I've never met Tom myself. I only know him through reputation, which from my reading has usually been quite good.
I almost hate to ask, but was there an event in the past (before my time, apparently) that leads to the "nail in the coffin" comment? I'm not trolling for a diatribe here, so if you have a response, please keep it short. I only ask because if there was a perceived shortcoming, it might lead to a useful suggestion for Tom to consider.
For that matter, is there a very succinct list of suggestions that we could offer up to Tom - helpful suggestions that is. "Fold up the tent" is not what I'm looking for ...