Until John Spanos is Gone, Nothing Will Ever Change - Locked By Fleet - John LIstened

[Velo]

I have a friend who is a former colleague who is a little person. He is extremely competent and well respected in his profession. But he has had to work hard to overcome the stigma of dwarfism to get where he is. I get defensive when people use a person's size in a derogatory way, is if their size has a bearing on their competence. For little people, it's a form of racism - to be discriminated against or disrespected just because they are different.

This is my friend Dan, who celebrated his 18th wedding anniversary yesterday with his wife. He is accomplished and well-respected. They have three kids. This is why I chafed when "midget" or "little" was used in a derogatory way earlier in this thread. Dan is strong, intelligent, wise and even-keeled. It's taken a lot of courage and perseverance for him to succeed in the professional world. I can't say enough how much I admire and respect him.

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[Rugger05]

The last time they stood out of the way was when John Butler and AJ Smith called the shots and they built a fantastic team.

John Spanos then infiltrated the Scouting department and our drafts went down hill…. After he fucked that up, John Spanos used the Peter principle to ascend higher and replaced AJ with Telesco so he could install a plyable yes man.

Once you get that power and you own the team……you never give that up, so Chargers are stuck with this incompetent nepotism until the team is sold.

Very valid point. That Jonny "fella" infiltrated early and is like a cancer that is spreading. As a fan it is just hard to watch your team get gutted from the inside out.

[Rugger05]

This is my friend Dan, who celebrated his 18th wedding anniversary yesterday with his wife. He is accomplished and well-respected. They have three kids. This is why I chafed when "midget" or "little" was used in a derogatory way earlier in this thread. Dan is strong, intelligent, wise and even-keeled. It's taken a lot of courage and perseverance for him to succeed in the professional world. I can't say enough how much I admire and respect him.

312870339_8401980849842328_6772916710466388565_n.jpg?stp=cp6_dst-jpg&_nc_cat=100&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=8bfeb9&_nc_ohc=skyXu2aGzjkAX-cyDrV&tn=DWCgRRNW8wTl2WgS&_nc_ht=scontent.fsac1-1.fna&oh=00_AT-aG-5uGW4pqjdOEeiP8lf4u_6rKFQh_h5SyUIFy

Once again a wrong choice of words from me. I was heated after that abysmal showing.

[foreigner]

I just sent a message to the Chargers through instagram asking the Spanos to sell the team, I encourage everyone to do the same.

[Velo]

Once again a wrong choice of words from me. I was heated after that abysmal showing.

No prob. Sorry for being hostile. I overreacted too.

[Topcat]

Okay, so back to the main point of John Spanos being unqualified to be at the helm of the Bolts...but I agree it goes beyond him to Deano...however, I think having a real football exec., like an assistant to a real GM or president for a proven winner, would go a long way towards restoring respect for this organization.

[Rugger05]

Okay, so back to the main point of John Spanos being unqualified to be at the helm of the Bolts...but I agree it goes beyond him to Deano...however, I think having a real football exec., like an assistant to a real GM or president for a proven winner, would go a long way towards restoring respect for this organization.

I 100% agree with this, but my main point being. What "proven winner" would take the position knowing the owners son is making decisions that you don't agree with and kept on getting over ruled. Maybe I am way off here and if John didn't have the last name of Spanos he would be getting interviews for GM gigs, but I think he is a huge negative for any competent person to want the job.

It reminds me of when Norv and Lynn were hired. They were told they needed to keep a list of assistant coaches. What competent HC would say yes to that?????????

[Topcat]

I 100% agree with this, but my main point being. What "proven winner" would take the position knowing the owners son is making decisions that you don't agree with and kept on getting over ruled. Maybe I am way off here and if John didn't have the last name of Spanos he would be getting interviews for GM gigs, but I think he is a huge negative for any competent person to want the job.

It reminds me of when Norv and Lynn were hired. They were told they needed to keep a list of assistant coaches. What competent HC would say yes to that?????????

Right...when you hire a HC, you gotta give him control to hire the assistants he wants...otherwise it's a setup for failure...

[Velo]

This is how infected the entire Chargers franchise is with Spanos progeny.

Dean Spanos (son of Alex) - Chairman of the Board
Michael Spanos (son of Alex) - Vice President
A.G. Spanos (son of Dean) - President of Business Operations
John Spanos (son of Dean) - President of Football Operations
Michael Spanos II (son of Michael) - Salary Cap & Personal Assistant

https://www.chargers.com/team/front-office-roster/

The franchise is essentially an employment for the Spanos family and their progeny.

[Rugger05]

Right...when you hire a HC, you gotta give him control to hire the assistants he wants...otherwise it's a setup for failure...

So wouldn't this also apply to anyone who is hired to run the front office.

"Look you can hire whoever the hell you want, but my son John will be there to make sure things run smoothly"

[Boltgang74]

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[Boltjolt]

I knew the Spanos family since before they bought the Chargers. I grew up in the region where the old man - Alex - made his fortune in construction and real estate. I have always said that without a father who made a pile of money, Dean would've had a career working at Home Depot or something like that. There's nothing wrong with being a lifer at Home Depot - I have a friend whose done very well for himself doing just that - but he doesn't have the skills to manage extreme wealth and NFL franchise worth billions. And neither does Dean.

The old man (Alex) wasn't a good franchise owner either. He made his fortune - in part - by being cheap, or always looking for that deal where he could underpay for something and turn it into a solid investment. Alex initially bid on the 49ers in 1977 - submitting a bid he thought was fair - but he was out-bid by Eddie DeBartolo's dad. He never got over it - he talks about it in his autobiography. He was shocked someone would bid that much for an NFL franchise. But he really wanted to join the NFL ownership club, so when the Chargers went up for sale in 1984 he made sure he was the winning bidder. He probably died a little bit inside bidding higher than the felt the franchise was worth. But when he got the team he tried to run it on the cheap, returning to the practices on which he built his business empire. That is why the Chargers were futile for so many decades under his leadership.

As for Dean, well after he graduated from the University of the Pacific way back when, he needed something to do. Initially the old man didn't want his son in the family business. Alex didn't respect Dean - he often belittled his son in public. He wanted Dean to make his own way in life. But mom intervened and dictated to Alex he was going give Dean a role in the family business empire.

Because of the way the ownership is structured, with so many members of the Spanos family having a finger in the pie, Dean has to run the franchise like a family business, with all of the inherent commitments. We already know the about the struggle between Dean and his sister and her sons. It is not conducive to running an NFL franchise successfully. I wish Dean's sister could successfully force Dean to sell the franchise to an individual or consortium with deep pockets whose sole commitment is football.

Good info to know.

I do really wish Dean is forced to sell the team. Been wanting that to happen for some years now.