Quality Coaching a Thing of the Past?



Phil Jackson is one of the last legendary
coaches in professional sports. Who will
take over after he's retired?



We all know them. They're usually in the background orchestrating everything that we see on the field and courts. Most of them were once at the forefront, but as a result of age, bad knees and slowing down physically, they've been downgraded to a back-up position to the players. They are the coaches and managers of professional sport teams.

This past week we've seen how important coaching is in the NBA and NFL. Ultimately, during the game, the coach has the final decision. Only after the game can the decisions they make be scrutinized and punished by the executives who sit in their luxury suites and dish out millions of dollars to keep the fans content. This past week, bad coaching was first seen by the fans of the Washington Redskins. 

Head coach Mike Shanahan benched quarterback Donovan McNabb for former Bears castaway Rex Grossman for a reason that doesn't even make sense in the world of Ron Artest's mind. McNabb was taken out of the game because according to Mike Shanahan, "he doesn't have the cardiovascular endurance for a 2-minute drill." O really? Let me remind you Coach Shanahan that Donovan McNabb is a six-time NFL Pro Bowl selection, has led his teams to 15 fourth quarter comebacks and 23 game-winning drives in his career. Rex Grossman's claim to fame was in the Superbowl with the Bears in 2007 in which he proved why he shouldn't be a starting quarterback in the league. Digging deeper, it sounds like the Redskins organization has more serious issues than "cardiovascular endurance."

Another decision made this past week was by Minnesota Vikings head coach Brad Childress to terminate future Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss. After acquiring Randy Moss less than three weeks ago from the New England Patriots, Childress claimed that Moss wasn't a positive person for the Vikings team. This came after Moss was fined $25,000 for not talking to the media and fired back by announcing to the media that he would only answer his own questions in interviews and press conferences and not the questions by the press. Childress is now facing scrutiny by the Vikings owner Zygi Willf who reportedly is not happy with the teams decision to place Moss on waivers for any other team to claim him.

While these 2 coaches believe they made the right decisions for the team, can they be so sure that these decisions were not personal? It was known beforehand that Mike Shanahan had an issue with not getting the productivity out of McNabb they thought they would get at the beginning of the season. Now that McNabb has led the Redskins to a subpar, but still respectable record, Shanahan is not pleased with the results he's received. 

It's ridiculous for any NFL team to believe one player can come to a team and become the savior that will lead them to a 16-0 record. The NFL is a team sport. Players rarely are seen on both sides of the ball and even when they are, they cannot be all 11 players on that side. It's a team sport. It seems as if quality coaching is a thing of the past. The coaches who could have multiple superstars on one team with just as many egos and keep the team together as a cohesive unit seems to be a thing of the past. Only a handful of coaches are capable of taking a back seat and allowing players to flex their egos. This handful includes every professional sport.

The best manager of egos I've seen in my lifetime is Phil Jackson. Dealing with egos and superstar arrogance is what this man's life has been dedicated to. Mike Ditka was also an excellent coach with a knack for keeping players in check and making sure they worked together to play a quality game every day of the season. Vince Lombardi, Red Auerbach, Pat Riley, Tony LaRussa, Lou Piniella and the list goes on and on of great coaches who have set the tone in professional sports. Who will be the next coaches to be placed in the category of being legendary and immortal? We aren't seeing the behavior that is a model of a great coach lately in sports by the younger coaches. Are we moving into an age of subpar coaches? We shall see.