How far is too far?

[Partial]

Matt Stafford aced the wonderlic and by all accounts seems like a decent guy.

When interviewing the niners, coach singeltary sent in a psychologist to analyze him more closely.

When asked about his parents divorce which occured while he was in high school, Stafford said he was fine, and asked "How much do I owe for the shrink bill".

Singletary was really mad about this and basically declared him undraftable for having a bad attitude.

How far is too far? Do you think its fair for these teams to ask these kids painful questions about their families, etc? Where does one draw the line?

[Lurker64]

It's a job interview. A potential employer can basically ask you anything they want, you don't have to respond or behave according to the way they wish you would, but it's their prerogative to ask.

[red]

the team that drafts him is about to give him massive amounts of money, without even knowing if he can play at the pro level

i wouldn't leave any stone unturned with these guys. i would want to know what shade of brown, or green, their shit is in the morning

[gbpackfan]

It's a job interview. A potential employer can basically ask you anything they want, you don't have to respond or behave according to the way they wish you would, but it's their prerogative to ask.

Actually, that is completely false. An employer can not ask you anything they want. The list of things they CAN'T ask you is amazingly long. But most people don't know that and they don't really care because they really want the job.

In this case, the 49ers are way out of line. It's a dumb question and his answer was perfectly acceptable. Mike S. needs to chill out a little bit. Pretty hard to believe this what made him "undraftable."

[Rastak]

It's a job interview. A potential employer can basically ask you anything they want, you don't have to respond or behave according to the way they wish you would, but it's their prerogative to ask.

Actually, that is completely false. An employer can not ask you anything they want. The list of things they CAN'T ask you is amazingly long. But most people don't know that and they don't really care because they really want the job.

In this case, the 49ers are way out of line. It's a dumb question and his answer was perfectly acceptable. Mike S. needs to chill out a little bit. Pretty hard to believe this what made him "undraftable."

You are 100% correct.


Not only that, but I found out recently there are LOTS of things you can't ask about after they are employed.

[Fritz]

IF this story is true, then it suggests that maybe Singletary is not a good fit in the modern day coaching world.

[texaspackerbacker]

IF this story is true, then it suggests that maybe Singletary is not a good fit in the modern day coaching world.

That's always been my opinion of Singletary.

BTW, has there ever been a study done about why there have been so many NFL coaches named Mike?

Or for that matter, QBs named Matt?

[privatepacker]

I think it was all smokescreen. Can't believe much what coaches or GMs say before draft.

[sheepshead]

It's a job interview. A potential employer can basically ask you anything they want, you don't have to respond or behave according to the way they wish you would, but it's their prerogative to ask.

There are plenty of things you cannot ask in violation of employment laws. A potential employer can be liable for simply asking the question.

You cant ask if someone is married or has kids for instance. You cannot ask anything that would be construed as trying to determine ones religion etc.

[sheepshead]

I suspect these guys sign away certain rights when they agree to take these tests. I liked his answer, Samurai needs to lighten up.

[vince]

Short of questions which might provide grounds for a discrimination claim in a legally protected area, I don't think it's possible to go far enough in the time available in such an interview process to guage whether a player possesses the mental makeup to earn the kind of money he'll be paid.

Stafford's frame of reference regarding his parents' divorce would appear to be a pretty good probing question to guage an individual's inner perspective, and does not expose the team to any risk of violating any legally protected area of discrimination.

Mike Singletary could be a great coach - if he gets a good group of team-first guys that want to do everything they can to help the team win - guys that respond well to his passion and personality. He could also fall flat on his face if he gets enough me-first guys that undermine his coaching style and personality. All these guys are supremely talented. We all saw on his opening game press conference that Singletary (rightfully IMO) places a high emphasis on character and team-first attitude.

There are a lot of ways people can respond when challenged or made uncomfortable. Lashing out in a sarcastic passive-aggressive posture is one of them, but probably not the best one for a soon-to-be rookie NFL quarterback about to face challenges the likes of which he's never seen before.

This was a very good question because it elicited a character-illuminating response, as it was intended to do. Stafford did not project the coachability, openness, confidence and stablility the team believes is important. Singletary saw a red flag, and I don't know if he's right, but given the stakes, I can't say as I blame him.

What will that defensive passive/aggressive instinct do for him when he throws 4 interceptions and is attacked in the locker room, in public by the media, and the boos come by the thousands? Do those instincts tend more toward Ryan Leaf/Vince Young or toward one who has the perspecitive and deep inner-confidence to move forward toward greater success?

[cheesner]

This was a very good question because it illicited a character-illuminating response, as it was intended to do. Stafford did not project the coachability, openness, confidence and stablility the team believes is important. Singletary saw a red flag, and I don't know if he's right, but given the stakes, I can't say as I blame him.

It is up to Singletary to select players in any manner he sees fit. If he is wrong, his team will suffer. If he is right, his team doesn't make a costly mistake. I think there are players who will succeed on some teams and fail on others based in part on personalities. Singletary needs to find the personalities he thinks will be successful for his team.

Personally, I think I am a great interviewer. I like to ask hypotheticals to determine honesty. I ask if the interviewee if on their first day of work they saw the president's secretary leave the office with a stack of legal pads what would they do?' The responses are usually, 'notify the President', contact security, set up meeting with the HR, confront her, Etc. Rarely, I hear the truth, 'Nothing. If its my first day, I have no idea who she is or what she may be doing.'

[swede]

This was a very good question because it elicited a character-illuminating response, as it was intended to do. Stafford did not project the coachability, openness, confidence and stablility the team believes is important. Singletary saw a red flag, and I don't know if he's right, but given the stakes, I can't say as I blame him.

I think a more germane hypothetical would be: What would you think if your Head Coach dropped his trousers during the big half-time speech?

[Freak Out]

He should have told him to fuck off.

[Packman_26]

What will that defensive passive/aggressive instinct do for him when he throws 4 interceptions and is attacked in the locker room, in public by the media, and the boos come by the thousands? Do those instincts tend more toward Ryan Leaf/Vince Young or toward one who has the perspecitive and deep inner-confidence to move forward toward greater success?

I don't think you can make a correlation between how he will handle legit, job related criticism to how he handles inappropriate questions that have nothing to do with his ability to play football.