bigskydoc":kkf6khrn said:
Comparing any coach to the true GOAT is either completely ridiculous, or is a
mark of just how good said coach really is.
Why don't we compare Carrol to the other great, salary cap era coaches.
Sean Payton - offensive genius, paired with one of the top pure quarterbacks of all time, arguably the true GOAT QB.
Payton is no defensive slouch either, probably due to hiring good defensive assistants. 14 years as head coach, including all of Drew Brees' prime years, resulting in 8 playoff appearances. 1-2 NFCCG record and a 1-0 Super Bowl record
John Harbaugh - Successful with a variety of changing players and schemes. Primarily has had defensive super stars and his most successful years came without a 1st tier QB. Coaches in the slightly more competitive AFC North. 12 years as head coach resulting in 8 playoff berths, a 1-2 AFCCG record, and a 1-0 Super Bowl record.
Mike Tomlin - Primary success came from the team that Cowher built, and a early decline Roethlisberger. 13 years as head coach. 8 playoff berths. 2-1 in AFCCG. 1-1 Super Bowl record.
Andy Reid - another offensive mind. Has had a variety of excellent to HOF caliber QBs. 22 years as head coach. 15 playoff berths. 2-5 NFCCG/AFCCG record. 1-1 Super Bowl Record.
Bill Parcells - 19 years head coach. Maybe doesn't exactly belong on this list. Never with a true top tier QB IMHO. 10 playoff berths. 3-1 in NFCCG/AFCCG. 2-1 in Super Bowls.
Pete Carroll - Fielded an all-time great defense, and one of the best all-time QBs. 14 years as head coach. 10 playoff berths. 2-0 in NFCCG, 1-1 in Super Bowls.
And then there is
Bill Belichick - All of his success came in the weakest division in the NFL. 25 years head coach. 18 playoff berths. 9-4 in AFCCGs. 6-3 in Super Bowls
I would say that Carroll is on par with all of the best coaches in the Salary Cap era save the GOAT. One more Super Bowl win puts him firmly in the conversation for an eventual HOF appointment, though not first ballot. But the only absolute, no question about it, first ballot HOFer in the group is Belichick.
A little nitpick here, Andy Reid has not had a variety of HOF quality QBs. In fact before Mahomes you could argue that his QB's ranged from meh to good. Part of Andy Reid's appeal as a head coach was he seemed to be able to make any QB relatively successful in his system. Reid is a QB guru and it makes sense given that he learned from Mike Holmgren, another guy known for having a magical touch with QBs.
His main QB's were not all that impressive.
Donovan McNabb for example was an extremely streaky QB. His accuracy wasn't the best, at times he could dominate but at times he also ran extremely cold. I'm not sure if he would have had a great career without Andy Reid. He was extremely talented as a player but at times he struggled to put it all together.
Michael Vick was a QB that was coming out of being in prison for what? Two years? At this time he was a bit older and slower. Andy Reid was able to fix his passing and as a result he was able to remake himself as a player, at least for a few years. I'll tell you where Vick was HOF material though, Madden. My god did he dominate there, fond memories.
Alex Smith is not an HOF caliber QB. Alex Smith has actually turned into a decent QB, but he's not earth shattering as a player. He's is the premier game manager QB, the solid Mr. Reliable. I don't ever think he was a great fit to run Reid's system. Smith is a good cog to have in the wheel but as a main course he can be a bit bland. Smith in my opinion would be best suited for a defensive oriented team that needed a guy to take care of the ball and move to chains on third down. He never was suited to run Reid's high flying offense.
If anything I think his QB's have held him back over the years. Carroll, Tomlin, Payton, Parcells and Belichick all had pretty stable QB situations. Carroll, Tomlin, Payton and Belichick in particular have consistently fielded elite QBs. Brees, Wilson, Roethlisberger and Brady are much better than anything Reid has ever fielded until Mahomes. That is huge for a guy that relies on offensive prowess to win games. Now, do I think Reid is a great coach? I'm split on this, he's an excellent regular season guy, but his playoff success is pretty dismal. Yes, he has been in two Super Bowls but his playoff win percentage is extremely poor. Though, I'm curious to see what he does now that he actually has a QB that can run his system to its full potential.