Coaching in the mordern era

[Dxmxgxd]

Would be interested to hear peoples thoughts on whether coaches absolutely have to play football at the highest level in order to succeed at AFL level. With a plethora of sports science managers, assistant coaches, line coaches etc now at AFL clubs, is it possible for someone to have a great knowledge of our game and so much so could coach an AFL club provided they have the educational and practical background to do so?

Having seen Erik Spoelstra the head coach of the Miami Heat go from being the team's video coordinator in 1995 after having playing only college level basketball for 4 years, work his way up through higher education to eventually become coach and lead Miami to an NBA title (albeit with a superstar roster).

Does anybody know of other examples of great coaching success in a team sport without having played a high level themselves? And whether it could ever happen in the AFL?

 

[TBoyleSuperstar]

I don't think so. They'd need to have a very good grasp on the game, understand the modern game and all that, but a coaches main job is really to make sure his team is up and about and ready to play each week. Being able to deliver a message, back in your players, build belief and generally get the players plaing a style of footy that suits the list.

The only reason a coach might have to play at the highest level is to get the general respect of the players

 

[scottwade]

Does anybody know of other examples of great coaching success in a team sport without having played a high level themselves? And whether it could ever happen in the AFL?

Not uncommon in America.
For example Bill Belichick has won 3 Super Bowls, Mike Shanahan 2 SBs.
Neither played in the NFL and had undistinguished College careers.
Similarly in them olden days guys like Paul Brown, Lombardi and Bill Walsh did not play at professional level. All 3 are Hall of Famers.

In soccer Arsenal Manager Arsene Wenger had a very short professional career in France (11 games).
Guy just appointed Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas basically never played football, setting his eyes on a coaching career from his youth.
Led Porto to an unbeaten season in Portugal and also won the Europa league.

 

[Magpie Since 1986]

I would wager that IQ is a better predictor of coaching success than football ability.

The coaches that can string a sentence together seem to be more competent than the likes of Tony Shaw or Michael Voss.

Sometimes you get great coaches who also happened to be great players Paul Roos and John Worsfold come to mind, but I suspect their success is more to do with how sharp their mind is than how well they could kick a football.

In fact, due to selection bias (you are far more likely to land a coaching job if you were a great player), it is inevitable that most of the successful coaches will have been great players... but that doesn't tell you anything about whether being a great player is making a difference to their coaching ability or if it is merely the weight of numbers as their are so many more great players who have been given a shot at coaching than non-players.

 

[DivideandMultiply]

Yes if we look at it purely from a competency based perspective, no if we look at it from a cultural one.

 

[Sttew]

Not a great success yet, but Brendan McCartney never played AFL / VFL. Neil Craig didn't either, although did he play SANFL?

 

[barmy44]

Not a great success yet, but Brendan McCartney never played AFL / VFL. Neil Craig didn't either, although did he play SANFL?

yeah, 319 games for norwood from memory...

 

[D-N-R]

I think AFL coaches are getting to the stage where they are de facto 'managers', like in soccer, in the sense that they co-ordinate several sub-coaches. Although I think they will keep a more hands on approach than they do in soccer. I've heard of some managers in the UK only seeing the players on match day and having no contact during the week.

One story I heard (from a good source) was when George Graham was manager at Tottenham. A young player had been at the club for 3-4 months and had never met the manager got his chance to play. GG approaches him and says "Don't **** it up!" I can't see that happening in our game, at least for now.

 

[Geddy Lee]

One does not simply walk into Mordern.

 

[NarklesHelmet]

Jose Mourinho is the best example of this I think. Having just won La Liga with Real Madrid, he has become the first manager to win titles in the top leagues of 4 countries. A phenomenal achievement, especially as it is the most played sport in the world. Jose never played football to a high level and decided to concentrate on coaching early on.

He is a polarizing figure due to his antics but even his detractors don't doubt that he is probably the best tactical football mind/match day manager the game has ever seen.

I think Jose is the best example of what you are talking about in the OP. Keep an eye out for one of his proteges and a guy who also chose the path of coaching from a young age, Brendan Rogers (newly appointed Liverpool manager).