What makes a great Head Coach?

Haslam may think he knows the answer but history obviously tells a different story.

Haslam has stated that the pairing of HC and GM is critical. And that the head coach who will be hired first will have input on the GM hire.

OK.

What qualities make a coach great? History and the Hall of Fame provide examples.

There have been calm guys like Tony Dungy. In your face guys like Lombardi. Teachers like Paul Brown. Innovators like Bill Walsh.

What can be learned from that and who from our "list" fits?

IMO the number one criterion is: A head coach has to be able to have every player reach his full potential. How that is accomplished is not as important as that has to happen.

No matter who the player is he must respect the head coach and believe the guy will provide him with what he needs to be successful.

A coach has to be able to command a locker room. When he talks they listen. Motivation can be from a stick or carrot.

The players have to get behind the message and the preparation. They must believe that the methodology will work.

Players are more likely to buy in from someone who has done it before. Think about Andy Reid when he went to KC.

How many high profile guys have said I would love to play for Belichick? Why? Because he has won - consistently.

A head coach must be able to assemble a quality staff. Joe Thomas mentioned that. This ability is often overlooked. But think about that. The OC, DC, position coaches all have to work together. That chemistry spreads to the players.

Time management. Often when a guy has had no previous head coaching experience. They struggle with how to handle time. How to be effective where needed. How to be able to delegate and oversee without micro managing.

Game planning. This is a Belichick specialty. Bill has the ability to breakdown the opposition and how to attack them. He is the master of that.

Play calling. Often delegated to the OC. Sometimes held by the head coach. Play calling is kinda of rolled into game planning. In what order etc. 15 play scripts etc. Head coach preference. Play calling is often criticized. When execution is good play calling looks smart. When execution is bad?

In game adjustments. Critical. On both sides of the ball and special teams. Every well laid plan must have built in the ability to adjust on the fly.

Management ability. The ability to communicate both to ownership, peers like GM, staff and players, on down the line. A consistent message that all can trust.

A clear consistent message.

Adversity. It happens. It can come from injuries. Bad calls. It can come from many directions. It can overwhelm. A head coach has to be able to handle it and make his team handle it.

The "list". The only guys with head coaching experience are McCarthy and McDaniels. Their experience is documented.

The coordinators present more risk because most of them don't have head coach experience. Yet coordinators are where most of the new hires come from. Most good head coaches have jobs. They can become great but they have to prove that.

This criterion points toward Mike McCarthy.

How Jimmy sees it who knows?

We need discipline, organization, accountability, etc way more than we just need playcalling and formations. Our weaknesses are direct leadership IMO

Great post ... thanks for that ...

Who knows what the thiefs gonna do ... your post applies to those that have common sense and know when to get out of the way ... he clearly has no idea hes a major part of the problem at this point ...

KJ fell into his lap and he peed that away cause he wants the HC to hire the GM ... ...

There’s so much wrong with doing it that way ... he still has NO CLUE on who is the most important person in the org ... that is one of the many things that does not bode well for us ...

He continues to prove why hes been the worst owner in the history of sports so far ...

We need players that love the game and the team.. winning or losing. They need taught how to play in the system but should NOT need discipline. My bosses never needed to tell me to study or do the work.. Just tell me how once and leave me the heck alone. Too many ME's and Divas on a team and NO coach will win.

Great post as always... geshhhh.........

The difference is you have a very small group of people with the talent to play at a high level in the NFL. It's not like you have a large group of applicants in the waiting room to interview.