Jim Tressel to NFL? No Way. Ohio St fans can stop freaking out; there's no way that Tressel goes to the NFL (even the Browns).
It's one of those rumors that floats out there because it SEEMS to fit, not that it has any basis in reality. I've floated a few of those in my time, but never as ACTUAL rumor -- merely Idle Speculation. Come on, folks: There's a glorious difference!
Some college football coaches would make great NFL coaches. Um, yeah, I can think of one off the top of my head: Charlie Weis. Otherwise, I think that the things that make for a great college coach -- say, ABSOLUTE CONTROL -- aren't really available in the NFL.Given his previous NFL experience (an absolute prerequisite), Nick Saban was as well-prepared as any college coach to make the jump, and look at him now. He's among the NFL's biggest control freaks and has 1 win to show for it in '06.
So I offer up a list of one: Weis. (And he is an NFL coach who happens to be spending a few seasons in college football. Sorry, ND fans.)
Jim Tressel? Pete Carroll? Urban Meyer? All of CFB's elite coaches make too much money -- and, again, have too much unrivaled power -- to feel the need to prove themselves in the NFL, where the money bump ain't that great -- and the power decline is immense. Just ask Carroll about his NFL experience.
(It's funny: Even in college hoops, there are few coaches who I'd say are suited for a jump to the NBA. I always find it strange that Tubby Smith is considered NBA material; that guy is an A-list screamer. Can you imagine him doing that to pros? Even guys like Coach K or Tom Izzo are WAY too control-freaky, cult-of-me to succeed. If he wins a second straight national title, I'd say Billy Donovan would get a shot at coaching the Knicks -- as soon as Dolan fired Isiah -- but one of Donovan's true strengths -- recruiting -- would be wasted at the pro level.)
Commenters: Which college football coaches, besides Charlie Weis, would you say are best-suited to jump to the NFL?
Posts
20 comments:
Charlie Weis? Really? That guy would eat a dick in the NFL, just like he does in college.
Tressel wouldn't leave OSU unless he lost 2 of 3 to Michigan and the 'fans' at OSU turned on him. Which, they would.
Wow. DJ Gallo on ESPN doesn't hold back on Weis.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=gallo/061025
None.
No coach should jump from college to NFL.
Absolute control is the key, and only a guy with a lot of coordinating experience in the NFL truly understands what "control" exists in the NFL (ask Marvin Lewis). The college and pro games are now so different that a college coach can't survive. Saban, I'm looking your direction.
Tressel? Are you kidding? He's so old-school and tight-fisted he'd last one week in the NFL. Players would laugh at the sweater-vest.
No, no, no. No more college coaches jumping ship.
Fezafao,
I'm sorry, I forgot about Weis's previous NFL Head Coaching experience...oh wait, no I didn't. Being an assistant coach is an entirely different monster than being a head coach. Look at Dave Wannestadt or however you spell his last name. Multiple Super Bowl rings as a defensive coordinator in Dalls. Sucked as a head coach.
No college coach should be allowed to take a head coaching job in the NFL, unless they've already done their time as an NFL coordinator first.
PS, after reading that Gallo article, he is my new hero.
There's no way Weis leaves:
1. He has a gullible administration at his Holy Grail college job handing him money hand over fist.
2. College is easier than the pros by a factor of 10, at least. Maybe 20. No salary cap, 7 out of 10 opponents are creampuffs, much fewer games to prepare for, no playoffs where your entire reputation might be staked to one bad play by a flaky QB (too many bowl games for real scrutiny), plus, you have NCAA slush funds, huge alumni and booster perks, little criticism, less stressful environment, and on, and on....
3. He's doing well... but not nearly well enough to get bored.
Anyone who thinks he could leave works for Notre Dame or writes under the name of "Dan Shanoff". How many successful coaches of big school programs leave voluntarily? Very, very few. After Saban and Spurrier, any college coach would have to think three times before actually considering an NFL job. And even then, the odds are waaaay against it.
Weis would be an idiot to leave and I don't think he's an idiot the way he floats NFL rumors to get himself a raise. He's basically Spurrier and having worked with Belicheck, I think he knows it. He can't coach a complete football team, but he's good with QB talent and coaching an offense (we think). That doesn't cut it in the NFL, but it could potentially get him a Hall of Fame coaching career in the NCAA minor league.
I should have just combined all of these into one comment, but I keep on coming back for these.
