Coaching Tactics

Last year, Stan Van Gundy, Head Coach of the Orlando Magic, was criticized last year when he pulled Dwight Howard from the game and chewed him out about something he was doing that the coach did not like. Van Gundy was ripped for treating his superstar like this. Analysts said that this is the way a coach loses his team and why a superstar asks for trades or doesn't sign long term. I was outraged by this at the time. A coach is there to motivate, develop and challenge his players. His liveliehood is based on the results of his tactics, whatever they may be. I thought that he had every right to do whatever necessary to motivate his player, superstar or not.

The last couple of weeks, other motivational tactics and player treatment have been in the media and most often criticized.

The first was the Mike Singletary treatment of Vernon Davis when he sent him off the sideline because he wasn't playing the way he demanded of his teammates. He was a coach trying to make a statement about the way he wanted his team to play and I applaud this. Later it came to light that at halftime of that same game, Singletary pulled his pants down to his boxers to demonstrate a point. It wasn't exactly the politically correct way to make the point, but I'm pretty sure that grown men don't need to be PC all the time. I'm sure many worse things are said and seen in the locker room when media isn't around. I think the real problem lies in who is allowed to be in the locker room.

Then finally, Andy Reid benching Donovan McNabb this past weekend has led to the speculation that he is done in Philadelphia and will be finding a new place to play next year. It immediately made people question Andy Reid's coaching job the past two years and question his job security as well. Why can't we just leave it at this... A player on this team was not performing to the expectations his coach had for him and he made a decision to try to find someone who could get it done. Kevin Kolb did not get it done, and now McNabb is starting again. Andy Reid has been one of the most successful coaches of the past decade in the NFL, and all of a sudden, he doesn't know how to coach. I just don't understand why we can't just see things for what they are and not speculate the crap out of everything.

It will probably be put in a top ten list of crazy coaching moves along with Van Gundy and Singletary, because God knows we love top ten lists!