Least impressive performance (1 Viewer)

[Chase Stuart]

We often hear about what a great job a coach did in leading his team to victory. Parcells over the Bills, Belichick over the Rams and Gruden over the Raiders all come to mind of a coach just totally outcoaching his opponent.

But that got me to thinking, what Super Bowl wins were not the product of impressive coaching gameplans?

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

Seifert over the Broncos/Chargers. His teams were just so much better

 

[Hamstring]

Switzer is always the slam dunk for least impressive SB winning coach

 

[perry147]

Switzer is always the slam dunk for least impressive SB winning coach

I was going to post the same thing.

 

[Ghost Rider]

Switzer appears to the obvious pick.

 

[Captain Spaulding]

Switzer is always the slam dunk for least impressive SB winning coach

I was going to post the same thing.

Agree 100% as well.

 

[DCThunder]

I know you said Super Bowl winners, but you can't overlook The Great Don Shula getting outcoached by old Weeb Eubanks way back in Super Bowl III.

 

[thesurfshop19]

I think that while Belichick's game plans for the Giants vs. the Bills and for the Patriots vs. the Rams are among the best coaching jobs in history, I don't think the coaching was particularly impressive in the Panthers or Eagles games.

 

[dgreen]

Switzer is always the slam dunk for least impressive SB winning coach

I was going to post the same thing.

Agree 100% as well.

What did Switzer do in that game, or in preperation for that game, that makes you say that?

 

[Hamstring]

That team coached themselves. Switzer did bring a gun to the airport. Switzer kept a decent but not as talented Pitt team in the game. I think the only reason Dallas won was because Neil Odonnell was playing catch with Larry Brown.

 

[Chase Stuart]

Switzer is always the slam dunk for least impressive SB winning coach

I was going to post the same thing.

Agree 100% as well.

What did Switzer do in that game, or in preperation for that game, that makes you say that?

I'm with dgreen on this one.That was a very good Steelers team, that had won 10 of its last 11 games, with its only loss coming @Lambeau against an excellent Green Bay team. You might argue that the Cowboys were more talented than the Steelers, but Switzer still beat them by 10 and they were an excellent team. I understand that lots of people think Switzer wasn't a very good coach, and I think that's unwarranted too. But I think we need a little more explanation than just "Switzer" as to why he didn't do a good job coaching when his team beat a Steelers team that was playing incredible football.

The two things I can think of are that Neil O'Donnell somewhat saved Switzer, and Cowher one-upped him with the onsides kick move.

I'd be more inclined to think Brian Billick against a relatively awful Giants team as a good example.

 

[parasaurolophus]

this is an interesting topic and is very difficult for me, seeing as a I grew up watching during an era when most SBs were just blowouts.

So I guess I would have to say the year my beloved Packers beat NE in the SB. The game was way closer than it should have been and had pretty much nothing to do with Holmgren.

Favre played fantastic. Freeman was great. Howard was a return fiend that day. Rison was his usual unheralded self. IIRC the spread was 14. I dont think NE was even close to the team GB was, but they were at least in the game.

The offensive drives werent very impressive and the Packers needed to make some big plays. They also got 4 bledsoe INTs. Pretty much cant really give holmgren props on anything here.

 

[Hamstring]

Switzer is always the slam dunk for least impressive SB winning coach

I was going to post the same thing.

Agree 100% as well.

What did Switzer do in that game, or in preperation for that game, that makes you say that?

I'm with dgreen on this one.That was a very good Steelers team, that had won 10 of its last 11 games, with its only loss coming @Lambeau against an excellent Green Bay team. You might argue that the Cowboys were more talented than the Steelers, but Switzer still beat them by 10 and they were an excellent team. I understand that lots of people think Switzer wasn't a very good coach, and I think that's unwarranted too. But I think we need a little more explanation than just "Switzer" as to why he didn't do a good job coaching when his team beat a Steelers team that was playing incredible football.

The two things I can think of are that Neil O'Donnell somewhat saved Switzer, and Cowher one-upped him with the onsides kick move.

I'd be more inclined to think Brian Billick against a relatively awful Giants team as a good example.

Dallas was superior and they were outgained and outrushed by Pitt. Switzer did jack and just got lucky when Larry Brown got a couple disgustingly easy picks.

