Sal Alosi - Photo courtesy of Getty Images
Scott Robinson
The winter off-season… Hope and promise is plentiful. Message boards flutter in excitement at roster switches and weight increases. Interviews on the practice field or weight room always come packaged with the same delivery: “We’re getting stronger. We’re getting faster…” That’s typically followed by a trainer pointing to some exercise sheet and showing a higher number for an athlete’s lifting capacity.
But UCLA was “stronger and faster” last year… So, why did they only improve marginally, from a 4-8 to a 6-8 record? If stronger and faster is not a true indicator, then what can be collected as progress from a team during the off-season?
Perhaps it’s just having the right mind-set. History has shown, time and time again, that it is possible to reform a team in very little time—Even under the helm of a first year coach. Maybe it’s just the coach?
Or maybe it’s both.
Considering Parcells (1-15 to 9-7), Jim Mora (3-13 to 13-3) and even Jim L. Mora (5-11 to 11-5) did it, the task of turning around a down program can most definitely be achieved within one off-season. Take Sparano’s 2008 Dolphins: Despite getting a pink slip this past year, he revved up Miami from just one win to 11 within a single year—tying an NFL record for most increased wins ever, year-over-year.
