maybe we should credit him for being prepared to move onto his next best candidate?
Another narrative I've read -- Packers never offered Leonhard a position. And that Leonhard backed out knowing (or feeling) the position would be offered to someone else in a manner to save face. I don't think we will ever know because the Packers aren't the kind of organization that is going to say "Nah, we didn't even offer Leonhard the position".
Based on the stupid amount of details I've read about this whole thing. I think Leonhard was offered the position, really wanted to take it and something flipped his mind into declining. I also believe LaFleur knew the chances of landing Leonhard were slim and was prepared for that.
I guess I'm just a half-full kinda dude. Oh, and if anyone disagrees with me, you're just a dummy head. 🥳