Is Pete the best recruiter in the NFL?

[FlyingGreg]

The reality is, were are not so "anonymous" anymore.

We are on the map.

 

[Jayburd14]

Great topic.

I think it was like the start of the season in year 2? tjack was going to be the starting qb, we had a green o-line full of high draft picks, our best offensive skill player was Mike Williams. The team had basically been gutted.

Pete was taking a lot of heat. One of the big talking points was lack of leadership on the team. My recollection is the gist of his message was that it's all about running the program in a certain way and creating the environment and the conditions conducive to success. That's his job, and that once enough of the ingredients are there the results will start to manifest themselves, and leaders will emerge as part of that process.

And that's pretty much what's happened. And people are taking notice. The man has a great recipe for running a successful football program. On a personal level I find it educational and inspirational in that it's not about control, but about creating the optimal conditions for success, and then letting people take advantage of it. That's huge!

Ok, I'm outta here. Sun is out and the surf is up.

Its very Jimmy Johnsonesque. Those Cowboys teams are the best comparison, IMO.

I think that is why Michael Irvin jumped on the bandwagon after the 42-13 win over the Whiners.

 

[Lady Talon]

Yeah, I think Pete is the best recruiter, not necessarily because he attracts top shelf talent, but because he set up a program from Schneider to the coaches to the players themselves that can identify unique talent and apply it to our on field product in ways that other more traditional coaches never think of. Once recognized he's utterly fearless devising a workable system around them. I think that's really attractive to players that have been forced into situations where their talent goes unnoticed or that have been shoehorned into traditional roles to fit into systems.

Pete's willingness to let our front office (Idzik) coaching staff (Bradley) and unhappy players (Flynn) pursue there own careers even if we'd sure like to keep their services is also a plus. Even to the point of recommending Bevell for coaching jobs even though it would set RW back having a new OC. The fact we'll start rookies and perennial backups as long as they prove what they've got and it's a talent PC can use. All helps attract the right people.

I see the whole Richard Sherman situation as Pete knowing that people see him as a villain helps to get our message out. Holmgren would be riding Sherman to shut up, but really, every time he says something noteworthy and gets himself in the news, it forces the media to look at our team, discuss that Sherman is the real deal on the field no matter how annoying, break down the season we had and how dangerous our team is going forward, and report that we are in contention to win the Superbowl despite coming out of the new "toughest division in football". It gets our team in the headlines, and top talent doesn't consider us an afterthought anymore.

We are not the team to join to get paid to end your career at anymore. Pete has shed us of that. We're becoming a free agent Mecca, for those players that want a fair shot at history on prove it deals.

 

[Blitzer88]

I would have to say that he is one of the better ones at least if not the best.

 

[Russ Willstrong]

I think it has more to do with Wilson. He's an inevitable champion.

That may be sarcasm but very true. Wilson's success story is being followed as much as any story in the league right now and it all started with Pete's willingness to take risks and to support his players. Pete is a good recruiter but word is out that he's a great players coach. He takes a chance on troubled players and challenged players then gives them opportunities to succeed when others wouldn't dare take a risk. One would think that players talk about this stuff as much as how they talk about a championship.

 

[tom95]

It wasn't that long ago when the National Media was questioning Pete and the revolving door of players coming and going. Saying it would not work, that the competition for their jobs was a joke and the players would not buy in to it.

It now seems to me that Pete was right. The thought process has changed. In a few short seasons he turned an old team in a young and competitive one. The Media and the League have taken notice. It looks like the Seahawks have bucked the old school mentality for now. If the players coming in are competitive and hungry the sky's the limit for this organization. GO HAWKS!

 

[godawg]

Lady Talon, were there a like it button, I would like your post.

 

[Shadowhawk]

I think it has more to do with Wilson. He's an inevitable champion.

That may be sarcasm but very true. Wilson's success story is being followed as much as any story in the league right now and it all started with Pete's willingness to take risks and to support his players. Pete is a good recruiter but word is out that he's a great players coach. He takes a chance on troubled players and challenged players then gives them opportunities to succeed when others wouldn't dare take a risk. One would think that players talk about this stuff as much as how they talk about a championship.

Yep. Instead of trying to fit players into his own scheme, he takes players and devises schemes to maximize their potential and minimize their deficiencies. Look at Chris Clemons and the LEO position, to cite just one example.

I've got to believe that a coach like that is very attractive to players who don't fit traditional roles.

 

[kearly]

Pete is so good at what he does. It's depressing to me that he's already into his sixties. I hope he coaches another 10-15 years, leaving just in time to avoid becoming Al Davis.

 

[Scottemojo]

Pete is so good at what he does. It's depressing to me that he's already into his sixties. I hope he coaches another 10-15 years, leaving just in time to avoid becoming Al Davis.

