Mutiny?
A lot of people are shocked at the suddenness with which Brad Childress reversed course on Tarvaris Jackson. Among them is Pioneer-Press columnist Tom Powers, who has suggested three possible things that could’ve spurred Childress to this uncharacteristic show of decisiveness:
1) Childress decided he’d like to remain employed as a head coach.
2) Zygi Wilf ordered him to make the change. He spent a bundle and no doubt is horrified to see his team 0-2 and all stadium talk submerged beneath a sea of grumbles.
3) There was a player mutiny.
My money is still on #2 (which is basically inseparable from #1)…but what about that third possibility? Could some of the more vocal veterans (Antoine Winfield, Matt Birk) have pressured Chilly into making this decision? Did some of them go to Zygi themselves and ask him to reason with Childress on their behalf? Or did they just grab Childress from his office, duct-tape him to a goalpost and start wacking him with soap-loaded socks Full Metal Jacket-style? I don’t think we’ll ever know. I do know that, if you’re Pat Williams or Winfield or Birk, you don’t have time to sit around waiting for the project to develop. You’ve got to win now. The team was put together with guys like that, and it never made any sense for Childress to place its fortunes in the hands of a quarterback who lacked the command and experience necessary to lead them to the playoffs.
