Why hiring former players as HC with zero coaching experience is a bad idea

[Doomsday77]

Or, the original title of this OP was actually..."Please don't hire Jason Witten"

 

[Johannes44]

Kellen Moore grew up with football since he was five years old. It’s actually bread into him.

What kind of bread? Was it a Sourdough? Please tell me it wasn't Brioche.

 

[INCowboysFan]

Hiring Jason Witten, who has 4 years of HS coaching experience, would be an complete disaster. Nobody would want to come play here. Dallas needs A) an experienced HC that has been successful in the NFL (Jon Gruden, maybe) or B) a young, innovative coordinator that is looking to break into the head coaching ranks and doesn't mind the bright lights and meddlesome owner.

I don't think we will get B, so A it is. I wouldn't mind a Jon Gruden. He's not old like Pete Carroll. Gruden is relatively young and has a great football mind. He likely wouldn't be here for the long haul, but I think he could get the team back on the right track. He's got a very good football mind and would instill some discipline, which this team sorely lacks.

 

[Sarge]

Kellen Moore grew up with football since he was five years old. It’s actually bread into him.

I love bread.

 

[rambo2]

This would not have been a serious idea twenty years ago, but in the celebrity media age we occupy today, the idea of hiring a former beloved player as a head coach because of their knowledge, success as a player and popularity has become a vogue idea. I’ve seen several threads over the last few weeks supporting the idea that guys like Jason Witten or Tony Romo without any NFL coaching experience could step in and be a success.

First of all, I have great respect for both those guys as former Cowboys players. Witten is a HOFer in waiting and Romo will probably make the ROH someday. But that does not mean they are ready to step in as an NFL HC with no prior experience. The degree of difficulty in the coaching profession is greatly misunderstood IMO.

There are some examples from NFL history of former players with no experience (or even just a little experience) that didn’t work out. One even recent. Here are some examples:

• In 2022, the colts hired their former great C and HOFer Jeff Saturday, who is an outstanding NFL analyst, as their interim head coach. Other than a brief stint being the head coach at a private Christian school, Saturday had never had any coaching experience. It was not a success. Saturday was the first NFL HC with no prior college or pro coaching experience since…..
• HOF QB Norm Van Brocklin was hired by the Vikings as HC in 1961, and in his 5 seasons there as HC was 29-51-4. Van Brocklin later coached the Atlanta Falcons and was a little better going 37-49-3.
• This next example of a great player who was a bad HC is Mike Singletary. The bears HOF great DID have a little NFL coaching experience - as in 4 years as an assistant coach before being named the niners HC in 2009. He was not a success going 18-22 as a HC there.

Let me repeat…I have nothing against Witten or Romo. I just believe being a HC in the NFL is a lot more than just knowing Xs and Os or having a great career as a player. Most great players don’t make great coaches because coaching is so much more than knowledge.

I was never a coach myself but one of my sons is a HS coach having coached basketball and football at the HS level. Obviously coaching HS is not the NFL, but I believe at all levels, coaching is not as easy as it looks, lol, even at the HS level.

Surely we can hire a head coach who has more experience than the broadcasting booth or a private school.

There is absolutely no reason for Tony Romo to take a coaching job.

 

[Sarge]

There is absolutely no reason for Tony Romo to take a coaching job.

No way would he take a MASSIVE pay cut only to make a fool of himself.

 

[rambo2]

Less than 1% of NFL players go on to coaching, much less have any success doing it.

A much higher percentage have cte.

 

[Whirlwin]

I love bread.

Has to be toasted

 

[rambo2]

No way would he take a MASSIVE pay cut only to make a fool of himself.

And have to work 14 hours a day every day.

 

[Sarge]

Has to be toasted

I’d eat it stale.

 

[Whirlwin]

I’d eat it stale.

Breadcrumbs, stale. Lol. Italian bread just out of the oven OMG. I’ve had brown bread out of the can in the military, with cold beans. The best thing was the pound cake in the can, you could trade anything for that. Mci. Not. Mre . These MRE people are spoiled.

 

[Loso86]

This would not have been a serious idea twenty years ago, but in the celebrity media age we occupy today, the idea of hiring a former beloved player as a head coach because of their knowledge, success as a player and popularity has become a vogue idea. I’ve seen several threads over the last few weeks supporting the idea that guys like Jason Witten or Tony Romo without any NFL coaching experience could step in and be a success.

First of all, I have great respect for both those guys as former Cowboys players. Witten is a HOFer in waiting and Romo will probably make the ROH someday. But that does not mean they are ready to step in as an NFL HC with no prior experience. The degree of difficulty in the coaching profession is greatly misunderstood IMO.

