Blind faith in guys managing, coaching our teams

RYNE SANDBERG is an honest fellow and that might just lead to being a great major league manager someday. I say someday because the Phillies lost 89 games in his first full season as their manager, and while that wasn't close to being all of his fault, he confessed the other day that it might have been at least a little better if he had done a few things differently.

"Sometimes it's easy to take it for granted and say, '[I] have a veteran clubhouse and they know everything and they'll handle the clubhouse and everything will be fine," Sandberg told reporters. "I learned that's not the case."

It appeared he also learned that old dogs don't take readily to new tricks or new managers, especially if there is no track record. Sandberg tried to manage as he played and as he had in the minors - preaching hard work, hustle, good at-bats. But to been-there-done-that veterans, those precepts sound real old real quick when you hit the All-Star break 11 games under .500 and 10 games behind.

Again, the point here is not to bash Sandberg or suggest that if he had - in his words - "fixed" his clubhouse at midseason, the Phillies would have been too much closer to a playoff spot than they were. Lord knows Charlie Manuel tried everything short of pinch-hitting himself during his last futile season to flex any remaining muscle memory this team possessed, to no avail.

Sandberg's confession, however, if you can call it that, does underline a phenomenon we are experiencing these days. For a town renowned for our skepticism, there is an extraordinary amount of blind faith accorded the four men currently coaching/managing our professional teams. Sandberg never had managed a major league team prior to the Phillies. Craig Berube never had coached in the NHL before he ascended to the Flyers' job two Octobers ago. Brett Brown was never even the head coach of a college basketball team before the Sixers went way outside the box and plucked him to coach their grand experiment.

Chip Kelly, of course, had all kinds of success at the college level, both as an assistant in New Hampshire and Oregon, and later as the Ducks' head coach. But his success at that level has been largely attributed to the breakneck pace of his offense, something he has reluctantly tapered, especially this season, due to smaller rosters and the attrition inherent in the NFL's brutal, 16-game schedule.

Sabotaged somewhat by an epidemic of injuries to his offensive line and already-thin linebacking corps, Kelly's coaching at the end of last season didn't look much different than the coaching being done across the field. Things could change dramatically should there be a drop of truth to all the Marcus Mariotta speculation out there, but assuming Nick Foles gets another whack at it, Kelly also will have to operate without the mobile quarterback that takes pressure off his running backs and puts his system into warp drive.

The bottom line is this: There is little more evidence now than there was the day he was hired that he will master the NFL, especially when his draft-day acumen is factored in. As exciting as it all can be on more Sundays than not, Kelly's genius never translated into a national championship either at the University of New Hampshire or at Oregon.

That said, Kelly's résumé strongly suggested success. And two 10-6 seasons can only be viewed as disappointing due to our surprise at the first of those. Next year, one way or the other, we should have a better hint of whether we have a son of a Belichick or just another Andy Reid by this time next year.

As for Berube, he does not appear in danger of losing his job in midseason. The cascade of injuries his team has endured is one reason, but I suspect the first-year general manager already has begun plotting for next season. Barring an inspired post All-Star break surge, I doubt those plans include their latest homegrown coach. Hextall was part of the LA Kings group that plucked Darryl Sutter from juniors in midseason to replace seasoned NHL coach Terry Murray. I suspect he already has a name or two in mind.

And that takes us, finally, to Brett Brown: The handsome, media-friendly guy with a really cool Lewiston, Maine accent. I could listen to him talk about losses all day, the way he explains things. But that's exactly the point. I don't know if he can coach in the NBA because he has yet to have at his disposal anything remotely resembling an NBA team. Given his experience with the Australian national team and tutelage under San Antonio's Gregg Popovich, many believe that he can. But it's a whole lot of faith in a guy who never even ran a college program, never mind the pros.

But pat yourselves on the back for that. And for the others, too. These are dark times for pro sports in Philadelphia, and that rarely, if ever, has meant job security for those heading up our teams.

For now, that's not the case.

For now.

On Twitter: @samdonnellon

Columns: ph.ly/Donnellon