Re: OT - It's unanimous so far...T. Dungy=B. Walsh
Everything is a derivative of something that has come before it. Homer Rice developed a lot of the principles of the West Coast offense well before Walsh came on the scene. The principles of the 3-4 defense were standard practice with the great Oklahome teams of the 50's and early 60's.
It is easy to denegrate and pick apart Dungy's coaching legacy. Nothing in the previous few posts are inherently wrong. You CAN make a case that there is nothing special about what Dungy has accomplished. However while I think BB is the better coach, I still think Dungy has been one of the better coaches in the league for a long time.
BTW- I looks, to this point anyway, that Dungy's coaching tree has been more successful than BB's...at least at the NFL level.
One of the many things that would make Belichick a lot closer to a Walsh than Dungy will ever be is the fact that they were both primarily responsible as franchise architects for running the whole operation - scheme, personnel, philosophy and turning a moribound one into a dynasty and potential blueprint for success. Dungy was brought in to Indy by Polian, who had already assembled a potent offense under an existing OC who was retained to still essentially run Mora's offense (which is a far cry from Dungy's ball control offense which ultimately got him fired in Tampa despite having developed a rather unique version of the cover two there). I thought about posting in the Indy Star thread yesterday that Dungy as Walsh was beyond reaching, but they are hyper sensitive and it would have just upset their pom pom crew too much...
I think Tony ultimately proved to be a great fit for Indy because he accepts that NaPolian runs the show, he's a patient teacher who was able to get the most bang out of Polian's limited bucks spent on defense, and he had the personality and patience (complimenting traits Polian lacks) to gradually nudge Manning's ego to adapt and allow others to contribute in meaningful ways by taking advantage of what defenses were giving them (I think he learned that watching BB flumox the all Manning offense for 4 years). But at the end of the day I believe that absent the flu he might not have a ring yet and might well have retired by mutual consent already. As it is I think he will only continue to coach another season or two (unless his earlier resolve to turn to the ministry was predicated in part on his inability to win the big one...).
Belichick, like Walsh, took over the reins of a franchise, located a QB with a skill set that suited his offensive philosophy whom nobody else was all that high on, stressed situational football and bright role players surrounding the smattering of talent he could afford due to salary cap and draft constraints, and in shorter order than even he ever dreamed turned it into a dynasty and a franchise model for the league. And I don't see him leaving that "any time soon", which is what he has consistently said. Like Walsh, his emotional attachment to his players has to be tempered in the present because it is he who is charged with doing the right thing for the franchise in both the short and long term. His affection for these players runs every bit as deep as Walsh's or Dungy's did, but like Walsh you won't see it expressed openly in it's fullest until BB and his players are gone from the league.
This is just Wikipedia documentation, but still...
As of February 14, 2007, seven members of Belichick's "coaching tree" were head coaches of either other NFL teams or NCAA Division I football programs:
Romeo Crennel for the Cleveland Browns
Eric Mangini for the New York Jets
Nick Saban at the University of Alabama
Charlie Weis at the University of Notre Dame
Kirk Ferentz at the University of Iowa
Al Groh at the University of Virginia
Pat Hill at Fresno State University
In addition, eight former Belichick assistants now serve as coordinators, assistant head coaches, or executives for teams around the league:
Josh McDaniels offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots
Dean Pees defensive coordinator for the Patriots
Scott Pioli Vice President of Player Personnel for the Patriots
Phil Savage General Manager for the Cleveland Browns
Rob Ryan defensive coordinator for the Oakland Raiders
Jim Schwartz defensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans
Jim Bates assistant head coach of the Denver Broncos
Jeff Davidson offensive coordinator of the Carolina Panthers
As of January 23, 2007, four members from Dungy's coaching staff are head coaches of other NFL teams:[3]
Herman Edwards for the Kansas City Chiefs (Assistant head coach under Dungy at Tampa Bay)
Lovie Smith for the Chicago Bears (Linebackers coach under Dungy at Tampa Bay)
Rod Marinelli for the Detroit Lions (Defensive line coach under Dungy at Tampa Bay)
Mike Tomlin for the Pittsburgh Steelers (Defensive backs coach under Dungy at Tampa Bay)
(Aside from Lovie, this hasn't been a terribly successful group at the NFL level - at least thus far. And Lovie's "success" has to be taken in the context of the NFC. The jury is still way out on Marinelli and Tomlin, who like RAC may face circumstances beyond their control based on who hired them. Herm is just a glorified cheerleader who throws tantrums or cuts and runs when his critics get too vocal. Some of BB branches have or will end up in the FO of franchises or like him running the whole show.)
Mike Shula, the offensive coordinator under Dungy at Tampa, was the head coach of Alabama between 2003 and 2006. Joe Barry, a linebackers coach under Dungy at Tampa Bay, is the defensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions. Leslie Frazier, a defensive backs coach under Dungy at Indianapolis, is the defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings.