There are some examples from NFL history of former players with no experience (or even just a little experience) that didn’t work out. One even recent. Here are some examples:

• In 2022, the colts hired their former great C and HOFer Jeff Saturday, who is an outstanding NFL analyst, as their interim head coach. Other than a brief stint being the head coach at a private Christian school, Saturday had never had any coaching experience. It was not a success. Saturday was the first NFL HC with no prior college or pro coaching experience since…..
• HOF QB Norm Van Brocklin was hired by the Vikings as HC in 1961, and in his 5 seasons there as HC was 29-51-4. Van Brocklin later coached the Atlanta Falcons and was a little better going 37-49-3.
• This next example of a great player who was a bad HC is Mike Singletary. The bears HOF great DID have a little NFL coaching experience - as in 4 years as an assistant coach before being named the niners HC in 2009. He was not a success going 18-22 as a HC there.

Let me repeat…I have nothing against Witten or Romo. I just believe being a HC in the NFL is a lot more than just knowing Xs and Os or having a great career as a player. Most great players don’t make great coaches because coaching is so much more than knowledge.

I was never a coach myself but one of my sons is a HS coach having coached basketball and football at the HS level. Obviously coaching HS is not the NFL, but I believe at all levels, coaching is not as easy as it looks, lol, even at the HS level.

Surely we can hire a head coach who has more experience than the broadcasting booth or a private school.

Agreed, doesn't necessarily mean experienced HCs are the answer either. Sometimes you might just need a shot in the arm or something or someone diff

 

[DFWJC]

Romo is not even a serious idea. Just internet fodder. He is not remotely a consideration

Witten would need NFL assistant coach (or college head coach) experience

They aren't considering these guys....nor should they

 

[Whirlwin]

Romo is not even a serious idea. Just internet fodder. He is not remotely a consideration

Witten would need NFL assistant coach (or college head coach) experience

They aren't considering these guys....nor should they

They like to dream

 

[Kevinicus]

This would not have been a serious idea twenty years ago, but in the celebrity media age we occupy today, the idea of hiring a former beloved player as a head coach because of their knowledge, success as a player and popularity has become a vogue idea. I’ve seen several threads over the last few weeks supporting the idea that guys like Jason Witten or Tony Romo without any NFL coaching experience could step in and be a success.

First of all, I have great respect for both those guys as former Cowboys players. Witten is a HOFer in waiting and Romo will probably make the ROH someday. But that does not mean they are ready to step in as an NFL HC with no prior experience. The degree of difficulty in the coaching profession is greatly misunderstood IMO.

There are some examples from NFL history of former players with no experience (or even just a little experience) that didn’t work out. One even recent. Here are some examples:

• In 2022, the colts hired their former great C and HOFer Jeff Saturday, who is an outstanding NFL analyst, as their interim head coach. Other than a brief stint being the head coach at a private Christian school, Saturday had never had any coaching experience. It was not a success. Saturday was the first NFL HC with no prior college or pro coaching experience since…..
• HOF QB Norm Van Brocklin was hired by the Vikings as HC in 1961, and in his 5 seasons there as HC was 29-51-4. Van Brocklin later coached the Atlanta Falcons and was a little better going 37-49-3.
• This next example of a great player who was a bad HC is Mike Singletary. The bears HOF great DID have a little NFL coaching experience - as in 4 years as an assistant coach before being named the niners HC in 2009. He was not a success going 18-22 as a HC there.

Let me repeat…I have nothing against Witten or Romo. I just believe being a HC in the NFL is a lot more than just knowing Xs and Os or having a great career as a player. Most great players don’t make great coaches because coaching is so much more than knowledge.

I was never a coach myself but one of my sons is a HS coach having coached basketball and football at the HS level. Obviously coaching HS is not the NFL, but I believe at all levels, coaching is not as easy as it looks, lol, even at the HS level.

Surely we can hire a head coach who has more experience than the broadcasting booth or a private school.

Lol...an interim coach (so, a crappy team is involved), someone from 60+ years ago, and a guy who did have some experience, had a winning record as interim coach (team was 2-5 when he took over) and in his first full year got the team it's only non-losing record in an 8 year span.

Not exactly a compelling argument.

 

[Whirlwin]

Lol...an interim coach (so, a crappy team is involved), someone from 60+ years ago, and a guy who did have some experience, had a winning record as interim coach (team was 2-5 when he took over) and in his first full year got the team it's only non-losing record in an 8 year span.

Not exactly a compelling argument.

Wouldn’t it be something if they couldn’t even find a head coach to hire. Everybody hates Jerry. Or they hire somebody and he quits in the middle of the season lol

 

[exciter]

This would not have been a serious idea twenty years ago, but in the celebrity media age we occupy today, the idea of hiring a former beloved player as a head coach because of their knowledge, success as a player and popularity has become a vogue idea. I’ve seen several threads over the last few weeks supporting the idea that guys like Jason Witten or Tony Romo without any NFL coaching experience could step in and be a success.

First of all, I have great respect for both those guys as former Cowboys players. Witten is a HOFer in waiting and Romo will probably make the ROH someday. But that does not mean they are ready to step in as an NFL HC with no prior experience. The degree of difficulty in the coaching profession is greatly misunderstood IMO.

