A thought crossed my mind today. Probably no coincidence that the number of new creative Gen X & Gen Y Coaches being hired over the last few years coincides with the new technology being embraced by teams to give themselves an edge.
Virtual reality, machine learning, and artificial intelligence game preparation will be growing exponentially. (Matt Patricia is a master of spread sheets)
It’s hard to imagine too many more Baby Boomer type coaches being hired much after these next two to three years.
Very soon, the Bill Belichick’s and Andy Reid’s are gone. A lot of new NFL gurus will be the younger technology guys (Millenials) taking over.
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Or, that may mean that the head coach and assistants will no longer be doing the scheming and game plans. A team’s IT department could run 30 million game simulations on a server over night, and the Lombardi 5000 Game Simulation Software (GSS) hosted by Microsoft Azure could deliver in the morning, the game plan recommendations for the coaching staff.
Coaches will be relegated to teaching on the field and basically, personal mentors.
This will raise the value of coaches who are great people persons, teachers, and supportive personalities, but less tactical.
And, just like there is facial recognition software, NFL refs could be replaced or at least assisted by game recognition software that can analyze a play instantly from many cameras and angles and call penalties on the fly, and maybe call them more consistently.
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I know there are a lot of people concerned about kneeling for some reason, but I actually see the next thing the old generation of fans complaining about is technology.
Not saying that matters a damn bit, but it’s just a prediction of sorts.
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Right, any change will always bring strong opinion. That’s human nature.
Ive thought about that, and then I think about coaches like Belichick, who are definitely “old school” but also very keen on doing things a better way. Belichick knows that coaches chart and diagram every call from every down and distance for analytics. Belichick openly admits that he sometimes makes completely oddball calls in games where they are safely in the lead, just to throw wrenches in analytics.
To me, its one of the reasons I do enjoy football so much. Im more of a hockey fan, love up and down play and love that you have to play both offense and defense to succeed. Football, is more like chess with full contact.
One thing that Ive noted happening in football. Most offensive coaches are young. Right now theres a big push for more offense, and I think thats why a bunch of young guys are getting hired. When it comes to defense, those coaches seem to be older. Ive always had the mindset, younger guys find new ways to do things. To me, truthfully everyone has tried something at some point or another. This is where old guys come in. Old guys have been there, seen it, and remembered why we stopped doing that.
Kinda like the old run and shoot. That was considered innovative and ground breaking at the time. Older DC’s like a Buddy Ryan, quickly realized I can overwhelm your defensive line with straight pressure, and beat the hell out of your QB even if I dont stop the play. Soon enough, the run and shoot disappears.
Its one of the cool dichotomy’s of football for me. Its why I dont play Madden. Madden makes me insane because people will run the same play over and over, because they already know that based on AI, the computer HAS to react a certain way. In real life, people get smart, make adjustments, and can also throw in wrinkles to trick you.
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Like I was saying…
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