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Reaction: Bill’s the man Who is the Century’s Best pro football coach
Posted: Friday August 20, 1999 08:00 AM
CNN/SI asked users to tell us who is the Century's Best college football coach. Bill Walsh received the most support, but several other familiar names popped up as well. Here's a sampling of some of the better responses.
Bill Walsh without a doubt. Not only did he bring the most dominating style of play in recent memory -- the West Coast Offense -- but he also had the insight to pick and draft some of the greatest players in the game ever. Montana, Rice, Young, Lott, Walsh was the man that put those players in 49ers uniforms. The West Coast offense dominated other teams and while Walsh did have greats like Montana and Rice running the show, it was his offense that made them great. If you doubt how successful this offense was, look at the recent Super Bowl champions, all protégé's of Walsh. Holmgren, Seifert, and Shanahan. Forget about speeches and whatever else you think of as a great coach. Those things don't mean anything. Walsh was a innovator and created an new style of football that still dominates it's style of play to this day
Don Shula. Two losing seasons in 26 years with Miami? Plus, the great work he did in Baltimore? He's a lock. 17-0 has gotten so much attention that the amazement of it has diminished somewhat, but to go undefeated is a spectacular accomplishment.
While I am a diehard Cowboys fan, making it very easy for me to nominate Tom Landry or Jimmy Johnson as coach of the century (both merit to be
in the top 10 nonetheless), I would have to say Paul Brown of the Cleveland Browns. His innovations made the NFL more "modern" so to speak and brought more excitement, and hence more fans to the game. The Browns under his tutelage
were at the top of the game and forced other teams to imitate them.
My vote goes to Joe Gibbs. In 11 years with the Washington Redskins, Joe won three Super Bowls, four NFC Championships and has the second best postseason winning percentage in history with a mark of 16-5 (only Lombardi with a 9-1 record is better). Only twice during his tenure did the skins not have a wining record and most remarkable is that he won a Super Bowl with three different quarterbacks! Gibbs is the most underrated and under-appreciated head coach, but his great legacy will live on long after Bill Walsh is no longer called "the Genius". In this flashy sport, Joe was a quiet and simple coach
driven to excellence and he instilled that work ethic in his players.
Bill Walsh "invented" an offense. The West Coast offense, with it's run 'n shoot characteristics, was the brainchild of Walsh. He not only developed it, he implemented it successfully, and it soon became a model for other teams to emulate. That, along with the ability to gel with high-profile ownership and players, enabled him to win a number of super bowls and coach of the year honors. "Pro" football is a lot more complicated than it was 20 or 30 years ago, so that make me choose Walsh over some other obvious choices. What makes a coach great? The ability to prioritize tasks during practice, and being able to influence situations in his favor.
Sam Wyche. Doesn't have the gaudy numbers of a Don Shula or the history of George Halas and Vince Lombardi, but what an innovator! Wyche's no huddle offensive scheme breathed new life into pro football offense. Whether it was used by his Bengals or the Buffalo Bills ("imitation is the sincerest form...") Wyche's no huddle offense meant that you couldn't afford to get up for a snack until a commercial, otherwise you could miss an entire drive. A players' coach and a teacher of the game he made it look like fun to be on the sidelines. And let's not forget who was the QB coach in San Francisco when your century's best football player was breaking into the league.
Chuck Noll should win. He had a legacy of winning during the '70s with the steelers and is the only football coach to win four super bowl rings.
Vince Lombardi is the greatest pro football coach. While he was an assistant with the New York Giants, they had one of the greatest defenses in the NFL and were one of the best teams in the era. He took a terrible Green Bay team and made them into a dynasty. If cancer had taken him, he would have made the Redskins a great team. He could inspire and get the most out of players than any other pro coach.
John Madden - All he did was assemble a team full of misfits, play a team full of hall of famers (Pittsburg) for a chance to Play in the Super Bowl, and win it ALL twice (probably three times if it weren't for the Immaculate Deception)!
I would like to cast my vote for George Seifert. He took over a team that already had great leadership in Bill Walsh, and improved on it. He is well respected by players as well as coaches, and led the San Francisco 49ers to even better heights than anyone's expectations.
I think that Mike Shanahan is an absolute genius. He knows offense like no one else. He did wonders for the San Francisco 49ers. What he's done for the Denver Broncos is incredible. In three years they've won more games than any franchise in history and two Super Bowls! Mike Shanahan is a remarkable coach.
Tom Landry -- hands down. And this is coming from a diehard Steelers fan. No one more completely exemplified the role and responsibility of a coach. He was able to motivate the players without threatening them. He was able to win without compromising the importance of having players that were good role models for kids and other players. And he was able to inspire confidence, trust and loyalty in those around him just by being Tom Landry. There have been plenty of other outstanding coaches that could and did win "the big ones" time after time, but no one had the complete coach/motivator/role model package that Landry did.
Bill Parcells is undoubtedly the greatest coach ever. He was one win away last year from going to his third Super Bowl of the '90s with three different teams. That alone is amazing and unprecedented. Then you add in the fact that with free agency teams change players from year to year and it makes his accomplishments even more extraordinary. He has the uncanny ability to motivate his players and get more out of them than any coach ever. Ask yourself this, "How good were the Giants, Patriots, and Jets when Bill Parcells became Head Coach?" The answer is they all stunk and he turned them all around into championship contenders in a short period of time. I realize there are coaches with better winning percentages and with more championships, but almost all of these coaches did it with the same team and when teams stayed together and had a sense of unity and loyalty to one another. A time when the love of the game took precedence over greed. Today's players are all about "me, me, me!" and choose money over championships, yet Bill Parcells continues to win wherever he goes. Don't be surprised if this grumpy "Big Tuna" brings another Lombardi Trophy back to the N.Y. area at season's end. Nothing he does surprises me anymore.
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