 

[softball]

The answer to this whole thread is NONE.

They won the Superbowl, there is no higher accomplishment, and by even suggesting that some wins are better than others you de value ALL the wins IMO. If they won they are impressive.

They may not have been regarded as one of the best coaches of all time, but they reached the goal that every team every year strives for, so none of them can be the worst, they are the best even if for 1 year.

Same goes for worst winning QB, there aren't any. Maybe they aren't the greatest player but they are the CHAMPION.

Taking this to a FF perspective it's like looking down the roster of the team that wins your league and saying "How did that team win, it sucks"

Can't be true, they are the best even for 1 season...

 

[Phurfur]

Switzer is always the slam dunk for least impressive SB winning coach

No one else is close. Jerry Jones even said it - he could hire anyone to coach that team to a SB. The amazing thing is he didn't do it the year before.

 

[redman]

Switzer is always the slam dunk for least impressive SB winning coach

I was going to post the same thing.

Agree 100% as well.

What did Switzer do in that game, or in preperation for that game, that makes you say that?

I'm with dgreen on this one.That was a very good Steelers team, that had won 10 of its last 11 games, with its only loss coming @Lambeau against an excellent Green Bay team. You might argue that the Cowboys were more talented than the Steelers, but Switzer still beat them by 10 and they were an excellent team. I understand that lots of people think Switzer wasn't a very good coach, and I think that's unwarranted too. But I think we need a little more explanation than just "Switzer" as to why he didn't do a good job coaching when his team beat a Steelers team that was playing incredible football.

The two things I can think of are that Neil O'Donnell somewhat saved Switzer, and Cowher one-upped him with the onsides kick move.

I'd be more inclined to think Brian Billick against a relatively awful Giants team as a good example.

Dallas was superior and they were outgained and outrushed by Pitt. Switzer did jack and just got lucky when Larry Brown got a couple disgustingly easy picks.

Yeah, I think Pittsburgh's 1995 team is getting a tad overstated. Dallas had a trio of QB, RB and WR who are either Hall of Famers (Aikman & Emmitt) or who are making a serious argument about becoming one (Irvin), and one of the all-time great and dominant o-lines, not to mention a very good receiving TE in Novacek. They outclassed the Steelers in all of those categories, that is unless you're somehow awed by the greatness that was Neil O'Donnell, Yancy Thigpen and Bam Morris. On defense I'd give the Steelers a slight edge, but not nearly enough to balance out the offensive disparity.

 

[Mr. Mojo]

Switzer is always the slam dunk for least impressive SB winning coach

No one else is close. Jerry Jones even said it - he could hire anyone to coach that team to a SB. The amazing thing is he didn't do it the year before.

Both Seifert and Switzer were buffoons who inherited the best team in the NFL at the time they took over.That said, Seifert wasn't quite as bad as Switzer.

 

[redman]

Switzer is always the slam dunk for least impressive SB winning coach

No one else is close. Jerry Jones even said it - he could hire anyone to coach that team to a SB. The amazing thing is he didn't do it the year before.

Both Seifert and Switzer were buffoons who inherited the best team in the NFL at the time they took over.That said, Seifert wasn't quite as bad as Switzer.

At least Seifert was an NFL buffoon.

 

[thesurfshop19]

Both Seifert and Switzer were buffoons who inherited the best team in the NFL at the time they took over.

That said, Seifert wasn't quite as bad as Switzer.

At least Seifert was an NFL buffoon.

To be fair, Seifert won 2 rings, the latter 6 years after Walsh left with several different star players.He was horrible with Carolina, but his 49er career:

1989: Super Bowl champ

1990: lost to Giants (eventual champ)

1991: missed playoffs

1992: lost to Cowboys (eventual champ)

1993: lost to Cowboys (eventual champ)

1994: Super Bowl champ

1995: lost to Packers

1996: lost to Packers (eventual champ)

That's not really that bad. Sure, there are some struggles there particularly against good teams, but arguably 2 of the 3 best 49er teams ever were under Seifert and he may deserve at least a little credit for keep the team at the level it was when he took over. (I'm not saying he deserves that much though!)

Then again, we all know the Niners paid Deion in cash!

