What is it that separates the good if not great from the bad ?
There have been many many variations of Headcoaching styles and philosophies. During the 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's discipline seemed to be the constant factor among successful Headcoaches. Names like Bud Grant, Tom Landry, Chuck Noll, Don Shula, Bill Walsh and of course Vince Lombardi jump out at me. We also had the Mike Ditka's, Bill Parcells, Joe Gibbs and Dick Vermeils of the world. (There are many more)
We've seen coaches build their teams through the draft. (Jimmy Johnson's Cowboys) We've seen coaches rely on older veterans. (George Allen's Washington Redskins) We've seen coaches adjust to their personnel. Tony Dungy went from the very strong defensive minded Buccaneers to the Offensive Indianapolis Colts.
However somewhere during the new millenium the players of the NFL started to fight back. They were tired of being treated like children and have been demanding respect. After all, most of the players are multi-millionaires and want be treated like men. They wanted their opinions/imput heard with an understanding and cooperative ear.
A great example of this is Tom Coughlin (the ultimate disciplinarian) of the New York Giants. By the end of the 2006 season Coughlin had a mutiny on his hands. The players hated their Headcoach. They were fed up with his style of coaching. There were rumors that Coughlin was going to be fired by the Giants. However Coughlin was signed on for 1 more year by the New York franchise. Coughlin was somehow convinced (by who or whom I don't know) to lighten up with the discipline and become more of a players coach. The rest as we all know is history. The last two SUPERBOWLS have been won by teams with a Headcoach (Tony Dungy) that is using the player coach style. Is this a coincidence? Or is there a changing of the guard?
My opinion is that in today's NFL it comes down to the players. There are still many variations of Headcoaching styles and player talent is important but if the players don't buy what the Headcoach is selling failure will be the outcome. A good example of this is Randy Moss. Moss excelled during his Minnesota Viking days and then moved onto the Oakland Raiders where he floundered. Now that he is with the Patriots is back to his old very talented self.
Yes, the Headcoach has to know what he's doing and be involved with all aspects of the team. However all the talent in the world doesn't guarantee success. Todays player has to respect and buy into what the Headcoach is preaching and teaching. There has to be a chemistry/comraderie established to create that winning atmosphere.
As much as I hate to admit it (SLAP Founder) our Headcoach
Scott Linehan needs to work on his player/coach relationships. Whether he likes it or not. We have the talent on our roster to be very competitive in 2008 but if our players don't have that respect/chemistry/comraderie the 2008 season will be a failure. Thus ending Linehan's tenure as Headcoach of our RAMS.