Do coaches take too much blame?

[Guest Redhawk]

Why is the head coach to blame everytime a team sucks? I've always thought that in pro sports, the coaches get too much blame (and at the same time, too much credit when things are good) and the players get off easier. Take the Lions. Sure, Marty Morninweg might not be Bill Walsh, but look at that roster! They barely have any talent. So who should get the blame? The coaches, players, or GMs/owners?

[Guest Kahran Ramsus]

They get the blame because the guy firing them is at fault if it is the players fault (sometimes it is the fault of the coach). Mike Brown isn't going to fire himself, so the Bengals fire the coach.

[Guest Vern Gagne]

More times than not, a coach or manager who is fired was deserving. Mornhinweg didn't seem like he had any idea what he was doing. The Lions don't have any talent, but he really looked lost.

 

It's different when it comes to John Lucas and Lon Kruger. Their teams didn't give an effort, and underachieved. A coach is supposed to get his team to show up and play hard every game, and neither of these two did that.

[Guest El Satanico]

I think sometime the coach does take too much of the blame. Alot depends on the talent he is in charge of.

 

If it's a good team yet aren't winning or playing well then the coach deserves the blame. If it's a bad team that doesn't win much yet the players are playing hard then the coach is usually getting too much blamed on him.

 

The coach blame game always walks a thin line.

 

NHL is the worse about blaming coaches for everything and replacing them for the hell of it. Hell good coaches in the NHL often get fired a few months into the season because the gm didn't like a slow start.

[Guest Redhawk]

Even in cases where the teams are good, coaches will get the blame if they don't "make it over the hump." See Tony Dungy, Steve Mariucci, and Ray Rhodes in Green Bay and (I think) Philly. I just don't see why, with teams like Arizona and Cincinnati out there, you'd fire someone who got you to the playoffs.

[Guest Youth N Asia]

Overall I say coaches take too much blame, it's easier to fire one guy then to fire an entire team.

 

But in the Lion's case it was a bad team with a bad coach...and a new coach could really help matters.

[Guest El Satanico]

The playoffs aren't the goal. The Super Bowl is the only goal for NFL teams. If a coach can get to the playoffs for several years yet can't get to the big game their job will always be on the line.

 

All you need to do is ask the teams to prove that the Super Bowl is the only goal. They all set goals of making the Super Bowl at the start of the season.

 

Sure teams like Arizona, Detriot and Cincinnati would be happy with winning seasons and/or making the playoffs but their goal is still the Super Bowl.

[Guest Redhawk]

But what I'm saying is, why dump a guy who at least gets you more wins than losses, and gets you to the postseason when there may not be any better candidates?

[Guest El Satanico]

Because it's never enough to owners/GMs unless it brings them a Lombardi trophy.

 

It may not be fair, but it's just the way the NFL operates. It's even worse now in the salary cap era. Majority of teams have at most a 4 year window to make a Super Bowl run with the same talent and they can't afford getting to the playoffs but never making it to the Super Bowl.

 

It's one reason why it's so hard for NFL teams to bring in the top college coaches now. Most top college coaches won't come to the NFL unless it's a matter of them deciding to move up in order to have a new challenge and try his hand at the pros.

[Guest Vern Gagne]

Dungy's time in Tampa had run it's course. As a Buccs fan, I wished Dungy luck because he seems like great guy, and helped turn the franchise around but both sides needed a change of scenary. I really believe that Tampa wouldn't of won the Super Bowl if Dungy was still there.

[Guest Kahran Ramsus]

At the same time Dungy is doing wonders for the Colts, even if it isn't a one year job. They were going nowhere fast without him.

[Guest Vern Gagne]

That's all well in good, but is Dungy capable of taking a team to the Super Bowl?

[Guest redbaron51]

A coach can affect a team so much, it could be the players too...Inexperianced, or the egos of the team rather thinks how many times he can get the ball, than the score can affect the team...

 

 

In Detroit, I have to say it was time to let go of the coach, but in San Fran...that was a bad move. The team played hurt, and with an inexperianced d-fence, they should have gotten thumped, but didn't. But yes, it all comes down to is winning that lombardi (or any trophy)

[Guest Kahran Ramsus]

That's all well in good, but is Dungy capable of taking a team to the Super Bowl?

Yes. The Bucs should have been there in 2000, but the refs screwed them out of the NFC Championship.

[Guest DrTom]

See Tony Dungy, Steve Mariucci...

