Super Bowl LIX may have wrapped up the NFL season earlier this month, but make no mistake—there is no offseason in football. Just like in business, the game never stops.
While Philadelphia Eagles fans continue to celebrate their team’s championship, the rest of the league has already shifted its focus forward. The NFL Scouting Combine is set to begin this week, giving college players a stage to impress scouts. General managers, coaches, and front-office executives are deep in preparation for the draft, evaluating talent and making strategic moves that will define their franchise’s future.
Teams don’t have the luxury of waiting. The first regular season game won’t be played until September 4, but between now and March 4, all 32 organizations must decide which players to use franchise tag on. The headlines aren’t about the NBA or NHL playoffs right now—they’re about the futures of quarterbacks like Aaron Rodgers, Kirk Cousins, and Russell Wilson who will soon be looking for new teams and whether free agent Sam Darnold will return to the Minnesota. Even teams that did well last year are hunting for new quarterbacks. Despite finishing a top the NFC West, the Los Angeles Rams are looking to move on from Matthew Stafford, giving him permission to seek a trade In a league built on competition, the work is constant.
It wasn’t always this way. Decades ago, NFL players took offseason jobs just to make ends meet. Today, the game is a year-round commitment—not just because of the money, but because that’s what it takes to succeed. The same is true in business. There are no slow seasons, no time to coast. If you’re not improving, you’re falling behind.
Mike Vrabel understands that reality. The former Tennessee Titans head coach was one of the most sought-after names on the market this year, and now, he’s stepping into the top job in New England, leading the Patriots forward.
“I’m excited to get to work,” Vrabel said at his introductory press conference. “But everyone in this building is going to understand and believe that their job is critically important for our success.”
That mindset isn’t just for football—it’s a lesson for every business leader.
In today’s digital world, companies can’t afford to take their foot off the gas. A minor technology failure can have major consequences. Research shows that some companies lose as much as $9,000 per minute when their systems go down.
David Flower, the President and CEO of Volt Active Data and a Forbes Technology Council member, warns that downtime doesn’t just impact revenue—it can cost you customers.
“Not only can downtime take serious bites out of your bottom line, but it can also lead to customer churn,” Flower wrote. “Users today expect reliable, uninterrupted access to products and services, and prolonged downtime can damage trust and loyalty. Depending on how bad the situation gets, customers may seek alternatives, causing organizations to miss out on revenue opportunities. What’s more, frustrated customers may also share negative experiences with their networks, creating a negative word-of-mouth cascade.”
If you’re not always ready to deliver, your competitors will be. Customers today expect more. That’s why great organizations embrace a “next man up” mentality—not just in sports, but in business. When one player goes down, the next steps up. If the key person in your operation is out sick or on vacation, someone else has to be ready to serve your customers seamlessly.
Coach Vrabel kept it simple at the end of his press conference. “Time to get to work.”
The best leaders—on the field and in the boardroom—understand that success isn’t seasonal. It’s built every single day.