We have written this before: Fans should remember that a very good
college job tends to be a better overall job than most NFL positions.
I agree with this 100%. Now that Bama is giving someone like Saban the big money to coach in college, there is no real reason to be a pro coach anymore. First of all they have to work 20 hour days to out think their opponent. Then they don't get much of an off season because they have to go to the Combine, NFL draft, etc. He has to constantly think about salary cap issues or which player is in jail this week. He is pretty much a slave to football and winning for the majority of the year. In times past these were the reasons why Pro coaches made the big bucks. Now that Alabama is dishing out the big checks what incentive do pro coaches have to deal with all the aggravation, stress, and the destruction of family life that comes with coaching in the pros?
This push to either make the playoffs (and do better if you are already a playoff team) or get fired is why I keep thinking many coaches are better off coaching in college. When I see a talented coach like Jim Mora pretty much get the axe because he was forced to stick with Michael Vick even though he isn't a passer (and will never be a passer) it makes me ill. Teams just loaded up and made Vick beat them with his arm instead of his feet. How can you win if you are forced into a corner like that?
Then you have an owner like Blank breathing down your neck and hanging around on the sidelines. I mean what does Blank care? He can't lose money on the team no matter what he does because the NFL has profit sharing. I think Mora is much better off coaching the Washington Huskies. He has all the time in the world to build that school back into a national power again. In fact he may even get the chance to stay there for 30 years if he wants to. He has the opportunity to become a legend.
That is why good coaches like Pete Carroll should stay in college and get the money, the recognition, and the fame without having to please some insane owner. I mean even winning a Super Bowl isn't enough for some owners. It looks like they are going to force out Cowher just a year after winning the big game. This is also after a decade of faithful service. You don't see people trying to force out the Longhorns' Mack Brown after Texas loses a few games and misses the BCS. I mean Cowher was forced to stick with an idiot QB that injured himself in a motorcycle accident, who threw a ton of picks, and was generally ineffective. He still was almost able to take the Steelers to the playoffs. Thanks for winning a Super Bowl coach, here's your pink slip.
That "win now or your fired" attitude is what I hate about the Pros. You can never have a coaching legend like Bear Bryant in the Pros because he would go 8-8 after winning 2 national championships back to back and then get fired. There is no sense of loyalty when you can't even stick with a guy that was able to win it all for you just a year after he does it. Oh well, the Pros loss is colleges gain.
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