jjflr
02-16-2007, 06:27 PM
http://footballbettingtips.wordpress.com/files/2006/09/ncaaf-logo.jpg
TO THE
http://www.pigskinheaven.com/gallery/files/7/DisplayNFLSHIELDcl_938071.gif
“Stop Hiring NFL Head Coaches Directly From The College Ranks”
or “Why the Raiders are Grasping at Straws”
By
JJFLR
February 2007
Once again this off-season, another NFL team has plundered the ranks of college ball, hiring a head coach with absolutely NO NFL experience in the hopes that it will magically lead their team to the promised land. As the voice of reason, I am here to say it must STOP and it must STOP immediately. Recent history shows us that it simply doesn’t work.
http://msn.foxsports.com/id/5886298_36_2.jpghttp://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/college/news/2002/01/04/spurrier_resigns_ap/t1_spurrier_all-01.jpghttp://www.ukathletics.com/image_lib/fb_brooks_chat.jpg http://media.scout.com/Media/Image/35/354355.jpg
Since 1995, NFL teams have brought in 4 coaches directly from the college coaching ranks that did not have ANY previous NFL experience…………Mike Riley, Steve Spurrier, Rich Brooks, and Dennis Erickson. These coaches had a combined 13 seasons of NFL coaching and not a single winning record to show for it. 208 regular season games, only 79 victories, and zero playoff appearances. Teams need to understand that it is not 1989 and the Johnson/Switzer success the Cowboys enjoyed prior to modern-day free agency had more to do with talent than coaching.
Butch Davis, Nick Saban, Tom Coughlin, Steve Mariucci, and Al Groh are considered recent ‘college’ coaches but they all had at least ‘some’ previous assistant experience in the NFL and therefore are in another category………..We will call them ”College coaches with very limited NFL experience”.
Not surprisingly, these ”College coaches with very limited NFL experience” had ‘more’ success than the college coaches with NO NFL experience but they still haven’t done anything substantial. Out of the 27 seasons these ‘other’ college coaches have completed thus far as Head Coaches in pro-ball, they posted 11 winning seasons. This is not horrible and the longevity that Coughlin and Mariucci have both enjoyed in the league, with multiple playoff appearances, reinforces the importance of having at least some exposure to the NFL prior to becoming a head coach. These ‘other’ college coaches, however, have not posted any Super Bowl appearances and only one of them still has a head coaching position in the NFL and his status is teetering as we head into next season.
The fact of the matter is that the teams that are hiring experienced NFL minds are having greater success. Almost all of the NFL coaches in recent years that have had success were assistant coaches in the league for some period of time immediately prior to moving up to a head coaching position.
The NFL game is a COMPLETELY different animal from the college game. Dennis Green, who has coached both the college and pro games says, “For those who have not worked on the NFL level, the tempo, the length of the season, the weekly ups and downs can catch them by surprise. I do think a guy coming into the pro game without any experience as a pro assistant has a more difficult time." Bill Polian, Colts president, adds, "It is a completely different game."
The level of competition in the NFL cannot be re-produced ANYWHERE in Division 1 football. Al Groh tried the NFL experience for one season as a head coach and states, “In the NFL, all 32 teams are essentially equal talent-wise, and that is not the case in college. In the NFL, all the teams have the same salary cap, similar stadiums, facilities, circumstances. In college, you can be considerably better than your opponent if you coach at certain schools, and in the end, it's about competition, satisfaction, feeling you're having an impact on young men. In some ways, that's more attainable in college.''
The college coach is a recruiter. He is a father to young men. An NFL coach is attempting to motivate an entire locker-room full of other grown men in addition to dealing with media pressures all while trying to out-wit the coach on the other sideline every Sunday. Tim Fox, former Patriots defensive back puts it like this, "So much more preparation goes into the coaching in the NFL. The game is much more complex. In college, you don't have all day every day to prepare for the game. You get a practice and a meeting. Compare that to the NFL, where you show up at 9 a.m. on Monday for film, on Tuesday for game planning, on Wednesday and Thursday for practice and more meetings."
