Posts Tagged ‘Bill Parcells’

The Kryptonite to the Belichick G.O.A.T. Claim

Thursday, September 20th, 2018

by Gus Griffin

gus

 

 

 

 

BB

As Bill Belichick’s Patriots prepare to meet his former assistant, Matt Patricia’s Lions, it is hard to overlook the nagging blemish on Belichick’s claim as the greatest NFL coach of all time; the abysmal record of his professional coaching disciples.

BBCT

The collective NFL coaching records of Romeo Crennel (28-55), Eric Mangini (33-47), Josh Daniels (11-17), Bill O’Brien (31-34), Nick Saban (15-17), and now Patricia (0-2) is 118-172 for a winning percentage of .406.

One can be written off as an aberration. Two a concern. Three is a pattern.

So, what do we make of six, and not a one of them have a winning record?

BBCT2Some might ask how I can blame Belichick for the failures of his disciples. Valid question, to which I say, the same way we give him credit for winning five Super Bowls when he never made a tackle or caught a pass? Much of the discussion about coaching effectiveness is subjective, associative, and situational. The other factor is that several of Belichick’s competitors for the G.O.A.T. have compelling cases precisely because of their coaching tree.

Take the late great Bill Walsh. Not only was his offensive innovation the most impactful of the last 40 years, but his coaching tree has won seven Super Bowls, none of which were by the winningest coach in his tree, which is Andy Reid…whom I believe should go into the Hall of Fame some day.

Don’t we all consider that a part of Walsh’s legacy? Then it is fair game for Belichick.

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, left, celebrates with head coach Bill Belichick after defeating the Miami Dolphins 41-13 in an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 14, 2014, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, left, celebrates with head coach Bill Belichick (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

In fairness to Belichick assistants, none of them had Tom Brady as their quarterback. The fact is that Belichick is sub .500 without Brady as his starting QB. The common response to this is, “but he won 11 games with Matt Cassel in 2008”.

That is absolutely true…and highly misleading.

The 2007 Patriots went 18-1. They clearly had a great deal of additional talent to Brady on the 2008 team, including a “pretty good” wide receiver named Randy Moss. He had a track record for making average QBs look better than they really were.

Furthermore, other candidates for the NFL coaching G.O.A.T. have managed to fare much better than Belichick without elite QB play. His mentor, Bill Parcells, won his second Super Bowl despite losing a former Super Bowl MVP quarterback in Phil Simms to an injury. Don Shula managed to get to a Super Bowl with a two-headed QB combination of David Woodley (he was out of LSU…need I say more about him as an NFL QB) and Don Strock. Joe Gibbs won three Super Bowls with three different starting QBs, none of whom were Hall of Famers.

I am not suggesting that Bill Belichick is not a great coach. He absolutely is…perhaps the best ever. He has a case with the five SB wins, and coaching in arguably the toughest era to date. I also do not take it for granted that having a great QB makes winning automatic. In fact, there have been five Hall of Fame Coach/QB combos that never won a super bowl. It is nowhere near as easy as Belichick has made it look.

I am only saying that those of you who want to crown his ass, pump the breaks just a little bit. It is hardly an open and shut case.

 

Gus Griffin, for War Room Sports

Coaching and the Myth of Transparency

Tuesday, May 19th, 2015

by Gus Griffin

gus

 

 

 

 

PC

There is a great deal of mistrust of power, be it governmental or corporate.  Society is becoming increasingly skeptical of the notion that either of the aforementioned will do the right thing in a fair process.  It is a well warranted skepticism.

Among the many great things about sports is that it is the closest thing in American society to a transparent meritocracy.

We see more in the way of outcome and process in sports than any other area of American life and yet ironically it is that very high and unique access that sometimes deludes us into thinking we know more than we really do.  The area where this manifests itself most is in the evaluation of coaching.

Even after adjusting the variation of coaching impact across sports and eliminating outlier boneheaded coaching decisions like Seattle’s last play call in the Super Bowl, the evaluation of coaching typically assumes two things: 1) that coaching decisions impact outcome as much as player execution; and 2) that we are privy to all the information that the coach has to make a decision.

The problem is that neither are true.

On coaches impact compared to players you can look at both George Seifert and Tom Flores who won 2 Super Bowls with 49ers and Raiders respectively.  Seifert had one of highest winning percentages in NFL history while in San Francisco.  When he got to Carolina he went 1-15.  Flores didn’t do much better in Seattle.  Neither forgot how to coach any more than Erik Spoelstra did this year with the Heat.

There is a short list of coaches/managers with a track record of making significant improvements to a team with largely the same talent: Larry Brown, Buck Showalter, and Bill Parcells.
Everyone else has pretty much been no better, some worse than their talent.

Privy to information is more complex.  When Buddy Ryan coached the Eagles, he cut one Chris Carter, saying, “all he does is catch that fade pass”.  He got clobbered in the world of armchair coaching and GM evaluation.  Few knew that he never believed what he was saying but was taking a bullet for Carter, who at the time had a drug problem.

In my own high school baseball coaching experience I recall a second basemen we had, that for whatever reason could not make an accurate throw home to cut off a scoring runner.  So in the game when we chose to bring the infield in, we either had to switch him with someone else, pull him from the game, or decoy him.  No observers would understand why we would do this unless they came to practice.

