Coaching Carousel
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ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
Now that would be a fun Deion Sanders landing spot.
Stansbury was AD at Oregon St for only a year before moving to Ga Tech. Lot of people were pissed he left so quick, but maybe dodged a bullet b
That would be interesting....not as interesting as Auburn however
Mr. Tibbs
- southeast DuPage
I understand he can recruit with the best - but can he really run an entire P5 football program AND manage a game ?
I mean most great former players in EVERY SPORT fail miserably in the last two things I brought up
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
The notion of Neon Deion - Media Personality becoming a head coach in college football with all that entails despite no experience at all for sure seemed like brash hyperbole from a man who has always had a gift for brash hyperbole.
And then he shocked everyone by taking the Jackson State job, a program with no resources at a level below anything Sanders has experience with and......he's been, like, otherworldly. He's turning water into wine down there, it's almost impossible to wrap your head around what he's doing with that program.
He's earned the right to be taken seriously at this point.
The previous 3 head coaches at Jackson State were 6-9, 9-20, and 6-11. Deion has gone 19-5 and hasn't had a losing season. Under him the team went 11-2 (9-0) and won their conference last year, and is off to a 4-0 start this season. They've won their games this season by a combined score of 190-37. Maybe it doesn't translate to P5 but he's been very successful and I wouldn't bet against him.
Mr. Tibbs
- southeast DuPage
it all depends on the odds you are giving me
my main point remains
he can recruit with the best
but does he have the complete skill set ?
most great former players fail miserably on the big stage of head coaching in every sport . for every one great former player who has done okay or well , there are 5 that haven’t .
For one, I think that premise is false. What percentage of successful coaches didn't at least play college ball? Understanding you probably mean former pros, there are several that have turned out to be pretty good coaches. Just to name a few, from a variety of sports, Tom Landry, Phil Jackson, Steve Kerr, and Joe Torre.
Second, he's already shown the skill set. I feel like you're comparing him to high profile players who went into a big coaching position with no experience other than their career as a player. Deion coached at the high school level for about 8 years before he took the Jackson State job. And he's done really well at Jackson State, far exceeding exceptions. I don't think you can chalk up his success to just the recruiting piece, which is still a very important part of being a success P5 coach.
You're absolutely right that most great players don't make good coaches...Deion doesn't appear to be in that category so far
he didn't say "pro" He said great former players. On your list, the only one that was arguably "great" was Torre.
Ummm don’t all head coaches have staffs? It’s weird, whenever I hear people talking about the Illini’s great D so far I hear Walters name not BB’s.
I'd argue all of those guys had 95th percentile pro careers. Not sure what it is about having a 99.9th percentile career that would make you inherently incapable of coaching the game.
And is there even a meaningful sample size of Hall of Fame players who went into coaching to compare against? Much less Hall of Famers that have lower level head coaching success?
"Great" players don't typically go into coaching because it's a stressful job and they don't need it. They can usually get a much cushier tv gig or something if they need extra money.
Is the success rate of aspiring coaches who go the traditional route much better? How many graduate assistants wind up as successful head coaches?
While I can think of great/very good players who have failed at coaching, my mind typically goes to basketball or possibly baseball. I think because in those sports they seem more willing to put ex-players with very little coaching experience in charge. I really can’t think of any in football or at least not enough to lead me to believe failure rate is any worse than in general for head coaches.
Not sure if you guys heard these rumors but.......here are a few links on Deion Sanders lately. Flight tracker of Deion being in town and second of Joel Klatt predicting where he goes.
flywareagle.com
flywareagle.com
Auburn football fans hopeful about Deion Sanders after flight info revealed
Auburn football fans are hopeful that possible flight information for Deion Sanders could lead to a possible hiring as the next head coach.
flywareagle.com
Auburn football: Joel Klatt says Deion Sanders will be Tigers’ next HC
Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt believes that Deion Sanders will take over as Auburn football's next head coach after Bryan Harsin.
flywareagle.com
I have no idea about Landry. Kerr and Jackson averaged 6 per game. Not 95th percentile territory.
I have no idea if something gets in the way of being a good coach and a great player. But the observation that they don't overlap much is true.
I'm torn over this. For the pure spectacle with a high probability of an ugly ending, it would certainly be something to watch. But as others have pointed out, Sanders has been crushing it, and although I generally don't like showmanship, I am pulling for Deion's continued success. Which is why I don't want him at Auburn, because I want them to be stuck in athletic hell for eternity. I wish the athletes well, but my preference is for the program to writhe in failure and shame.
Landry made a Pro Bowl and was 1st team All-Pro in 1954. Jackson and Kerr played 800+ and 900+ games respectively, both playing well into their 30s. In a league where thr vast majority of players are out of the league by their late 20s, that's 95th percentile.
As for coaching success, very few aspiring coaches turn into good head coaches regardless of background. That's not unique to former players or former great players.
Good points and sound logic.
man, I HATE IT when people bring logic to Loyalty . . .
Well, we can disagree on 95th percentile.
But are saying anyone who plays into their 30s is a great player?
Your bar for "greatness " is much lower than mine.
The Galloping Ghost
- Washington, DC
6x All-Star, 2x All-WNBA First Team, 2x All-WNBA Second Team, WNBA 25th Anniversary Team member, Women's Basketball Hall of Famer, and newly anointed WNBA Champion coach Becky Hammon says what's up.
Deion has already been a successful coach. Whether he sinks or swims at a bigger job has nothing to do with his playing career.
Deion has already been a successful coach. Whether he sinks or swims at a bigger job has nothing to do with his playing career.
The "greatness" part of this discussion is honesty the most meaningless to me. It's rare for "great" players to go into coaching. Even Deion to me is borderline great. Great to me means the guys who people who were too young to see play still talk about. Hank Aaron, Kareem, Jordan. Those guys don't typically go into coaching. I suppose they used to decades ago in baseball at least(see eg Rogers Hornsby and Red Schoendienst), but I don't really think thst informs the Deion discussion.
In any event I think Deion's coaching career is a far better barometer for his potential for success in, well, coaching. And thus far it had been unique, intriguing, and yes, successful.
RedRocksIllini
- Morrison, CO
I really need to remember to use this phrase often. Love it.
Dude, this whole thread started with your response to someone saying great players fail miserably at coaching.
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