| FTBL Pro style coaching

[Red_Tsunami]

I believe you can bring a pro-style offense into college and it will work ok, although I'm not a big fan of it. However, I'm convinced if you bring a pro-style philosophy (offense included) into college football it will not be successful. I'm not sure how Pete Carrol runs things but he is the only "pro" coach that I know of that has been really successful at the college level. This seems to be even more true if the coach was successful at the pro level. Charlie Weis is a good example. Other examples although these might not have been that successful in the pros are; Wandstache at Pitt, Syracuse's coach, Shula, Croom, and Callahan at Nebraska to name a few. I believe Mike Sherman will fail at Texas A&M too. What does everyone else think? You might say the opposite is true citing Saban and Spurrier as examples.

 

[rammerjammer]

Saban and Spurrier are College coaches that did not make it in the NFL. 2 totally different types of mentality needed IMO.

I think Pete Carroll has been able to make the transition into being a college coach more than he has changed the program into a pro style system/philosophy. (except for paying players ie...Reggie Bush)


You have players with egos and attitudes that are making 3 times what the coach makes annually. It takes a different type of mentality to be able to coach/coax these individuals without wounding their pride. Look at the ordeal with Vince Young right now. His pride is hurt and he is talking about quitting.

On a college level you still have things to hang over these guys be it playing time and grades, etc. All of those equate into having the opportunity to play at the next level.

In the NFL you sit a guy for a pissy attitude or off field behavior then you have an owner breathing down your neck because he didn't pay lemedy million dollars to have Johnny Superstar ride the pine. (insert Jerry Jones) Used to be there was really no difference between the coaches they could go from one level to the next with no problem. I have not seen that done since Jimmy Johnson and I dare say you probably won't see guys making the jump from college to the pros anymore for several reasons. One being the issues we just mentioned. It is easier for an NFL team to hire asst. coaches from within the NFL that are more suited to the pro mentality. And number 2 is the fact that college coaches can make a ton of money and never have to leave the collegiate ranks.

 

[TerryP]

Carroll's NFL winning percentage isn't a great deal different than Saban's. Interestingly enough, just like Saban, he started his career in the NFL as a defensive back coach.

People point to Jimmy Johnson as a coach who has succeeded at both levels but I don't see it that way. Considering the youth brought in to the Cowboy organization and his ability to work those guys just like he worked his college players making comparisons with his success at Dallas really isn't comparing apples to apples with other NFL coaches.

 

[RollTidePGH]

I really think the great divide from the two disciplines of coaching football has to do with personality type. I can't remember where i heard it, but they say that the great NFL coaches are more of a CEO than a coach and great college coaches are great motivators and are extremely influential. In the NFL an eye for acquiring talent on the field and with coaches is paramount, from there you delegate out what needs to be done and are more or less the manager of the work-flow, hence the large number of coaches and large scouting network. In college you develop and motivate and you don't have to have quite the eye for refined talent, just raw talent, and the ability to get the most out of a player is massive importance. In the pros the player is responsible for their motivation, either that or their cut and away goes the money.

I really don't think that they can't be interchangeable, but what I think the crux of the situation is; is that you have successful coaches and unsuccessful coaches, and rarely do you see a coach cross over that has had a good deal of success whether it be in the NFL or college. There just isn't a whole lot of reasons to make the move, other than money. And when you're talking 4 or 5 million it's really not enough to make the change. That is unless you're a failed NFL'er like a Pete Carrol.

One of the problems and where it becomes difficult to evaluate is that you rarely see a coach take over a stable situation. I have no doubt that Tony Dungy or Mike Holmgren would be a great college coach, it's just that there is no reason for them to be and I'm not sure the do it yourself or get cut attitude would fly with a, lets be honest, more fragile teenage mentality of a college player. And if a college coach is good why would they want to step into a situation like Spurrier did? There just isn't that much of a upside.

All in all I think there are several guys on that would do well no matter what league they coached in. I think most of it has to do with the situation their handed, heck Bellichick was a failure in Cleveland. And I think you're seeing less crossing over because of that. Coaches just aren't eager to hop into a garbage situation just because it's the NFL. And good NFL coaches have no reason to step back into college.