Rafael is slightly incorrect. We put up with Cooper going 1-9-1 against Michigan and ruining some National Championship seasons in there. Tressel would have to be 8-4 for 4 straight seasons and lose to MIchigan all those years to have the fans turn on him.
I'm sorry shittyteamsfan05. Four Rings as an ASSISTANT, not as a head coach. Still hasn't won shit in college and never will. Besides, everything he did last year was with Ty's players.
Also, I don't really swing that way, but I do take the offer as it was intended. I know how much it means to you to be attacked Weis's dick underneath the warm comforting girth of his stomach. I wouldn't dream of taking that away from you shittyteamfan05. You can keep your position on your knees.
To take an easy answer, it's tough to know if any college coach could do well in the pros, because it's impossible to know how various schemes would work in the NFL.
While Spurrier's fun and gun might be great for the College game, it definitely didn't work in the Pros. On the opposite side, Bill Walsh's West Coast offense worked wonders in the NFL (though Walsh was an assistant in the NFL before Stanford).
But to answer the question I guess I can come up with two names that could work:
Rich Rodriguez of West Virginia could be a decent coach of a team who would have an athletic enough QB/RB to successfully run the spread offense (see: Falcons, Atlanta).
The other name I can come up with someone a lot more balanced, like a Tom O'Brien of BC, who consistently has had success not really hinged on superstar players, but on balanced attacks, and a solid offensive line.
That being said a guy like O'Brien really isn't vocal/all-about-me to draw enough attention to himself to get hired by the NFL.
-Todd (Boston)
You got it right Dan, Tressel is 5 wins away from Woody Hayes status. The potential of 2 Championships in 4 years and boosters/alums will pay ANYTHING to keep him there. After the debacle that was Cooper, this guy comes in and is a savior of that program. Even if they have a couple of off years (anyone see that coming?), one national championship earns you so much (ask Lloyd Carr). No, Tressel is there to stay for the next 10+ years. There is no other place where he'd like to coach or where he'll find 1) the success, and 2) be as revered and respected as he is now.
I'm with mark...none, but I like freky j's Prior Offensive Coordinator position requirement.
The difference between the college and NFL levels is too drastic. As Jim Tressel said in an article that I read yesterday, he was an education major and feels that he is teaching as he is coaching, or something to that effect.
I would personally rather deal with immature college kids than overpaid ego-maniacs.
How's Norm Chow doing in Memphis?
Kirk Ferentz?
A sleeper...Ron English (Def. Coordinator at Michigan)
A familiar name, Jim Harbaugh (San Diego)
Brave Sir Robin
I did grow up in Ohio, so I know the beast. hehe
10 years ago, a guy like Cooper couldn't be fired...10 wins a year, New Year's Day bowl every year... OSU had to wait for the Bellisari Era to can Cooper.
Now...pffft. One bad year is usually enough. Tress has the Title..so I say 3 bad years (bad meaning, losing to Michigan) and he'd be out.
Dan, I think you're wrong when you assume that a coach being well-suited to the NFL is the same as whether he wants to go to (or thinks he can succeed in) the NFL.
And since when are money and control enough to stop a guy from jumping ship? Spurrier was the king of Gainesville--the guy with more money and control than almost anyone--and even he made the leap.
Just because Tressel wouldn't do well in the NFL doesn't mean OSU fans shouldn't worry about him leaving--especially since he knows he could go fail in the NFL for 3-4 years then come right back to college as some other school's (Illinois? Mich St?) savior.
forget tressel... i think he is already an OSU icon...
i think maybe ferentz...
then again.. it'll most likely be a route via the coordinator that a former college coach will become a pro coach...
After Saban and Spurrier, any college coach would have to think three times before actually considering an NFL job. And even then, the odds are waaaay against it.
------------------
Jimmy Johnson had a nice run with the Cowboys after leaving Miami
You got it right Dan, Tressel is 5 wins away from Woody Hayes status. The potential of 2 Championships in 4 years and boosters/alums will pay ANYTHING to keep him there. After the debacle that was Cooper, this guy comes in and is a savior of that program. Even if they have a couple of off years (anyone see that coming?), one national championship earns you so much (ask Lloyd Carr). No, Tressel is there to stay for the next 10+ years. There is no other place where he'd like to coach or where he'll find 1) the success, and 2) be as revered and respected as he is now.
-------------------
2003 was a down year for the Buckeyes. We all took it at face value. You can't win them all when you graduate a ton of your top players including your QB. In 2003 the Buckeyes finished 3rd in the Big 10 and had to settle for and Alamo Bowl pasting of Oklahoma State.
Post a Comment