NFL fans across the league today are frothing at the mouth, ripping their head coaches to shreds. Don't believe me? Just go to internet.com because it's everywhere.
By my count, there are exactly three good coaches in the NFL today. And in the WILDEST of coincidences, Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers play for two of those coaches, and the new coach in Atlanta has a good QB, too.
Tomlin is getting dogpiled in Pittsburgh. Seattle fans are freaking out over their awful offense and are questioning Carroll. Pagano looks almost done with the imploding Colts. Chip Kelly is about to be hung in effigy, Lovie looks impotent in Tampa, Reid is about to get jellyrolled out of KC, Kubiak was publicly forced to abandon his offense and let Peyton take over, Tomsula is getting Republican treatment in San Francisco, Payton is getting skewered over the weapons traded away, McCoy has them restless in San Diego, Houston is quickly tiring of their foul-mouthed head coach, and Miami has already catapulted theirs to the scrap heap. The fans of the Jets, Bears, Raiders, Jags - you know the ones - are longtime professional coach haters.
Likewise, the Garrett bashers are out of hibernation and starting to puff out their man boobs once again. Never mind that 8 of his top 15 starters are out, including the best two players on the team, which happen to be the QB and star offensive weapon. Never mind that he just fought Ryan and Brees with the likes of Brandon Kyle Weeden, whom I'm pretty sure still sleeps with the light on.
This is what we do. Fans by nature are knee-jerking football simpletons who think their Madden playbook could go 15-1. They rarely even know the right questions, let alone the right answers.
Among my favorites:
1. "The playcalling sucks!" - This is the old tried-and-true. Don't need to know the difference between weak and strong side to make this bold claim. The truth is, all plays are designed to work, and they have worked, but they must be executed. It's also true that plays are called to AVOID bad things as much as achieve good things, especially when you're without key players or you have bad positional matchups. There is much to consider, things are constantly changing, and you have about 5 seconds to decide. If you have the right QB, any of 20 plays will do. If you have the wrong QB, it might be better to just punt.
2. "The coaches don't know how to make halftime adjustments" - There is no such thing as halftime adjustments. Teams have 12 whole minutes, and it takes 3 minutes to get everybody in the locker room and 3 more to get them back out. That leaves enough time to pee, get re-taped, and maybe go over an item with a positional coach. That's it. This isn't college where you get a lunch hour at halftime for the marching bands. Adjustments are discussed all game long, and they're made, but it still comes down to the QB and players at your disposal. Then it's up to them to make it happen.
3. "The time management was awful" - This one is often true, actually, but if you peruse the internet, all 32 coaches get berated for this constantly. Truth be told, they all make these mistakes quite often in the heat of a game with little time to think it through. But when you have Rodgers, Brady, or Romo - along with a representative cast around them - it often doesn't end up mattering in the end. If you don't, it goes nuclear and gets forensically analyzed for days. Rehashing the "should have dones" in time management is the most Monday Morning Quarterbacking thing to do.
4. "This coach doesn't fire up these guys" - That stuff mostly dies in high school, and what's left runs out in college. If a player needs to be fired up by a head coach, he won't likely see the light of day on a pro field unless he's a freak like Jadeveon Clowney. With few exceptions, only the highly self-motivated get to the pros, and then once they get a big contract, even they can lose their internal rah-rah.
5. "So and so isn't getting enough touches" - Coaches call a play, but it's the quarterback who decides whether or not to audible and who to throw the ball to. Running backs can't run if there's no space, and if there is, they have to actually find it and make something happen. Intent doesn't always result in reality when it comes to touches, regardless of a coach's gameplan.
I could literally list 100 more of these, and I FULLY admit that my emotions have led me to commit half of them. (I try to be good, but dag nabbit, they make ME SO FREAKING MAD SOMETIMES!!)
Coaches, first and foremost, establish a culture. They set expectations and provide a plan. They hold people accountable, and they walk that walk themselves. They relate to players and earn their trust, not in coddling but in in fairness and clarity. Combine that with the personnel department, which works with coaches to get the right mix of players, one of which had better be a upper tier quarterback.
Then, you throw in a tricky ball that bounces all sorts of funny ways, a completely unpredictable set of rules and referees, the biggest stage primetime TV offers, players that make five times the coach's salary, a magnifying media waiting with baited breath for a misstep of any nature, and a fan base of know-nothings that now have smart phones and limitless social media outlets.
It takes some thick skin, a lot of patience, a world of self belief, and perhaps a touch of arrogance to boot.
Coach that, Garrett haters.
