Sincere question -- we all lose it a bit as we get older. Is there a serious concern about cognitive decline at play here? I know JB is stubborn and has always said things...but some of this has me questioning things. Is it just because it's his kids and he's a dad first or is he slowing down. It happens to everyone.
Sincere answer:
You can't defeat time. Age has many effects. It's usually pretty difficult to spot cognitive decline unless there's real 'pathology.' People develop ways to cover things up, or adapt, or make excuses, or reflect on it with humor, etc.
We can all relate to people we know, but i'll note some things that i'm experiencing now, and i'm 'only' 54. Professionally, even though i like my field, i am not nearly as engaged in it as i used to be. It used to be something i loved. Now it's a job. I used to actively participate in the industry community, i bought books, i frequented galleries/shows, bought periodicals, etc. But, now? Good lord, no. I just do the job. I'm still good at it, and i still have much more knowledge and experience than the young whippersnappers coming up, but they all have far more energy, adaptability, and passion. I'm just running out the clock, essentially, while trying to uphold my standards, but as you can guess, when you're no longer actively seeking out inspiration, the results are going to be a matter of falling back on old tricks or incidental successes because i understand what quality is.
You really can apply a lot of that to JAB. We don't have to call it being "stubborn." But, when you don't have the same zeal and commitment, you resort to what is safe and familiar.
And, then, yes, absolutely—any father would have embraced the opportunity to coach both of his sons when that scenario unfolded as it did. I can't blame him for that. It's unfortunate for our team that we don't really have a player in Jimmy's position who established himself as a clear winner of that position. Benny may have been neck-and-neck with him in the pre-season (i dunno, just remembering the reports), but he didn't do nearly enough in the early games to warrant more time than he got. And Jimmy is capable of putting up 20 points on any given night. So, at this point, what's JAB to do? In retrospect, what, hit the portal harder last spring? When he knew he had his son and a highly-touted, talented freshman coming in? Who would have been a better+realistic option?
It's hard to imagine "cognitive decline" being a reason for in-game decisions. Putting Jimmy at the 5 was just poor judgment, not impaired thinking. He relied on something similar with Marek for years, and he fell back on the same kind of strategy. It wasn't great then, either, but he trusted Jimmy over Frank, and thought the offense would balance the defense. If it had been some other person—not his son—he probably would have reacted more quickly, but he kept giving Jimmy possessions to dig out of the liability. Like a gambler who is emotionally attached to each hand. That's a problem—he's not objective. But, that's not about age. As you said, it's about being a dad, and there's no way any father can completely separate himself from that.
