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re: How Many Great Coordinators Were Actually Great Head Coaches?
Posted on 2/20/26 at 10:32 pm to captdalton
Posted on 2/20/26 at 10:32 pm to captdalton
Dan Lanning
Kirby Smart
Lane Kiffin
Mark Richt
Bill Belichick
Andy Reid
Bill Walsh
Tom Landry
Chuck Noll
Kirby Smart
Lane Kiffin
Mark Richt
Bill Belichick
Andy Reid
Bill Walsh
Tom Landry
Chuck Noll
1
Posted on 2/20/26 at 10:36 pm to SecGamer
Explain Dan Lanning and Mark Richt’s greatness. I can get more on board with Richt than Dan Lanning. And Mark Richt’s own fanbase wanted to fire him for nearly a decade.
Posted on 2/20/26 at 10:39 pm to captdalton
Look at the totality of my response brother.
I work for a living, don’t have time to split hairs.
I work for a living, don’t have time to split hairs.
Posted on 2/20/26 at 10:45 pm to TigerintheNO
I’m not sure that Pete Carroll ever worked for Lane Kiffin. I do know Pete Carroll was the head coach at Southern Cal and Kiffin. I believe was his offensive coordinator.
Posted on 2/20/26 at 10:51 pm to SecGamer
quote:
I work for a living
At 10:45 pm CST. Yeah, I bet you don’t have a second to spare.
Posted on 2/20/26 at 11:00 pm to Incognito Izzy
quote:
I just now learned that Pete Carroll was a defensive coordinator under Lane Kiffin
You have to remember that a million LSU fans live below sea level.
Pete Carroll was head coach at USC and left to be head coach of the Seattle Seahawks in 2009.
USC hired Lane Kiffin from Tennessee (he handled that well) when Carroll left. Less than 3 years later USC fired Kiffin in a tarmac closet.
Posted on 2/21/26 at 12:04 am to Incognito Izzy
quote:
I just now learned that Pete Carroll was a defensive coordinator under Lane Kiffin. That probably explains why Carroll had such success at Seattle, Kiffin taught him everything he knew.
No dumbass, Pete Carroll was the DC under Monte Kiffin, at NC State.
FYI- he's Lane's father.
Posted on 2/21/26 at 12:26 am to Incognito Izzy
quote:He was the DC for NC State from 80-82 when Monte Kiffin was the head coach there
I just now learned that Pete Carroll was a defensive coordinator under Lane Kiffin. That probably explains why Carroll had such success at Seattle, Kiffin taught him everything he knew. Kiffin may not be retarded after all./
Posted on 2/21/26 at 12:59 am to captdalton
quote:
So don’t think any coach at a top half p4 program can be considered a great head coach if they don’t have a national championship, a couple of conference titles, or both.
And even then it is debatable.
So you're narrowing the pool down to a very small amount of people and then asking why those people weren't always great coordinators?
quote:
Here is the crazy thing that LSU fans won’t believe, a bit of a compliment. I think Ed Orgeron was a hell of a coach - just not a great head coach. Great DL line coach and good DC.
Ed Orgeron was never a DC.
Posted on 2/21/26 at 1:22 am to Frac the world
quote:
Urban Meyer
Actually, I don’t believe that Meyer was ever a coordinator. He was the WR coach at Notre Dame when he got the Bowling Green job.
Posted on 2/21/26 at 3:47 am to SidewalkTiger
quote:
Ed Orgeron was never a DC.
Southern Cal
This post was edited on 2/21/26 at 3:49 am
Posted on 2/21/26 at 6:30 am to captdalton
The being actually “great” is a high bar.
Is great the top 5% of coaches?
Kirby is great.
Who else is great or potentially great right now?
I’ll limit list to playoff era and active coach now with More than 1 playoff appearance.
Cignetti?
Ryan Day? Was he an OC?
Freeman? DC
Dabo?
Is great the top 5% of coaches?
Kirby is great.
Who else is great or potentially great right now?
I’ll limit list to playoff era and active coach now with More than 1 playoff appearance.
Cignetti?
Ryan Day? Was he an OC?
Freeman? DC
Dabo?
Posted on 2/21/26 at 7:13 am to captdalton
quote:
It is a complicated and nuanced discussion. That rarely goes over well on a board where shitting in the hand and throwing it is the usual response to any post.
quote:
by captdalton
Posted on 2/21/26 at 7:23 am to TideSaint
What exactly tly has lane or sark done
Posted on 2/21/26 at 7:24 am to captdalton
Steve. Spurrier was a coordinator at duke
Posted on 2/21/26 at 7:29 am to SidewalkTiger
quote:
Ed Orgeron was never a DC.
He absolutely was a defensive coordinator - under Kiffin at USC. When Kiffin was fired Orgeron was named interim head coach.
Considering how often you call others dumb, you sure are wrong a LOT.
Posted on 2/21/26 at 7:41 am to makersmark1
quote:
Who else is great or potentially great right now?
I think right now Kirby is the only great coach in college football. I think your list of potential greats is good. Maybe Dabo should be included as great - had he retired after his second national championship we would talk about him as a great coach. But the last few years have soiled him a bit. Guys like Lanning, Sark and Cristobal are also in a position to get there, but none of them may do it. Very few people are wired to give it 110% year after year and have the ability to adapt to the constantly changing landscape.
A lot more guys have the ability to hyperfocus on one area - the x ‘s and o’s of either offense or defense - than have the ability to keep all the moving parts of a major college program in sync.
The “coordinator mentality” hurts a lot of them. Instead of delegating they instead invest time in their specialty at the expanse of the overall program. I think Napier is a good example of this - he just could not let go of being the playcaller, which hurt him and the program.
Posted on 2/21/26 at 8:19 am to captdalton
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For example, no one has ever accused Nick Saban of being a great defensive coordinator.
What?
Posted on 2/21/26 at 8:28 am to captdalton
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Name them please.
Smart, Ryan Day, Dan Lanning and Marcus Freeman were all coordinators and they are all currently at the top of the college football coaching mountain.
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