The Best Head Coach?

[Haywarduck]

 

What is it which makes the best head coach come game day? What type of coach can you count on to have his players ready to play every Saturday, and maybe even the second Monday in January. I ask this question because with a young coach it may be hard to establish the principles within a program to help them succeed.

 

Most of us were fooled by Mario. He sounded like THE head coach. I remember people talking about how he just had the presence and said the right things, just felt like a head coach. As we know, words can be hollow and a look can be deceiving. He did have one of the elements, he brought the talent, recruited well.

 

I think Chip Kelly defined himself as a great coach when he suspended Blount for the punch against Hout in the Boise State game. From that moment on the players new CK meant business and he was in charge. He would make the tough decisions and also had the best interest of the players in mind. They both feared and loved CK from that moment on. He also had the scheme and got some important talent to work with.

 

That culture continued under Helfrich, but once the trained players were off the team, it all fell apart. Helfrich could certainly scheme, although his ‘go for 2 obsession’ was a flaw. The problem, he couldn’t recruit, and most importantly he couldn’t continue, nor grow the culture. It didn’t take long to see he wasn’t did have it, the ability to lead players, build the culture needed.

 

Compare that era to Mario’s handling of the airsoft gun incident, and it is a stark contrast. Mario stumbled and just let DJ James and Jamal Hill back on the team with no evident program discipline. Even if it was symbolic, discipline coming from the top is incredibly important so the players know who is in charge, and what the expectations are. The team seemed to see that as a free pass to act and play on the field as they wanted. Not everyone, but the margin players see this and react accordingly. It then infects the whole program.

 

The penalties, and mistakes under Cristobal were too plentiful. I remember in the OSU game in 2020 when there were missed blocks and nothing was said, or done to fix it. Same seemed to happen with penalties too often. There was the famous dressing down of Hutson, but that wasn’t the norm, and may have just been an indication Cristobal’s discipline was an achilles heal. You practice what you see on game day. Cristobal seemed too in love with being the student athletes friend, rather than the tough mentor, and creating the culture of winning.

 

The big question is does Lanning have the behind the scenes act to instill that type of relationship with the players. I say behind the scenes because I fully admit I don’t know exactly what happens over 90% of the time. We get to see small signs and sometimes big events, but the culture of the team is formed over many interactions. Will Lanning grab this team by the heart and soul, and make them a great team?

 

The Ohio State program tries to create a winning culture with their black stripe, actually an Urban Meyer tradition. The upper classmen teach the freshman how to act, and the freshman work to lose the black stripe.  It is a much anticipated tradition within the program. It would seem Day isn’t instilling the same intensity with this tradition. Maybe he will, but maybe he is struggling with being a first time head coach.

 

It is easy to see the relationship Saban and Belichick have with their players. The players both love and fear them. They know the coaches have their best interests in mind, but the players have to prove they have the best interest of the team each and every day. If the player doesn’t earn the trust of these coaches they don’t play. It is also a long, tough road to earn that trust.

 

We may see the same struggle with Lanning, but he has no inherited tradition to help him instill the discipline needed to create a dominant program. Maybe he will have something he has learned along the way. Slick had the supposed earn a low number, but that was never really used.  It will be interesting to watch what he does over the weeks, months and years of his tenure.

 

Lanning seems to say the right things. Fortunately we have seen half of a team he has coached, The Georgia Defense, and they seemed to have had it. If what we see with the Georgia defense extends to what we will see on Rich Brooks Field, then all will be good. It will be interesting to see if his leadership of the bulldog defense extends to leading a complete program. That is the million dollar question, and could become the 8 figure question in the future.

[Charles Fischer]

We have not had the "total-package" as a coach at Oregon.  I felt that each of Brooks, Bellotti, Chip and Taggart/Cristobal were good at one or two of the three areas (Recruiting, Xs and Os, and being a CEO) but not all three, and very, very few coaches are.  Usually you figure out the weakness of a coach gradually, as while MC struggled with the Xs and Os, the other coaches were not as good in recruiting.

 

Lanning has the potential to be the best of all three areas needed, and it will be fun to watch his growth as a HC.  We watched Georgia change their game-plan under Lanning from the SEC Championship to the NC, so I have faith we won't see two "Utahs" again!

 

[Haywarduck]

On 1/23/2022 at 9:40 AM, Charles Fischer said:

We have not had the "total-package" as a coach at Oregon.  I felt that each of Brooks, Bellotti, Chip and Taggart/Cristobal were good at one or two of the three areas (Recruiting, Xs and Os, and being a CEO) but not all three, and very, very few coaches are. 

I actually think Chip was pretty good at all three while at Oregon. With a little help in recruiting he could have taken us over the hump, almost did.

 

The big item I am speaking to is being the CEO, probably the biggest job, if they can step away from being a control freak. I think this was the downfall of both Cristobal and Chip. They became control freaks and couldn't delegate important roles. I think the culture of the coaches, players and program is the most critical part. Taking control and then guiding the program strongly is the hidden part we don't often see. Chip did this very well, Bellotti did it very well for a long time, but it wained. 

 

We see this in corporations, schools and many places. The leader, whether quietly, or loudly can make or break an organization by how he/she leads.  I am just wondering what dynamic Lanning will have with this element. What type of leadership will he provide with the Oregon Football Program and can he provide the strong leadership a program like ours needs?

