The water cooler used to be, well, the water cooler. Or the corner booth at the local diner. Perhaps even the checkout line at the grocery store.
People gathered there. They talked, perhaps argued, about the day’s activities and moved on. Business got done in the peace and quiet of relative peace and quiet.
Social media and the power of the Internet, however, have taken opinions, disagreements, insults, arguments and kudos instantly around the globe. Now, the world is the water cooler.
That puts NFL head coaches such as Denver’s John Fox (1-3) and Green Bay’s Mike McCarthy (4-0) in the same position. Both are dealing with extremes in the spectrum, trying to maintain some kind of order.
Fox not only has to find a way to jump-start a struggling team that is coming off a 49-23 loss, he has to deal with media and fans who are demanding that Tim Tebow replace Kyle Orton as the Broncos’ starting quarterback.
Public negativity surrounded Josh McDaniels last year before he was fired as Denver’s coach, and now it has surrounded Fox. In his attempt to rebuild the Broncos, Fox must get as much effort as possible from the 53 players on his roster while dealing with the pressure coming from outside team headquarters.
McCarthy, meanwhile, is coaching a Green Bay team many expect to repeat as NFL champion. That’s outside pressure too.
After the Packers blew out the Broncos at Lambeau Field on Sunday, McCarthy was asked if he had ever been part of an offense that was “this good after four games.” McCarthy’s response: “I don’t know. We had a good day today, No. 1, but we’ve got to get better.”
So while Fox must battle morale-crushing reactions to defeat that inevitably declare his team to be “the worst” or “terrible,” McCarthy must walk the line between allowing his powerhouse team to enjoy its success and not allowing complacency to take up residence.
That’s not as easy as it seems.
After the undermanned Broncos lost 24-20 to the obviously better New York Jets last year, the Denver players felt good about their effort. But because they lost, they were blistered by McDaniels in the days that followed that game. McDaniels never recovered the locker room after that.
In today’s NFL, a head coach has more to worry about than blocking, tackling and all things football. There are also tweets, texts and talk.
Jeff Legwold: 303-954-2359 or jlegwold@denverpost.com
