The Coach is KILLING Me!

Norvs Throughout History: General George B. McClellan

Ok, maybe this site is transitioning into full dork-dom by comparing an NFL coach with a Civil War general, but work with me on this.

• McClellan was well-respected as a coordinator -- few matched his abilities in organizing and training his troops.


• He was the prototypical "players coach" -- his men loved him not because they thought they would win, but because he was good to them.


• On the battlefield, he was consistently overly cautious and tentative.


• He was at the helm of a vastly superior team, yet was beaten on a regular basis by a better coach who was more aggressive and motivated his players better.


• He was fired by the owner/President in mid-season.


• There are historians who feel that he has gotten a raw deal, and claim that he is just the victim of the winners writing his story. No doubt, if he was around today, someone would want to give him another chance with the 4th Infantry Division.

Special thanks to Wikipedia for refreshing my memory -- it's been years since I've read my Shelby Foote...

Norvs Throughout History: Michael Scott

Today we begin a series looking at different Norvs Throughout History. In honor of the season premiere of The Office, we will first examine the Regional Manager of Dunder Mifflin Scranton, Michael Scott.

A review of Michael Scott's track record will show that he is generally bad at his job, a poor manager of people, and actually de-motivates his employees. Yet he has remained in his job for going on four seasons now, and his branch always escapes being closed. The reason for all this is that people think he is a nice guy and/or feel sorry for him. Gee, that sounds kind of familiar, doesn't it?

Compare him to the former manager of the Stamford branch, Josh Porter, who is not only a better manager and a better motivator, but is also devious enough to work the business situation to his personal advantage. He's a hooded sweatshirt away from being Bill Belichick.

Of course, there are some differences. For example, Michael occasionally does something right -- like closing the Lackawanna County deal at Chili's or signing a big contract while on a sugar high during Pretzel Day. And in Norv's defense, he has never run over one of his players with his car. Still, Michael Scott and Norv Turner are shining examples of the Peter Principle -- people rising to the level of their incompetence.

Next week on Norvs Throughout History: General George B. McClellan.