Year: 2020

Baylor coach Matt Rhule will interview for the New York Giants head coaching job Tuesday, and if things go well and as anticipated, the search could be over and the vacancy filled shortly thereafter.

There are still hurdles to clear in the potential marriage between the 44-year-old Rhule and the Giants despite his emergence as the favorite to succeed Pat Shurmur. 

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It’s believed the mutual interest with Rhule and the Giants is strong, although that remains solely the foundation for a partnership moving forward. The phrase “dream job” has been thrown around with regard to Rhule and the Giants, and it’s not hyperbole.

That doesn’t mean they get together and finalize a deal, but there’s institutional knowledge here from both sides, even if Rhule was only in the building for a year as assistant offensive line coach on Tom Coughlin’s staff in 2012.

Rhule is expected to meet with Giants co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch, general manager Dave Gettleman and vice president of football operations Kevin Abrams. Tisch’s presence is notable, considering he has not been in attendance for the previous five interviews, instead engaging with the candidate by phone.

Here are 3 things to know about Rhule and his candidacy:

The resume

Rhule is a leader, and he’s a builder. There’s no other way to look at it. His success in lifting Temple and Baylor up from shambles – and in different ways – is undeniable. He sells his vision, but does not come off as a salesman. 

His pitch is genuine, and the proof is in the product.

Rhule went 2-10 and then 6-6 at Temple before putting together back-to-back 10-win seasons at Temple. He moved to Baylor and inherited a mess within a program essentially hollowed-out by a scandal that preceded him.

Under Rhule, the Bears went 1-11 in his first year before posting a 7-6 record in Year 2, followed by an 11-win season in which Baylor played in the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day – a remarkable turnaround.

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The journey

Rhule grew up in New York City before moving to State College, Pa., where he played his college ball as a walk-on linebacker at Penn State. His blend of grit and charisma paved the way through assistant coaching jobs at Albright College, Buffalo, UCLA and Western Carolina before landing at Temple, where he stayed for six years.

And here’s the thing: Rhule spent the early years of his career coaching defense, but he flipped to the offensive side of the ball at Temple. All but one year of his experience has come at the college level, yet there is something to be said for his time not only as a versatile assistant, but a head coach over an extended period in challenging circumstances

The verdict

The timing is right for Rhule and the Giants to make this happen.

Some within the organization believe there is appeal in having a head coach who will roam the sideline without having his head buried in a play call sheet on game day. That created a negative perception for Ben McAdoo and Pat Shurmur when things went south. Rhule won’t call plays on either side of the ball, instead putting together a staff that he can oversee from position to position.

The last two coaches hired by the Giants had an obvious specialty in offense, but that has not always meant success in the NFL, not as much anymore as those capable of leading in every meeting room. The coordinators and assistants are the specialized coaches, and the biggest challenge for any candidate in this cycle is putting together a staff. Obviously a head coach needs to be able to coach, but the job is more than that.

Rhule also has appeal for Giants on a global level in terms of the organization, and not just what he brings to the football operations, which is obviously a priority. Rhule has the personality that you can sell to sponsors. He’s a great speaker. Corporate will love him.

He was a finalist for the Jets job last year and should be the hire here if his ideas for a staff and philosophical approach meshes with Dave Gettleman and ownership.

The Giants are going to need to pay a hefty price if they want Rhule, considering his potential buyout at Baylor is no secret. They’ll enter the interview knowing what it will cost, and you don’t get to this point without being willing to pay the price.

Art Stapleton is the Giants beat writer for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to all Giants analysis, news, trades and more, please subscribe today and sign up for our NFC East newsletter.  

Email: [email protected] Twitter: @art_stapleton 

The Daily Dawg Tags brings you all the Cleveland Browns news you need to know, including the possibility the coaching search ends sooner rather than later.

The Cleveland Browns coaching search is one of the most focused openings around the NFL world because it could result in one of the top available candidates landing the job. There is also a focus on it because it was a job not expected to open up, along with the general manager position.

Now that both jobs have been vacant for a week and the Browns have conducted the interview, the question is now how long will the Browns continue their search for a head coach? The expectation is that the process will ramp up this week.

After the first round of playoffs, several Browns candidates remain in the playoffs, including two who were on first round byes. One of the front-runners for the job, Kevin Stefanski, still remains in the playoffs after the Vikings defeated the Saints. But the other front-runner, Josh McDaniels, is now available right away after the Patriots lost to TItans.

Today’s featured article looks at Cleveland’s schedule for interviews this week, and McDaniels being available to be hired as soon as possible could cause a rapid end to Cleveland’s search for a head coach.