Both deserved the axe.

 

Dungy is not a motivator. He's a competent X's and O's man, but a some of his former players talk about laid-back practices, and no special emphasis on anything for playoff games. He let the cold weather stigma hang over the Bucs, and I don't think they would have won it all this year with Dungy at the helm. For those who think he's done wonders in Indy, consider this: their defense was revealed to be a soft unit doing things with smoke and mirrors, and people are starting to figure out Peyton Manning. The hell with Edgerrin James getting hurt; let's see Marvin Harrison get hurt for the year and look at Peyton's numbers. He can't win a big game to save his life, and defenses have figured out his constant fake audibling and wild gestures at the line. What was the score of their game with the Jets again? Keep telling me Dungy's such a good coach.

 

Mariucci showed he was a gutless coward in the playoffs, and the team quit on him as a result. As a player, I'd have a hard time taking orders from someone so spineless. As an owner or GM, I'd demand someone with more courage as my coach. I think Mooch is a better coach than Dungy, but he'll need to grow a set if he takes the job in Detroit.

 

In general, I think most coaches who are fired deserve it. There's always a quick hook here and there, but generally, if you get sacked from a coaching position, you deserve to be in the unemployment line.

[Guest Kahran Ramsus]

Oh, he did deserve to go in Tampa when he did. I'm just saying he can get the team there. He isn't doing wonders in Indy, yet, but I imagine you will see significant improvements in the next couple of years.

 

As for Mariucci, the decision should have been made final when he gave up at half time against the Bucs. He would never have gotten the team back on his side after that.

[Guest Redhawk]

See Tony Dungy, Steve Mariucci...

Both deserved the axe.

 

Dungy is not a motivator.

 

Mariucci showed he was a gutless coward in the playoffs, and the team quit on him as a result.

Why should Dungy have to motivate grown men who already know what's at stake? I always thought the whole motivation thing was overrated in the pros. If Warren Sapp and John Lynch and Keyshawn and those guys are as intense as the media says they are, why do they need motivation?

 

I didn't see the SF-TB game. What happened? Did Mooch quit at halftime as I've heard.

[Guest Vern Gagne]

It wasn't certain Tampa was going to score in the 2000 NFC title game.

 

You shouldn't need anyone to motivate you, but players obviously do. Gruden know what buttons to push, Dungy doesn't.

[Guest DrTom]

Why should Dungy have to motivate grown men who already know what's at stake? I always thought the whole motivation thing was overrated in the pros.

It probably is, but passion and heart can make a difference... the old "who wants it more?" question. Marv Levy had the same problem: very laid-back in terms of practices and preparation for the big games, and look what he did when he got to the Super Bowl. Maybe millionaires shouldn't need to be motivated, but if the coach can prepare them for their opponent and light a fire under their asses, he's doing his job. Gruden can obviously do that; Dungy has so far shown he cannot. There was no excuse for losing to the Jets like they did.

 

I didn't see the SF-TB game. What happened? Did Mooch quit at halftime as I've heard.

Did he ever.

 

Let's put you in the situation, Redhawk. You've had a pretty bad first half, and your team is down 28-6 thanks to injuries in the secondary. However, you have the ball at your own 40-yard line, with 0:41 left in the second quarter, and two timeouts at your disposal. What do you do?

 

My answer is immediate: go down the goddamn field and try to score. SF had a good offense, so why not take the chance? If you get into the end zone, I would go for 2 to potentially make it a 14-point game going into the half. (I don't recall who got the ball to open the second half.) The thing is, you HAVE to make something happen there. You have to get your team going, you have to show them they can score and make it respectable going into the locker room. You HAVE to.

 

Mariucci didn't. He had Garcia take a knee, and took his team into the locker room. Terrell Owens was LIVID on the field, and I don't blame him one bit. That was one of the most gutless moments I've ever seen watching football, and if I were the GM of the 49ers, I would have fired my pussy coach immediately after the game. That level of cowardice from an NFL coach is a disgrace, and it should be treated like one.

[Guest Redhawk]

Damn. That IS sad. Were there really 41 seconds left? I can maybe see downing it if there were, like, 5 seconds left: oftentimes those "just before halftime" Hail Marys get picked off and I guess you wouldn't want Garcia feeling any worse. But with that much time left, you've got time for AT LEAST three more plays. And with Terrell Owens, Tai Streets, and Jeff Garcia throwing them the ball, well, that's a pretty good shot at a TD.