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WEIR: EVERYBODY HAS ONE
Jan 17, 2006, 4:01:54 AM by Eileen Weir

Welcome back, Herm. This Kansas Citian is happy to have Edwards at the Chiefs helm for the foreseeable future, and I wish him a long and successful run as our newest head coach. I have noticed that a lot of people around town share my sentiments and are eager to help out our head man, reacquaint him with the Arrowhead scene, and offer advice on how to make a 10-6 team into a Super Bowl contender. Suggestions on coaching staff, defensive scheme, and how to handle the boss swirl through the airwave and across the papers with increasing frequency.

You know what they say about opinions. Everybody has one.

Speculation is manna to fans looking across the vast wilderness that is the off-season. A turnover in coaching personnel can seem like a gift from heaven for teams excluded from post-season play. It gives us something to talk about, a means to stay connected to the team for at least a few more weeks, and a reason to open the sports page each day. Getting to know the new guy and evaluating his decisions and processes is a fine January distraction.

Many have kindly submitted the names of potential candidates for assistant coaching vacancies. Dave Adolph, anyone? That one was a beauty. More than one observer has advised Edwards on defensive scheme, recommending he adopt a blitz-like attitude, favoring it over cover two based on our current personnel. A cursory glance at the morning paper, a few minutes spent tuning into local and national radio programs, a keen ear turned to an overheard chat at the corner coffee shop, will certainly provide Herm with considerable counsel.

Though Edwards is known as a congenial type who would likely respond to a proffered proposal with a conciliatory nod, all this opining is getting irritating. Advice, even that which is offered in the true spirit of usefulness, is rarely sought or welcomed. Sadly, well-meaning opinion donors are frequently off and running before the victims of unsolicited guidance can blurt out a hurried, “No thanks,” to the “If you ask me…” utterance.

American culture glorifies the right of a free society to chime in with views on an unlimited number of topics. The pride of our nation is our liberty to freely express ourselves without threat of consequence. The explosion of on-line blogging and reality television has further licensed average citizens to stand up and be counted in the court of public opinion. The entertainment world has capitalized on our desire to possess a legitimate voice by allowing program viewers to decide the fate of contestants on such television giants as “American Idol” and “Dancing with the Stars.”

The practice of offering opinion is a thriving industry, one without any real rules of regulation. Unlike reporters of news, opinion columnists and editorialists are free to create practically without restraint. A prerequisite of expertise is waived, allowing even those utterly void of credible experience to produce printable positions. In the case of Herman Edwards, I have sat in awe of those who presume to understand the construction of a coaching staff or the nuances of a defensive system better than he.

Personal opinions, put forth by the unqualified, are generally frowned upon within professional sports. Witness the dressing down of running back Larry Johnson by head coach Dick Vermeil after Johnson allegedly accused the offense of being “too cute” with its play calling. Coach Vermeil accurately pointed out Johnson’s lack of coaching experience which made Larry ill-equipped to evaluate coaching practices. In other words, mind your own business. Johnson was conspicuously quiet the remainder of the season. Conclusion: message received loud and clear, Coach.

John McCormick, Deputy Editorial Page Editor for the Chicago Tribune and a 2002 winner for Editorial Writing in the popular Best Newspaper Writing series suggests seven key questions to guide editorial writers. McCormick hints that the measures work equally well for columnists. With a stated goal of adding something valuable to the public discussion, McCormick asks of editorial writers:

1. Who is the audience?

2. What is our attitude?

3. What, exactly, are we trying to accomplish?

4. What are we contributing to the debate?

5. Do we have something new to say about this?

6. Have we fiercely attacked our own premise?

7. Are we stirring up a “three bowler”? That borrowed phrase, McCormick explains, refers to a reader who will be so bored by the “unrelenting earnestness” of the piece that his face flops into his cereal bowl once, twice, or if the article is especially dull, three times.

Opinion brokers, whether they manifest as columnists, editorial writers, or talk show hosts, share an obligation to inform as well as entertain. Selling an opinion is far different than simply having one. According to McCormick, audiences respect and respond most positively to views that are supported by facts and strong reasoning, persuasively presented, and those that successfully advance the conversation. Reporters gain a powerful voice by adhering to these guidelines even among readers, viewers, or listeners who disagree with the reporter’s stated position.

Doling out advice and assessment is a highly tradable commodity in today’s information age. But as one Australian on-line columnist succinctly summarized the media landscape, “So may opinions offered by so few, who seem to know so little.”

My advice to Herm? Don’t take any advice. Politely nod.

http://www.kcchiefs.com/news/2006/01...ybody_has_one/

My advice to Eileen... 4321