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TLDR: Chris Petersen and the 3 Rare Traits of Truly Great CFB Coaches
TTJ
Member Posts: 4,795
Watching Chris Petersen systematically elevate Husky Football above the cesspool of loserdom left behind by his predecessors over the last three seasons has been a thing of inspiration and wonder. I have spent a lot of time trying to place my finger on what exactly makes Coach Pete tick, and why his way works so well. I posit the few truly great college football coaches became great because they all possess three rare traits. And Petersen has all three.
One, the truly great CFB coaches CARE DEEPLY ABOUT WINNING. This is much more than merely wanting to win. It is much more than setting lofty goals, or getting mad about losses. The truly great coaches have a maniacal, unrelenting, unhealthy obsession with winning. They carry it around with them all day, every day. They can be humorless sons of bitches, after a win or a loss, because they are so compulsively driven at all times to constantly want to make their teams better.
Two, the truly great ones UNDERSTAND HOW TO WIN. This know-how extends far beyond playcalling, clock management, or other gameday tactics. And it is much more than recruiting. This is a rare, profound understanding of the granular details necessary to build and maintain a program that is fundamentally stronger than your rivals. Think of it as a hard-wired aversion to shortcuts. Very few coaches in the current whathaveyoudoneformelately climate of CFB really manifest this trait, and even fewer combine it with the other two.
Three, the true greats WIN WITH DIGNITY. This is the ability to win with grace, lose with stoicism, and inspire the very best out of your players on a daily basis. It begins by seeking certain character traits, both on the recruiting trail and in the selection of a coaching staff. It continues by building and constantly working (and working and working) to maintain a culture of successful habits in your players every day. Players are smart and perceptive: They can spot a hypocrite in an instant. See, e.g., Pete's immediate predecessor. It takes enormous personal discipline to interact with players on a daily basis in a way that sets the right example and inspires dedication to winning habits.
Stated simply, Chris Petersen is a winner because he embodies all three traits. So few coaches in CFB today do: Saban, Meyer, maybe Patterson. I can't really think of any others.
Think about the greatest CFB coaches you've ever seen. Whether you're talking about James or Bowden or Holtz or Bryant or Carroll -- pick a name -- the guys who have been able to sustain success at the highest level tend to exhibit all three. Most good coaches who fall short of true greatness are lacking one of these traits. For example, nobody would question that Harbaugh cares deeply about winning, nor that he understands how to win. His only failing is in the dignity department (and I tend to think Harbaugh is a damn fine coach).
Look around the Pac-12. Shaw is a very good coach, because he has the understanding and the dignity. But I'm not sure he cares quite deeply enough about winning to ever be a national champion. (If he did, he wouldn't still be at Stanford.) Leach is a pretty smart guy; he may have the requisite understanding, but he has never really exhibited the other two traits. Whittingham probably cares enough and has enough dignity, but I'm not sure he truly has the understanding of how to elevate his program from good to great. Mora cares intensely, but he seems to lack both the understanding and the dignity. I'm not sure any other coach around the league exhibits *any* of the three winning traits.
How about past UW coaches since James? Lambright cared, but I'm not sure he had the dignity, and he certainly didn't have the deep understanding. Neuheisel may have cared enough, at least during his first couple years; but he didn't really have the deep understanding of how to resist shortcuts, nor the dignity and discipline to maintain sustainable success. Gilby, Willingham and Sarkisian clearly lacked all three.
One, the truly great CFB coaches CARE DEEPLY ABOUT WINNING. This is much more than merely wanting to win. It is much more than setting lofty goals, or getting mad about losses. The truly great coaches have a maniacal, unrelenting, unhealthy obsession with winning. They carry it around with them all day, every day. They can be humorless sons of bitches, after a win or a loss, because they are so compulsively driven at all times to constantly want to make their teams better.
Two, the truly great ones UNDERSTAND HOW TO WIN. This know-how extends far beyond playcalling, clock management, or other gameday tactics. And it is much more than recruiting. This is a rare, profound understanding of the granular details necessary to build and maintain a program that is fundamentally stronger than your rivals. Think of it as a hard-wired aversion to shortcuts. Very few coaches in the current whathaveyoudoneformelately climate of CFB really manifest this trait, and even fewer combine it with the other two.