There are some examples from NFL history of former players with no experience (or even just a little experience) that didn’t work out. One even recent. Here are some examples:

• In 2022, the colts hired their former great C and HOFer Jeff Saturday, who is an outstanding NFL analyst, as their interim head coach. Other than a brief stint being the head coach at a private Christian school, Saturday had never had any coaching experience. It was not a success. Saturday was the first NFL HC with no prior college or pro coaching experience since…..
• HOF QB Norm Van Brocklin was hired by the Vikings as HC in 1961, and in his 5 seasons there as HC was 29-51-4. Van Brocklin later coached the Atlanta Falcons and was a little better going 37-49-3.
• This next example of a great player who was a bad HC is Mike Singletary. The bears HOF great DID have a little NFL coaching experience - as in 4 years as an assistant coach before being named the niners HC in 2009. He was not a success going 18-22 as a HC there.

Let me repeat…I have nothing against Witten or Romo. I just believe being a HC in the NFL is a lot more than just knowing Xs and Os or having a great career as a player. Most great players don’t make great coaches because coaching is so much more than knowledge.

I was never a coach myself but one of my sons is a HS coach having coached basketball and football at the HS level. Obviously coaching HS is not the NFL, but I believe at all levels, coaching is not as easy as it looks, lol, even at the HS level.

Surely we can hire a head coach who has more experience than the broadcasting booth or a private school.

The belief in Romo as a head coach has always seemed a bit silly.
His personality trait has always been procrastinating gun slinger due to his arrogance in believing he’s the smartest person in the room and not the meticulous strategist willing to spend 15 hour plus days watching film and analyzing.
Hell, even last year there was rumblings from CBS that he wasn’t spending to 2-3 hours needed as a broadcast analyst to be prepared for his games.
I doubt seriously he’s capable of changing his personality trait at this point enough to become a descent position coach much less head coach of an NFL team.

 

[BHendri5]

This would not have been a serious idea twenty years ago, but in the celebrity media age we occupy today, the idea of hiring a former beloved player as a head coach because of their knowledge, success as a player and popularity has become a vogue idea. I’ve seen several threads over the last few weeks supporting the idea that guys like Jason Witten or Tony Romo without any NFL coaching experience could step in and be a success.

First of all, I have great respect for both those guys as former Cowboys players. Witten is a HOFer in waiting and Romo will probably make the ROH someday. But that does not mean they are ready to step in as an NFL HC with no prior experience. The degree of difficulty in the coaching profession is greatly misunderstood IMO.

There are some examples from NFL history of former players with no experience (or even just a little experience) that didn’t work out. One even recent. Here are some examples:

• In 2022, the colts hired their former great C and HOFer Jeff Saturday, who is an outstanding NFL analyst, as their interim head coach. Other than a brief stint being the head coach at a private Christian school, Saturday had never had any coaching experience. It was not a success. Saturday was the first NFL HC with no prior college or pro coaching experience since…..
• HOF QB Norm Van Brocklin was hired by the Vikings as HC in 1961, and in his 5 seasons there as HC was 29-51-4. Van Brocklin later coached the Atlanta Falcons and was a little better going 37-49-3.
• This next example of a great player who was a bad HC is Mike Singletary. The bears HOF great DID have a little NFL coaching experience - as in 4 years as an assistant coach before being named the niners HC in 2009. He was not a success going 18-22 as a HC there.

Let me repeat…I have nothing against Witten or Romo. I just believe being a HC in the NFL is a lot more than just knowing Xs and Os or having a great career as a player. Most great players don’t make great coaches because coaching is so much more than knowledge.

I was never a coach myself but one of my sons is a HS coach having coached basketball and football at the HS level. Obviously coaching HS is not the NFL, but I believe at all levels, coaching is not as easy as it looks, lol, even at the HS level.

Surely we can hire a head coach who has more experience than the broadcasting booth or a private school.

I bet you’re a person that has applauded Dan Campbell did he have any coaching experience.
Witten is coaching now so he has experience

 

[gtb1943]

No way would he take a MASSIVE pay cut only to make a fool of himself.

part of me wants to see him prove you a fool but I agree he will not take the pay cut and the load of crap a NFL coach has to take all the time

 

[gtb1943]

The belief in Romo as a head coach has always seemed a bit silly.
His personality trait has always been procrastinating gun slinger due to his arrogance in believing he’s the smartest person in the room and not the meticulous strategist willing to spend 15 hour plus days watching film and analyzing.
Hell, even last year there was rumblings from CBS that he wasn’t spending to 2-3 hours needed as a broadcast analyst to be prepared for his games.
I doubt seriously he’s capable of changing his personality trait at this point enough to become a descent position coach much less head coach of an NFL team.

so tell me what school you got your psyche degree from?