Yes, I think you hit the nail on the head WeWant9. Payne's demeanor is perfect for being an assistant- a players' coach, if you will- but not so good (as we've now seen) for being the head man. I've been saying for the last 2 seasons that Payne was always the "good cop" and Cal was always the "bad cop" when they worked together. Payne would take a guy around his shoulder and whisper in his ear and encourage the player that it was gonna be fine. But what happens when it's time to lay down the law or set a guy straight? What happens when you've got to be brutally honest and it's time to shape up or ship out? That's where I think Payne's laid-back demeanor causes him problems as a head coach. I don't think being the "bad cop" is in him.
And look, there is no shame in that. My wife and I have different temperaments and we have learned to work together in dealing with our kids. I would think there are some similarities in coaching. I'm the laid back and gentle one and she's the brutally honest one. Sometimes my laid back-ness gets me in trouble. Sometimes her brutal honesty gets her in trouble, but we work together. A head coach has got to have a little bit of both in them, in my opinion. Payne has the laid-back, gentle and loving side but not the brutal honesty side. Unless he can get an assistant who can hold feet to the fire and give them the authority to speak for him, he will struggle. I don't know how much your temperament can be changed. It's like your personality DNA. I don't think his problem is laziness. I think it's temperament.
By the way, for those who don't know. I'm an associate pastor at a church and have been on a church staff since I was 18, which was back in 1990. There has always been, among people called into ministry, to keep striving to become a senior pastor. It was kind of an unwritten expectation when I was in seminary. But as I've had different experiences, I've learned that I shouldn't seek to be the lead pastor necessarily. I don't mind playing a secondary role, which is almost as important for the church as the senior pastor. My temperament was made for associate, in my opinion. So, I'm fine with that. I think Payne should seek to be an associate as well. That's my 2 cents.