I've always wondered what Sunday is like for an NFL coach. I sit at home, excited for a day filled with professional football. But does a coach look forward to gameday?
I'm tuning in to see some great displays of athleticism and teamwork. The suspense and drama of the real live physical competition far outclasses anything that might be fabricated in a TV show or movie. Sure, I am invested in the outcome of the team I support (hail to the Redskins) and the performance of a few select players who make up part of the roster on my fantasy team. But for the most part, I'm just there to watch great football.
I venture to guess that is not what Jack Del Rio was thinking about going into last Sunday's game.
"You know, win or lose, I just hope the Texans give us a good game."
Or Jim Zorn.
"Wouldn't it be great for the Lions to finally play a great game and snap that losing streak?"
Or any coach for that matter. The end to the Broncos-Bengals' game week one was great football, but I doubt it's what Marvin Lewis was looking for. Or what Dick Jauron was looking for in the exciting end to the Patriots-Bills game that same week. I doubt Mike Tomlin was pleased by the great comeback that defeated his Steelers this most recent Sunday. Brett Favre's touchdown pass against the 49ers as the clock expired won him the game, and it was incredible to watch - unless you were Mike Singletary.
If you ask Herm Edwards what being a coach is all about, he'll say, "You play to win the game." I know it has to be more complicated than that, but certainly, at game's end, the only thing that really matters is "scoreboard." It's not like high school football, in which a coach is hired to be a good role model for his student athletes and teach them to be gentlemen. NFL coaches get paid to win - and they get paid well.
For the most part in the NFL, coaches are held to the "put up or shut up" standard, which roughly translates to be successful - all day everyday - or they will be fired. What do I mean by all day everyday?
Consider Mike Shanahan. In his 14 years in Denver, he led the Broncos to back-to-back Superbowl wins and had the highest winning percentage of any coach in Bronco history. In 2008, he was fired when Denver failed to make the playoffs for the third consecutive year.
Brian Billick, the second Ravens coach, took a team that had never had a winning record and within two years transformed them to a team that managed to win a Superbowl. In his nine years with the Ravens, he reached the playoffs five times. In 2006 the Ravens posted a 13-3 record and won the AFC North. The next year, Baltimore went 5-11, and Billick was fired.
I'm not sure if I would still feel the same way about football with that kind of pressure. I think it makes sense that if the job isn't getting done, an owner has to do something about it. But coaches are not ALWAYS the ones to blame. Not only do they have a huge staff of assistant coaches, but let's not forget the players as well.
A coach can't block for his offensive lineman, nor can he catch passes for his wide receivers. There are things for which a coaches can be blamed, and things for which they shouldn't be blamed. And when Al Davis is the owner, there is nothing you can blame a Raiders coach for.
With the media and the fans the way they are now, though, a coach is basically public enemy No. 1 after a loss. The rule goes that any decision that can be second guessed will be second guessed. Coaches know this, and it is ruining football.
There are no risks, no gambles and too few tricks. The very idea of a pooch punt makes me sick. Has anyone noticed that there is practically no such thing as four-down-territory in the NFL? Sure, you see the occasional attempt at a fourth down conversion by desperate coaches (Zorn) or at the end of a game. But not enough. I can't stand to see teams punt from the opponents 45 on fourth and short.
Never mind that a team might net only 20 yards. If a coach loses a game, not only will he probably have to put up with a myriad of death threats and a front yard full of "For Sale" signs, but every journalist and fan will analyze every possible decision that the coach made on the clock under pressure, which could have contributed to the loss. Better to play it safe, right?
As a fan, I'm going to applaud my team's coaches for taking chances - whether they pan out or not. They are being paid to do a job. Let a coach simply run his team. Everyone else who wants to second guess gambles and risky decisions, just hire Al Groh.
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