Recently, the ‘stress’ factor of the NFL has also come into play with some of the coaches in the ”College coaches with very limited NFL experience” category leaving the pro game due to the stress level. Coaching in the college ranks is a fun experience for everyone involved. The NFL is a profession. It’s business. And it’s VERY difficult for a head coach, who absorbs the brunt of the pressures. Barry Switzer, after leaving the NFL, said, quite bluntly, 'In the NFL, everybody is meaner. Fans, media, everybody. It's a mean place.'
Jimmy Johnson, considered the most successful convert from college to the NFL ranks, says, "NFL coaching has become a harsh business. In college, they can get mad at you, but there's still a rah-rah atmosphere, and a lot of that good-old-school loyalty. In the NFL, it's either win, or we're gonna cut your throat."
The ‘stress’ factor of the NFL is magnified due to the fact that these migrating coaches appear to be forgetting about the adjustment that the ‘change’ forces onto the rest of their family. Lou Holtz, a short-timer in the NFL back in the 70’s, states, “``Raising a family around a college is ideal. Your wife and kids can go to baseball games, basketball games, plays, concerts, it's really nice for them. Moving to a big city is an adjustment.''
Johnson back’s up Holtz’s opinion, “"In college, you can have a personal life, a family life. In the NFL, you can forget that for about 10 months a year, maybe all 12. If you are doing the job the right way, a personal life basically doesn't exist. There's a huge difference in how much work you have to put in, and also in the numbers of headaches."
How does all of this affect the 2 new ‘college’ hires, you ask? Looking at the recent ‘college’ hires and how all of this affects the Raiders and Falcons is this:
http://vmedia.rivals.com/IMAGES/Coach/PHOTO/KIFFIN,-LANE150.JPG
Don’t expect anything incredible in Oakland. Davis didn’t have a lot of choices. No one wants to coach there. Look for Kiffin to struggle for a couple of years in the NFL and then take his dog-and-pony show back to the college ranks in a head coaching position. He will remain there for the rest of his career.
http://images.sportsnetwork.com/football/college/allsport/confusa/louisville/petrino_bob2.jpg
In Atlanta, Petrino may have ‘some’ success. He has 3 years of NFL assistant experience with the Jaguars, but I wouldn’t look for him to be making any miracles happen. The best you could hope for if you are a Petrino fan is that he become a long-timer like Coughlin, and will at least turn in some winning seasons from time-to-time wherever he is coaching in the league.
TO THE
http://www.pigskinheaven.com/gallery/files/7/DisplayNFLSHIELDcl_938071.gif
“Stop Hiring NFL Head Coaches Directly From The College Ranks”
or “Why the Raiders are Grasping at Straws”
By
JJFLR
February 2007
Once again this off-season, another NFL team has plundered the ranks of college ball, hiring a head coach with absolutely NO NFL experience in the hopes that it will magically lead their team to the promised land. As the voice of reason, I am here to say it must STOP and it must STOP immediately. Recent history shows us that it simply doesn’t work.
http://msn.foxsports.com/id/5886298_36_2.jpghttp://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/college/news/2002/01/04/spurrier_resigns_ap/t1_spurrier_all-01.jpghttp://www.ukathletics.com/image_lib/fb_brooks_chat.jpg http://media.scout.com/Media/Image/35/354355.jpg
Since 1995, NFL teams have brought in 4 coaches directly from the college coaching ranks that did not have ANY previous NFL experience…………Mike Riley, Steve Spurrier, Rich Brooks, and Dennis Erickson. These coaches had a combined 13 seasons of NFL coaching and not a single winning record to show for it. 208 regular season games, only 79 victories, and zero playoff appearances. Teams need to understand that it is not 1989 and the Johnson/Switzer success the Cowboys enjoyed prior to modern-day free agency had more to do with talent than coaching.
Butch Davis, Nick Saban, Tom Coughlin, Steve Mariucci, and Al Groh are considered recent ‘college’ coaches but they all had at least ‘some’ previous assistant experience in the NFL and therefore are in another category………..We will call them ”College coaches with very limited NFL experience”.
Not surprisingly, these ”College coaches with very limited NFL experience” had ‘more’ success than the college coaches with NO NFL experience but they still haven’t done anything substantial. Out of the 27 seasons these ‘other’ college coaches have completed thus far as Head Coaches in pro-ball, they posted 11 winning seasons. This is not horrible and the longevity that Coughlin and Mariucci have both enjoyed in the league, with multiple playoff appearances, reinforces the importance of having at least some exposure to the NFL prior to becoming a head coach. These ‘other’ college coaches, however, have not posted any Super Bowl appearances and only one of them still has a head coaching position in the NFL and his status is teetering as we head into next season.