 

[Captain Spaulding]

That team coached themselves. Switzer did bring a gun to the airport. Switzer kept a decent but not as talented Pitt team in the game. I think the only reason Dallas won was because Neil Odonnell was playing catch with Larry Brown.

Once again...100% agreement. We're all on the same page today guys!!!

 

[cacksman]

Cowher last year comes to mind....

 

[Doug Drinen]

What did Switzer do in that game, or in preperation for that game, that makes you say that?

I have a friend who says they should rename the Coach of the Year Award, "The Award For The Coach Of The Team That Was Supposed To Suck But Didn't." Similarly, this thread may as well be titled "Which Super Bowl Winning Team Had More Perceived Talent And A Coach With a Non-Genius Reputation?"

 

[Captain Spaulding]

Cowher last year comes to mind....

I'll disagree tremendously here. Roth was having one of the worst QB performances ever in the 1st half of that Superbowl against Seattle. Whether it was Cowher or Wisenhunt as the mastermind, the 2nd half offensive playcalling by the Steelers coaches (i.e keep Roth's passing to an absolute minimum since he's stinking up the joint...encorporate gadget plays and alot of running etc.) was the difference between a win/loss as far as I could tell. In fact Rothlisberger probably goes down as 1 of the worst QB performances in a Superbowl by winning team. Coaches had to figure out some way to pull out that victory. For Steeler fans...Roth played great in playoffs by the way last year so don't slam me for dissing Roth in the Superbowl. I just call 'em like I see 'em.

 

[Jous]

Cowher coached great in both of his Super Bowls... it's the AFc title games that gave him an ulcer.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

I know you said Super Bowl winners, but you can't overlook The Great Don Shula getting outcoached by old Weeb Eubanks way back in Super Bowl III.

Yeah cause the guy only went on to SB VI, VII, and VIII after he left Baltimore, 1st coach to go to 3 straight Super Bowls and 4 in 8 years. Wins back to back Super Bowls, goes 17-0 having an undefeated season and eventually becomes the all time winningest coach in NFL history...I'm just saying.

 

[dgreen]

I know you said Super Bowl winners, but you can't overlook The Great Don Shula getting outcoached by old Weeb Eubanks way back in Super Bowl III.

Yeah cause the guy only went on to SB VI, VII, and VIII after he left Baltimore, 1st coach to go to 3 straight Super Bowls and 4 in 8 years. Wins back to back Super Bowls, goes 17-0 having an undefeated season and eventually becomes the all time winningest coach in NFL history...I'm just saying.

None of that has anything to do with whether he did a good job in SB III.

 

[majstro]

**** Vermeil comes to mind for me. The Rams outgained the Titans 294-89 at halftime but only led 9-0. Vermeil and Martz called way too many pass plays that put them into third and longs and ended drives in Tennessee territory. The Rams were beating the Titans 16-0 half-way through the third quarter and then let the Titans come back and tie the game. Why? Because he wouldn't let Marshall Faulk run the ball to kill the clock. Faulk, yes, the future first-year hall of famer, finished the game with 10 carries for 11 yards. Despite never trailing in the game, the Rams only had the ball for 23:34. They only rushed the ball 13 times during the game. One of the carries was by Mike Horan after he bobbled a field goal attempt snap and another was by Kurt Warner.

If we are looking for the least impressive performance by a coach in the Super Bowl, Vermeil is your man.

 

[Jous]

Good idea for Vermeil actually, I hadn't really considered him. The Rams clearly and greatly outclassed the Titans, but allowed the game to be closer than it should have been. I'm glad though, because it made for a hell of a great game instead of a blowout! <_<

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned or not, but Don McCafferty deserves VERY strong consideration as the coahc of the 1970 Colts. It wasn't called the Blunder Bowl for nothing... the Colts made tons and tons of terrible mistakes all game. 99 times out of a 100, the Colts would have lost that Super Bowl, but they got lucky with that 1 time out of the 100, and their opponent, Dallas, made even MORE mistakes.

 

[Saints-Man]

I know you said Super Bowl winners, but you can't overlook The Great Don Shula getting outcoached by old Weeb Eubanks way back in Super Bowl III.

The first thing that came to my mind. The Colts were prohibitive favorites in this game, and the Jets just gave them a butt-whooping.Oooops. My bad. The original post stated that won the SB.

