Western Bulldogs run tough new rule over Eade

Eade to be put through a list of measurements/KPI's....

Western Bulldogs run tough new rule over Eade
The Australian
Stephen Rielly | May 16, 2009


THE Western Bulldogs are going to pass the final season of coach Rodney Eade's contract through a series of filters -- as many as five -- before offering him a new deal.

It is understood that while the Dogs are leaning towards the idea of a two-year extension for Eade, before that offer is made his current campaign will be evaluated according to a list of measurements, or key performance indicators, framed to look deeper than results alone.

The list is believed to include such things as organisational ability, game-plan versatility and how Eade can be expected to adapt to future changes within the club and the game.

In an attempt to measure him by more than mere ladder position, the number that football clubs have worshipped for all time -- the win-loss ratio -- will sit outside of the evaluation.

Not that winning and losing will be dismissed entirely, but the Bulldogs are understood to be working to a theory that it is possible for a coach to take a team into the top six and not do a particularly good job in getting there.

Equally, by turning to a list of set measurables, it is possible for a coach to finish outside the top eight but rate well.

"What's being asked is the question: 'How do we measure a coach?"' an insider said yesterday.

Much of the impetus for the establishment of the measurement process is coming from director George Pappas, a senior adviser with the Boston Consulting Group.

Pappas is one of the five-member football sub-committee that will ultimately make a recommendation on Eade, who led the Bulldogs to a preliminary final last year and has coached the club since 2005. It is understood that Eade is after a three-year contract.

President David Smorgon, chief executive Campbell Rose, football operations manager James Fantasia and football director Simon Garlick are the other members of the sub-committee.

It was with Pappas' urging that the Dogs hired a management consultancy firm to conduct a review of the football department in 2007, which led to Fantasia's appointment, an organisational restructure and Eade being divested of some of his non-coaching responsibilities.

Fantasia declined to comment yesterday other than to say the process is collaborative and will be applied across the football department, that Eade will not be the only member of the department to have his performance filtered, or sifted, through the measurements.

"All I can say is that we're working with Rodney on this. We're not sitting up above him, in judgment. He's involved and he's been kept informed of what we're measuring and how we're going to do it," he said.

Eade is one of seven coaches due to fall out of contract at the end of the season, with change certain at Richmond and conceivable at Collingwood, North Melbourne, Port Adelaide and West Coast. Mark Thompson at Geelong is as safe as any coach could be and is expected to receive an offer of a two-year extension in the coming months.

Eade has said a number of times this season that he wants to remain at Whitten Oval, where he has built a 54-44-2 record that includes a sixth-place finish in 2006 and a finish of third last year. The team that plays Melbourne today is third on the ladder with a 4-3 record.

The Dogs have indicated, too, that they are more likely to offer Eade a new deal than not, but it seems the terms of the contract may now reflect the outcome of the assessment.

Wish some of our players were put under the same transparent and visible performance management as our Football Department (ie Rocket) is.

I think it's a good thing that Rodney Eade will have to go through these processes - the club is acting in a proffessional manner and wants the best for the club in it's quest to secure a premiership. Eade will most probably get his two year extension obviously the results of this assessment of sorts will determine what the Western Bulldogs will offer him in terms of contract.

Just apppoint him and get on with it.

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Originally Posted by EJ Smith

Just apppoint him and get on with it.

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I'm with you.

All the bollocks they're carrying on with really comes down to one thing, is he better than anyone else we could get?

Yes, so appoint him now and stop any media distractions later.

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Originally Posted by Sockeye Salmon

I'm with you.

All the bollocks they're carrying on with really comes down to one thing, is he better than anyone else we could get?

Yes, so appoint him now and stop any media distractions later.

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I guess they're just trying to be professional and run the right processes so they can be evidence-based rather than go on gut feel, but the reality is, as you say, in this type of situation you can have all the powerpoint presentations in the world, the only question is if a new coach would be worth the destabilisation etc.

Where I think there is value in this is getting some practice in putting processes in place to guide a transition to the NEXT coach we have, which will hopefully be a smooth handover to a successor hand-picked by Rocket (twenty years and six premierships later), because that would be an ideal scenario.

I wonder if anybody has thought of the expression 'too smart for their own good' and that it could backfire.

There is profesionalism and there is this. This is stupid. Appoint the man, give confidence to the playing group we're in it for the long term and Rodney is the man. If they didthis to every single player, we would have a conga line to the Gold Coast out of the Whitten Oval.

Like last year when we signed 8 players up in one week, and the buzz from that and the sense of purpose. Just do it.

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Originally Posted by Lantern

I guess they're just trying to be professional and run the right processes so they can be evidence-based rather than go on gut feel, but the reality is, as you say, in this type of situation you can have all the powerpoint presentations in the world, the only question is if a new coach would be worth the destabilisation etc.

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And they absolutely need to do that. 6 months after he signed his last deal he stopped doing the football managers duties so it shows a rushed contract without dotting the I's hasn't worked in the past.
I'm almost 100% certain that he will be with us next year and beyond but it's emotional tripe to say he should signed now. 3/4 of the way through the season if the results are there would be the right time to stitch this up quickly.

A very diligent thing to do... it's all about accountability... JUST MAKE SURE YOU SIGN HIM UP SMORGO!!!!!!!!!

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Originally Posted by Sunshine

And they absolutely need to do that. 6 months after he signed his last deal he stopped doing the football managers duties so it shows a rushed contract without dotting the I's hasn't worked in the past.

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Yes, that was a stressful time for both him and the club. The club knows what it is doing and frankly it is a good idea to have these processes in place. They won't only apply to Eade but to others also in the football department.

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Originally Posted by EJ Smith

Just apppoint him and get on with it.

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Right on there. I'd hate to see a change in coach at this point, it would only be a setback having to adapt to new strategies/gameplan's. I think Rocket has done a terrific job and deserves a new contract, it's nice to have some stability.