The fact of the matter is that the teams that are hiring experienced NFL minds are having greater success. Almost all of the NFL coaches in recent years that have had success were assistant coaches in the league for some period of time immediately prior to moving up to a head coaching position.
The NFL game is a COMPLETELY different animal from the college game. Dennis Green, who has coached both the college and pro games says, “For those who have not worked on the NFL level, the tempo, the length of the season, the weekly ups and downs can catch them by surprise. I do think a guy coming into the pro game without any experience as a pro assistant has a more difficult time." Bill Polian, Colts president, adds, "It is a completely different game."
The level of competition in the NFL cannot be re-produced ANYWHERE in Division 1 football. Al Groh tried the NFL experience for one season as a head coach and states, “In the NFL, all 32 teams are essentially equal talent-wise, and that is not the case in college. In the NFL, all the teams have the same salary cap, similar stadiums, facilities, circumstances. In college, you can be considerably better than your opponent if you coach at certain schools, and in the end, it's about competition, satisfaction, feeling you're having an impact on young men. In some ways, that's more attainable in college.''
The college coach is a recruiter. He is a father to young men. An NFL coach is attempting to motivate an entire locker-room full of other grown men in addition to dealing with media pressures all while trying to out-wit the coach on the other sideline every Sunday. Tim Fox, former Patriots defensive back puts it like this, "So much more preparation goes into the coaching in the NFL. The game is much more complex. In college, you don't have all day every day to prepare for the game. You get a practice and a meeting. Compare that to the NFL, where you show up at 9 a.m. on Monday for film, on Tuesday for game planning, on Wednesday and Thursday for practice and more meetings."
Recently, the ‘stress’ factor of the NFL has also come into play with some of the coaches in the ”College coaches with very limited NFL experience” category leaving the pro game due to the stress level. Coaching in the college ranks is a fun experience for everyone involved. The NFL is a profession. It’s business. And it’s VERY difficult for a head coach, who absorbs the brunt of the pressures. Barry Switzer, after leaving the NFL, said, quite bluntly, 'In the NFL, everybody is meaner. Fans, media, everybody. It's a mean place.'
Jimmy Johnson, considered the most successful convert from college to the NFL ranks, says, "NFL coaching has become a harsh business. In college, they can get mad at you, but there's still a rah-rah atmosphere, and a lot of that good-old-school loyalty. In the NFL, it's either win, or we're gonna cut your throat."
The ‘stress’ factor of the NFL is magnified due to the fact that these migrating coaches appear to be forgetting about the adjustment that the ‘change’ forces onto the rest of their family. Lou Holtz, a short-timer in the NFL back in the 70’s, states, “``Raising a family around a college is ideal. Your wife and kids can go to baseball games, basketball games, plays, concerts, it's really nice for them. Moving to a big city is an adjustment.''
Johnson back’s up Holtz’s opinion, “"In college, you can have a personal life, a family life. In the NFL, you can forget that for about 10 months a year, maybe all 12. If you are doing the job the right way, a personal life basically doesn't exist. There's a huge difference in how much work you have to put in, and also in the numbers of headaches."
How does all of this affect the 2 new ‘college’ hires, you ask? Looking at the recent ‘college’ hires and how all of this affects the Raiders and Falcons is this:
http://vmedia.rivals.com/IMAGES/Coach/PHOTO/KIFFIN,-LANE150.JPG
Don’t expect anything incredible in Oakland. Davis didn’t have a lot of choices. No one wants to coach there. Look for Kiffin to struggle for a couple of years in the NFL and then take his dog-and-pony show back to the college ranks in a head coaching position. He will remain there for the rest of his career.
http://images.sportsnetwork.com/football/college/allsport/confusa/louisville/petrino_bob2.jpg
In Atlanta, Petrino may have ‘some’ success. He has 3 years of NFL assistant experience with the Jaguars, but I wouldn’t look for him to be making any miracles happen. The best you could hope for if you are a Petrino fan is that he become a long-timer like Coughlin, and will at least turn in some winning seasons from time-to-time wherever he is coaching in the league.