There is an interesting text called "Game Plan: A Radical Approach to Decision Making in the NFL" that has some very relevant thoughts:
1. It looks at Pro Poker in 2003 and 2011. In 2003 only one of the top 10 was under 40, and by 2011 only one of the top ten was over 30. This is because the assumption was that you get better at reading people as you age, but the barrier to entry was actually just building up enough of a stake to participate.
2. Coaching interviews are worthless because none of the skills that matter in that environment help a coach when the clock is running.
3. Our cognitive skills peak in our late 20s and decline after that, which is why the average age of Super Bowl winning coaches is usually lower than the NFL average. Bellicheck is looked at specifically because he skews the data, but the author asks if Bellicheck of 2005 was better than the one of now.
There are 3 cognitive skills associated with coaching:
Processing Speed
Knowledge
Reasoning
Knowledge continues to grow after 30 while the other two decline sharply (explaining the poker stats). So there is an increasing ability to remember things after 30 with a rapid drop in processing speed and a less drastic drop in reasoning. In coaching, per the author, this means an older coach can apply classic solutions more effectively, while the closer a coach is to 30 the better they will be at solving new or novel problems, especially on the fly.
4. It asks why so many corporate leaders of emerging tech companies were under 30 and they had no problem leading an organization while a coach would.
5. Looks at the failure rate of hiring coaches who have failed elsewhere. (McDaniels)
I'm just skimming the surface, but there was a ton of stuff like that to think about and look at.
Obvious caveat: all the coaches the Rams seem to like are youngish so maybe little statistical difference between 32 and 36...
