Obits and firings: April 14, 2017.

Dan Rooney, of Pittsburgh Steelers fame, and former ambassador to Ireland.

A powerful voice in the NFL for decades, often out of the public eye, he helped settle two players’ strikes, served on many league committees and was a confidante and adviser to three commissioners. He fought to give more opportunities for minority coaches to ascend in the NFL, an effort that prompted the adoption of what is known as the Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview at least one minority coach in the process of hiring a head coach.

As Lawrence noted in a comment yesterday, it looks like Judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam’s death is being considered a suicide. I didn’t want to say so at the time, but that’s what I was afraid of.

Some wisdom from other, better people:

…as the Bloggess says, depression lies. Depression tells me that it’s never going to change. Depression tells me that there’s no hope, that I’m going to feel this way forever. Depression tells me I’ve tried everything to get better and it doesn’t work. Depression tells me that I’m a failure as a husband, a father, a friend. Depression tells me that I suck at my job — that if clients are happy with my work it’s only because they are deluded.

The number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

Firings after the jump.

Rob Hennigan out as general manager of the Orlando Magic.

The move occurred after the Magic finished their 2016-17 season with a 29-53 record and failed to reach the playoffs for a fifth consecutive year.
Even worse, the rebuilding plan that Hennigan shepherded — a plan that CEO Alex Martins and the DeVos family implicitly endorsed when they hired Hennigan — has lost all traction, with no light at the end of the tunnel, leaving the franchise no clear pathway back to relevance.

Dean Blandino resigned as NFL director of officiating. Why am I noting this here, if it’s a resignation? Read the press coverage:

Officiating director Dean Blandino is leaving the NFL to spend more time with his family and explore other opportunities.

How many times have you heard the “spend time with family” and “explore other opportunities” phrases? They may be true in this case, but, generally, those are the two biggest cliches when someone is involuntarily pushed out.

One Response to “Obits and firings: April 14, 2017.”

  1. Depression is insidious. I’ve had a couple of things to say about it.
    https://pergelator.blogspot.com/search/label/Psychological%20Depression