This year in the NFL, all the “buzz” was about the potential of Michael Vick. (Vick is great…but lost potential in the NFL is often just a knee twist away).
The person who seems to have almost unlimited potential now is John “Chucky” Gruden…the youngest coach in the league at 39…has proven himself as a master coordinator, head coach, and motivator…knows how to reel in the egos of muti-millionaire players…and REALISTICALLY could have 20-25 more productive years in the league! Scary…
Fortunes can turn easily in the NFL…but Gruden seems to have the POTENTIAL, at least, to be the greatest coach in NFL history…time will tell…
All I can say is D-E-F-E-N-S-E wins SUPER BOWLS not offense…w/ the exeption of the Rams.Grunden, had a defense created by Dungy and then he created a better offense. Grunden, out coach a lot of coaches to get the Bucs to where they are at Today Super Bowl Champs. I thought it would have been a closer game though.
All I can say is after tonight’s total annihilation of the Raiders (Number 1 Offense in the NFL), that Gruden is pretty damn awesome. Wow. I DID NOT expect such a point spread. I thought this game (Super Bowl) surely to be won by only a field goal. Again, wow. Total wow.
That was me, by the way: in the above post. I’m not wearing any contacts or glasses right now.; therefore, typing sucks! I just saw that my posting name was {; - or something like that. Sorry!
i dont buy that at all. yes i agree he is a good coach but to call him a master? he didnt take the raiders to the ship, and the bucs were already good when he got there. good yes, great or master? to early to tell.
It’s so hard to say what a “great coach” is. I mean, if we go by Super Bowl wins, then we have to include guys like Barry Switzer, George Seifert, Tom Flores, and Bill Belichik, none of whom I’d think anyone would call great coaches.
No, it’s more than just winning Super Bowls, it’s being able to teach and develop players, install effective offensive and defensive systems that cater to your current players’ capabilities. It’s being able to rebuild a team after a down year or two and return to the top. In today’s impatient NFL, owners won’t leave a coach around long enough to do those things. So now, a coach will have to build his legacy with more than one team, ala Parcells, Jimmy Johnson, and now Gruden, young but already having head coached two teams.
Personally, I think Chucky’s the best coach in the league right now. He did a nice job in building the Raiders into a very good team, and he took an anemic Bucs offense and won a Super Bowl.
But in the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately league called the NFL, let’s check back in five years and see if opinions are still the same.
Just a quick note about this whole “great coach” thing. While I agree that Jon Gruden IS a great coach and he did wonders for Tampa Bay’s offense, most people don’t realize who, in my oh-so-humble opinion, was the real mastermind and a big reason behind Tampa Bay’s defense. And no, it wasn’t Tony Dungy either. Monte Kiffin doesn’t get the credit he deserves as one of the greatest defensive coordinators the game has ever seen. And football games are won by DEFENSE (9 times out of 10). Coordinators never get the attention they should. On a side note, John Lynch (Tampa Bay D-man) came forward and said he was shocked at how many of the plays they practiced on defense all week were the exact same plays that Oakland ran in the game, while Callahan also admitted that not a whole lot had changed in their offense since Gruden left. So one has to ask, is that really great coaching on Gruden’s part or extreme stupidity on Oakland’s part? I mean, did they not think Tampa was looking for that?
I love his style. I think players feed off his love and enthusiasim for the game. And to top it off, he has obvious game inteligence and knows how to manage a pro team. Total package really. I’d love to play for this guy.
I agree with JohnS 100%, Monte is the man. Monte consistently puts his fast, but undersized team in the best schemes possible. However, Gruden is a dedicated coach. That guy puts an insane amount of time in the “office”.
Let’s also remember that Oakland had what was arguably their worst showing all season on Sunday. They were capable of thrashing Tampa, but they left their game, heart, and soul in the parking lot. Not making excuses for my team; they played like shit. But let’s remember what they are capable of when discussing how effective Gruden was against them. Tampa played one hell of a game, and Oakland simply didn’t show.
As for whether or not Gruden will be one of the greats? Only time will tell.
Admittedly, the Raider’s didn’t change much from Gruden’s time there. So, to me, designing a defense against an offense you, yourself designed is a trivial matter, something that you could whip up in a day or two. Having two weeks to work on it… well, you get the kind of ass-whoopery we enjoyed on Sunday.
I’m not saying Gruden’s a bad coach; clearly he’s good–the team in the NFC that was running his system made it to the Superbowl, ditto for the AFC. That’s a pretty good accomplishment. But deciding that winning the Superbowl makes him a good coach is a little strange, IMHO, because it was a matter of preparing a defensive strategy that would defeat your own offense.
Patriots, Cowboys, Skins, Colts, and the 49ers, Even the offense most renowned for winning Super Bowls, the 49ers of Bill Walsh, was complemented by a solid defense. No one can deny Joe Montana’s magic touch. But don’t forget that San Francisco had another Hall of Fame player, safety Ronnie Lott, leading the defense. Lott and Woodson were the two best defensive backs of their era, maybe of all time. Enough said…