Best/Worst Pats Head Coaches

[Actual Pats Fan]

Kraft/Parcells was a good old fashioned power struggle, but Kraft never took away power away that was Parcell's.

Oooops.

Bill was hired by Orthwein to run the show.

Kraft insisted on being 'involved'...and after a prior discussion agreeing upon their approach, Bill walked in on draft day and the pick was already made without any participation or knowledge by Parcells.

But yeah the Sullivans were obviously worse.

 

[denverpatsfan]

Pats don't win the Super Bowl in 2001 without Terry "she" Glenn. He was a key player in several wins before he was traded away (err suspended). So tired of the Parcels nonsense. The dude was so self centered he threw a winnable Super Bowl game. Best player on the field barely touched the ball that day.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

Place was indeed slammed with Giants fans, only sell out of the year although IIRC the Bills game was close. Those Giants fans trucked up 95 to watch the bottom of their roster play the equivalent of a preseason game. Not only did they feel bad for us several of them made fun of the dump of a stadium. Funny thing though, say what you will about the nonexistent amenities in the old cement bowl (and the less said about the men's rooms the better) there wasn't a bad sight line from any scrap of aluminum in the place and the acoustics were decent.

Was built on the cheap by necessity, as Billy got no more help from the state than Bob did (until he made the Hartford deal, calling local government's bluff). Few amenities, cheap beer, not family-friendly and a zoo on Monday nights, with arrests and unfortunate deaths included.

But, a winning team (one (1) loss in thirteen seasons), filled with a lot of winners amongst the players, and a winning, enthusiastic fan base...even if it was really hard to make that trek down Route 1 sometimes.

The Patriots were a fun - and successful - team to root for.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

Yea. A corpse would have done a better job

Speaking of corpses!!

 

[maust]

A year later, again Steve was the reason we were back in the playoffs. Imagine if he started in Denver. Would have been the first and only time Elway started against a Patriots team with a clearly better quarterback. That was a totally winnable game against the eventual Super Bowl participant who was very competitive against the Giants.

We remember SB XXI very differently. The Donks were competitive for a half. Simms carved 'em like a Christmas ham in the second half, it was a thorough de-panting for Denver in the 3rd quarer

 

[maust]

But, a winning team (one (1) loss in thirteen seasons), filled with a lot of winners amongst the players, and a winning, enthusiastic fan base...even if it was really hard to make that trek down Route 1 sometimes.

I still have PTSD from Route 1 after those games, the Sullivans did to me what the service couldn't. And that was AFTER we'd tailgate for a few hours post game. What a nightmare those unmarked mud parking lots were just to get to the fight up 1, it was like Dodge 'Ems. But we had a great time once we parked, in the stadium, before and after. There was real comraderie to being a Pats fan back then, provided you didn't get run over

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

We remember SB XXI very differently. The Donks were competitive for half. Simms carved 'em like a Christmas ham in the second half, it was a thorough de-panting for Denver in the 3rd quarer

Broncos made a habit of collapsing on both sides of the ball in the Super Bowl, but it was an era when the AFC was very inferior to the NFC. And Elway was always badly exposed. People like to use his last two years to prop him up, but he was just handing the ball off to what's-his-name the guy who made the Hall of Fame after three good seasons, who ran through the trap blocks.

That '86 season, it was the Patriots who were defending conference champs, with the playoff and Super Bowl experience. As always, starting Eason over astronomically superior healthy and available quarterbacks standing on the sidelines was fatal.

Would the Patriots have given the Giants a better game? Possibly. Could they have won? Their chances seem better than they were against Chicago.

Hannah and Adams were gone. So, the Patriots weren't overpowering anybody.

Bottom line is, because Grogan didn't start, we'll never know.

 

[Pape]

The circumstances are entirely different.

1) Tuna was leaving to compete in the NFL, in fact in the same division. Fairbanks was simply returning to college, and would not compete against the Patriots.
2) According to Wikipedia John Hannah contends Sullivan "took Chuck's authority away and turned him into a liar." by forcing him to renege on the contract. Kraft/Parcells was a good old fashioned power struggle, but Kraft never took away power away that was Parcell's.
3) Parcells was playing the media and intentionally forcing a disruption to the team, while Fairbanks would have been delighted to amicably break up, keep it internally and not hurt the season.

You can't blame Fairbanks from wanting to get rid of that idiocy from his life. The college hiring season plus the perceived right job became available. Yeah Fairbanks was naive to trust the Sullivans, but he built a football powerhouse from ashes, drafting and coaching. None of what happened was his fault, and it basically ruined his life because he was probably on his way to a Super Bowl, and after was forever a failure.

Don't blame the victim!

Fairbanks knew what the Sullivans were like. He had been there for a few seasons by then. He should have known better than to promise big dollar contracts

 

[Family]

Fairbanks knew what the Sullivans were like. He had been there for a few seasons by then. He should have known better than to promise big dollar contracts

Ok maybe it was misjudgement or being naive, but as a general manager, not a coach.

Dealing with the likes of the Sullivans wasn't what Fairbanks was accustomed to in mid 70's college football scene in Oklahoma

The Sullivan's were not dedicated to winning, That was not his fault. The drama around his being locked out was not his fault either.

So how is all this a shortcoming of the excellence Fairbanks brought coaching the Patriots?

 

[Pape]

Ok maybe it was misjudgement or being naive, but as a general manager, not a coach.

Dealing with the likes of the Sullivans wasn't what Fairbanks was accustomed to in mid 70's college football scene in Oklahoma

The Sullivan's were not dedicated to winning, That was not his fault. The drama around his being locked out was not his fault either.

So how is all this a shortcoming of the excellence Fairbanks brought coaching the Patriots?

