What Does a McCarthy Offense Look Like?

I think it's been reported multiple times that this never would have worked without Brady.

Because Brady would sit in meetings and take **** from Bill when he deserved it. Most elite players don't do this.

But because Brady did it, other players (who weren't the GOAT) couldn't complain about it either.

I think this is a big reason why the "Patriot Way" totally fell apart after Brady left.

Because even a great coach like Billy B isn't as important as the players. And you generally can't treat them like the coaches in the 70s (and earlier) did. Because the power dynamics are completely different now. Even if the start player doesn't get you fired (like Lamar just did with Harbaugh), they can just leave when their contract is up. And sometimes the cap means that you can't keep them even if you wanted to.

Guys like Noll (who was basically the perfect coach for that era) would have to coach totally different now than they did then.

And in today's NFL, you can only practice on the field ~ 15 hours / week. And you're only allowed 14 padded practices once the season starts (no more than 1 / week for the first 11 weeks...and no more than 3 in the last 6 weeks of the season).

For better and worse, you basically can't be a hard ass coach in the NFL anymore.

 

I'm solidly in this camp.

They were both very good coaches for long periods of time in a league that chews coaches up.

Neither of them were great coaches and I don't think either deserve to be in the Hall.

I think the bar for non-coaches should be very high. Reserved for guys who changed the game and / or presided over dynasties...especially Belichick and Reid who've done what shouldn't really be possible with UFA and a cap (although I think it's largely because they have elite QBs who are willing to play well below their fair market value).

Re: Cowher. Not only did he get in because of a special class. He was also the coach figure on one of the two main networks that pay the NFL's bills. And the guy on the other network was getting in (more fittingly IMO, even though I dislike the Cowboys). IMO the gap between Johnson and Cowher is much larger than the gap between Cowher and Tomlin (where I think it's basically a coin flip to decide who's better).

 

I agree. The real question is how would have Ben handled the Patriot way? I believe there was u ta—ed talent in Ben we never got see because he wasn’t as maniacal about being pre-armed like a Manning or Brady.

 

I disagree. Had Cowher stayed five more years there is a good chance he would have one or two more SB’s with that group. He was always missing that one caveat up until the last few years which was the franchise QB. Cowhers teams were pretty dominant for a good part of his tenure. The knock on him was the conservative play style on offense would bite home at times against really good teams. When we got Ben even though we were still conservative Ben had enough of the it factor where he could make the throw or big play when or if we needed it. Ben was great leading up to that SB in the playoffs that year beating the Colts and Broncos.