We discussed Brad Stevens a few weeks ago as the best young coach in college basketball, this week we'll shift drastically to the biggest and most popular league in America, the NFL. To qualify, coaches must have less than 5 years of head coaching experience and must be under 50 years old. Without further ado, the best young coach in the NFL is......
John Harbaugh, Baltimore Ravens: 47 Years old
As the NFL’s coaching atmosphere continues to experience an influx of young talent, John Harbaugh (left) is a perfect example of a young coach doing a fine job with his team. Hired as the Ravens’ head coach after being the Eagles’ special teams coordinator and later defensive backs coach, Harbaugh had a fair share of doubt coming his way from Ravens fans, most of them citing a lack of leadership experience. After having Brian Billick lead the team to a Super Bowl victory in 2001 and turning them into a yearly contender, the naysayers wanted a bigger-name coach at the helm, and expected Harbaugh to have a short, uneventful stint with the Ravens.
In his first year taking over a team that had an extremely talented defense with an offense, of course, that was a bottom-dweller in the NFL, Harbaugh led the team to an 11-5 record and an appearance in the AFC Championship Game. While this type of success isn’t completely atypical for rookie coaches, Harbaugh became the first coach in the NFL’s history to win 2 playoff games with a rookie quarterback (Joe Flacco). Throughout the season, he won over fans with his charisma during press conferences, and the brother of former Ravens QB Jim Harbaugh impressed his players with his blue-collar attitude towards preparation for Sundays. He instituted intense, two-a-day practices during training camp and, while Billick would let his stars mostly have their own way, Harbaugh treated each player equally, neglecting to offer any special privileges. Needless to say, the team started to jell from both offense and defense.
After a 9-7 season in 2009 that could have easily been 11-5 or 12-4 if not for a couple of stupid penalties or missed field goals, the Ravens came out in the Wild Card round, and they stomped all over the New England Patriots 33-14. Tom Brady netted a career-low passer rating of 49.1, unable to bring his back following a 24-0 hole. Baltimore lost the subsequent week to Indianapolis.
Ultimately, Harbaugh has established himself as one of the NFL’s best coaches. With three playoff wins in just two seasons, he is poised to continue that success with a 2010 Ravens squad that has added several weapons on both sides of the ball. Just remember, one Super Bowl win, and Harbaugh will forever surpass mentor Andy Reid. The current Eagles' coach is just 1-4 in NFC Championship Games along with 0-1 on Super Bowl Sunday, in which the sole appearance was a 20-17 loss to the mighty Patriots.
-Edgar Walker
of course it's harbough. You guys are ravens fans!
ReplyDeleteHere are the arguments against the other coaches:
ReplyDeleteTomlin - Wins because of a defense controlled and schemed by Dick LeBeau exclusively. His job tactically is severely aided by LeBeau. Offensively, Bruce Arians runs the entire offensive, leaving Tomlin to just manage the football team, an easy task. Plus, the Steelers have been inconsistent under Tomlin; yes, a Super Bowl win, but a Wild Card Round exit in Year 1 and then no playoffs last year.
Rex Ryan- Not proven; only coached 1 year, but he's fabulous
Tony Sparano- A top candidate for the best young coach, but he hasnt ever beaten Harbaugh's Ravens plus he is, at some level, a puppet of Bill Parcells.
Sean Payton- Probably the winner, but the award includes compliance with the law; that much allegedly cannot be said about the New Orleans' head coach
A couple things...As an Eagles fan, I have the utmost respect for Harbaugh. He did an absolutely tremendous job here and has done the same with the Ravens. Not only that, him coaching the Ravens has made me root for them whenever they aren't playing the Eagles. Having said that, it is really tough to argue that he is better than Payton. Payton has helped build the Saints from worst to first, literally, and the reports against him are fairly sketchy. Also, it would take a lot for Harbaugh to surpass the Walrus. While the Walrus has yet to win the big one, he still inherited a horrid situation, far worse than Harbaugh's, and to this point has been more succesful. Still a very good article about a deserving coach.
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff as always Edgar, great insight
ReplyDeletejustin.
Guys, I expected this response about Payton. My belief us that Harbaugh has done a better COACHING job, while Payton has won much more and to more fanfare. Here's why I think so:
ReplyDelete1. QB is the most important position in the NFL. Payton has Drew Brees, one of the league's top 5 if not top 3 QBs, while Harbaugh was given a rookie coming out of an FCS school.
2. The AFC North has 3 legitimate playoff contenders, and then there's the Browns. The Browns actually have some decent talent and could contend in a less competitive division. In the AFC South, The Saints should be able to take care of business fairly easily.
3. Harbaugh was under a ton of pressure. Billick was a great coach, regardless of what anyone says. It was just time for him to go. He had all the parts to win and I'd say more than half the city believed he wouldn't succeed. Payton took over a 3-13 team in a city that had experienced a horrible tragedy. There was anything but pressure on him.
4. I think incredibly highly of Payton as a coach, but just as an additional point for my argument, the 2007 and 2008 seasons for the Saints weren't so good. 7-9 and 8-8 respectively. A coach who has that kind of talent in a weak division should not be coaching his team to sub-.500 records for two seasons.
alright he's a good coach but I wouldn't go so far as to say he's one of the best yet. He needs to show us that this year he can live up to the tremendous expectations put on this Baltimore team. Most of the secondary has already gone down hard so if still manages to win, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.
ReplyDelete