The Clock Management Coach

I think Bill Simmons has proposed the "Assistant Coach for Common Sense" recently, but I have documented evidence from my law school newspaper that the following idea was mine first.

Assistant Coach for Clock Management

Every team has experienced the same pain in the end-game or halftime situation. The coach is either inconsistent or ignorant of his goals. In the Washington-Miami game, Miami failed to call timeout near halftime and faced the ineviable position of scoring on 3rd and 1, or kicking a field goal and admitting their time management failure. Cameron went for it, and succeeded, but the tenor of his whole coaching career was on the line with that call.

Then there's Herm Edwards.
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fgfglahabjlas YOU PLAY TO WIN THE GAME! You coach for the hot Krispy Kremes.
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Let's just look at tonight's game as an example. You're down eight with one timeout and about three minutes left. You have two choices: a) run the clock and bank on the TD+2 combo, and force OT, or 2) Go fast and try to score, knowing that even if you don't pick up the two, you can onside and kick a FG to win it. The first scenario is all or nothing, in that if you don't get the two the game is virtually over. The second scenario feels wiser, but it also communicates to your team that you think you won't get the two. On the other hand, if you take the first option and milk the clock you're telling your defense, "Gee, I'd really rather put it all on the TD+2, because I can't count on you to prevent them from getting into FG range." However, the only thing that matters is that YOU PICK ONE AND STICK WITH IT. The Eagles seemed to want to rush (getting a play off before the two-minute warning), and then slow down.

See why you need a scape goa.....errr.....Assistant Coach for Time Management? The Head Coach doesn't have time to consider all the two-minute-drill variables. The alternative is that the loudest and closest assistant gets to influence split-second decisions by the head coach.

How else do you explain Andy Reid "freezing the kicker" with 14 seconds left in the half and the Redskins attempting a FG, rather than a shot in the end zone? An Assistant Coach for Time Management would have told him that you don't give a team a free shot at the end zone when the worst case scenario is that they line up for the same field goal they're already lined up to kick. That free shot won my fantasy game (Chris Cooley DOES still play for the Redskins), but it should have never happened.

There's no salary cap for coaching staff (though Danny Boy seems to be pushing the envelope). Why not hire someone to master all of the clock scenarios?