In early January the Seattle Times broke a story saying the Green Bay Packers asked the Seattle Seahawks permission to interview Seahawks general manager John Schneider for the GM job in Green Bay.
The Seahawks refused permission and Schneider supposedly wanted to interview for (and wanted) the job. The Times reported NFL rules say permission can be denied if it’s a lateral move but can’t be denied if it’s a promotion. It became a moot point Sunday when the Packers filled the position.
I doubt this will have any effect on any of the parties moving forward but things like this can be sticky situations. Many years ago a client had an employee leave, they went to enforce a non-solicitation agreement, the customer said, “we don’t want to be in the middle so figure it out (without us).” What do you do? Run up legal bills, lose any chance with the customer, or let it go?
I remember another client who did everything right when hiring someone but the industry’s 800-pound gorilla put their legal department on it and the cost of winning wasn’t worth it.
What’s interesting about sports is it’s in the culture to groom people (primarily assistant coaches) for advancement, knowing the advancement will probably be with another team. There’s pride in seeing protégés move ahead, as it should be.
“Never take anyone’s advice.” John Banville
