Here are the coaches from the last 15 Super Bowl Champions...most recent first. GB Packers - Mike McCarthy NO Saints - Sean Payton Pitt Steelers - Mike Tomlin NY Giants - Tom Coughlin Ind Colts - Tony Dungy Pitt Steelers - Bill Cowher NE Pats - Bill Belichick NE Pats - Bill Belichick TB Bucs - Jon Gruden NE Pats - Bill Belichick Balt Ravens - Brian Billick St Louis Rams - Dick Vermeil Denver Broncs - Mike Shanahan Denver Brons - Mike Shanahan GB Packers - Mike Holmgrin I would put Bill Belichick atop that list as the top coach. Hes a coach that can win a game with X's and 0's. The way he runs the Pats franchise is the model for how the modern NFL franchise should be run, IMO. So, what are his qualities? To me he has established 100% belief in his system from his players. They buy into the Patriots way. Looking at the other coaches...we see ones with past experience as an assistant coach and or a coordinators job. Quite a few of them had been head coaches previously, including Bill Belichick. Are any of these coaches what you would consider great X's and O's coaches? Can they beat you with their game plan? Or did they take the job as HC with a team already loaded, such as what Gruden did with the Bucs and what Tomlin did with the Steelers. Are their any qualities that have a direct correlation with winning a championship? Maybe by looking at what makes a Super Bowl head coach, we can then evaluate Tony Sparano. What qualities did these coaches have, that Tony does not. Our current team just seems to be missing something. I listened to Tony say in the post game presser that this team needs to practice better during the week. That struck me....because during the Monday night game, when talking about why Tom Brady is so good.....they said it was because Bill Belichick tests Brady every week. They run their practices with the same tempo, professionalism, and effort that they display on the field. Obviously, it shows in their play. How can Sparano say this team needs to practice better? Shouldnt that have been taken care of by now? Shouldnt they have an established way of practicing, like the Patriots? So....please try and include some insight into your reply. Please dont just say....Sparano and Ireland suck. Lets try and see if we can create a picture of what makes a Championship coach, and can Sparano eventually fit that mold, or who might be available if he isnt. Id like to see if we can get as detailed a discussion as we do when breaking down Chad Henne.....but lets limit this to just coaching.
IMO it's a win-win situation for us. Either we get it turned around now and become a contender this season, or we are mediocre again and bring in a new coach to get us over the hump. This team has too much talent to not be winning more games.
They all have high football IQs. Very smart coaches. Sparano is not smart enough to be a head coach in this league, I'm more convinced of that every Sunday.
Good coaches have great assistants and nurture them. Sparano (or Parcells) got saddled (I blame Parcells more than Sparano who was a puppet) with the likes of Henning. You don't see any up and comers on our staff, Nolan is a retread, but other than him, who? Its been a bad job of putting a staff together. Only one that may have a chance is Daboll, but he maybe shown the door with Sparano in the off season.
Also, none of them use words like "Sumpum" (something), "KAY" (okay), "I seen" (I saw), etc. You've got a hard nosed football guy who is just sadly not as bright as the other head coaches in this league, and it shows on Sunday.
Sadly, I think you are right. He's a good man, and I can see why players like him, persay, but when it comes to ultimate X's and O's, he's lacking. Not to mention in-game adjustments. The crazy part is, in '08, this team was so focused, and seemed to buy into the system so well that everything clicked. Sure, we had a patsy schedule, but we didn't lose any of those games. Everyone was on the same page, and Sparano looked like he was a master that year. What happened? Instead, we lose games late last year to the Bills, Browns and Lions at home (last year's versions remember) - these are teams we would've beaten in '08. The team has regressed under Sparano. He does get the next 14 to prove us wrong, but I'm skeptical. I've seen too much of the same failings since the start of '09 that make me think he's just not cut out for the job. He's probably one heckuva position coach, but that's about it. I woudln't necessarily trust him going forward as a coordinator - I think he'd be lacking the same things he seems to be lacking as a HC. But as a rah-rah guy for one position, there's probably few better.
