Coaching matters but I'm not one to blame coaching as the #1 reason for when teams fail to perform. To me, the leading causes for teams poor performances are:
1. Injuries.
We've seen how good teams fail after they get decimated by injuries or if injuries affect key players.
2. Lack of talent.
We've also seen teams that are thought to be good but lack enough elite talent where ultimately they get outplayed.
3. Poor Player performance.
If 1 & 2 aren't a factor, then this is usually the main reason for poor team performance. We've seen talented teams make mistakes: dropped passes, overthrown balls, penalties, missed tackles, blown coverages, TOs, etc. If a team has talented players but they continue to play poorly, there's no coaching that can fix that.
4. Poor coaching.
Coaching matters. It can be the difference between two equally matched teams to pull out a victory. But coaching can't overcome reasons #1, 2 and 3 above.
I believe that both the Patriots (who lack talent & played poorly) and Bucs (injuries & played poorly) were similar despite the clear difference in talent. Some blame the players in one and the coaches in the other. 9 times out 10, it's the players.
If veteran OL-men keep getting penalties or blowing assignments, is that on the coaches? If DBs keep dropping INTs, WRs dropping passes, QBs missing open receivers or throwing picks; is that on the coaches?
Leftwich is a SB winning OC, Bowles a SB winning DC. Now, all of a sudden, they are clowns after poor performances by the team. Coaches are the convenient scapegoats for pretty much everyone. Patricia does suck as an OC, but there were plays to be made on the field that players failed to perform. A lot of them. Same with the Bucs.
That's not to say that if #1 - #3 aren't a factor that poor coaching can't affect a teams performance. It can. Coaching matters.