5 / 7 / 3 first three seasons

11 / 9 / 11 his last three

 

[Family]

5 / 7 / 3 first three seasons

11 / 9 / 11 his last three

Those were the days of 14 game seasons, before free agency, so rebuilds commonly took five years.

Fairbanks took one of the most pathetic franchises and made them a Super Bowl contender (was robbed) in four years.

The reversal was considered fast by standards in the mid 70s.

 

[Pape]

Those were the days of 14 game seasons, before free agency, so rebuilds commonly took five years.

Fairbanks took one of the most pathetic franchises and made them a Super Bowl contender (was robbed) in four years.

The reversal was considered fast by standards in the mid 70s.

he didnt start winning until grogan grew into the role of QB... and he never won a playoff game...

puts him below guys like Parcells...

 

[Huckleberry1]

Best-Belichick GOAT

2-Parcells-Started the turn around of the franchise . Didn’t like the way he bailed, but he’s easily the 2nd best coach they have had.

Worst -Mayo. This may seem like recency bias but I have never seen an NFL Head Coach so far out of their depth as Mayo. It looked like he had never prepared for any of the responsibilities required for the job, and it was like he approached it with the same amount of preparation you would put into coaching your 4 year old daughter’s soccer team’s game. “ Hey everybody, time to play. Go out there and have some fun.” “ Good job everyone. It’s OK, don’t worry about the loss, you tried your best. Let’s all go get some ice cream.”

The player imitating Vrabel in that viral clip would have been a much better coach than Mayo was.

 

[Family]

he didnt start winning until grogan grew into the role of QB... and he never won a playoff game...

puts him below guys like Parcells...

Ok if you want to put Parcells ahead of Fairbanks, that's fine. Kind of goes against you're problem you pointed out with how Parcells left the team, but ok. Parcells was a good coach here.

But you had Fairbanks with Berry, which was a complete joke. Berry took over a team already built. Meyers was fired when he record was above 500.

And Holovak? No way.

 

[Pape]

Ok if you want to put Parcells ahead of Fairbanks, that's fine. Kind of goes against you're problem you pointed out with how Parcells left the team, but ok. Parcells was a good coach here.

But you had Fairbanks with Berry, which was a complete joke. Berry took over a team already built. Meyers was fired when he record was above 500.

And Holovak? No way.

Holovak... I think of him, instead of Lou Saban, as the architect of the Boston Patriots... Is the second longest serving head coach of the Patriots, has a wining record, and did it all when competing against the NFL for players... And did we play San Diego in the AFL Championship? I believe that we did...

And if we are talking Parcells, I had him ranked as a Superior coach, and downgraded him because of the way he left the team... He rebuilt a moribund franchise, and the players he left on the roster were the base of the first dynasty... Clearly Superior level coaching.

 

[Family]

Holovak... I think of him, instead of Lou Saban, as the architect of the Boston Patriots... Is the second longest serving head coach of the Patriots, has a wining record, and did it all when competing against the NFL for players... And did we play San Diego in the AFL Championship? I believe that we did..

The AFL was a minor league when Holovak coached the team. As soon as it evolved into real professional football (MH was still under age 50), he disappeared.

Holovak was a local mid level college coach, who worked for the Sullivan's cheap. He wasn't in the same universe as Fairbanks as a coach.

 

[Pape]

The AFL was a minor league when Holovak coached the team. As soon as it evolved into real professional football (MH was still under age 50), he disappeared.

Holovak was a local mid level college coach, who worked for the Sullivan's cheap. He wasn't in the same universe as Fairbanks as a coach.

Everything Fairbanks had to do, Mike Holovak had to do with lesser talent and less money, without a real home stadium. He stuck around, while Chuck Fairbanks double-dealed his way out of town, betraying the team.

And the icing on the cake, so to speak? Holovak has one thing that Chuck Fairbanks will never have - a Playoff victory. Fairbanks may have been the better coach, but in terms of what they meant to the Patriots? It puts them at the same level to me.

 

[Family]

And the icing on the cake, so to speak? Holovak has one thing that Chuck Fairbanks will never have - a Playoff victory.

I guess. That team finished 7-6-1, and the "playoff" win was a tie breaker game for the division. Then they lost by 40+ in the championship game. And Holovak coached one of the most embarrassing losses in Patriot's history when they blew a chance to play in the Super Bowl because the team wasn't ready for the last place Jets with rookie Joe Namath, who later admitted he had a hangover the whole game.

I don't know if you were around back then, but fans (correctly so) disliked Holovak in a similar way to Mayo. The crowd at games chanted "goodbye Mike" who never should have been allowed to coach so long, but he was easy on the Sullivan's checkbook.

It's really hard to hear of Holovak being considered even an above average coach, let alone in Fairbanks class. He was a mediocre coach on his best day.

 

[Pape]

I guess. That team finished 7-6-1, and the "playoff" win was a tie breaker game for the division. Then they lost by 40+ in the championship game. And Holovak coached one of the most embarrassing losses in Patriot's history when they blew a chance to play in the Super Bowl because the team wasn't ready for the last place Jets with rookie Joe Namath, who later admitted he had a hangover the whole game.

I don't know if you were around back then, but fans (correctly so) disliked Holovak in a similar way to Mayo. The crowd at games chanted "goodbye Mike" who never should have been allowed to coach so long, but he was easy on the Sullivan's checkbook.

It's really hard to hear of Holovak being considered even an above average coach, let alone in Fairbanks class. He was a mediocre coach on his best day.

playoff win is a playoff win

i only know him thru game clips and stat sheets

 

[Family]

i only know him thru game clips and stat sheets

There will be a kid someday who will try to convince you that Mayo wasn't that bad.

That's how this discussion is for me.