Maybe Pete has some Marv Levy longevity. It's what I tell myself, anyway.

 

[Hawks46]

Lady Talon pretty much summed it up.

I find it vastly ironic (and satisfying) that the mediots jumped all over Pete for being too "rah rah" and negated his entire approach as being "college" and it would never work in the NFL. Now, we have the most player friendly environment, even though most guys know they always have to look over their shoulders at the new draft picks, knowing that they could lose their job regardless of contract status. The players also know you're not going to get the biggest contract to come here, but it's common knowledge we're considered the hottest team in the NFL right now.

 

[SmokinHawk]

When high quality free agents (Avril, Bennett, Winfield) are willing to forgo the long term deals with tons of guaranteed money in order to play for a contender now and test the market again later, it says something about the team environment. We've not broken the bank on a single player. We've made no less than three marquee signings in free agency and the longest contract is Avril, at two years. All of the money we are spending now will be available next year, when we have to start extending our star players.

 

[chris98251]

Pete and John have that ability to make players both feel wanted and respected, they show the love basically. Players want that. Avril, Bennett, Winfield, Rice, Harvin, all disliked the way they felt they were treated or unappreciated. That ability opens the door wide open for us, I mean it's like saying we love you and were adopting you, welcome to the family.

 

[PlinytheCenter]

Two things in my mind make Pete a great coach: Lack of allowing a entitlement mentality and accountability for your performance. Simple things really but hugely important.

 

[DavidSeven]

Yeah, I said this in the Winfield thread. Seattle's got something that's starting to resemble the USC powerhouse that Pete built a few years into his tenure there. He's changed the culture of the organization, which is exactly what you want a head coach to do and is a big part of what is drawing FAs here. It's not just that this team is getting better. It's also the specific image they're projecting to the rest of the league. These guys look like they're hungry and play with a lot of desire and excitement. That's a cultural thing. I've heard/read Harvin and Avril comment on how hungry these players seemed and how that made them excited to come to Seattle. Winfield made a statement saying the Seahawks players were "young, athletic and energetic." Put yourself in the shoes of a premiere NFL athlete. What kind of organizational culture do you want to be in? Looking around the league, I don't think it gets much better than what you'll find at the VMAC.

 

[formido]

Lady Talon, were there a like it button, I would like your post.

+1

I hadn't considered Sherman's behavior as a catalyst for branding among players, but now that it's pointed out, it's so obvious. Now I have even less sympathy for the "let's fly under the radar, I don't want all this attention" point of view. Having a big brand and national recognition is a mechanical advantage and affects game outcomes. There's a reason to care how the media perceives us and portrays us because that's a lot of where players and coaches get their information, too, and influences their decisions.

 

[hawk45]

Pete and John have that ability to make players both feel wanted and respected, they show the love basically. Players want that. Avril, Bennett, Winfield, Rice, Harvin, all disliked the way they felt they were treated or unappreciated. That ability opens the door wide open for us, I mean it's like saying we love you and were adopting you, welcome to the family.

But the great thing is, even though Pete makes all these guys feel the love, he's a stone cold killer if their level of play drops off in terms of either replacing them as a starter or shipping them out.

Like the BMW thing. Big Mike had a good season and really helped us one year, next year his production dropped and injury bug bit him a little, poof he was gone and the position was upgraded through other means.

It's kinda weird but cool how players like what they feel coming from Pete, yet with Pete their job is probably the least safe out of any team. He'll find some guy in Canada, he'll find some guy in the 6th, and he'll just replace your sorry butt at any moment if you don't bring it.

 

[Sac]

Pete and John have that ability to make players both feel wanted and respected, they show the love basically. Players want that. Avril, Bennett, Winfield, Rice, Harvin, all disliked the way they felt they were treated or unappreciated. That ability opens the door wide open for us, I mean it's like saying we love you and were adopting you, welcome to the family.

But the great thing is, even though Pete makes all these guys feel the love, he's a stone cold killer if their level of play drops off in terms of either replacing them as a starter or shipping them out.

Like the BMW thing. Big Mike had a good season and really helped us one year, next year his production dropped and injury bug bit him a little, poof he was gone and the position was upgraded through other means.

It's kinda weird but cool how players like what they feel coming from Pete, yet with Pete their job is probably the least safe out of any team. He'll find some guy in Canada, he'll find some guy in the 6th, and he'll just replace your sorry butt at any moment if you don't bring it.

And i think players respect that level of honesty.

 

[two dog]

Be nice to see Winfield take an INT back for a TD on the way to a Bronco beat down in the big game.

Might make their arrogant QB reflect on leaving Paul Allen's jet sitting on the tarmac and refusing
to even to talk to Seahawk representatives.

 

[AshamanMat]

I can see Pete saying to FA's. What will it be, money, or Glory, it your choice.