Coaches You Would Love To Play For

[CH David]

Out of all the coaches in sports, who would you love to play for? It can be any sport, any city you wish, so be as much a homer as you want, it doesn't matter if you want. Only thing I ask, and it is pretty obvious when you think about it, but please stick to the collegiate and professional levels. The only high school coach acceptable would be our dear Slyfox, for those who would want to play for him. Please state why you want to play for the coaches.

I will start out with the homer in me. I would love to play baseball for Ozzie Guillen. He will hold people accountable, if someone makes a mistake, or the team plays like shit, he won't sugar coat it, he will say that they played like shit and they need to perform better, and if not, other players will come up and take their spots. That is more of a motivation factor, since some pros tend to get complacent. He lets his players try to play their ways out of slumps. But best of all, in times when the media is trying to go after the team when they aren't playing so well, he will also take the focus off of them and onto him. He can get so much out of his players, and he has been able to push the right buttons when it comes to key situations in games.

For now I'll stick with Ozzie until others start posting in here.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

This is very hard for me to say since I'm such a huge Miami Dolphins fan, but I would pick Bill Belichick. The Patriots usually own the Dolphins, but I have to give credit where credit is due. This man is one hell of a coach. He's been at the head of the only thing to come close to a dynasty in the NFL for a long time .He's won three Super Bowls, and the Patriots came so close to a perfect season a couple of years ago. Belichick is one of those coaches who KNOWS how to play the media. He never shows emotion or throws a temper tantrum like a lot of NFL coaches do. He always gets asked tough questions, but he never gives that insane reaction you would expect some other coaches to give.

Another pick I have is Phil Jackson. I'm not a Lakers fan, but I think it would be cool to play for the "Zen Master". Jackson has won ten NBA titles, and is considered to be a legendary coach. There are times when Phil gets upset when he coaches, but just like Bilichick, he doesn't always show it. Jackson seems like one those coaches who is a people's person, and will take time to talk things out with his players. Plus, it would be an honor to play for a man who coached Michael Jordan.

 

[Stormtrooper]

I don't give a crap if I sound like a homer, but the coach I would love to play for is NFL Head Coach (of the New York Jets) Rex Ryan (especially if I am a defensive player).

1. Success - his defenses have always been extremely successful (ranked fairly high every year), and he utilizes a defensive scheme that is very hard hitting and in-your-face, which seems more exciting to play in then passive styles of defense.
2. Honesty - He is also one of the most honest coaches in the world (especially with the media), to the point that some people think he may talk too much. He always seems to tell it like it is, and he also isn't afraid to be overly blunt in stating his opinion, even if it may be thought of negatively.
3. Likability - when he was Defensive Coordinator with the Ravens, it was said that his defense worked especially hard, because they wanted him to get a head coaching job, because they liked playing for him. When he finally got his chance with the Jets, a few Baltimore defensive players (who were impending free agents) signed with the Jets, and said they signed here because Rex Ryan was there, and they wanted to follow him. After this season, numerous Jets players have said this was the most fun season they have ever had, even before they had any hopes of making the playoffs.
4. This is a minor thing, and something that may not really be all that important, but I think it is a pretty big deal. He talks up his assistant coaches more then any Head Coach I have ever seen. Every time something good happened, it was because of a player and an assistant coach. He even had a rule with his players, that every time they spoke with the media, they had to mention 2 other players and an assistant coach. I had never heard anything like that, and I find it refreshing that a head coach would think so highly of his assistants.
5. Brashness - I know it is similar to honesty, but how can you not want to play for a head coach who goes into rival Miami, does an interview, and say (to an arena of Miami fans) "We're gonna beat you twice next year." In his introductory press conference (back in January 2009), a crap-load of cameras were taking his picture, and he said something about how he thought with all these cameras that the President was here. Then he said "well, we'll be meeting him pretty soon anyway," meaning that we will win a championship in the next few years.

