The Most Beloved Coach in History?

[Schneed10]

Yeah Bill Walsh definitely should be mentioned.

When it comes to love and respect from the players, I think Gibbs is a little different than Parcells and Lombardi because those guys tend to berate players and scare them into doing their jobs. They tended to be taskmasters. Then you have a guy like Vermeil who just tends to lead the players through raw emotion. Gibbs is kind of a hybrid; he's a big disciplinarian and yet he finds a way to provide just the right amount of encouragement when players need to hear it most. He's really good at knowing when you need a kick in the ass and when you need a slap on the back. You don't see players throwing towels in his face like Antonio Bryant did to Parcells, because Gibbs treats his players with respect and a touch of love mixed in as well.

The other thing, you never see nasty disputes come out in public when Gibbs is involved. During the Coles saga over the last few weeks, Gibbs would say "LC and I have had conversations and we understand each other." And that's all he would say. You just know those disputes got nasty too. When you keep the fights behind closed doors you are handling it with dignity and respect. Coles moves on, Gibbs moves on, and all the while the players left on the team realize that whatever differences Coles had with the coach, they were discussed in private. No backbiting in the media. No he said, she said. Just men being men. Dan Snyder handled it differently with that flatscreen TV comment, which was dumb, but on Gibbs' end it was all class.

It's the little things about a head coach sometimes.