Let's Talk About How Important a Head Coach Really Is

[Chopper0080]

I think it's too early to tell on Shanahan. Zimmer is like Arians in that it took him WAY too long to get a HC gig. Hard to believe he's already been in Minnesota five years.

I can kind of see where you're coming from with Marvin Lewis. Coaching in Cincy is like having a 25 lbs. weight attached to your ankle.

Garrett is maybe a replacement-level Head Coach. Couldn't do much with Romo, and Dallas always seems to have good talent.

Definitely on Peter Carroll.

I just think there are probably 6 great NFL head coaches, 4 or 5 head coaches that actively hurt their teams, and a bunch of replacement-level guys. I don't think there's much of a difference between Jay Gruden and John Fox.

I agree with that. I think most coaches are Ron Rivera. Not terrible, and not great.

Maybe I overestimate the circus of Dallas, but I think it is one of the roughest franchises to run. I might be giving Garrett too much credit, but I think most coaches fall apart in that mess and he hasn't.

 

[splitsecond]

Look out, for once I completely agree and I think you have raised a point that most people haven't evaluated fairly.

I will add that I think culture from top to bottom is probably the most important way to help "replacement" type coaches. A perfect example of this is Pittsburgh. Tomlin wouldn't be bad anywhere else, but he wouldn't have the same success with a team that has bad culture.

 

[Shane]

I give more credit to people who succeed despite their circumstances vs those who succeed in ideal circumstances. The level of respectability that Lewis has been able to achieve despite one of the most dysfunctional franchises I have ever seen is impressive to me.

I agree with what you are saying to a point. He is part of the reason that team is as dysfunctional as it is. There was a 3 to 4 year stretch there a few years back where any NFL show or publication you would read or see and they would clearly say that arguably the Bengals had the most talented and deepest roster in the NFL. If thats the case then the results boil down to coaching and how you manage that talent. We know how that has turned out. Each year during that stretch they would either not even make the playoffs or they were never prepared and had a first round exit the guy is 0-7 in those games... The players have stepped out of line often in that organization and seem to grab the most newsworthy headlines for players being fined acting up or being arrested to boot. He has little control. I guess agree to disagree..

 

[GimmedaBall]

The HC and his staff make the decision on which players get on the field. Some GMs hold full power over the roster/draft, others operate with full involvement of the HC. The ego clashes in team management can really derail a team if the HC-GM-Owner don't get along enough to tolerate one another. (See SF and Harbaugh)

Card fans are stymied in the in-house decisions because our local media gives wide leeway to not conduct 'investigative' reporting. Cards are pretty closed-lipped when it comes to their internal soap opera confrontations. Seldom do we have a coach or player putting the in-house dirty laundry on display.

Have we witnessed the gulf between HC and GM with the retirement of BA? Have to believe that BA wanted a QBOTF and did state that that would be one thing he'd like to accomplish before retiring---get the Cards lined up with a franchise QB. Did SK bypass a QB that BA might have wanted---Watson or Mahomes---to pick the guy that he had rated ahead. Look at our last couple of 1st round picks---SK makes the call but BA/staff redshirt those guys and they don't get on the field. A 1st round pick should contribute from the get-go. Also, got to believe that BA would want a player picked at his college position instead of using a high pick on a guy anticipating to give him on-the-job training at the NFL level. (see our RB converted to a DB who played one defensive snap this year).

Those 'who plays' decisions are probably the biggest impact of the HC and his staff. That requires a good relationship between HC and GM to get the guy the HC needs for his system and to maximize the draft impact of new players.

 

[Chopper0080]

I agree with what you are saying to a point. He is part of the reason that team is as dysfunctional as it is. There was a 3 to 4 year stretch there a few years back where any NFL show or publication you would read or see and they would clearly say that arguably the Bengals had the most talented and deepest roster in the NFL. If thats the case then the results boil down to coaching and how you manage that talent. We know how that has turned out. Each year during that stretch they would either not even make the playoffs or they were never prepared and had a first round exit the guy is 0-7 in those games... The players have stepped out of line often in that organization and seem to grab the most newsworthy headlines for players being fined acting up or being arrested to boot. He has little control. I guess agree to disagree..

From the insight (limited) that I have, it is because Marvin Lewis has very little say in what players they add and who they draft. He is given guys like Adam Jones and Burfict and is told to make it work. The front office and ownership ran Carson Palmer out of town and told Lewis to deal with it. You can argue that Lewis is the one who keeps re-signing with them and putting himself in this environment. That is the criticism I have of him.