Here's a brief list of other head coaches/managers I would want to play for:
2. Joe Torre (MLB) - Joe Torre went into New York, managed a clubhouse full of humongous ego's (the biggest one of all being the owners), and won 4 championships, went o 6 World Series, and went to the playoffs every year of his 12 year tenure. He always seemed gentlemanly, and he was almost universally well-liked. And anyone who can last 12 years as manager fro George Steinbrenner has to be pretty damn good.
3. Tony Dungy (NFL) - He was extremely successful in Tampa Bay (turning a laughingstock into a Super Bowl caliber team), and successful in Indianapolis (turning a decent team into a Super Bowl Championship team). The most important aspect to me is that he built winning teams by getting not only the best talent he could, but by getting talented players who were of good character. He is considered one of the best PEOPLE in the game of (American) Football, and now that he recently retired, he is devoting more of his time helping others (he had done prison ministry work while active, and does more of it now). When ex-con Michael Vick wanted to get back into the NFL, the guy they latched onto was Tony Dungy, because he was probably the only football guy who could actually help restore any sort of positive image for Vick.

 

[Slyfox696]

Wow, two idiots and a coach who is full of himself. Way to set the bar high guys. I could live with Belichick, considering he's been a consistent winner, but the other two...awful.

For my money, given that I am a basketball guy, it would probably be Bob Knight, or if he wasn't available, Mike Krzyzewski. I'm a big fan of BASKETBALL, not street ball, and these two men know the game of basketball better than anyone else with the ability to coach it. Throw in the fact that they both have their priorities straight with regards to education and family being more important than sports, and these are two men that are TRUE coaches, and not just guys who like to win.


EDIT: Oh yeah, and everyone should want to play for me. You have my promise you would become a better basketball player...but how much would depend on how hard you work.

 

[jmt225]

Like Sly, I'm a big fan of basketball, and my answer would have to be Pete Carril, who coached the Princeton University basketball team for over 30 years. However, I have to be honest and say I didn't know anything about him until I became a fan of the Sacramento Kings at the start of the Millennium, where Carril was serving as an assistant to Rick Adelman. It was at Sacramento where they ran his famous 'Princeton Offense' and that's where I became a fan of that style.

For those who don't know, the 'Princeton Offense' is set in the half-court, revolves around passes, movement without the ball and back-door cuts. Now, what makes it different is that the Power Forward and Center are the ones doing the passes, set up at the top of the key, and the guards are the ones making the cuts inside the lane. It's absolutely brilliant basketball, and it would be a complete honor to work that kind of offense with the man who invented it.

 

[Theo Mays]

Of all the sports and all the coaches I'm going to be a homer and select Charlie Manuel. I think Chuck is a good coach and I'm picking him solely for the purpose that he seems like a great guy and knows his baseball knowledge. I'd rather just sit and pick his brain than I would play for him. The guy seems like he is the cat's meow and just a guy you could shoot the shit with.

For NFL I'd probably go with Bill Walsh. Recently I read Jerry Rice's book and he had nothing but great things to say about the late great Bill Walsh. The guy was the innovator of the west coast offense and he knew his football about as good as anyone. Obviously time travel would have been in use, but it would be well worth it to play for Walsh back in the heyday of the Niners.

And finally for NBA I would have to pick one of my all time favorites in Larry Brown. I thoroughly enjoyed Brown when he coached the Sixers and took an average team to the NBA championship. Other than Iverson and Mutumbo the team was a bunch of role players. Brown is an old school kind of guy and I would just love to learn the game under his tutelage. If I'm doing college there is no doubt I'd select Bob Knight, he is just as awesome as awesome can get. I'd also play a little homer ball and take Jay Wright just because I loved what he has done for Nova since he signed on as coach.

 

[Mr. TM]

1244 Wins, 573 Losses, 314 ties, 10 OT losses, these are the numbers that Scotty Bowman put together in the NHL, incredible record for that league. But of course, all of his fans know, that is not what his best trait is. He is best known for his NINE Stanley cups that he has won.

The best part about Bowman, is that whenever you saw his team, you saw a bunch of greats playing as a complete team. But you feel that anyone can be coach a great. But the thing that seperates Bowman, is that he MAKES the greats. People drafted deep, people that teams gave up on, came to Bowman and were made into superstars. Six teams did great under him, and hundreds of hockey players. I would have loved to play under his kind hand, under a man I don't think has ever had a public naysayer, a man who has always had the trust of his players and management.