Remember that in organizations, the **** rolls downhill. To protect themselves, those at higher levels will almost always implicate those at lower levels and make them the fall guys for issues such as these.
So let's look at that hierarchy here.
Stephen Ross has the NFL investigation to cover himself. He can invite the NFL in, make himself and the organization transparent to a neutral, authoritative body, and either 1) cover himself and everyone in management below him with the NFL's stamp of approval, or 2) blame people in management below him and make personnel changes (e.g., firing Joe Philbin) on the basis of the NFL's findings. Stephen Ross is covered.
Jeff Ireland in this instance is for all intents and purposes the equivalent of Stephen Ross. He is divorced enough from the goings on with regard to issues like these to stand atop the organizational hill with Stephen Ross, and simply go along with whatever Ross does on the basis of the NFL's investigation. He will be spared in this.
Joe Philbin is in more of a "middle management" role in this scenario. His job is as safe or endangered as the NFL investigation warrants. If the NFL's findings are particularly egregious and suggest substantial negligence on his part, he could be on the chopping block. If the NFL's findings are more middle of the road, he can foist the issue down onto Jim Turner and/or Richie Incognito. If the NFL's findings suggest little or no negligence at all on the part of management, Richie Incognito will bear the full brunt of this issue, and the **** will roll completely downhill onto him.
Based on what I've seen so far, most notably Philbin's press conference from earlier today, I suspect that the organization's stance will be that it knew nothing of the "over the top" issues that have come to light in this until the time at which it suspended Richie Incognito. I suspect they'll acknowledge some awareness of issues that are more "typical" across the NFL, while claiming no knowledge of the egregious ones that have come to light since Sunday. Otherwise, Incognito would not have received the only personnel action thus far. By taking action only toward Incognito to this point (and not Turner and/or Philbin), the team drew the line in the sand and began to lay the groundwork for claiming no knowledge of the egregious issues beforehand.
Now, what the team has set the table for is the elegant PR move of being totally transparent to the authoritative body in the matter (the NFL), while having taken the measure of suspending the offending player when it supposedly first knew of the egregious allegations. If and when the NFL investigates and finds no proof that the Dolphins knew of Incognito's more egregious behavior prior to Sunday, when it suspended Incognito, the pieces will then be in place to make Incognito the one and only fall guy in the matter (and perhaps deservedly so), while sparing everyone in the organization above him.
The **** will have rolled downhill in true organizational fashion, though in this case it could be argued that the **** should roll downhill. Incognito may truly be the only one at fault here, or it may be the case that the Dolphins knew of these more egregious issues (the atypical ones) before today and swept them under the rug.
Either way, it'll come down to what the NFL can prove the Dolphins knew beforehand, and I suspect that with Philbin's proclamation in his press conference earlier today, that proof will not be forthcoming, and this will come to be known historically as the Richie Incognito story and little or nothing more.
So let's look at that hierarchy here.
Stephen Ross has the NFL investigation to cover himself. He can invite the NFL in, make himself and the organization transparent to a neutral, authoritative body, and either 1) cover himself and everyone in management below him with the NFL's stamp of approval, or 2) blame people in management below him and make personnel changes (e.g., firing Joe Philbin) on the basis of the NFL's findings. Stephen Ross is covered.
Jeff Ireland in this instance is for all intents and purposes the equivalent of Stephen Ross. He is divorced enough from the goings on with regard to issues like these to stand atop the organizational hill with Stephen Ross, and simply go along with whatever Ross does on the basis of the NFL's investigation. He will be spared in this.
Joe Philbin is in more of a "middle management" role in this scenario. His job is as safe or endangered as the NFL investigation warrants. If the NFL's findings are particularly egregious and suggest substantial negligence on his part, he could be on the chopping block. If the NFL's findings are more middle of the road, he can foist the issue down onto Jim Turner and/or Richie Incognito. If the NFL's findings suggest little or no negligence at all on the part of management, Richie Incognito will bear the full brunt of this issue, and the **** will roll completely downhill onto him.
Based on what I've seen so far, most notably Philbin's press conference from earlier today, I suspect that the organization's stance will be that it knew nothing of the "over the top" issues that have come to light in this until the time at which it suspended Richie Incognito. I suspect they'll acknowledge some awareness of issues that are more "typical" across the NFL, while claiming no knowledge of the egregious ones that have come to light since Sunday. Otherwise, Incognito would not have received the only personnel action thus far. By taking action only toward Incognito to this point (and not Turner and/or Philbin), the team drew the line in the sand and began to lay the groundwork for claiming no knowledge of the egregious issues beforehand.
Now, what the team has set the table for is the elegant PR move of being totally transparent to the authoritative body in the matter (the NFL), while having taken the measure of suspending the offending player when it supposedly first knew of the egregious allegations. If and when the NFL investigates and finds no proof that the Dolphins knew of Incognito's more egregious behavior prior to Sunday, when it suspended Incognito, the pieces will then be in place to make Incognito the one and only fall guy in the matter (and perhaps deservedly so), while sparing everyone in the organization above him.
The **** will have rolled downhill in true organizational fashion, though in this case it could be argued that the **** should roll downhill. Incognito may truly be the only one at fault here, or it may be the case that the Dolphins knew of these more egregious issues (the atypical ones) before today and swept them under the rug.
Either way, it'll come down to what the NFL can prove the Dolphins knew beforehand, and I suspect that with Philbin's proclamation in his press conference earlier today, that proof will not be forthcoming, and this will come to be known historically as the Richie Incognito story and little or nothing more.
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