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What are you looking for in a HC?

thunderkyss

Just win baby!!!
Staff member
Contributor's Club
If you were the GM of one of these teams looking for a HeadCoach, & you have a few interviews lined up, what are you looking for? What criteria are you looking for in the best candidate?
 

Playoffs

Hall of Fame
I'm an outsider, so can't say.

But I'd like to think I'd know who it was if I was an NFL insider for some amount of time.
 

infantrycak

Hall of Fame
I like to see a HC who is for lack of a better term arrogant on his side of the ball (where he came from), humble enough to turn over the other side to somebody expert in that side and then only interferes at key moments and if anything gives more draft picks/FA's to the opposite side of the ball. Jimmy Johnson in the modern era would be a classic example.

My favorite HC is Tom Landry but you are rarely as in almost if not never going to get a guy so innovative on both sides of the ball and he meets AT's leader of men requirement but in a way which also was almost if not unique.
 

steelbtexan

King of the W. B. Club
Contributor's Club
I like to see a HC who is for lack of a better term arrogant on his side of the ball (where he came from), humble enough to turn over the other side to somebody expert in that side and then only interferes at key moments and if anything gives more draft picks/FA's to the opposite side of the ball. Jimmy Johnson in the modern era would be a classic example.

My favorite HC is Tom Landry but you are rarely as in almost if not never going to get a guy so innovative on both sides of the ball and he meets AT's leader of men requirement but in a way which also was almost if not unique.
^^^^

Pretty much this,

If the team already has talent and the HC has failed at his job I want a proven winner as my HC.

I want a HC that is at his best when there's the most pressure. Late game/TO's/Challenges. In addition to this there are 2 other things that make for a great HC.

1. The ability to get the players to play hard for you.
2. The HC has to know his stenghts and weaknesses. He has to be confident in himself enough to hire the best assistant coaches on the side of the ball that he's the weakest. Even if he fails at his job and gets fired and one of the quality AC's take over for him. He has to be confident in his ability to produce a winner that it's worth the risk of potentially hiring his replacement.

This is where Gary failed in the 1st 5 yrs of his tenure. Instead of hiring a proven DC. He chose unproven DC's like Smith and Bush. The result was 5yrs of suffering. Then BoB forces Wade down his throat (new DC) and all of the sudden the Texans are a real threat to make it to an AFC championship game.

Imagine if Gary had hired a competent DC in 2009. We probably would've been experiencing the feelings were are feeling this yr in 2009. IMHO
 

The Pencil Neck

Hall of Fame
I'm looking for either a guy who
1) was already a head coach, was moderately to very successful but who hasn't won a Super Bowl

2) is a bright, young, and charismatic assistant coach with clear ideas and who has been successful in the positions he's held.

3) is a bright, relatively young, and charismatic head coach from college with clear ideas who's been successful in the college ranks

I do not want a coach who has already won a Super Bowl or who has no real coaching experience.

I'm also going to look for a guy who has connections and then we'll try to bring in and build the coaching staff he wants. I want a guy and a staff that will have clear ideas about what they want in terms of players to fit their system but guys who are also flexible enough to plug guys in and modify their schemes and playcalling to make those guys (and the team) successful. Because your coordinators have to be flexible like that.

To me, the coordinators that the HC is going to bring in are almost as important as the HC himself.
 

thunderkyss

Just win baby!!!
Staff member
Contributor's Club
To me, the coordinators that the HC is going to bring in are almost as important as the HC himself.
I agree with this, 100% however, when looking at younger never been HC before candidates, you have to understand their circle is limited.

Like you, I'm going to be looking for success at other levels. I'm not necessarily looking for someone who was a HC, but I would like to see a young coach go from one level to the next. I'd like to see someone who was..... say a DB coach, then a LB coach, then an OL coach, or something along those lines, then a DC or Assistant DC.

That way, I know I've got someone who has been exposed to several areas of a football team. I'd also like to know they were successful in teaching & developing players at different levels.

Then I want to know that they were able to unite diverse groups of people, and was successful getting those different groups to work together.

I'm going to want to know what their reputation is around the league, how do they work with other coaches, is he respected by his peers, especially those who have had to work against him.....

I'm going to want someone who gets out & works outside his duties.... coaching in the East/West game, senior bowl, works with kids at the combine, etc...

I want someone who believes he's doing something important, not just here to collect a paycheck. I want someone who strives to be the best & everything he's done to this point demonstrates that. I want a guy who has made mistakes & learned from them.


Like Infantrycak said, I want an innovator & a leader of men.
 

steelbtexan

King of the W. B. Club
Contributor's Club
I agree with this, 100% however, when looking at younger never been HC before candidates, you have to understand their circle is limited.

Like you, I'm going to be looking for success at other levels. I'm not necessarily looking for someone who was a HC, but I would like to see a young coach go from one level to the next. I'd like to see someone who was..... say a DB coach, then a LB coach, then an OL coach, or something along those lines, then a DC or Assistant DC.

That way, I know I've got someone who has been exposed to several areas of a football team. I'd also like to know they were successful in teaching & developing players at different levels.

Then I want to know that they were able to unite diverse groups of people, and was successful getting those different groups to work together.

I'm going to want to know what their reputation is around the league, how do they work with other coaches, is he respected by his peers, especially those who have had to work against him.....

I'm going to want someone who gets out & works outside his duties.... coaching in the East/West game, senior bowl, works with kids at the combine, etc...

I want someone who believes he's doing something important, not just here to collect a paycheck. I want someone who strives to be the best & everything he's done to this point demonstrates that. I want a guy who has made mistakes & learned from them.


Like Infantrycak said, I want an innovator & a leader of men.
It's hard to with kids at the combine when you're having sleep apnea surgery the week of the combine.
 
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