NFL coaches are often their own worst enemy

By John McMullen  |   Thursday, November 27, 2008  |  Comments( 4 )

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I'm not sure where it all started, but the NFL is now filled with head coaches lacking any discernible people skills.

In my own backyard of Philadelphia is the most egregious example.

Andy Reid should be championed in the City of Brotherly Love. I mean, the Eagles are not exactly a franchise steeped in winning tradition and Reid delivered four NFC championship berths, a Super Bowl appearance and a franchise record for wins in his decade at the helm of the Birds.

Of course, things are now going in the other direction. Reid's franchise quarterback, Donovan McNabb, is on the downside of a brilliant career, an offensive line once regarded as one of the NFL's best is a mess and the receivers are leading the league in dropped passes.

But things like that happen in every city. The NFL is cyclical. What goes up will inevitably falls back down.

The Joe Montana/Steve Young 49ers turn into the Alex Smith/Shaun Hill/J.T. O'Sullivan Niners.

The Roger Staubach/Danny White Cowboys turn into the 1-15 'Boys.

It's the nature of the business. In Philly, Reid should be given the benefit of the doubt and every opportunity to rebuild his team. He's earned that right, but "Big Red" is about the most unpopular guy in town these days and he has no one to blame but himself.

Why?

Look to former Eagle John Welbourne for the answer. The offensive lineman once deadpanned that the only thing bigger than Reid's waist was his ego. Sour grapes?

Perhaps. But much like Jose Canseco's steroid tell-all in Major League Baseball, another self-serving venture spurred by revenge, it’s the truth.

Reid has been so condescending to the local media and his fans during his weekly press conferences that no one likes the guy. A decade of success is obscured by a bad personality.

And Reid is not alone; in fact, his self-spawned carbon copy in Minneapolis, Brad Childress, is about as popular as gout in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

A winless coach in Detroit, Rod Marinelli, spends most of his time berating reporters on a daily basis instead of devising ways to turn around his moribund club.

Mike Shanahan has a pair of Super Bowl rings in Denver, but his overbearing arrogance welcomes retribution from the locals.

Of course, the poster child for hubris in the NFL is New England's Bill Belichick. Considering Belichick is the league's best coach by a mile and he has already brought three Super Bowl championships to New England, he should be bulletproof.

And right now he is. But the minute things turn south in Boston, Belichick will be picked apart so badly that there will be nothing left for the vultures circling his carcass.

This new breed of coaches permeating the NFL could learn a lot from the legends who came before them.

Coaches like Don Shula, Tom Landry, Chuck Noll and Bud Grant didn't look down at the media and their fan bases. They treated them with respect and were afforded the same in return.

Mark your calendars -- Black Monday in the NFL is scheduled for Dec. 29 and a purge of biblical proportions is coming.

Roughly one-third of the league's coaching staffs will be headed for the unemployment line on that day and roughly one-third of the league's fans will be cheering their misfortune.
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About John McMullen

John is the managing editor of The Phanatic Magazine, the assistant managing editor of The Sports Network and the co-host of the highly rated 'Johns on Sports' radio show on WTBQ in New York. Every Saturday from 6:30-9 p.m. (et) you can hear John along with his co-host, John Gottlieb, talk to the ...
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