Coaching Skills
You must remember that not every single coach has the coaching skills of UCLA legend John Wooden. In fact Wooden has been called the greatest coach of all time regardless of the sport you are talking about according to many sports writers and experts. Bill Walton for example absolutely adores John Wooden. Some of the best coaches around include a hands off guy like Phil Jackson. Jackson is the kind of guy who would rather see his team work its way through a slump as opposed to calling a timeout. It is interesting to see whether people who are probably going to be head coaches in the future truly believe in Jackson's philosophy. Brian for example is a great and noted assistant who has learned under Jackson about the nuances of coaching in the NBA.
Some of Jackson's assistants such as Jim Clemons were unsuccessful in their past endeavors as a head coach in the NBA. An example of this would be Clemons time as head coach of the Dallas Mavericks. This was before the time period when Mark Cuban bought the Mavericks and the franchise found a greater level of success. Different coaches have different styles in regards to coaching and motivating. Some people are considered players managers like Dusty Baker. Other managers like Tony Muser used the managerial style of being a taskmaster. Muser was not very successful during his time as manager of the Kansas City Royals. Baker on the other hand has had a very successful managerial career. His career was at its peak when he was managing the likes of Barry Bonds, Shawn Dunston and Benito Santiago. Muser on the other hand never had the same kind of talent with the Royals as Baker did with the Giants. This is why Muser was fired with the Royals and ended up being limited to the role of bench coach for the rest of his career. He would be a bench coach for the San Diego Padres and the San Francisco Giants.
Some managers and coaches simply get burned out on the process despite the talent that they may display from the bench. A good example of someone resigning right in the middle of a season as a coach would be former Major league manager Mike Hargrove. One of the reasons why Hargrove was so successful during his time as a manager was his willingness to hire the best staff possible and to fine tune his interpersonal skills. An example of this was how he was willing to hire a great instructor like Don Baylor as hitting coach in 2005 with the Mariners. Coaching skills are not just about trying to show off your own greatness. It can be about admitting that you don't have all of the answers and occasionally need help. Another good example of this would be how Gregg Williams hired Dick Lebeau to be defensive coordinator when Williams was the head coach of the Buffalo Bills.
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Comments
Some coaches are luckiest because they have great players playing for them.
I definitely think some coaches have it slightly easier, as they have greater potential to coach, but there is something to be said about very successful coaches. It takes something special to be a great coach!
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