Rob, I am not sure about some of the older guys since I don't know about how much they innovated, what they brought that was special. For instance, I know Paul Brown was an innovator, but I don't know what Curly Lambeau did that was impressive. He coached forever and won several titles, but you are talking about a time when there were not nearly as many teams, franchises came and went, and there were no minorities allowed to play. George Halas, on the other hand, coached through so many eras I think you can compare him. In 40 seasons he only had a handful of losing years.

And then add in the tenure of coaches now. Back then, if someone was good, he might have a 20-year career, and owners were patient. That just doesn't happen nowadays. For instance, I wouldn't put Weeb Ewbank on the list. When you consider he coached for 20 years and had a losing record in 9 of those seasons and a .500 record in 4 more, I just can't call that a great coach (in fact, pretty mediocre; Brian Billick won a Super Bowl). If he coached today, he never would have been kept around long enough to win a title since he had several stretches of losing records in both Baltimore and New York. And look at Tom Landry (who I believe should be on the list). When he took over the Cowboys he was not able to produce even a .500 season until year 6. That just wouldn't happen now. He would have been fired after year 3 or so. On the other hand, one guy who really should be on the list is John Madden. He coached for 10 years in a much more competitive era than a number of these guys, and his teams just dominated. In his 10 years they won over 10 games 6 times (and most of those in a 14-game season). He has the highest winning percentage of anyone who coached at least 10 years (Lombardy is 2nd).

I think Belichick absolutely should be on the list. He's been coaching 18 years and has a .649 winning percentage (.726 the last 13 years). And Tony Dungy and Bill Parcells should both be considered.

Last Edited By: stewartjack 05/12/13 04:16 PM. Edited 2 times.