Would Joe Gibbs Be Considered The Greatest Coach If He Won SB 18?

[JoeRedskin]

The best? As with quarterbacks, these "TBE" discussions are really kind of pointless b/c it is so subjective and so many variables come into play.

Curly Lambeau. Coached for 27 years and won 6 championships between 1929 - 1944

George Halas. He revolutionized pro ball and, when the Packers weren't winning championships in the 30's & 40's, Halas was. Four between 1932 - 1941 and another, after a coaching hiatus, in '46.

Paul Brown. Many would say that any "Best Ever" coaching discussion begins and ends with him. Three championships between 1950 -1962 (Plus 4 straight in the AAFC). Also, not just a winner but an innovator whose methods still are in play today.

Lombardi. When your the best, you win the trophy named after him. I mean, come on, they named the damn trophy after him.

Don Shula. Most wins ever. A perfect season (accomplished with his starting QB out for a significant part of the season), 2 SB Championships and 5 SB appearances (4 w/ Miami, 1 w/ Baltimore).

Chuck Noll. 4 for 4 in the SB and a decade of dominance.

(Choking as I say this) Landry. 28 years of coaching including making the playoffs 18 of 20 times between 1966 -1985. Innovator on offense & defense, 2 SB wins in 4 appearances.

Bill Walsh. Brown's disciple also both a winner and innovator. He and Gibbs are clearly the 1A and 1B as to the "best coach of the 80's" (and addressing the initial question, had Gibbs beaten the Raiders, I think Gibbs would have been the clear "Best Coach of the 80's" with Walsh a very, very close 2nd).

In the 90's who stands out? Nobody to me really, maybe Parcells. He may be in the discussion for "Top Ten" coaches, not sure he is part of the "Best Ever" discussion.

Belichick. Learned at Parcells feet and upped the ante.

Really after Walsh and Gibbs in the 80's and now Belichick, is there anyone really able to be in this discussion? Coaching careers seem much shorter. Fewer and fewer repeat SB champs as coach. In the 70's Shula, Noll & Landry repeated as SB Champs. In the 80's Walsh, Gibbs repeated.

In the 90's, Johnson repeated but only coached 5 years. Shanahan won two and has longevity and a good record but seems to be lacking that certain
something that would put him in the "Best Ever" category. I would have to say that, after the Gibbs/Walsh era, the only coach entering the "Best Ever" discussion would be Belichick.

Still, that leaves quite a few who could easily qualify as "Best Ever".

[Beemnseven]

Originally Posted by JoeRedskin

The best? As with quarterbacks, these "TBE" discussions are really kind of pointless b/c it is so subjective and so many variables come into play.

Curly Lambeau. Coached for 27 years and won 6 championships between 1929 - 1944

George Halas. He revolutionized pro ball and, when the Packers weren't winning championships in the 30's & 40's, Halas was. Four between 1932 - 1941 and another, after a coaching hiatus, in '46.

Paul Brown. Many would say that any "Best Ever" coaching discussion begins and ends with him. Three championships between 1950 -1962 (Plus 4 straight in the AAFC). Also, not just a winner but an innovator whose methods still are in play today.

Lombardi. When your the best, you win the trophy named after him. I mean, come on, they named the damn trophy after him.

Don Shula. Most wins ever. A perfect season (accomplished with his starting QB out for a significant part of the season), 2 SB Championships and 5 SB appearances (4 w/ Miami, 1 w/ Baltimore).

Chuck Noll. 4 for 4 in the SB and a decade of dominance.

(Choking as I say this) Landry. 28 years of coaching including making the playoffs 18 of 20 times between 1966 -1985. Innovator on offense & defense, 2 SB wins in 4 appearances.

Bill Walsh. Brown's disciple also both a winner and innovator. He and Gibbs are clearly the 1A and 1B as to the "best coach of the 80's" (and addressing the initial question, had Gibbs beaten the Raiders, I think Gibbs would have been the clear "Best Coach of the 80's" with Walsh a very, very close 2nd).

In the 90's who stands out? Nobody to me really, maybe Parcells. He may be in the discussion for "Top Ten" coaches, not sure he is part of the "Best Ever" discussion.

Belichick. Learned at Parcells feet and upped the ante.

Really after Walsh and Gibbs in the 80's and now Belichick, is there anyone really able to be in this discussion? Coaching careers seem much shorter. Fewer and fewer repeat SB champs as coach. In the 70's Shula, Noll & Landry repeated as SB Champs. In the 80's Walsh, Gibbs repeated.

In the 90's, Johnson repeated but only coached 5 years. Shanahan won two and has longevity and a good record but seems to be lacking that certain
something that would put him in the "Best Ever" category. I would have to say that, after the Gibbs/Walsh era, the only coach entering the "Best Ever" discussion would be Belichick.

Still, that leaves quite a few who could easily qualify as "Best Ever".

Amazing how most people act as if the NFL didn't exist before they were born. Nobody's worse at that than Mike Greenberg. If it didn't happen in his lifetime, it never happened.

