Coaching Patience

Three years ago, the NFL found itself in a similar position to where it is today. In the days following black Monday, teams scrambled to hire head coaches to replace the ones they fired.

Cleveland hired Eric Mangini, Denver tabbed Josh McDaniels, Indianapolis named Jim Caldwell, Kansas City hired Todd Haley and Oakland named Tom Cable. St. Louis hired Steve Spagnuolo, San Francisco tabbed Mike Singletary, Seattle named Jim Mora, Tampa Bay hired Raheem Morris, Detroit announced Jim Schwartz and the New York Jets hired Rex Ryan.


The coaching class of 2009 has hardly distinguished itself. Of the 11 men hired to be the answer a mere three years ago, only three remain on the job, and one of those, Caldwell, still is on shaky ground. Otherwise, NFL owners have treated head coaches as if they were as disposable as yesterday's newspaper.

Something is wrong here.

In a society that craves results now, in a world that demands excellence every day, head coaches rarely are allowed the time they need to grow into the job and master it. Reminders of it come every year at this time. Head coaches are fired, head coaches are hired and the coaching carousel spins without producing in the ways NFL owners had hoped.

Every NFL owner who recently changed head coaches, or still is considering it, also needs to study his sport's history.

Hall of Fame coach Tom Landry did not make the playoffs until his seventh season as a head coach and he didn't win his first NFL playoff game until his eighth season in Dallas. Today he would have been fired twice over.

Hall of Fame coach Chuck Noll did not make the playoffs until his fourth season, after he had compiled a 12-30 record during his first three seasons in Pittsburgh. He never would have made it today.

Hall of Fame coach Don Shula didn't win a playoff game until his sixth season as a head coach in Baltimore, and went 0-2 in the postseason during his first five seasons. He probably would have been fired before getting the chance to become Shula.

The rare teams with continuity -- New England, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Green Bay, New Orleans, Philadelphia and the New York Giants -- are allowed to operate efficiently while taking advantage of competitors that are not. But the teams that give their head coaches time, patience and, of course, a quarterback are the ones that find themselves playing in this postseason.

In today's world, everyone loves eating the turkey, but no one wants to wait around for it to cook. They'd rather microwave it. Unfortunately, it's not as tasty or savory, much like the seasons some of these unstable NFL franchises continually experience.

Just last month, Dolphins owner Stephen Ross said he intends to hire a "young Don Shula." Doesn't every team.

The problem is, few do. Or maybe they actually do, but don't take the time to find out.