Cleveland Browns News

Browns will interview Brian Daboll Monday in Cleveland; Josh McDaniels & Kevin Stefanski up this week, too – Mary Kay Cabot, Cleveland.com

McDaniels and Stefanski have been considered the favorites for the Browns job since the beginning of the search. Each coach has been considered the favorite on any given day as well. If McDaniels blows the Browns away during his first interview this week, it may not take long before he gets the job.

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Break in coaching search sets up what could be busy week – Scott Petrak, BrownsZone

The Browns needing to hire a general manager after hiring the head coach will likely cause the organization to finish the coaching search rapidly. If the Browns want to get everything set up for the offseason, they may not want to wait to long before they have their head coach and general manager in place.

Next: Background on every reported Browns coaching candidate

Paul DePodesta has uncertain future with Cleveland Browns

After the Browns parted ways with John Dorsey, it appeared Paul DePodesta won a power struggle in the front office between the two. However, DePodesta may not have much more time working in the Browns organization.

Public recognition. Quarterly bonuses. Gamification.

All of these tactics have the power to motivate employees. Most organizations use a mix of approaches to encourage their people to perform at high levels, as well as to uphold the company’s values and business processes. But how do you know if you’re motivating your people in the right way? 

Understanding what motivates your employees — and leveraging it at the right moments — has the power to transform your business. Let me give you an example. 

For one organization in the transportation industry, employee and customer safety is the crux of their success. Through careful analysis of the feedback provided by the organization’s nearly-100,000 employees, business leaders were able to identify a high correlation between employee engagement levels and the risk of injury on the job.

Their most surprising finding? Leaders found that it wasn’t external factors, like the availability of injury-prevention resources, that cause the biggest disparity in injury rates across locations. Instead, the analysis revealed that the employees who tend to be safer at work are those who express feeling a sense of belonging, trust, and empowerment. 

By extrapolating this knowledge by location, the organization can now predict, a quarter in advance, at which sites injuries are likely to be the highest, and leaders can address engagement issues and make resource adjustments accordingly.

Like many organizations, this company’s people are driven first and foremost by intrinsic motivation, a self-sustaining source of fulfillment and performance that contributes to both individual and organizational success. These factors—a sense of belonging and ownership—are a big part of the “why” that motivates them to show up and do their best work, rather than take a mental raincheck for the day. 

Understanding intrinsic motivation can transform your business

By and large, organizations tend to rely heavily on a different and less powerful type of employee motivators, focusing primarily on external sources, like performance bonuses, promotions, salary increases, or a trip to Hawaii, to motivate their people. This is evidenced by the widespread dependence on practices like “pay for performance,” traditional performance appraisals, performance ratings, and forced rankings. 

While these are valuable, when we exclusively use external rewards to get people to achieve goals, it can feel like we’re attempting to control their behavior. Instead of feeling excited and challenged to exceed a target, we sometimes see people hit a goal and go no further. 

Intrinsic motivation, however, like growth opportunities, or a strong sense of purpose, can spur employees to go above and beyond. A recent meta-analysis found that in motivating people to complete complex, quality-focused tasks that involve creativity, intrinsic motivation was nearly six times more powerful than extrinsic motivation in predicting performance.It’s time we start designing our HR and performance practices to realize the vast potential employees’ intrinsic motivation has in lifting organizations to levels previously unreached.

Putting intrinsic motivation to work

Simply put, intrinsic motivation comes from within. It’s the drive you feel to push on a project because the work itself—rather than the deliverable, or reward for it—energizes you, or the sense of trust you experience when you get a chance to handle a big opportunity on your own. 

Leading science has identified several key precursors to intrinsic motivation in the workplace, including: 

• meaningful team and manager relationships to encourage frequent and open communication 
• high autonomy and trust in employees 
• clear alignment between employee strengths and the work they’re asked to lead or support 

While we all generally share these basic needs, each of us is slightly different in what we need to feel intrinsically motivated. So it’s important for leaders to have regular touchpoints with employees to tailor the employee experience to each individual.

Using intrinsic motivation for sustainable performance

What does intrinsic motivation look like in practice?

• Conversations: Use insights from your employee engagement surveys to inform frequent conversations between managers and employees. These conversations will help leaders know what your people need to be successful. 
• Choice: Help employees take more ownership of their work. Encourage them to set goals and participate in decision making. Give them freedom over how they do parts of their job, and let them influence how they are rewarded.
• Coaching: Coaching is not just providing feedback. It means helping employees navigate their path to success and find answers they already have inside of them. It’s about enabling your people to tap into their own passions and experience to reach the best solution, with guidance along the way. 

Tapping into your employees’ intrinsic motivators doesn’t have to be a major lift. Following these tactics, your organization can build a stronger culture that inspires your people to work smarter, be safer, and perform above and beyond the call of duty. 

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