The art of being a head coach

[NoLuv4Jerry]

Are games more lost than won?

I don't have any data in front of me to prove whether this is more true than not

But as we watch coordinators...in particular offensive coordinators...become head coaches because they can produce high scoring offenses....the job of a GM becomes tougher when trying to decide if an offensive "genius" is head coaching material

Kyle Shanahann just won the job as head coach of the 49ers. And if I am a 49er fan watching that game last night...I have my doubts. And I am sure he is going to call plays. Also notice the Rams just hired Sean McVay (former Commanders offensive coordinator) who also produced a high powered offense and will call his own plays in Los Angeles. Being a head coach is so much bigger than Xs and Os. Feel for the game. Clock management. Handling media. Getting the most out of your players. Managing the varied personalities in the locker room. But more and more....I'm noticing on gameday coach after coach show a lack of feel for the flow of a game...a lack of understanding for clock management. A lack of understanding how to MANAGE you offensive or defensive play callers....

Which leads me to wonder. In this day and age of offensive records falling at a record pace...has the art of being a head coach been lost?

 

[Teague31]

Watching Quinn run up and down the sidelines like an idiot and then choke the game away made me appreciate Red more. I'll take an even keel approach to high school hi jinx any day

 

[RS12]

Belichek teaches it on a weekly basis. Love him or hate him. No matter what happens, no excuses, just wins.

 

[NoLuv4Jerry]

Watching Quinn run up and down the sidelines like an idiot and then choke the game away made me appreciate Red more. I'll take an even keel approach to high school hi jinx any day

Was Quinn on Pete Carrols coaching staff when the Seahawks choked a Super Bowl victory away to the Patriots?

 

[khiladi]

Are games more lost than won?

I don't have any data in front of me to prove whether this is more true than not

But as we watch coordinators...in particular offensive coordinators...become head coaches because they can produce high scoring offenses....the job of a GM becomes tougher when trying to decide if an offensive "genius" is head coaching material

Kyle Shanahann just won the job as head coach of the 49ers. And if I am a 49er fan watching that game last night...I have my doubts. And I am sure he is going to call plays. Also notice the Rams just hired Sean McVay (former Commanders offensive coordinator) who also produced a high powered offense and will call his own plays in Los Angeles. Being a head coach is so much bigger than Xs and Os. Feel for the game. Clock management. Handling media. Getting the most out of your players. Managing the varied personalities in the locker room. But more and more....I'm noticing on gameday coach after coach show a lack of feel for the flow of a game...a lack of understanding for clock management. A lack of understanding how to MANAGE you offensive or defensive play callers....

Which leads me to wonder. In this day and age of offensive records falling at a record pace...has the art of being a head coach been lost?

I do think McVay can produce in a short time, because they got defensive personnel and hired the best DC in the game, Wade Phillips. The only issue with McVay is he abandons the run. So they may make the playoffs, but their are questions with him.

 

[NoLuv4Jerry]

Belichek teaches it on a weekly basis. Love him or hate him. No matter what happens, no excuses, just wins.

I respect his accomplishments. One of his greatest assets is getting his players to pay attention to detail. But was that game loss by the Falcons....or won by the Pats?

 

[NoLuv4Jerry]

I do think McVay can produce in a short time, because they got defensive personnel and hired the best DC in the game, Wade Phillips. The only issue with McVay is he abandons the run. So they may make the playoffs, but their are questions with him.

That is my point about the vaunted offensive "genius". The rules make it so enticing to pass. Coaches have lost sight of how to secure a win with a simple RUN!!!!!!!!!

 

[tyke1doe]

I respect his accomplishments. One of his greatest assets is getting his players to pay attention to detail. But was that game loss by the Falcons....or won by the Pats?

Both.

 

[RS12]

I respect his accomplishments. One of his greatest assets is getting his players to pay attention to detail. But was that game loss by the Falcons....or won by the Pats?

When the game was 28-20 and Julio Jones made the catch, game was over when Atlanta came up with zero points that drive. You could see fear in their eyes after that and an inevitable outcome.

 

[Idgit]

Hard to say it's a lost art when we're witnessing the best coach in the history of the league still winning championships.

 

[Parche]

I respect his accomplishments. One of his greatest assets is getting his players to pay attention to detail. But was that game loss by the Falcons....or won by the Pats?

