Good players make good coaches

[Jaxcat]

I believe it was Bobby Bowden who said that (at least the first time I heard that statement).

Let's look at Joe Brady. Unknown until he was passing coordinator for the Joe Burrow (and probable NFL HOF WRs) led LSU championship team. IIRC, was hired by the Panthers as their OC and flamed out spectacularly. Went to the Bills as their OC, did very well and is now their HC.

So, unbelievable talent at LSU = genius. Underwhelming talent at Carolina = moron/bust.
Good/improving talent at Buffalo= HC material.

Bobby Bowden was a wise man.

Edit: brain fart - sorry. I knew it was the Bills, not the Pats. Duh!

[Matt Dillon]

I've long felt this way about it. A great coach i.e. a Bear Bryant or a Nick Saban type can often do more with less. On the other hand, a poor coach will often do less with more. To my way of thinking, a team is a lot like a lock and a key. To realize potential a team needs a quality coach and quality players.

[Matt Dillon]

I believe it was Bobby Bowden who said that (at least the first time I heard that statement).

Let's look at Joe Brady. Unknown until he was passing coordinator for the Joe Burrow (and probable NFL HOF WRs) led LSU championship team. IIRC, was hired by the Panthers as their OC and flamed out spectacularly. Went to the Pats as their OC, did very well and is now their HC.

So, unbelievable talent at LSU = genius. Underwhelming talent at Carolina = moron/bust.
Good/improving talent at NE = HC material.

Bobby Bowden was a wise man.

Along the same lines it has been said that 'it's not about the x's and o's but about the Jimmys and Joes'.

[bthaunert]

As they say, it's not the x's and o's, it's the jimmy's and joe's

[Catsrock]

It is true for the most part. But none of those fellas that just won a title under Cignetti were 5* recruits out of HS. They were absolutely coached up.

[Sieken]

Regarding Joe Brady, he made the transition you speak of with the Bills. He was dealt an unrealistic hand with the Panthers. It was unrealistic to expect miracles with a short, very inexperienced quarterback. The short and easy answer is that it takes both, it takes really good coaching, but more importantly, it takes talented players willing to accept the coaching. I lean in on coaching being the slightly more important aspect, as stated above, IU largely made their run with less heralded players, the other example I would use, the 49ers had so many injuries that they are studying an electrical sub station close to the stadium as a potential cause. They still kept winning, I think they even made it to their third string quarterback.