Understanding the appeal of college coaches
There's been debate in Philadelphia about the merits of a "college coach" coming to Philadelphia. Clearly, the Eagles' early search has focused on college coaches, with Chip Kelly and Bill O'Brien drawing initial interest, and Brian Kelly drawing recent interest.
Understanding the appeal of college coaches
Zach Berman, Inquirer Staff Writer
There's been debate in Philadelphia about the merits of a "college coach" coming to Philadelphia. Clearly, the Eagles' early search has focused on college coaches, with Chip Kelly and Bill O'Brien drawing initial interest, and Brian Kelly drawing recent interest.
Owner Jeffrey Lurie offered insight on his view of the college game on the day Andy Reid was fired, when he noted the advancements in college from the time the Eagles hired Reid in 1999 to 2013, when he's amid another coaching search.
“I think right now, the NFL tends to borrow more from college than the other way around,” Lurie said then. “Some of these coaches in college are outstanding leaders, and they just go from a younger roster to a slightly older roster.”
Where it's particularly noticeable is with college offenses. I keep hearing from fans about certain schemes that "won't work in the NFL," but the key to understand is how advanced the quarterback play is in college football, and how it's become easier to make the jump from college to the NFL.
That's what struck me during an August conversation with Eagles general manager Howie Roseman about some trends in the college game. I had become interested in how college offenses were evolving in recent years, and I was curious for Roseman's insight on whether the schemes in the college game have become closer to the NFL, or whether there's more separation between what's run in the NFL and what's run in college.
“The interesting thing is, it’s become easier to evaluate quarterbacks," Roseman said in August. "Because 10 years ago, you still had powerhouses that were running the wishbone. And so now you see quarterbacks in the spread, making every sort of throw. Whereas a college quarterback might have thrown half as much as the guys who are coming out now, and you’re going, when they play four years, you find these quarterbacks have made so many throws that you can make a cut-up of every single route and see them throw the ball, like they’ll do in the National Football League."
So how is this applicable? A pro-style offense is not generic. Because of how good the defenders are in the NFL relative to college, it's important to have a quarterback who can make different kind of throws. That's more clear in college now than it was before, which is why the passing game in college is somewhat transferable to the NFL. There are differences in the ability of the defenders, and the location of the hashmarks also add a wrinkle into the college game, but Lurie's point is well made -- the NFL game is borrowing from the college game as much as the other way around.
But it's important to go beyond the scheme and also look at the qualities a college head coach coach acquires. They're used to running an entire operation -- being the "CEO" that front office types discuss in a head coach -- and have experience serving as the public face of a team. The issues that arise with college players are sometimes different than what NFL coaches endure, but they realize that there's more to coaching than worrying about what happens on the field. And as coaches have expressed before, there's no way to simulate standing in front of the team and being responsible for everything.
It's imprudent to hire a college coach based on his scheme. But you hire him for his mind, his philosophy of football, his leadership ability and experience. These are qualities that might be easier to assess in someone who's been a head coach, even if it's at the college ranks.
I also thought about the reporting that went into a story leading up to the Eagles-Bucs game back in December that examined a coach's job from college to the NFL. Tampa Bay coach Greg Schiano noted the disparity in age -- instead of players aged 18 to 23, he had players from 21 to 37. But he also had considerably more time with the players in the NFL than in college, and he also had more time to invest in coaching and scheming because there's a chunk of time a college coach must spend recruiting and even fundraising. Plus, the roster size is much smaller in the NFL, so there's more time for individual work with the players.
However, patience is thinner in the NFL than college. (Although college coaches aren't getting as much time anymore.) That's why Schiano said his advice to a college coach considering the jump is to really make sure it's what he wants.
"I love it, but it's not for everybody," Schiano said. "Make sure you have your ducks in a row as far as how you're going to do things, because you don't have a lot of time."
Does this mean the Eagles will hire a college coach? Time will tell. The pool of qualified college candidates might be wearing thin, frankly. But it's reasonable to understand why the Eagles are so interested in the college ranks this season.
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Hits and Misses
FOUR WHO WORKED
Jimmy Johnson, right: The standard- bearer of college coaches taking NFL jobs rebuilt the Cowboys and won two Super Bowls.
Jim Harbaugh: The 49ers made the postseason for the second consecutive season under Harbaugh after an eight-year drought.
Dennis Green: He led the Vikings to the playoffs eight times in 10 years after leaving Stanford in 1991.
Tom Coughlin: The two-time Super Bowl winner with the Giants started his NFL head-coaching career when he left Boston College and turned the expansion Jaguars into a playoff team from scratch.
