Chalk Talk

Mike Tomlin says leadership is lonely because assistants make suggestions, but the final decision and the responsibility always belongs to you “I just think more than anything, and this was told to me early on, and it’s a real thing, assistants make suggestions and head coaches make decisions. And you have to be comfortable with that.” “Certainly, you’ve got to take in information, and when you have experienced assistants like I did, that information is oftentimes very good. But you’ve got to be really comfortable with the fact that the responsibility is yours. The decisions are yours.” “And there’s a certain loneliness to leadership, and that’s okay. I discovered that, and really I discovered that I was okay with that. There is a certain loneliness with leadership, but it comes with the territory.”

Sean McVay says the toughest conversations require empathy and directness “You try to say it’s business, it’s personal, but it all is intermixed. I don’t think you can separate it. I think you acknowledge that tough decisions have to be made, but I think one of the things that I’d like to think I’ve gotten better about, when I was a young coach, and I’m still a young coach, you’re so worried about being liked.” “Oftentimes when you have those difficult conversations, you try to be liked and respected at the same time, and then people are like, ‘What the heck did you really just say?’ There’s no good way to deliver tough information other than with some empathy, but being direct, open and honest.” “And I love him. He knows that I love him. I couldn’t have more respect for him, even in terms of the way that he handles some of those difficult conversations. That’s an inevitable part of it.”