I left the current guy off since hes not a former coach.
I think I know how the voting is gonna go. Maybe we could learn something.
I think I know how the voting is gonna go. Maybe we could learn something.
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Who was the smartest former football coach
- Thread starter MiamiBuffs
- Start date
Joe Theismann's Leg
Well-Known Member
Kind of a shocking realization but don't think we've had any "smart" coaches. Like, no one on that list is a Mensa candidate, that's for sure.
MacIntyre probably has the most intelligence overal. Barnett probably has the most common sense.
Nah. MacIntyre always struck me as dumb Southerner
Still should
SerenityBuff
Well-Known Member
Neu does have a J.D. from USC and passed the Bar in AZ. So I guess that would make him the smartest, depending on how much intelligence you attach to being a lawyer.
Neu is also probably the most charismatic I can remember, besides Mac.
Frankly, I think he gets a bad rap among CU fans because of how he left - which I believe included a quote about how CU wasn't committed to winning like Washington was and folks didn't want to hear it.
In hindsight it seems as if the the truth hurts
He saw the writing on the wall when the rest of us hadn't yet.
The weird thing was that GB got the team back onto the national stage before the full impact of the not giving a **** attitude hit.
GB had 1 really good year.
The class we had coming in was top 10 that year, I believe. Quite a few of those guys ended up elsewhere.
I always wonder about GB and whether he could have sustained success if the school hadn't cut him off at the knees with recruiting. That definitely demoralized him, and he pretty much mailed it in on recruiting after that.
Once the recruiting handcuffs went on, he was KD, except with a much better understanding of the college game.
That being said, there are coaches that are good for "campaigns" - they'll build a team over the course of several years to a pinnacle, and when they reach that pinnacle their performance drops off. They may build to another pinnacle in another "campaign," but sustained success is not what they do.
GB may have been of that mold - his run at NW and then at CU would seem to indicate so. Although I do believe that without the recruiting constraints his valleys wouldn't be anywhere near what we're becoming used to.
MacIntyre was definitely of that mold. We saw his ceiling, and his floor (after the initial build). I guess my shoot from the hip comparison between GB and MM is that GB = MM + 1.5 wins a year.
Nue I think is more of a sustained process type, but he's missing something (charisma, attitude, work ethic, something) that leads to less than elite OL and front 7 recruiting /developing /coaching.
We have no idea about Mel yet, but my guess is he'll be a process "work the system" guy like Saban and Smart.
Hawkins was an all around idiot.
I'm honestly not sure about McCartney. I almost think he was a campaign guy in his own motivation, but a system guy in implementation. Once he got CU a natty and a Heisman, he was done.
KD is a system guy, and he has a ****ty system.
Sorry for consecutive posts, but this is a different thought.
I think the one thing that separates coaches, in college football especially, isn't their smarts, or charisma, or work ethic, or whatever else. What really separates them is self evaluation and a willingness to change course when things aren't working.
It's not "just" firing and hiring new people, but changing how you approach things and being able to imagine (or merely accept) new ways of doing things.
A lot of guys become slaves to ideas that they saw have success at various points in their careers. "We won a national title, or super bowl, or conference championship at _______ by doing _______ therefore that's 'the' way (or at least it's 'the way' I know, and that's the way they hired me to implement).
People often comment that the coaches are confident in their abilities, and so they stick with what they "believe" will work - even when it's obviously not.
I think it actually takes more confidence to admit that what you're doing isn't working and to strike out in a new (to you at least) direction.
The most important things McCartney did at CU was 1. Make recruiting the #1 priority, and 2. Completely switch offenses despite not having the personnel (yet) or even coaches to run it.
He even did the second one twice.
Interestingly, Saban has made similar changes - hiring coaches for the explicit reason of making over the offense.
I feel like the ability to self analyze, admit that what you're doing isn't working, making the decision to change, and then following through (despite it costing you*), is what really separates coaches.
Will KD do that? Returns so far say no. He has to change two pretty big things 1. Make recruiting the #1 priority for everyone on the football staff, 2. Change his offense.
He might do the second. I honestly don't think he's capable of or willing to do the first.
*By "costing you," how about losing probably the #1 recruit in the country to your bitter rival because you're changing the offense?)
I think the one thing that separates coaches, in college football especially, isn't their smarts, or charisma, or work ethic, or whatever else. What really separates them is self evaluation and a willingness to change course when things aren't working.
It's not "just" firing and hiring new people, but changing how you approach things and being able to imagine (or merely accept) new ways of doing things.
A lot of guys become slaves to ideas that they saw have success at various points in their careers. "We won a national title, or super bowl, or conference championship at _______ by doing _______ therefore that's 'the' way (or at least it's 'the way' I know, and that's the way they hired me to implement).
People often comment that the coaches are confident in their abilities, and so they stick with what they "believe" will work - even when it's obviously not.
I think it actually takes more confidence to admit that what you're doing isn't working and to strike out in a new (to you at least) direction.
The most important things McCartney did at CU was 1. Make recruiting the #1 priority, and 2. Completely switch offenses despite not having the personnel (yet) or even coaches to run it.
He even did the second one twice.
Interestingly, Saban has made similar changes - hiring coaches for the explicit reason of making over the offense.
I feel like the ability to self analyze, admit that what you're doing isn't working, making the decision to change, and then following through (despite it costing you*), is what really separates coaches.
Will KD do that? Returns so far say no. He has to change two pretty big things 1. Make recruiting the #1 priority for everyone on the football staff, 2. Change his offense.
He might do the second. I honestly don't think he's capable of or willing to do the first.
*By "costing you," how about losing probably the #1 recruit in the country to your bitter rival because you're changing the offense?)
GB, had the scandal that wasn't been avoided, would have turned in a string of 8 win seasons punctuated by the 10-11 win years every few years. He was good. He had Jeremy Maclin and a boat load of other talent cued up until Bitsy decided to stick her schnozz in the situation.
I actually think the waffling with the offense was a problem with Mac, not something that makes a coach great.
The most important thing with him was his mantra about organizations: you are what you emphasize.
You can't be everything, but you need to figure out what you are and commit to it. Other things can be adjusted or completely changed to fit the circumstances, but core things need to be locked in. For Mac, those core things were recruiting and physicality. Tucker embraced that same core, which is why I was so encouraged. I don't believe that anyone else since Mac has done so, though GB came close until the scandal started hitting & the recruiting part fell by the wayside.
BuffBronco
Well-Known Member
Kirby
He went to Vanderbilt and Georgia tech. Intelligent? Idk. Dumb southerner? Lol nah
did not expect that Bill McCartney would only have 4% of the votes.
The question says common sense in it, so how did you all not rule out Neuheisel?
His academics are kinda impressive