trivia - coaches edition

[followthestar]

we all know jimmy johnson was a great coach, right? according to many, better than parcells. how long did it take him to coach the dolphins back to respectability, what was the final score of jimmy's final game, and who was his starting QB?
those of you who can answer these questions will realize the daunting task which faces our fearless leader a.k.a. the Tuna, and maybe cut him some slack...

[big dog cowboy]

The final game he coached for Miami was a playoff loss in 1999 against Jacksonville. In that game the passing stats for his qb's was D.Marino 11-25-2-95 and D.Huard 5-16-0-46 as Miami got killed 62-7. His final season in Miami he went 9-7 going 2-6 in their last eight games. The Dolphins never won their division under Jimmy.

[jamez25]

Miami got killed 62-7.
wow !

[Dale]

I really don't consider Jimmy the better coach. In Dallas, he's certainly the better coach. But overall, I think Parcells is revered in a higher light in most NFL circles.

Jimmy was the better judge of talent, and had a feel for manipulating the draft. He seemed to roll the dice far more than Parcells, who prefers a cautious approach via trading down. While Jimmy too traded down at times, it just seemed like he was far more risky.

Conversely, I'd rank Parcells as the better psychologist (at least in terms of how he uses it in sports). They seemed about equal in terms of leadership.

While Jimmy did get Miami back to respectability since he got them to postseason play, he never really made that team into a remotely serious contender. Heck, Gailey even blew his team out on Thanksgiving with a horribly mediocre Cowboys team. He just never drafted well there (Yatil Green, Karim Abdul-Jabar, etc), and never seemed able to get them untracked.

[phildominator]

I don't think it's a debatable claim to say that BP is more widely respected than JJ as a coach. BP brought 4 teams from nothing to at least the playoffs. The Dolphins were a pretty good team and JJ was supposed to get over the hump, getting Marino his much coveted SB ring.

JJ completely transformed the team but that didn't significantly improve the team regarding their regular season record or playoff success. JJ tried to mold the Dolphins into the Cowboys. He succeeded in creating a superb defense lead by Zach Thomas. He succeeded in changing the offensive strategy from the stereotypical pass-happy Marino, Duper and Clayton offense into a run-control offense. However, the running game was never more than average and definitely not close to the success JJ had back in Dallas with Emmitt.

Despite drafting several, several, several running backs, JJ was never able to recapture the success. Cecil Collins, Lawrence Phillips and Karim Abdul Jabbar are just a few of the running backs. Yatil Green was supposed to be his Michael Irvin, but Yatil got injured his first year and that squashed his career.

After maybe 4 years of fielding playoff teams, I don't think the Dolphins ever reached the AFC Championship game. Getting blasted by the Jaguars 62-7 was just the final straw and JJ acknowledged he couldn't achieve the Super Bowl and quit.

However, he's still highly respected for the work he did in Miami and certainly in Dallas.

Regarding how this relates to BP, a lot of Cowboys fans cut more slack because it is BP. However, BP made a lot of questionable roster moves, play calling mistakes, and clock management mistakes. What worries me about BP is that he might try too hard to shove this 'square peg' team into his ideal 'triangle hole' image, and it won't pan out in the next 2-3 years, which is widely believed BP's maximum tenure.

Cowboys fans have suffered through a long drought, especially with coaches. Even when we won SB XXX, we had an idiot of a coach who helped prevent winning more SBs. Many of us have been generous with our patience with BP and some still cut him slack, but as you can read from many of the posters in this forum, patience runs out very quickly.

[Razz]

Conversely, I'd rank Parcells as the better psychologist (at least in terms of how he uses it in sports).
Absolutely!!!!
Any psychologist, sports or otherwise, will confirm that calling your players "****ing stupid" works much better than that silly positive psychology drivel JJ used.

[jobberone]

Ok the facts. I'm a fan of both.

Bill Parcells

Pro Career: Named head coach on January 2, 2003, Parcells has accumulated a 159-113-1 record, including two Super Bowl victories (XXI and XXV with the Giants) and another Super Bowl appearance (XXXI with New England) in 16 seasons as an NFL head coach. His 159 career victories make him the second winningest active coach in the NFL, trailing only Marty Schottenheimer (170). Parcells has guided his teams to 11 winning seasons, nine playoff berths, and posted an 11-7 postseason record. Parcells-led teams have finished in either first or second place in their division ten times. With the Cowboys’ postseason appearance in 2003, Parcells became the first coach in NFL history to lead four different teams to the playoffs. He is one of only four coaches (Don Shula, Reeves, and Dick Vermeil) in NFL history to have led two separate teams to the Super Bowl. Parcells, Denver’s Mike Shanahan, Washington’s Joe Gibbs, and New England’s Bill Belichick are the only active coaches to have claimed two Super Bowl titles, and he is one of just eight active coaches to have ever won a Super Bowl title. In his first season at the helm in Dallas, Parcells took a team that had posted three consecutive 5-11 seasons and posted a 10-6 mark in the regular seaon, as well as an NFC Wild Card playoff berth. Under his direction, the N.Y. Jets (1997-99)—who won a combined four games the two seasons prior to his arrival—improved to 9-7 his first season and 12-4 with a trip to the AFC Championship Game his second season. This success marked the first time in NFL history that a team had won one game and within two years was playing for a conference championship. He took over the New England Patriots (1993-96) following a 2-14 season by the Patriots. Within two years, Parcells coached the team to a 10-6 mark and its first playoff game in eight years. In his fourth year, the Patriots went 11-5 and advanced to Super Bowl XXXI against Green Bay. Parcells began his NFL head coaching career with the N.Y. Giants (1983-1990), who had posted one winning season in its previous 10 years. After an initial campaign of 3-12-1, he improved the club’s victory total to 9, 10, 14, 10, 12, and 13 between 1984 and 1990. In the process, the Giants were able to win two Super Bowl titles—Super Bowl XXI over Denver and Super Bowl XXV over Buffalo. During his time at the Giants helm, the club won two Super Bowls, three division titles, and had only one losing season. For his accomplishment, Parcells was honored with NFL Coach of the Year honors in both 1986 and 1989.

Career record: 159-113-1.

Background: Played linebacker at Wichita State 1961-63. Served as college coach at: Hastings (Neb.) 1964, Wichita State 1965, Army 1966-69, Florida State 1970-72, Vanderbilt 1973-74, Texas Tech 1975-77, and was head coach at Air Force in 1978.

Personal: Born August 22, 1941, in Englewood, N.J. Parcells resides in Irving, Texas. He has three daughters—Suzy, Jill, and Dallas.

Didn't find as much on Jimmy but didn't look long.

Entering the NFL, he took the Dallas Cowboys from a 1-15 record to two consecutive Super Bowl victories. Jimmy Johnson then accepted a new challenge in 1996 becoming General Manager and Head Coach of the Miami Dolphins, whom he led to three consecutive playoff appearances during his four-year stay. BTW his record at Miami was 36-30. He does have a better playoff record than Bill losing only one playoff game for the Cowboys. He didn't do as well in Miami though. I believe his overall record is roughly 87-67.

Jimmy Johnson will not go to the HOF IMO and Parcells will. I think it's hard to say Jimmy is the better coach although again I like them both.