Your eyes burn from the magnum of champagne poured on your head, yet nothing has ever felt this good. It's the culmination of all the moves you made, the deals you wangled, the people you put in place. You signed the right free agents, locked up your top prospects with long-term deals, your game plan meshed perfectly with the talents of your players and everything just clicked.
Life is good.
Fast forward two seasons. Your free agents walked, and the only ones available to you are looking at the downside of their careersyet still will command million-dollar salaries. Your offensive guru has taken the head coaching job someplace else, and your quarterback can't get on the same page with the new coordinator. You changed logos to give sales a boost but didn't foresee a fan revolt. You throw millions more at college seniors on draft day, hoping that one of them actually will contribute down the line.