 

[Autumn Wind]

Don McCafferty, Super Bowl V

 

[Limp Ditka]

DitkaTo be fair, Buddy Ryan coached the defense and it looked like he did what he wanted on defense no matter what Ditka said. And how hard is it to get a game plan together when you have Walter Payton as your running back? What's to coach? Give the rock to Sweetness and let him rumble. So Ditka never had to worry about his defense, one of the greatest in NFL history, and he pretty much didn't have to worry about offense because Walter Payton was arguably, IMHO, the best RB to ever play the game.

I'd have to argue this. It took a hell of a coaching job to let William Perry plunge in from the one for novelty as opposed to letting the best RB in the history of the game get his due.

 

[pats3in4]

DitkaTo be fair, Buddy Ryan coached the defense and it looked like he did what he wanted on defense no matter what Ditka said. And how hard is it to get a game plan together when you have Walter Payton as your running back? What's to coach? Give the rock to Sweetness and let him rumble. So Ditka never had to worry about his defense, one of the greatest in NFL history, and he pretty much didn't have to worry about offense because Walter Payton was arguably, IMHO, the best RB to ever play the game.

If we're talking coaching performance for SB20, though, he gets a good grade. The Pats keyed on Payton and held him in check (Pats ILB Steve Nelson was the only guy to show up that day). The Bears adjusted by torching CB Ronnie Lippett *twice* with Willie Gault bombs and even handed off to Matt Suhey for an 11yd TD. McMahon scored twice as well. I think McMahon's line was something like 256yds on 20 passes (don't forget, he was pulled early in the 3rd quarter, so that's quite a bit of passes). The Bears mixed up the Pats and Ditka deserves some credit for that.

 

[pats3in4]

this is an interesting topic and is very difficult for me, seeing as a I grew up watching during an era when most SBs were just blowouts.So I guess I would have to say the year my beloved Packers beat NE in the SB. The game was way closer than it should have been and had pretty much nothing to do with Holmgren.Favre played fantastic. Freeman was great. Howard was a return fiend that day. Rison was his usual unheralded self. IIRC the spread was 14. I dont think NE was even close to the team GB was, but they were at least in the game. The offensive drives werent very impressive and the Packers needed to make some big plays. They also got 4 bledsoe INTs. Pretty much cant really give holmgren props on anything here.

Holmgren had a mixed game, nothing I'd consider amongst the worst of winning coaches. His first quarter's defense was stupid as the Packers bought all the pre-game hype that the Pats would run Curtis Martin and the Pats torched it with play-action. By the 2nd quarter, the D adjusted by coming after the immobile Bledsoe and Holmgren deserves some points for the adjustment. Favre made some huge reads on the two long TDs (Otis Smith on and island vs. Rison and rookie SS Lawyer Milloy in bump-and-run on Freeman) and I'm sure Holmgren prepped Favre to look for such opportunities.

 

[Ghost Rider]

**** Vermeil comes to mind for me. The Rams outgained the Titans 294-89 at halftime but only led 9-0. Vermeil and Martz called way too many pass plays that put them into third and longs and ended drives in Tennessee territory. The Rams were beating the Titans 16-0 half-way through the third quarter and then let the Titans come back and tie the game. Why? Because he wouldn't let Marshall Faulk run the ball to kill the clock. Faulk, yes, the future first-year hall of famer, finished the game with 10 carries for 11 yards. Despite never trailing in the game, the Rams only had the ball for 23:34. They only rushed the ball 13 times during the game. One of the carries was by Mike Horan after he bobbled a field goal attempt snap and another was by Kurt Warner.If we are looking for the least impressive performance by a coach in the Super Bowl, Vermeil is your man.

You have to give the Titans defense for bending, but not breaking in the first half. The Rams moved the ball up and down the field the entire half, but the Titans held them to five field goal attempts, three of which the Rams converted into points. Plus, the Titans defense was obviously dead set on stopping the run, to force the Rams to throw a lot, in the hopes that they could make stops on 3rd down in the red zone and/or to force some turnovers. Faulk's paltry YPC average was evidence that there wasn't much running room that day. Martz even said after the game that they didn't feel like they could run the ball against a stacked line just to prove a point and keep punting.