[Duck 1972]

Let's see. He saw how Saban did it at Alabama, then Kirby Smart for 4 years at Georgia in fact being the #2/3 guy. Just can't see how he won't nail it. The acorn doesn't fall far from the tree.

[OhioDuck]

Being under a great coach or coaches doesn't always translate into being one yourself. We have yet to see with Lanning, but he seems to bring with him a lot of the qualities we are looking for in a total package coach. It may take him some time to figure a few things out, but i think he has good chance to be that total package coach. Exciting times!

[Duck 1972]

On 1/23/2022 at 4:08 PM, OhioDuck said:

Being under a great coach or coaches doesn't always translate into being one yourself. We have yet to see with Lanning, but he seems to bring with him a lot of the qualities we are looking for in a total package coach. It may take him some time to figure a few things out, but i think he has good chance to be that total package coach. Exciting times!

I agree but being #2 or #3 in the organization gives you a lot better shot then just being a asst. Coach.  He, Dillingham and Lupoi have all been Coordinaters at UGA, FSU and Alabama. Not too shabby.

[30Duck]

 

[Annie]

On 1/23/2022 at 9:59 AM, Haywarduck said:

I actually think Chip was pretty good at all three while at Oregon. With a little help in recruiting he could have taken us over the hump, almost did.

 

The big item I am speaking to is being the CEO, probably the biggest job, if they can step away from being a control freak. I think this was the downfall of both Cristobal and Chip. They became control freaks and couldn't delegate important roles. I think the culture of the coaches, players and program is the most critical part. Taking control and then guiding the program strongly is the hidden part we don't often see. Chip did this very well, Bellotti did it very well for a long time, but it wained. 

 

We see this in corporations, schools and many places. The leader, whether quietly, or loudly can make or break an organization by how he/she leads.  I am just wondering what dynamic Lanning will have with this element. What type of leadership will he provide with the Oregon Football Program and can he provide the strong leadership a program like ours needs?

With Chip  (IMHO) it was his condescending attitude to the local press (I always thought he sucked up to ESPN and other major networks, and he obviously basked in the glow of Erin Andrews), and, from what I saw & heard, his reluctance to schmooze with donors and be friendly to fans, and I think those things are part of being a good coach (not necessary to be a winning coach, but what I would call a good coach).

[Jon Joseph]

The best HC? See Ws vs Ls. Mario is 62-60 for a reason.

[Just Ducky]

2 out of 3 isn’t terrible, DL may not start out being the best CEO but as far as recruiting and coaching he should be in good shape. I’m willing to give him a while to learn the CEO aspect. It’s up to the fans to have some patience after all, except for leaving us a good base of recruits MC left a mess that is hard to wrap my head around.

[DCDuckfan]

On 1/24/2022 at 6:12 PM, Annie said:

With Chip  (IMHO) it was his condescending attitude to the local press (I always thought he sucked up to ESPN and other major networks, and he obviously basked in the glow of Erin Andrews), and, from what I saw & heard, his reluctance to schmooze with donors and be friendly to fans, and I think those things are part of being a good coach (not necessary to be a winning coach, but what I would call a good coach).

It is interesting how different the perspective folks have of Chip with recruiting and his relationship with local media/fans.  I don't live in Eugene so I'm not as in-tune to how he was perceived locally, but from afar, I always thought Chip seemed like he connected with the local fanbase and embraced it.  When I would watch the spring games, it seemed like he was always grateful for the fan support and made an it emphasis for the team to connect with the fans that showed up.  Maybe it wasn't him personally connecting with fans, but he seemed to encourage the fans and the team to have a connection.

 

Besides his X's and O's incompetence, that was one of the things with the current miami coach that I didn't like.  He almost had contempt for the Duck fanbase...like he saw fans as groupies who's only purpose was to stroke the ego of the players when he deemed appropriate...otherwise the fans were a nuisance to the football program.

 

As far as recruiting with Chip, I think this was his only shortcoming as a coach from my perspective.  Apparently he realized this as well since he hired "recruiting services" to do it for him, which turns out wasn't technically legal per NCAA rules lol.  That said, I think he amassed some impressive talent in Eugene for the time he was here.

[Haywarduck]

On 1/24/2022 at 4:05 PM, Just Ducky said:

2 out of 3 isn’t terrible, DL may not start out being the best CEO but as far as recruiting and coaching he should be in good shape. I’m willing to give him a while to learn the CEO aspect. It’s up to the fans to have some patience after all, except for leaving us a good base of recruits MC left a mess that is hard to wrap my head around.

It is a potential mess and a potential amazing hand to play.

 

The mess is the potential fan expectations with so much talent to direct. The culture also is muddled with little focus on winning week to week. If the fans can have some patience and Lanning knows how to create the culture he has been part of then all will be good.

 

There is a big difference between seeing it done and being able to do it. Each coach has a different way of doing things with the student athletes and the coaches can react differently. We won't know how he interacts and leads for a while.

 

Like I mentioned there is no tradition of how to create the culture needed. I will interested to see if Lanning has any tricks to create that winning culture. I contend a coach needs some methods to guide a large group the direction he wants them to go. He has definitely seen it done, but now can he do it on his own.

 

The culture will be the creature he will have to nurture.