Last night? The Falcons lost it.

But sometimes its the other case around.

 

[visionary]

Watching Quinn run up and down the sidelines like an idiot and then choke the game away made me appreciate Red more. I'll take an even keel approach to high school hi jinx any day

Yep, at least Red chokes it away while giving the illusion of competency

Fist bump?

 

[Yakuza Rich]

I think so. You tend to get a HC who has spent their entire career on one side of the ball. Parcells was an offensive tackle, coached some O-Line, coached linebackers, was a D-Coordinator, etc. He pretty much knew how to coach EVERY position out there and is the greatest developer of NFL QB's the world has ever seen (he made Testaverde look like a league MVP and Ray Lucas look like a quality NFL starter).

These days you see mostly guys like Garrett, played QB, was the QB coach and then moved to O-Coordinator. Sean Payton, Kyle Shanahan, Andy Reid, etc...all the same thing. They mostly leave the other side of the ball to whatever coordinator they hire.

I remember Bill Walsh saying that when he first coached Stanford the college coaches would have a big convention every year and they would go over new coaching techniques, schemes, training, etc. Then when he came back to Stanford and everything changed...it was all about recruiting.

I think there was a massive dearth in quality coaching in the NCAA from about 1995-2010 or so. It was all about recruiting and you would see coaches like Pasqualoni, Fulmer, Bowden, Nutt, etc. who has successful teams that were loaded with poorly coached talent.

Ever since right around 2010, more college coaches have become more creative in schemes and play designs. Perhaps it was due to the read option, hurry up offenses, etc. that made dramatic turnarounds of moribund programs like Baylor, TCU and WVU (w/Rich Rodriguez) which allowed them to be really good teams. College coaches started to see that you could win with less talent and superior schemes.

Still, the coaching of technique is still very questionable

In the NFL, I think the technique coaching is superior but it leaves a lot of responsibility on the assistants' plate because if the HC has spent their career on one side of the ball, they're not likely to contribute in coaching the other side of the ball.

The other part is that there is a lost art to offensive playcalling in the NFL. The playing field is much more level in the NFL, so injuries are more important. I always thought Tom Osborne was the best offensive playcaller I ever saw. He could set up the running game to make for bigger plays on the runs out on the perimeter and make for huge plays when they passed. He always had a keen idea as to what he was trying to accomplish throughout the entire game instead of just focusing on the drive or the next set of downs. Today, playcalling is more about trying to score 30+ points even if it comes at the expense of burning out your defense 3 months down the road.

The other part in all of this is that coaches tend to stick with what their team does and not deviate from that. This is one of the things that Belichick is so good at, he'll coach his team to attack the opponents' weaknesses and if that means doing something out of the norm...so be it. They have a week to get it down and they do. The rest of the league just keeps doing what they've always done and it allows the Patriots to know what they are going to while the opponent is unsure what the Patriots are going to do.





YR

 

[cowboyblue22]

bill bellicheat is the greatest coach in nfl history period

 

[Eddie]

Amazing how Tom Landry used to call both O and D plays. His OC and DC just carried clipboards.

 

[LandryFan]

I respect his accomplishments. One of his greatest assets is getting his players to pay attention to detail. But was that game loss by the Falcons....or won by the Pats?

Both. Neither could have happened without the other.

 

[Ranching]

There are a lot of things that come into play if you are a head coach, the most important to me is being a game manager. You have your coordinators, but as a head coach you need to be in charge of play calling. You may not call specific plays, but you can dictate the pace of the game by dictating runs or passes,or blitzes etc.

 

[Ranching]

Amazing how Tom Landry used to call both O and D plays. His OC and DC just carried clipboards.

I called both offense and defense my first year as a head coach in 2004, it is very tough to do. Didn't hpget much sleep in those days.

 

[NoLuv4Jerry]

Watching Quinn run up and down the sidelines like an idiot and then choke the game away made me appreciate Red more. I'll take an even keel approach to high school hi jinx any day

But I question Garretts management of coordinators on game day

 

[AbeBeta]

bill bellicheat is the greatest coach in nfl history period

The way he forced the Falcons to to throw the ball with the clock running and the opportunity for a 40 yard field goal instead of running twice.

Totally tricked them into thinking an 11 point lead wasn't going to be good enough