It’s greedy to get into coaching with the goal of becoming an NFL head coach; or to get into management and/or personnel with the goal of becoming an NFL GM? I couldn’t disagree more, in the vast majority of cases, it has nothing to do with greed. Why would someone begrudge another who worked hard and earned a promotion? Mike McCarthy was making good money as the OC in San Francisco and Ted Thompson was making good money in the front office of the Seahawks: Were they greedy for pursuing and accepting their current positions in Green Bay?
Vince Lombardi was born in Brooklyn, NY and spent the first 45 years of his life on the east coast. After being passed up for head coaching spots as an assistant coach with the NY Giants he was finally offered the job in Green Bay. As Packers fans should know, the Packers were 1-10-1 in 1958, the year before Lombardi arrived. Was he greedy for wanting to be a HC? He had no previous connection to Green Bay so was he being disloyal to the NY Giants for wanting to fulfill his lifetime aspiration? Was he foolish to accept a job from a team which had spent the last decade “at least 3-4 feet below the cellar floor”, the “Siberia” of the NFL?
Of course we prefer the Packers front office and coaching staffs remain intact, but IMO Packers fans should enjoy the “envy” of other organizations as they attempt to lure the Packers’ front office personnel, members of their coaching staff and their players. When other organizations recognize the talent accumulated in Green Bay, it is a sign that something is exactly right with “this picture”: It’s the price of success and the Packers are one of the most successful organizations in the league.
Financial rewards often accompany achievement in one’s chosen field of endeavor, at least in this country. That does not mean everyone who achieves is greedy. Instead it’s an indication of a meritocracy, where people of ability have the opportunity to advance based upon their ability, rather than social class, or wealth, or some other lucky accident of birth. In fact, the more individuals who achieve, the more who come closest to maximizing their potential is not only beneficial to the achievers and their families, it’s better for the society in which they live. At least that’s my opinion…