FOUR WHO MISSED
Steve Spurrier: The 'Ol Ball Coach went 12-20 with the Washington Redskins after his offense proved to work better with Florida in the SEC than in the NFL.
Bobby Petrino: He went to Atlanta to coach Michael Vick, and left for Arkansas after 13 miserable games and Vick's off-field issues.
Nick Saban: The best coach in college football went 15-17 in two seasons with the Miami Dolphins.
Mike Riley: An underrated college coach, Riley had a forgettable three-year stint in San Diego.
Sounds like Lurie drank the Roseman Cool-aid...— ricciaje- I don't mean to detract from the complexities of football - college or pro. But I don't agree with Lurie's comment about the NFL just being an older roster. Andy Reid had some bad attitudes in his locker room this year (several of whom are still here) and a head coach needs to be able to understand how draft picks, free agents, and game week pick ups from the practice squad need to mesh. Right now, this team needs someone with NFL experience. The NFC East is a winnable division next year. But only if the coach can motivate the different personalities that he's given. Which is different than motivating people you've recruited.— CFPhilsPhan
- Frankly, I think your saying "some bad attitudes" is much too gentle.
From what I saw, he had way too many quitter on the roster this year.
I don't particularly agree about the NFL experience thing, excepting in a limited way. A great many coaches wind up in college programs after coaching in the NFL.
What this team really needs is a real GM and rid of some number of players on the current roster.
They need a head coach who is absolutely in charge, and that feller can com from anywhere at all.— BEMiller - I'm just guessing , but I have the feeling Brian Kelly is the front runner for the job if he wants it. Lurie is the kind of guy that will buy the next cool thing, and Kelly is the kind of guy that can market himself to Lurie as just that.— drbob1
- This comment has been deleted.— ComeAndTakeIt
- Roy Williams never played a second of college basketball but has won championships! — BEMiller
- Buck Shaw never played in the NFL and won a championship with--the Eagles?
GOOD GRIEF!— BEMiller - Brian Kelly is using the Eagles to get a raise. I'd rather see the Eagles hire an NFL coach anyway.— p-diddy
- As a fan of another team in the NFC East I see Philly on TV a lot and all I see is a number of individuals who play only for themselves and are out for the big contract. And after they get it they could care less about winning a Super Bowl. All their interested in is seeing themselves on the highlight shows. Any Philly fan reading this knows exactly which players I mean. It doesn't matter who coaches this group because the only way to be successful -- as a team -- is to get rid of those kinds of players and start from scratch. I completely disagree with CFPhlsPhan in that the NFC East is up for grabs next year. I see every other team in the NFC East improving except for the Eagles. It will be at least 3 years before this group could any chance of winning the division. So hire anyone -- it doesn't matter.— Ron T
- Some of us have been saying this all year! — BEMiller
- If the Eagles DID NOT explore B Kelly, I'd see that as a problem...The guy is a go getter, got it done on various levels even BEFORE recruiting became the major vehicle in winning...Can't quite say that some of these coordinators who are part of a winning situation currently could get done what Kelly has achieved as a top guy the past 10 years at 3 different schools...B Kelly WILL someday be on the sidelines on Sundays, and I'm not feeling to many other better candidates..TBD.— bearsfriend
- That BK is staying at Notre Dame now leads me to suspect he will never go to the NFL. He will NEVER have a better time to go than now! — BEMiller
- I think the whole article, which seems to reflect the Eagles' view, represents a very simplistic, naive point of view. It isn't close to the same once you get away from the X's and O's. Just some examples: College coaching is primarily about recruiting, which if it exists at all, it's only a small part in the pros. In the NFL there are typically a handful of guys on a roster who earn a 4 or more times as much as everyone else, which adds a whole different dynamic to the locker room and a challenge to trying to build a team. Another challenge is that in college, every player is playing where he chose to play, so it is less likely that a player won't fully buy into the team. Then there is building a staff, running practice, film study. I am certain the day-to-day life of a college head coach is far different than that of an NFL coach. And the reason that colleges don't borrow as much from the NFL is because very few college rosters have enough guys bright enough to grasp NFL schemes. Whenever you see a bust or disappointment coming out of college, lack of intelligence is generally the root cause. A lot of college players just don't have the brains for NFL strategies.— jtj06
- It would be easier to convince a College Coach to work with an Accountant GM, than one in the Pro Ranks, that has already had the opportunity to laugh at Howie's draft picks in 2010 and 2011.— cooperhawk
- COMPLETELY WRONG!
Green, Coughlin and obviously Harbaugh all had NFL experience either as an assistant or player before they took an NFL head coaching job.
The ONLY one who has ever been successful with no prior NFL experience at all was Jimmy Johnson.— banned
