The Year of the Coach – By Doug Keenholts

 

If you could have any job in sports right now, one that should be at or near the top of the list is agent for a head coach.  If the 2012 sports year has taught us anything it’s that good coaching matters.  If I’m an agent for any successful head coach or manager right now I’m looking to renegotiate a contract.  Strike while the iron is hot.

Exactly how much value a head coach or manager adds to a team is considered a gray area, and has long been a good source for bar room arguments.  The chief example is Phil Jackson.  Eleven NBA titles as a head coach, the only coach to win more than ten in all of the major North American sports, yet for years his contributions were downplayed because none of those titles came without Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant.  There was a persistent viewpoint that just about anyone could have coached those Bulls and Lakers teams to titles.  That perception shifted with his last two Lakers titles, which were without Shaquille O’Neil and in a more balanced league, and Jackson is now perceived, rightfully in my opinion, as the greatest team coach in history.  As great a player as Michael Jordan was, he never won a title without Phil Jackson.  But that “chicken or the egg” argument still holds water with some people.  After 2012 I think it can be finally put to bed.

 

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