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I’m particularly excited for our walkthroughs to give me the chance to see what each play will look like in real time. It’s one thing to imagine these plays in my mind as I draft them up. It’s another to see them played out by real people, even if OTAs are non-contact.
“I know you’re the head coach, man, but my playbook last year was proven. How can you keep questioning that?” Mike whines.
Maybe he’s not whining. It sounds like whining to me, though.
“It worked with the players you had last year. It’s as simple as that.” I shrug at the end a little flippantly, waiting for him to shut the fuck up.
“But you’re not on top of Andy the way you’re on top of me,” he points out.
“Right. Because Andy didn’t lose his key players. We know the defensive plays will work, and we’re constantly adding and updating.” I really shouldn’t have to defend myself nor my decisions to Mike.
“Then let’s keep both,” he suggests. “A compromise. We keep my plays and you add new ones.”
“So our rookies are forced to learn over six hundred new plays?” I shake my head. “No. Absolutely not. How’s this for a compromise? You cut yours in half, and we add mine.”
“That’s fucking ridiculous, man,” Mike says, shaking his head with disgust.
I blow out a breath and turn my attention back to my tablet. “I don’t have time for arguments. I’ve sent you the list of the ones I think are outdated or won’t work for our offense this year.” I can’t help but think that if he’s giving me a hard time about the playbook, he’s going to give me a hard time on every other aspect of play, too. Once we’re on the field, he’s going to have strong opinions about play calling and strategy, and when it’s time to make a snap decision on the field, I’ll have to go with my gut. Not his.
“Fine,” he eventually mutters, and he storms out of my office.
I glance over at Andy. “Anything else?”
He shakes his head and raises his brows.
“What?” I ask.
“You sure cutting all those plays is a good move?” he asks.
“I’m not sure keeping Mike around was a good move,” I admit.
He twists his lips and nods a little. “You know, butting heads with him might be a good thing. It’s only showing you’re both passionate about winning even if you have different ideas on how you’re going to get to that goal.”
“Yeah, I know you’re right. It’s still frustrating as fuck, though.” I glance up at Andy. “Thanks, man. I appreciate the pep talk. You ready for Monday?”
He nods. “I’ve got my coaches all lined up and ready for their position meetings.”
I mutter something about how that’s great and dismiss him, and on his way out, I ask him to shut the door.
And then I call my father back.
I suck in a deep breath before I click the button, reminding myself I can do this.
I can lie to him.
I just hope he doesn’t bring up Jolene. I’m not prepared to handle questions about her, particularly not from my father and particularly not when it’s been four days since I last saw her.
“Hey, Dad,” I answer.
“Lincoln, what a surprise. You actually called me back.”
I chuckle at the dig even though I don’t find it funny. “I’m a busy guy. What can I do for you?”
“With the exciting news of your brother and you landing on the same team at the same time, your mother and I have decided to get a place in Vegas. We’ll be coming out this weekend to look at houses and would love to see you while we’re in town.”
Oh fuck.
Fuck no.
