Originally posted by RickyRoma:
Still don't get the whole $100,000 per game to lose thing.....this took place in 2019, yet he remained the HC through 2021.
Regarding this part, I am not at all surprised that owner(s) will incentivize losing. Players have a very small amount of years to play, coaches have wins and losses attached to their resume - both these parties cannot afford to tank. But an owner has longevity on his side. If there is a blue chip prospect that could possibly turn the franchise around, for example a Joe Burrow, then I totally see the desire to tank and get a shot to draft that blue chipper. There is no difference between a 5-11 season and a 2-14 season (both suck) except that one might get the team the opportunity to draft a franchise QB that is coming out in the draft.
Tanking is not fair for the players that crack their skulls every Sunday, the coaches that put in 16 hour work days, and the fans that pay ticket fees expecting to see maximum effort, but for the owners, like the fans, they have the luxury of seeing the big picture because they'll be around for a long time. That's why tanking makes sense to the owners.
The reason I think Flores got fired after the 2021 season, and not 2020 season, is because Joe Burrow is now a certified baller, whereas Tua is a struggling QB. The owner might have looked back at his desire to tank 2019 for Joe Burrow and think "dammit, we should have actually tanked in 2019. F you Flores".
edit: I just checked the games for MIA and CIN in 2019 and there was no way that MIA could have gotten a higher draft pick than the 2-14 Bengals. So what I typed above about MIA owner being upset about missing out on Burrow makes little sense.
[ Edited by thl408 on Feb 4, 2022 at 10:33 AM ]