Mike Nolan on Kevan Barlow: ' ... Get Him Out of Here'

And the lover's spat between Mike Nolan and Kevan Barlow continues. Last year, the 49ers traded the disappointing running back to the Jets. Barlow, the consummate professional, ~~acknowledged that he knew it was a business decision~~ compared Nolan to Hitler, which isn't fair, because there's no way Nolan could pull off that mustache.

Well, if anything rubs Nolan the wrong, it must be being compared to genocidal dictators (talk about having a thin skin). He used the subject of Zak Keasey, a Princeton linebacker (Jersey represent!) the 49ers converted to fullback, to offer this on Barlow:

"I don't want a talented guy just because he's talented," Nolan said. ... "Kevan Barlow has some talent, but he's just -- get him out of here. And you have guys like Zak Keasey, who just has a heart of gold. The son of a gun just might make it because he's tough as nails."

I like Nolan, but c'mon, talk about getting it wrong. Kevan Barlow doesn't have talent.

By the way, the draft pick that the 49ers received for Barlow? They dealt it to Seattle for Darrell Jackson. So the 49ers essentially traded Kevan Barlow for Darrell Jackson. As long as Jackson doesn't go all Najeh Davenport on the 49ers locker room, I think it's safe to say the 49ers won that deal.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

8-04-2007 @ 4:28AM

jerry said...

Guess what clown, Kevan Barlow has more talent than you. Fairly inconsequential thing to be blogging about anyway, so it looks like you should probably try again. With that said, coaches can site heart and guts all they want, but there are good reasons why the Zak Keaseys of the world will earn their relatively brief collection of NFL paychecks throwing blocks and chasing after real athletes on special teams while spending the vast majority of every game on the bench. He'll make his share of contributions over time, but if he and his basic type of athlete (gritty, athletically limited) were all that coaches try and make them out to be teams would draft THEM in the first round and give THEM tens of millions. Besides, the biggest reason most coaches are so fond of athletes like Keasey is that they had a lot more heart and dreams than they ever had real talent themselves as players. I won't go as far as calling it jealousy (it probably is in many cases as human nature is what it is), but the average coach in any sport can't fully relate to his best athletes' abilities any more than the 350-pound slob in the fourth row surrounded by food can.