Regardless what we may think of his "writing", that doesn't mean Nick is wrong regarding Dean's overly cautious approach to hiring. Fans were pissed that Norv wasn't fired sooner, so we missed out on Harbaugh. What makes anyone certain that Harbaugh would've ever been on Dean's shortlist to begin with. Is there anything in Dean's past hirings that says he's a risk taker?
How long has Dean been in control of this? This is an honest question because I'm honestly not sure when it became more Dean and less Alex. edit: Or has it always been Dean as the president and CEO since his father bought the team?
For reference sake, here's all the HCs hired since 1984 and their previous position prior to the hire. Al Saunders: Chargers Wide Receivers Coach Dan Henning: Washington Redskins Offensive Coordinator Bobby Ross: Georgia Tech Head Coach Kevin Gilbride: Jacksonville Jaguars Offensive Coordinator Mike Riley: Oregon State head coach Marty Schottenheimer: Washington Redskins head coach Norv Turner: San Francisco 49ers Offensive Coordinator I'm not sure what your criteria is for being or not being "overly cautious" with a hire, but there's the list. Of this list, only Henning, Marty, and Norv had previous head coaching experience in the NFL.
He's been CEO since '95 (so we can credit him with at the very least everyone from Gilbride forward); Gus bought the team in '84. How much of a hand he had in matter prior is questionable, though the fact that he started working in a professional capacity for the team immediately after Gus bought the franchise and the fact that we've rarely heard of Gus being very hands-on or involved much at all might suggest Dean was getting his hands at least a little dirty in team affairs.
Ross was a success, but Riley was a disaster...... the others were all NFL coaches. I think Dean wants a guy with an NFL track record.