Three, the true greats WIN WITH DIGNITY. This is the ability to win with grace, lose with stoicism, and inspire the very best out of your players on a daily basis. It begins by seeking certain character traits, both on the recruiting trail and in the selection of a coaching staff. It continues by building and constantly working (and working and working) to maintain a culture of successful habits in your players every day. Players are smart and perceptive: They can spot a hypocrite in an instant. See, e.g., Pete's immediate predecessor. It takes enormous personal discipline to interact with players on a daily basis in a way that sets the right example and inspires dedication to winning habits.
Stated simply, Chris Petersen is a winner because he embodies all three traits. So few coaches in CFB today do: Saban, Meyer, maybe Patterson. I can't really think of any others.
Think about the greatest CFB coaches you've ever seen. Whether you're talking about James or Bowden or Holtz or Bryant or Carroll -- pick a name -- the guys who have been able to sustain success at the highest level tend to exhibit all three. Most good coaches who fall short of true greatness are lacking one of these traits. For example, nobody would question that Harbaugh cares deeply about winning, nor that he understands how to win. His only failing is in the dignity department (and I tend to think Harbaugh is a damn fine coach).
Look around the Pac-12. Shaw is a very good coach, because he has the understanding and the dignity. But I'm not sure he cares quite deeply enough about winning to ever be a national champion. (If he did, he wouldn't still be at Stanford.) Leach is a pretty smart guy; he may have the requisite understanding, but he has never really exhibited the other two traits. Whittingham probably cares enough and has enough dignity, but I'm not sure he truly has the understanding of how to elevate his program from good to great. Mora cares intensely, but he seems to lack both the understanding and the dignity. I'm not sure any other coach around the league exhibits *any* of the three winning traits.
How about past UW coaches since James? Lambright cared, but I'm not sure he had the dignity, and he certainly didn't have the deep understanding. Neuheisel may have cared enough, at least during his first couple years; but he didn't really have the deep understanding of how to resist shortcuts, nor the dignity and discipline to maintain sustainable success. Gilby, Willingham and Sarkisian clearly lacked all three.
Comments
Can you imagine where the DAWGS would be right now if petersen didn't make that phone call?
You can look no further than Mike Garrett and Pat Haden for their current state of affairs.
Any coach with a D-1 job "cares" about winning.
Shaw? Wrong. If DJ had cared about winning he would have put in for SC, ND, Miami, or Alabama.
Integrity? Fuck off. Saban. Meyer. Carroll. Schembechler. Switzer. Dobie: they would cut your head off and stomp on your balls to win and move up in the polls.
Integrity. Try slingblade. He used to win with it (and Chips guys). Now he loses with it.
I'm ready to crown his ass but I still need to see a championship.
I place limited blame at most on Carroll for current state of SC. Quit being a Houk.
Coaching in all team sports at all levels is made up of 3 parts
5% Tactics; specific coaching techniques, "systems", play calling, S&C regiment, film study etc
5% Organization; efficiently running practice to maximize time, efficiently recruiting to maximize time, etc
90% of it is CHEMISTRY. Everyone must be on the same page, everyone must be fully invested, everyone must be willing to sacrifice for the greater good of the team. Coaches don't develop players, players develop players. Players don't play hard for a coach they play hard for each other. Chemistry is the reason great coaches keep winning and mediocre coaches stay mediocre. When it comes to recruiting you pretty much have to get it right from the beginning. Great chemistry attracts great players who are great fits and will add to the chemistry, bad chemistry attracts players who are selfish and toxic to the chemistry. Ditto for the coaching staff you usually have to get it right from the beginning, great assistants are attracted by a great chemistry.
Chemistry is also the most fragile because it only takes a few bad seeds to weasel there way in and ruin it
Coaching in all team sports at all levels is made up of 3 parts:
5% Tactics; specific coaching techniques, "systems", play calling, S&C regiment, film study etc
5% Organization; efficiently running practice to maximize time, efficiently recruiting to maximize time, etc
90% of it is CHEMISTRY. Everyone must be on the same page, everyone must be fully invested, everyone must be willing to sacrifice for the greater good of the team. Coaches don't develop players, players develop players. Players don't play hard for a coach they play hard for each other. Chemistry is the reason great coaches keep winning and mediocre coaches stay mediocre. When it comes to recruiting you pretty much have to get it right from the beginning. Great chemistry attracts great players who are great fits and will add to the chemistry, bad chemistry attracts players who are selfish and toxic to the chemistry. Ditto for the coaching staff you usually have to get it right from the beginning, great assistants are attracted by a great chemistry.
Chemistry is also the most fragile because it only takes a few bad seeds to weasel there way in and ruin it.