I couldn't make it to Mount Rushmore this weekend, and I trust you couldn't, either. So, in recognition of President's Day Weekend, I decided to build a Mount Rushmore of my own ... only with a catch.
My rock won't honor the greatest leaders in the game; it will recognize the best head coaches of the past decade -- those coaches I trust and value the most.
Now, I admit I was torn here because there's one guy I wish I could put up there, and that's Washington's Joe Gibbs. I admire him as much as any head coach of my generation, and he's a Hall of Famer who won three Super Bowls with three different quarterbacks. But he coached only four seasons in the 21st century and was 30-34.
But dig deeper: He not only produced the only winning seasons in the past 10 years for Washington; he produced two playoff appearances in four years. Based on what we know of the Redskins now, that's not only an achievement; it's a minor miracle.
So go ahead and make room for him if you'd like. I get it. I also understand it's time to get on with the show.
Bill Belichick,
The record speaks for itself. After missing the playoffs in his first season at New England he made the playoffs eight of 10 years -- winning the AFC East each season, including five straight -- and reached the Super Bowl four of those times. Oh, yeah, he also won three Super Bowls in four years. He was the first coach to go 16-0, the first to win 14 or more regular-season games four times and the only one to win 21 straight regular-season games. He just completed a season where his quarterback became the first unanimous MVP, where he was named the game's Coach of the Year and where his team led the league in regular-season victories ... again. Oh, and did I mention he's won at least 10 regular-season games the past 10 years and has the best winning percentage among current head coaches with 100 games of experience? So he lost his last three playoff games. Big deal. Tell me another coach you'd trust in one game. In fact, every time he meets a league MVP in the playoffs, he beats him ... and let me count the ways: Kurt Warner in 2001; Peyton Manning and Steve McNair in 2003; Manning in 2004; LaDainian Tomlinson in 2006. Belichick is 14-5 in the playoffs with New England, 3-1 in Super Bowls and a three-time Coach of the Year winner. He doesn't just make it to the all-decade list; he makes it to the all-time one, too, a slam dunk as a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
Tony Dungy,
We get so caught up talking about what a good guy Dungy is that we sometimes forget he was a magnificent head coach, too. He put Tampa Bay on the map, taking a once dreadful club to the playoffs four times, and turned Indianapolis into a conference heavyweight -- with the Colts winning their division five times, reaching the playoffs in all seven of Dungy's seasons there, and gaining their first Super Bowl victory since moving to Indianapolis in 1984. Dungy is another first-ballot cinch for Canton, an individual who had such an enormous impact on the game that four of his former assistants (Lovie Smith, Mike Tomlin, Jim Caldwell and Leslie Frazier) are head coaches today, and his "Tampa-2" defensive scheme is practiced throughout the league. He won twice as many regular-season games (139) as he lost (69) and became the first African-American coach to win a Super Bowl, but it was the example he set -- basically, proof that nice guys can finish first -- that resonated with football fans everywhere. As Baltimore offensive coordinator Cam Cameron once said, Dungy "dispelled so many myths about the coaching business -- that you had to be a yeller and a screamer to win. (He taught that) you can be your own person, treat people with respect, be very demanding but demanding in a way that doesn't trample on people." That works for me. It worked for Dungy, too. When people one day get around to building the ideal head coach -- someone who is as good a person as he is a head coach -- it will be Tony Dungy they try to clone.
Mike Holmgren,
He resurrected Green Bay, and he resurrected Seattle. So, naturally, the good people of Cleveland expect a resuscitation of their Browns -- forgetting that Holmgren must do it not as a head coach but as a club president. OK, so he does it. The guy flourishes wherever he goes and in whatever he does. He won Super Bowls as an offensive assistant in San Francisco. He won a Super Bowl as a head coach in Green Bay. And he went to a Super Bowl -- the only one in franchise history -- as a head coach in Seattle. He won twice as many regular-season games (75) as he lost (37) in Green Bay and was 9-5 in the playoffs, with two Super Bowl appearances. Then he took Seattle to the playoffs five straight times, including four division titles. Moreover, he became only the fifth coach in league history to make it to the Super Bowl with two different clubs. Mike Holmgren's strength was supposed to be developing and coaching quarterbacks, but his knowledge of the game and his ability to manage a club, choose and mentor the right assistants and formulate the ideal game plan made him one of the game's top head coaches.
Andy Reid,
After the Eagles lost to Green Bay in the playoffs, I got a call from a Philadelphia-area radio station, with talk-show hosts there wondering if it was time to get rid of Andy Reid. I suggested it was time they get a clue. Andy Reid is one of the most successful and least appreciated coaches in the NFL. Philadelphia doesn't know how good it has it with the guy, but it might if it remembered that in the two years before he landed the Eagles were 9-22-1. Granted, Reid has had down seasons, too, but they're rare. Plus, he never had two in a row. Moreover, he almost always makes the playoffs -- getting there nine of the past 11 years, including six NFC East championships. But his greatest achievement was taking the Eagles to four straight conference championship games and five in eight seasons. Philadelphia fans complain that he can't close a deal ... that the Eagles made it to the Super Bowl only once ... and my response is: So what? You know how many teams never make it a conference championship game? Look at Dallas, for crying out loud. The Cowboys have won one playoff game period since 1996, and they're supposed to be one of the league's crown jewels. Of current head coaches with 100 or more games' experience, Reid's winning percentage is second only to Belichick. He holds the team record for overall victories, playoff victories and winning percentage. His five conference-championship game appearances in the last ten years are matched only by Belichick, as are his seven divisional-round playoff berths since 1999. But it's not just Reid's record that I admire; it's his courage. He cut linebacker Jeremiah Trotter, then the team's leading tackler, after he complained about his contract status. He suspended, then released, star receiver Terrell Owens after he became a distraction. He had the guts to trade Donovan McNabb. Reid is not afraid to make the tough call, and he almost always perseveres. And for that, Philadelphia, you want to get rid of the guy? Puh-leeze. If Andy Reid is guilty of anything it's raising the bar so high that Eagles' fans are spoiled.
Source: http://feeds.cbssports.com/click.phdo?i=e0b5e8f491dfb78b9d78bca1b9c14d24
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