Thursday night, in front of a sold out IMAX Theater for the premier of The Dawgfather: The Legacy of Don James, I sat next to former Washington Husky quarterback Warren Moon for a Q&A session about the documentary.

A question came from the audience about leadership he learned that he used during his Pro Football Hall of Fame career.

Moon recalled a time when the 1977 season was in jeopardy.

The team was undisciplined off the field and it translated to an undisciplined team in the field.  He, Husky Hall of Fame linebacker Micheal Jackson, and other senior leaders asked Coach James for permission to have a team-only meeting where the players could hold their teammates accountable.

Those players were not about to let a promising season be washed away by not controlling the things they could control.

“It wasn’t a time for finger pointing,” recalled Jackson.  “Our message was ‘either you’re with or you’re not’.”

With the Dawgfather’s blessing, they required that each player recommit to their common goal or get out of the way.

These days, that approach is common practice and has the a buzz-word a “player-led” team.

There’s a huge opportunity for the senior leaders, namely quarterback Will Rogers and  linebackers Carson Bruener and Alphonzo Tuputala.

Again, like in what turned into a Rose Bowl season and a top 10 rating, there’s no finger pointing necessary.

A message of “what can each of you do to make the team better?”.

If every player had made one better decision this team would easily be ranked in the top 25, close to the top 10–if not in it.  All of the physical tools are there, the scheme is there, the discipline is not.

Rogers, Bruener, Tuputala and others can be the Moon and Jackson of this team and turn things around as the Michigan Wolverines roll into town.