Question for Steelers fans - New England Patriots Forums

The Gr8est · 05-19-2006, 08:31 AM

While reading the article by KC Joyner on the assendency of LB play, I noticed that Dick LeBeau got a lot of credit for developing the 3-4.

Given that he is a defensive genius in his own right I have to wonder "Why did he fail as a head coach?"

Is it simply a matter of him being in a bad situation like BB was, and if so would he be a guy who could potentially become a great HC?

I know BB's success is based on more than just being a defensive genius, but that's where he started.

So....is Dick LeBeau a successful HC just awaiting another chance?

dryheat44 · 05-19-2006, 08:36 AM

Can a Patriots Fan respond also?

I think that a lot of good coaches/co-ordinators have the football knowledge to be HCs. But there's a lot of other elements that go into being the Man. Dealing with owners, general managers, media, being the final authority on the field, designing offensive and defensive game plans, roster decisions, etc.

Belichick wasn't in a bad spot (well, he was, but that's not the main reason he "failed" in Cleveland). He didn't have the experience to handle all the other hats the HC must wear. He learned. In LeBeau's case, he didn't pick it up, and he looked overwhelmed by it all. Some guys, Monte Kiffin, Jim Johnson, are content with the relative "easy" job of co-ordinator.

Or, just blame the Brown family in Cincinnati.

p8ryts · 05-19-2006, 10:27 AM

The Brown family had to be a contributor but maybe he just didn't have BB's overall vision and management ability. Who knows, maybe if he had another shot he would have learned his lessons just like BB did in Cleveland. The difference is BB was turning Cleveland around but he had alienated the fans so much over Kosar they didn't respect him and once the move was announced he lost the team.

ClosingTime · 05-20-2006, 01:29 PM

Well a couple reasons.
Bengals are/were cheap, cheap, cheap and continued to let good players go.
Their drafts were horrible and LeBeau had no say in that.
He did build up a pretty solid foundation that Marvin Lewis walked into - a great OL, a good running attack with Dillon and R. Johnson and a decent defense. They simple kept wasting their tops picks on the likes of the Akili Smith's of the world. It's awfully hard to judge a HC if they never have a capable QB.
Bellickick would have never won a thing without a good/great QB.
And I know I lot of you like to dog Cowher but he was pretty successful for having Kordell, Tomzac, and Maddox as his QB.

BruschiOnTap · 05-21-2006, 04:17 PM

There's clearly a difference between coordinating and being the HC. HC is a leadership role more than anything else. Coordinators can be 'Type B' people, football savants, whatever. I think successful head coaches are almost always 'Type A.' Add to that the incredible amount of multi-tasking and all the pies a head coach needs to have his fingers in at any time. Not to say that coordinators have an easy job--they have to know what their players are capable of doing and tailor a gameplan to those abilities. But their job is much more clear-cut. And if you don't have the charisma/leadership abilities, you're really gonna be screwed in the head coach spot. Makes me wonder how Mangini will do in NYJ...