Well....thanks for taking the time to read the post. Your astute observation was highlighted even more by the fact that the thread is about head coaches, not teams. So...."Their coach wasnt Tony Sparano"....seems to make absolutely no sense what so ever.
Im not sure we have Sparano dialed in right guys. He knows every detail, every nuance of whats going on. Maybe he's to left brained and cerebral and over thinks things i dont know. But I dont find him mentally challenged at all. This guy eats sleeps and pisses football. Ive seen it when he looks like cow **** in a morning presser after a late night loss because he didnt go home. I like the passion. We played two teams one great one very good. Lets let this play out, the season will end soon enough and we'll either have redemption or a new coach. Many coaches stick to there guns and believe there way is right, Sparano understood that the status quo was not gonna work he let daboll open it up. Thats change that you can believe in. All 32 teams went into a short season the only ones winning are the long time favorites its gonna take some time (i know we dont have time)
I find it ironic that Sparano says this team needs to practice harder this week, as if to remove himself from that point. Doesn't the team practice as hard as the coaches make them practice with the Head coach having the final say? If they haven't been practicing hard who's fault is it?
Looking at the Dolphins specifically, they were already loading up talent in the 1960s but couldn't win...then Shula came in in 1970 and the team instantly became a playoff and super bowl contender. Griese, Csonka, Buoniconti, Dick Anderson, Morris, Kiick, Fernandez, etc. were all on the Dolphins before 1970, but never had a winning record from '66-'69. Coaching Matters. So if the Dolphins fail again it's time to let go of Ireland and Sparano. It's a different era now, but we obviously have talent. QB is the big question mark. Henne's good, probably not a franchise QB though.
Just because he knows how many snaps somebody played in a game doesn't mean he knows football well enough to succeed in the intense NFL coaching environment. Nobody's saying he's ******ed, just that he doesn't have the aptitude to ever compete with a Bill Bellichick. Or a Rex Ryan for that matter.
Thanks for clearing that up for us. Now run down to Davie and turn in your resume' so we can get this ship headed in the right direction....
We need a new coach AND a new GM . We do have talent , not nearly as much as some of the concensus is , with a regime change it is always tricky as to not getting rid of previous talent , inherently they want "their" guys ...and that is understandable , but slashing too wildly just means you are that much further back. We need the GM first , so we ensure the coach is his coach and we have everyone on the same page going forward.
Well let's not forget, that Belichick's organization was caught cheating (yet nothing came of it) and Shula made an off-the-cuff response to their first win over the Jets should be asterisked, in their almost "perfect-season". Who knows how many locker rooms that may have been bugged. That being said, I'll never forget the decision Bill made when he benched Drew Bledsoe, and it was controversial. The rest is history.
I see at least one thing in common with the past few Superbowl winning coaches. A four letter first name. Honestly, there are a lot of different ways to become a great team. Having the right talent and having coaching that emphasizes and exploits that talent and minimizes weaknesses/limitations seems common. Also, without an elite or well above average QB you're pissing in the wind.
This is utter nonsense. The idea that a positional coordinator at a certain position is dumber than the rest of the coordinators on the team is ludicrous. Andy Reid seems to be doing pretty well. Mike Munchak has the Titans playing hard. Pat Shurmer, a former G, is also getting a shot in Cleveland. Russ Grimm has been mentioned as a possible coaching candidate several times and he was one of the Redskin's most well known "hogs." I've also read studies that the offensive line positions, specifically center (or whomever is going to make the protection calls) requires a tremendous amount of intelligence, and, in most cases these players are among the smartest on the team. Sparano's problem has nothing to do with intelligence, of that I am sure. Nor his attention to detail. It's much more likely that he had limited head coaching experience (having only been a head coach at Division II New Haven) before taking on the Dolphins job.
What happened was he had Pennington doing the thinking for him in '08. Along with his great on field play a weak schedule and some good luck they had a good season, it had nothing to do with Tony Spro. The 3 years since is who he is as a head coach. He's in way over his head, and the sooner Ross realizes it and replaces him the better off we'll be.
Sparano needs to do something to get the team on edge. Maybe call out Vontae Davis or refer to a player as "she".
