Confluence of influence: NFL coaches praise mentors

 

Sporting News polled several NFL coaches to find out what they inherited from their mentors. Combined, the responses could comprise a textbook on how to be a successful coach:

 

Mentor: Bill Parcells

Belichick says: "One of the biggest lessons I learned from observing Bill off the field over the years was how to assemble and manage a coaching staff. It was one of those situations where, as an assistant coach you don't always see the big picture, but later on I can definitely see the benefits of how he handled the staff from an organizational standpoint and how he gave each coach the direction he needed.

"On the field, Bill's focus on fundamentals and techniques really stood out. As coaches, you can get caught up in a lot of schemes, but in the end this game comes back to executing the fundamentals, and Bill was great at keeping everyone focused on that. I try to do the same thing."

 

Mentor: Tony Dungy

Smith says: "When you think about Tony Dungy, you think about a man of character and how he did things. When I was with him, there were some things that you could always count on. His honesty, every decision that he made, you knew he would put a lot of thought into it. You knew he would do the right thing, always."

 

Mentor: Andy Reid

Harbaugh says: "He is strong in the storm. The more difficult the situation, the stronger Andy appeared to the team. There was never a sense of panic. … He made us believe we could overcome all obstacles."

 

Mentor: Brian Billick

Smith says: "Brian is the most organized coach that I have ever been around in terms of organization of a staff and organization of practices. He always impressed on us that we want to plan our work and work our plan."

 

Mentor: Chuck Noll

Fox says: "He emphasized being the same guy through good and bad and staying as level as possible. There weren't a lot of highs and lows with him, and that is a philosophy I have tried to embrace as a head coach."

 

Mentor: Mike Shanahan

Kubiak says: "His work habits, his commitment to excellence is as great as I've ever been around, but I really think the thing I'll always remember from working with him is the other things in life that he made important to himself and to us as coaches. This is a hard business; you put in a lot of time, but he always let us know that our families were No. 1 in our lives. We're going to coach football games and try to win every game we can, but you always felt like Mike had your best interest at heart outside of football."

 

Mentor: Bill Cowher

Lewis says: "Bill was big on a couple of things. Applying the game plan each week to the opponent. Secondly, How does the player know what to do? Listening to the players within the game, particularly regarding being aggressive (blitzing, etc.). Allow the players to prove it will be successful."

 

Mentor: Bill Belichick

McDaniels says: "Most of the things that we do with our football team in some way, shape or form I get from Bill. I was (in New England) for eight years and had a great deal of success being a part of that organization. It is a great organization with a great head coach, a lot of great (assistant) coaches and great players. The things that they do to try to win games, we are doing many of those things here. Most, if not all, of the things that we try to do to win in terms of the big picture come from my experience in New England."