What is Don's contribution to the cases?

Don does nothing but bark orders, hook up with subordinates, and run funny. Actually, he shuffles, lol. Don gets on my nerves. While his character seems relatively pointless when compared to Charlie, Amita, Megan, Sinclair, etc., he is able to see the bigger picture of certain situations. Things that come with on the job experience vs being smart. It's like he's street smart (kinda), while Charlie is book smart. I think that's what we're supposed to believe, but I don't see Don as very street smart or bad a$$. He's so vanilla.

I started watching the series, skipped season 3 and 4, now I'm going back. You might, too. :) I do like the show, though. My fav character doesn't come in until way later. Nicky. She's hilarious, especially w/ Colby and David.

Your observation is a fair one, Yatty-sid, certainly to a degree. In fact, in Season 5's episode 'Arrow of Time', Liz Warner does say to Don that he appears to be 'sleepwalking' his way through a case and that it would be a shame if the biggest obstacle to the team was their own boss. There are times when you do tend to wonder what Don's role actually is, but if you've worked in that kind of team you'll know that senior managers (and Don is SAC in charge of not just the team we see on the screen but the whole of the Violent Crimes unit) often appear a little detached from the day-to-day operations and investigations. They have to, as this gives them the ability to step back and see the big picture, rather than getting lost in the details.

However, what we don't see are the number of meetings and briefings Don has to attend 'upstairs' (because man, they would have been some seriously boring episodes if they had shown all that side of things!). What we do see is him micro-managing each individual member of the team - and the whole department too. It's actually a fairly accurate representation of a team structure.

It also tends to reflect his own reservations as to whether he's a 'lifer' or not at the Bureau, or whether the frequent investigations and constant battles with 'upstairs' are beginning to tell on him. He's a very complicated, troubled character and yeah, I agree, sometimes he does seem a little OTT in the moody-minny department. But his experience in the field gives him a unique perspective as the team's 'boss', and that's probably the role he inhabits most comfortably.

Plus, why own a dog and bark yourself? If you're the boss, then you get your team to do the leg-work! 

Anoraknophobia - noun: Pathological fear of outdoor clothing.

I have no idea what all the folks in this discussion thread are talking about!!! Don is constantly shown in the lead in all the intense action scenes, firing away his gun with the best of them & maneuvering his way thru the crime scene to get at the bad guy. He is consistently portrayed as an effective team leader, giving individual mini-assignments to the other team members & is consistently shown being approached by other team members with new information. Although the portrayal of Don through the whole series as a man going through an intense existential & emotional developmental crises does rather blunt his appearance as "Fearless Leader", it also gives the character an intense dramatic dimension that overall yields a far more complex character than your average, hard ass, doughnut eating cop that is usually portrayed on TV or in the movies. In any case, I see no way that anyone can doubt that Don is portrayed as an effective FBI squad leader & a hell of a kick ass cop on the street & an essential central character in the whole series.