Am I crazy or can we just not trade Rutger and still have his rights for 2 years, during which he might cave and sign?
No, not crazy at all. That is doable. It does come with some loaded barriers though.
Those barriers are super relevant if your organization puts a premium on team culture because something like this would likely cause some divisiveness and potential resentment. You will get the guys who dont care and just focus on their own suff. You will get the guys who can relate to or appreciate McG's point of view - even for some be fashioned as a cult hero, especially if they feel that they have not been utilized they way they thought they should. And you will get the guys who subscribe to tradition and believe in a development plan and arch. The latter, which I would suspect is the majority, would probably appreciate the confidence on one hand, but on the other hand maybe perceive it as arrogance or a lack of humility.
So right away it will likely generate some response from the members of the team as the one thing all of them have in common, regardless of where they came from or where they played, is that once upon a time they were also a rookie. So it would for sure resonate one some level.
As an organization you have to address that as it is an attempt to circumvent what you are trying to achieve with a draft & develop program. The essence of what McG is doing is undermining that process completely. Now it could be a lack of humility and self-awareness of his own limitations, or it may very well be a savvy way of using the organizations principles against it as a vehicle to simply not play in Winnipeg.
The reason why I think you are not crazy is because McG's 'X' factor is his personality and by all reports is very likeable. Likability is the strongest tool of persuasion to eradicate potential resentment or mistrust. This is right out of Dr. Robert Cialdini's infamous work on the concept of influence.
So I feel you may be right and he may be able to stay, provided he manages his relationships in the room well. As an organization, I can see why the Jets would move on though. All kinds of barriers to address.
