Utah Blaze didn't meet goal; White has no excuses
Brad Rock
And it wasn't.
He left, he said, to take a break.
It could be he was also told to resign. Or maybe he simply didn't see things improving. The reasons really aren't all that important. He's gone, the victim of his own expectations, which were precariously high.
White said in his first year that the Blaze could be a contender. Same the second year. At the start of this season, he said there was no reason whatsoever they couldn't win a championship.
Clearly, this was a man in a hurry.
"We're to the point — with the core of players we have, the leadership and everything else — that a reasonable goal now becomes a championship," said White in February. "The last two years, that probably wasn't a reasonable goal, but this year anything less than a championship is not going to be acceptable."
Instead, the Blaze lost 11 games and were defeated in the first round of the playoffs.
That's what he gets for being so doggone candid.
In harsh reality, White failed — at least by his standards. In 13 AFL seasons in Arizona, his teams went to the ArenaBowl five times, winning two titles. He won 68 percent of his games, second-best in AFL history. He's in the league hall of fame.
A former Arizona State and Dallas Cowboys quarterback, he still holds eight Dallas records.
As a coach, he has been as plain spoken as a parole officer. Which may have been his downfall. He said there weren't any excuses, and darned if there weren't. So he recused himself from the bench, so to speak. A three-year, 21-30 record wasn't good enough.
The highest-paid coach/GM in the league fired himself for not following through on his promises.
If only politicians had such principles.
"I am grateful for everyone in the organization," said White of his time with the Blaze. "I couldn't have asked for anything better."
While the Blaze didn't exactly blossom under White, he did some nice things. He gave the new franchise instant credibility and represented it superbly. He saw the team through the difficult 2007 season, when receiver Justin Skaggs died of a brain tumor. This year he steadied the team after its 0-9 start, guiding it to the playoffs.
It's not like he had become complacent. Insiders say he worked harder than ever after firing defensive coordinator Hunkie Cooper and taking on added responsibilities.
Beyond that, he set a standard of accountability. From the day he arrived, he refused to lapse into the sort of self- serving, five-year-plan mantra many coaches espouse. He said he was hired to win. Now, not in five years.
Recent comments
its good to see this throwball guy taking responsibility. Mr. White...
throwball | July 1, 2008 at 7:45 a.m.
