i watched a ESPNU show last night with the 'head ball coach' which chronicled his life and career- it was hosted by kenny chesney of all people... it was a pretty good watch.
and.... i'm even more cemented after that show that the HC makes
all the difference in the world. that is actually said a couple times in the show, and then followed by examples. the
only place spurrier didn't do well was in washington and to a degree tampa bay (USFL). he made comment to the fact that professional players are harder to manage than college- some saw him as a leader where others simply a manager. from that (and i'd heard it before) i extrapolated that his 'style'
requires his players become emotionally attached and
bought in to his vision- that is first evident in his presentation of himself, the trust established and then backed by actions. his mantra 'go out and be better today than yesterday' is well known, but that he actually lived and coached, established and excelled his career by applying those words is evidence enough to how good he was and which made his getting people/players to 'but in' even easier.
yes,
@OrangeAfroMan , i'm aware of Parcell's staff- but Belichick wasn't the one LT regarded. this came from interviews/programs offered up at different times too... Parcell's is who LT played for... He actually rebelled against Belichick... he gave a lot of grief to every coach he ever played for, apparently, and the Tuna was the only one who actually challenged him to the point of loyalty according to the reporting.
back on point: when spurrier arrived at UF after leaving Duke, by his own words he was astounded by the size, strength, and speed of the roster. Unlike Duke where he sold the kids "we're gonna compete" before and during his 'air raid' attack, he was so impressed he told the UF roster "we're gonna win championships", and while there fun-n-gunned his way right to the top and hardly ever gave a loss. it's about motivating people to give you 100% 100% of the time, and Spurrier excelled at that. So does Saban and Meyers and Stoops and Franklin and Gundy Miles yada yada blah... the right coach is everything- and worth at least 3 more games a year if not 5 (if the team was competitive at least prior to the coaches arrival).