The Coaches Guide to Tanking
By Austin Schoff
One of the main allegations that Brian Flores made in his pending lawsuit against the NFL is that Dolphins majority shareholder Stephen Ross offered $100k for each game that Flores lost for the Dolphins in 2019. Ignoring the legality of the offer (and shades of the 1919 Black Sox Scandal), I wanted to pose the question: how should coaches respond to a front office’s request to tank?
Tanking is defined as weakening a team from within to reduce salary and obtain a better draft pick. As such, tanking is an almost surefire way to end up with a franchise-changing player. Tanking allowed the Bengals to draft Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase, the Sixers to draft Joel Embiid, the Oilers to draft Conor McDavid, and the Nationals to draft Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper. Each player mentioned above completely changed the direction of their franchise.
However, in order to tank, teams must purposely field weaker teams by ridding themselves of star players. This puts the coach of the team in a very difficult position. Coaches are brought to teams to win games. Tanking makes winning almost impossible. So what should a coach do if the front office provides a directive to tank?
In my view, any coach should attempt to sabotage the tank by focusing on player development. By working with each player to improve their game, not only will the team organically improve its skill level but also its camaraderie. A tight-knit team will play hard for each other, and that type of bond sets a culture that breeds winning. A great illustration of this is the current Cleveland Cavaliers team. Last year, despite a weak roster, coach J.B. Bickerstaff laid the groundwork for a tight-knit team that has punched well above its weight this season (and forced the Cavs front office to avoid trading away players). Another great example of this is what Brian Flores did with the Dolphins. The 2019 Dolphins were on pace to be one of the worst teams in modern NFL history; however, thanks to a focus on player development, the Dolphins showed clear improvement. One season later, they were a game out of the playoffs despite inconsistent quarterback play.
A coach who can successfully develop players is more likely to get to stick around once the tank is complete. In 2015, I interned for the Milwaukee Brewers in the baseball operations department. While the team made trades with a clear focus on being competitive in future seasons, coach Craig Counsell worked to build a tight-knit squad that performed well above expectations after the trade deadline that year. As a result, Brewers ownership forced all prospective GM candidates to commit to having Craig Counsell manage the Brewers. The Brewers have made the playoffs in each of the last four seasons.
At Couro, our mission is to help athletes be their best. If you are a coach looking to learn more about how to better develop your players or share your insights on how to better develop athletes, join us in our mission. More important to non-professional athletes’ development than winning games/meets is consistently improving; let’s be part of the charge to drive this home.