[Monkeydad]

Don't be such a curmudgeon.

[SmootSmack]

ESPN.com - E-ticket: Under The Hoodie

I think many people, myself included, thought Belichick was a decent coach with Cleveland and performed admirably under adverse conditions but that he was probably destined for a solid yet unspectacular NFL head coaching career, if that.

What's he done is simply remarkable

[SouperMeister]

I think that Lombardi will always be the ultimate measuring stick for NFL coaches. Gibbs would have been a small notch below with a victory in Super Bowl XVIII. That was such a great Redskins team, but everything that could have gone wrong did that game - blocked punt for a TD, Rocket Screen intercepted for a TD, Marcus Allen reversing field for a long TD run on a broken play. A complete nightmare.

[Shadowbyte]

My vote goes to Gibbs, for the very reason that many others have stated. 3 SB's, with 3 different starting QB's. And to top it off, he did that in a 10 year span. That's unthinkable.

[MTK]

Just saw a great special on Lombardi on HBO the other night, highly recommend it

[SouperMeister]

Originally Posted by Mattyk

Just saw a great special on Lombardi on HBO the other night, highly recommend it

In that vein, I highly recommend reading When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi (by David Maraniss). Just a fascinating read for old-school NFL fans.

[saden1]

Joe Gibbs has 3 SB rings and is in the Hall of Fame...that's all that matters.

[CrustyRedskin]

He'll always be my favorite and thats all that matters to me. Walsh not too far behind.

[skinsnut]

For all you Gibbs 2.0 haters....
2 winning seasons in the last 11 years....both by Gibbs, one after the murder of the teams best player and a backup QB with 5 games to go and a losing record.

This is a man of incredible motivation...the talent on these teams was mediocre at best...

I remember folks saying picking up Shanny would automatically add "x" # of wins...that only works with Gibbs folks. Gibbs truly is and always will be the best Skins coach of all time....he could get milk from a stone.
Just think if he was coach this year...Haynesworth would probably be an all pro and the run game would be solid with Sellers and Cooley in on every play
We wouldn't have wussy zone blocking lightweight...Dockery would powerblock all day...with solid results..

Imagine Gibbs with Banks...he would be the #2 WR by now going deep and running reverses and taking quick screens....and no way in Hell the Defense would rank #32...the team would be far too embarrased to even walk by his door with that sort of effort.

My main point is this...Gibbs is a master motivator, thats what makes him one of a kind...hand the same team to someone else and it may collape...as it has done twice.

[SFREDSKIN]

Originally Posted by skinsnut

For all you Gibbs 2.0 haters....
2 winning seasons in the last 11 years....both by Gibbs, one after the murder of the teams best player and a backup QB with 5 games to go and a losing record.

This is a man of incredible motivation...the talent on these teams was mediocre at best...

I remember folks saying picking up Shanny would automatically add "x" # of wins...that only works with Gibbs folks. Gibbs truly is and always will be the best Skins coach of all time....he could get milk from a stone.
Just think if he was coach this year...Haynesworth would probably be an all pro and the run game would be solid with Sellers and Cooley in on every play
We wouldn't have wussy zone blocking lightweight...Dockery would powerblock all day...with solid results..

Imagine Gibbs with Banks...he would be the #2 WR by now going deep and running reverses and taking quick screens....and no way in Hell the Defense would rank #32...the team would be far too embarrased to even walk by his door with that sort of effort.

My main point is this...Gibbs is a master motivator, thats what makes him one of a kind...hand the same team to someone else and it may collape...as it has done twice.

Couldn't agree more, you get it.

[skinsguy]

Originally Posted by skinsnut

For all you Gibbs 2.0 haters....
2 winning seasons in the last 11 years....both by Gibbs, one after the murder of the teams best player and a backup QB with 5 games to go and a losing record.

This is a man of incredible motivation...the talent on these teams was mediocre at best...

I remember folks saying picking up Shanny would automatically add "x" # of wins...that only works with Gibbs folks. Gibbs truly is and always will be the best Skins coach of all time....he could get milk from a stone.
Just think if he was coach this year...Haynesworth would probably be an all pro and the run game would be solid with Sellers and Cooley in on every play
We wouldn't have wussy zone blocking lightweight...Dockery would powerblock all day...with solid results..

Imagine Gibbs with Banks...he would be the #2 WR by now going deep and running reverses and taking quick screens....and no way in Hell the Defense would rank #32...the team would be far too embarrased to even walk by his door with that sort of effort.

My main point is this...Gibbs is a master motivator, thats what makes him one of a kind...hand the same team to someone else and it may collape...as it has done twice.

Amen!

[MTK]

Gibbs was 6-10 his first year back, Shanny might be headed for the same mark funny enough.

[sportscurmudgeon]

To answer the question in the title of this thread: No he would not.

Joe Gibbs was one of the great NFL coaches and he is a class act as a human being. Would that every coach in the NFL - - and in all sports for that matter - - had the strength of character that he has to add to whatever skills those coaches might bring to their teams.