Now that it is football season, all the men in America will be glued to their TV sets every Sunday for no less than 7 hours. Some will get up to scratch their butts, replenish their chips, or get another beer during a commercial, while others will spend most of the day tracking their fantasy football team and rooting for each player they "own". Helping to urge their players on and to win football games for their team will be each NFL coach. There has been a great deal of turnover in the NFL coaching ranks over the past few years, but there are a few NFL coaches who have been very successful and as a result they've stayed with their teams a long time. Here is a look at 5 of these coaches and what management style they might employ while working the sidelines. Keep in mind they all use a little bit of each style in order to get the most out of their players. If you're a manager, in any profession, you might want to follow suit.
- Jay Gruden- If you refer to my post about management styles Jay would fit into the category of the "Newbie". He is new to the head coaching ranks having spent a lot of time at as an assistant coach and offensive coordinator most recently for the Cincinnati Bengals and Marvin Lewis. Jay like most managers is not new to the game but being a head football coach is a lot different than being an assistant, and he has a lot to learn. As a newbie he will be trying out all the schemes and theories he developed as an assistant, seeing if they work for his team, and there will be a lot of ups and downs his first season. His theories and ideas will meet with cynicism from the veterans and with enthusiasm from the rookies, but he must stick to his vision. Just like a new manager, Jay is not going to win a lot of games in his first year, but if he's successful he'll establish good working relationships with his key players, and his team will be more successful this year than they were last year. It's important as a newbie that he gets the support of his employees or rather players, in order for him to have long term success. As you know without the support of your people, a coach or manager may be good, but never great. Good luck to Jay, the Newbie!
- Tom Coughlin- In his first few years as head coach of the NY Giants, Tom Coughlin's management style could be characterized as an absolute Nazi. He ruled with an iron fist and if his players got even the slightest bit out of line, he punished them pretty severely. He's an older coach so I'm certain this worked for him for a long time, especially since he was so successful in Jacksonville previously. However, times change and so do employees/players attitudes. With his military type style he was definitely a winner, and he pushed his players hard to be their best. Her earned the nickname "Colonel Coughlin" often fining players for being 2 minutes early to meetings when his expectations were that they be 5 minutes early. WTF? When he fined Michael Strahan for being early but not early enough, that's when his tenure as a Nazi manager ended. The players no longer supported this type of management style and their was dissension on the team. Coughlin needed to ease up a bit and stop shouting and start caring about his players. He soften his stance a bit, and it worked! With the support and respect of his players he won 2 Super Bowls and both of them against one of the greatest teams in history, the New England Patriots and Tom Brady. Even a Nazi can change his ways.
- Pete Carroll - Is it just me, or do any of you feel that it would be a great experience to work with Pete Carroll? I know there are a lot of people that don't like him, or his style, but he just seems like such a positive guy! He is always the center of attention wherever he goes, and on a team filled with stars like Russell Wilson, Marshawn Lynch, and Richard Sherman, that's a pretty impressive statement. He is what many people call an Expressive or a Peacock manager. It's pretty much all about him...., and he knows it, and he loves it. He effuses confidence in both himself and his players, which translates into confidence on the field. Pete is very influential will both his players and the media and he can SELL. He sells you on how great he is everyday, how great his team is, and how hard they work. His employees/players do their absolute best to please him and themselves, and it creates a team unity of "us against the world". Even if many people view this as arrogant, his expressive style of management seems to be working. He's won 2 NCAA College Football Championships and a Super Bowl. Like it or not, this management style can work, as long as a manager has the supporting cast and crew to pull it off. Obviously Pete Carroll has every one's "buy-in" and support.
- Bill Belichick - I watch Bill Belichick as he patrols the sidelines for the New England Patriots and I think, "how the hell did this guy get to be a coach?". He's grumpy, irritable, and seems like he hates his job and he hates his players. He wears an ugly hoodie to work, looks like he's been up day and night reviewing film, and he probably has a process for everything his players do, including going to the bathroom. He is the consummate Micro Manager and it seems like his players and the rest of the employees would hate working with him. So why has he been so successful? Why he has he won 3 Super Bowls, and lost 2 Super Bowls in heart breaking fashion? Because Bill Belichick is not a consummate Micro Manager, he has learn to delegate, and he has learned to trust. When he was in Cleveland, like all new coaches/managers, he tried to control everything and he performed poorly, compiling a 36-44 record in 5 seasons. Yet when he arrived in New England, he had learned from his experience in Cleveland, that he could delegate control of player personnel to Scott Pioli, and in turn he could focus on his getting his team ready to play football. Moreover, he taught his assistant coaches his systems and allowed them to do their jobs. Therefore despite his best intentions to manage and control every situation, Belichick evolved, delegated, and became a better coach as a result.
- Mike Tomlin - I just realized that Mike Tomlin is only 42 years old. That's pretty young for a coach that has won one Super Bowl and lost another one. In addition, he's only been a head coach for 7 years, and never had a losing season. Why has he been so successful? Many would argue that he inherited a great team from Bill Cowher and just built upon that legacy. However, taking over a great team and leading them to a Super Bowl victory is not an easy task, and Tomlin accomplished this in only his second year as a head coach. What has made him successful is his ability to listen to his players, develop a plan for the team, and help them execute their plan successfully. During his tenure, he has supported his players, even in the face of controversy, and they have rewarded him with great play on the field. He is a Mentor manager, who assesses the situation, gets feedback from his employees/players and makes his decision based upon their feedback. Moreover, he gets everyone in the organization involved and Tomlin takes an active interest in players and coaches personal development and not just their professional one. Hopefully in the future he'll learn to not get too involved in the games, like last year when he interfered with a kick returner racing down the sidelines. There's a difference between being "in to the game", and actually in the game. Tomlin needs to continue to Mentor his players and let them play the game. Hopefully his approach will continue to keep him and his team successful.
Have a great day!
-M
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