I was watching this debate about the Bill Belichick coaching tree and how it seems to underperform in light of the Josh McDaniel saga.
It did leave me with a few questions I hope some in this group can answer.
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What criteria goes into considering someone to be part of a “coaching tree”? For example, is it based on who you last coached under before you got your head coaching gig? Or perhaps based on the coach that got you your first NFL gig? Or is it based on the coach you worked with the most/longest before becoming a HC? Or is it simply a subjective thing?
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Which coaches, if any, are considered part of Pete’s coaching tree?
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And how does Pete’s coaching tree compare to the coaching tree of other coaches in the last 15-20 years?
There aren’t too many successful HCs (some good DCs; Dan Quinn springs to mind) but I will say this: what makes Pete a great HC isn’t really something that can be “taught.” You can’t learn infectious, non-stop enthusiasm, at least not by the time that you’re in position to become an NFL HC. Pete isn’t an offensive genius or anything, he’s just so much fun to be around that it makes everyone play great football in the process. That’s not something that can be taught from the outside, only cultivated from within. Knowing that that’s his strength as a coach, it makes sense that his “tree” isn’t as strong as some of his peers with similar accolades.