This is why I have learned to temper my coaching evaluations.  While transparency is a good thing, it’s never absolute and in that vacuum we are left with that old saying, “a little bit of knowledge can be a dangerous thing”.

 

Gus Griffin, for War Room Sports

The 4th Coming of Bill Parcells: Please, I’ve Had Enough

Thursday, March 29th, 2012

By LeRoy McConnell III

When football enthusiasts hear the name Duane Charles Parcells they may think of a two-time Super Bowl winning head football coach of the New York Giants (’86 & ’90).  His resume in the National Football League places him on that monument of coaches from the Lombardis, Nolls, Shulas, and his protege, Belichicks.  To some, Parcells was a great coach, not only because he won two Super Bowls, but he resurrected two different franchises which makes his legacy even greater.  He brought the New England Patriots to the Super Bowl in 1996, though losing to the Green Bay Packers team.  He also brought credibility to the New York Jets by getting them to an AFC championship game.  Lastly, the two-time Coach of the Year, Parcells is known to leave franchises in a better position than they were prior to him being there.  So, it’s a slam dunk that Parcells should be a rental coach for the Payton-less Saints team this fall.  I mean he can’t possibly @#$# up the New Orleans Saints the next ten months, can he?

The real football coach of the New Orleans Saints is Sean Payton, who as of April 1, 2012 will be suspended from coaching his team because he lied to Roger Goodell about the bounties his team were issuing in the NFL.  Payton has decided before he has to go into hiatus to make his most daring move as a head coach and bring in his mentor to coach his team.  Oh Lord, please, do I really have to listen to the NFL, the “four letter network”, all the sports radio stations and internet sites kissing the Big Tuna’s ring once again?  The Tuna’s head is already enormous, and you know he is loving the fact that his name is out there again.  What tickles me is he has the nerve to react as if he really isn’t interested in coaching again.  I will say it, why not?  Tuna, who cares that you will have to wait another five years before being enshrined?  The five year rule was made because you kept coming back to coach in the first place.  You will have your day in Canton, but I know you can’t resist being on that sideline, especially when you  have a chance to win.  Your protege is reaching out for help.  He trusts you more than anyone to take care of his baby!

This is a note to “Them Saints Fans” (Who That!).  I pray that the Big Tuna takes Sean Payton’s offer to coach your football team this fall.  As a Cowboy’s fan, I would endorse him myself.  I pray that he takes over your team and destroys it the way he did MINE!  The best thing about Parcells being the Dallas Cowboy coach was the day he QUIT!  His friends in the media announced his retirement, that’s funny because the man QUIT!  Mike Rhyner from the Hardline calls him “The New Jersey Con Man” because he is an individual that we thought would bring credibility back to the Dallas Cowboys organization and all he did was defecate all over Jerry Jones.  I have never seen the hands-on owner, Jones, so miserable as when the Con Man was the coach.  He paid Parcells handsomely right after his divorce settlement in 2002.  Those fat pockets didn’t generate any playoff victories, as he went 0-2 in his tenure.  I remember listening to his hour-long radio show, daily, doing more talking than coaching.  He wouldn’t allow any staff members, players or Mr. Jones to speak with the media.  It was The Con Man’s show.  The only coach that could get away with that is former coach Jimmy Johnson, who has the skins on the wall with the legendary status here in Dallas.  Bill Parcells was a joke down here in Texas and I promise you Jerry Jones couldn’t have been happier by his exit.

Once Parcells retired from the “Big D”, he found another fish in Miami.  At least he had some sense not to go back into coaching because of the failure in Dallas; heck his last playoff win was in 1998 as the New York Jets’ coach.  The Miami Dolphins organization must have been under the influence giving the Glorified Gym Teacher (thanks Mike Rhyner!) the keys to the kingdom by announcing him as the Executive Vice President of Football (fattening his pockets once again).  Didn’t the Patriots owner, Robert Kraft, teach anybody anything?  The Con Man cried about not having enough input in player personnel decisions.  Upon his departure, Parcells famously stated: “They want you to cook the dinner; at least they ought to let you shop for some of the groceries”.  After Parcells departed New England, Kraft brought in a guy named Belichick, and the rest is history.  The Glorified Gym Teacher took over the Dolphins, gutted the coaching staff and team, put his usual Parcells guys in place (he does this everywhere he goes), and by accident in year two, the team won the division, though losing in the first round of the playoffs.

Bill Parcells is a popular guy.  He looks comfortable as an analyst on ESPN and should consider staying there.  I know all coaches have that burning desire to get back into the game when an opportunity comes available.  The Con Man, Glorified Gym Teacher is 70 years old.  We have seen that father time passes both athletes and coaches.  His act, truthfully hasn’t worked in two decades.  His name holds plenty of weight but if you are Sean Payton, step back and ask yourself what has he done lately?  Close your eyes and what do you see?  Nothing.  As a fan, I have already had a mouth full Tuna.  No more please.

LeRoy McConnell of “A Fan’s Point of View”, for War Room Sports

The Cowboys need more than a coaching change!

Tuesday, November 30th, 2010