joecrisp
07-20-2006, 06:49 AM
Of course, the mark of a great coach is one who can turn average players into great ones. Not necessarily to win with crappy ones. I'd say Gibbs has done that time and time again.
Well, I think we may be exaggerating Belichick's accomplishments in that regard, though. Belichick has produced precisely two great players, and those players are Tom Brady and Lawrence Taylor. There have been other very good players who've passed under his purview, but none quite on the level of actual greatness-- at least in my humble opinion.
I would say both Gibbs's and Belichick's success has been defined by their ability to consistently produce a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts; in other words, they turn a group of relatively average players into a great team. They have made their living by putting the right people in the right place at the right time. They are masterful managers of people, brilliant game strategists, and professors emeritus of the playbook. Those, in my mind, are the marks of a great coach.
P.S.
The writer forgot to mention that Gibbs is already in the Hall of Fame.
Well, I think we may be exaggerating Belichick's accomplishments in that regard, though. Belichick has produced precisely two great players, and those players are Tom Brady and Lawrence Taylor. There have been other very good players who've passed under his purview, but none quite on the level of actual greatness-- at least in my humble opinion.
I would say both Gibbs's and Belichick's success has been defined by their ability to consistently produce a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts; in other words, they turn a group of relatively average players into a great team. They have made their living by putting the right people in the right place at the right time. They are masterful managers of people, brilliant game strategists, and professors emeritus of the playbook. Those, in my mind, are the marks of a great coach.
P.S.
The writer forgot to mention that Gibbs is already in the Hall of Fame.