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Would you rather coach in College or the Pros?

Which would you pick?

  • Total voters
    64
Cyched

Cyched

CF Influencer
May 8, 2009
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Urban flaming out so quickly in JAX, along with the debate that pro coaching takes a specific skill set, got me thinking. If you had a choice which would you pick?

I'd probably pick pros, for a few reasons:

- Dealing with professionals not amateurs
- Less of a seedy underbelly in the pros
- No donors to schmooze
- Personally I'd fare better as the 'manager' in the pros than a 'CEO' type required of college HCs.
- Higher earning potential

Of course there are drawbacks to pros, such as less job security. And if the franchise player (see: Aaron Rodgers) doesn't like you, you're toast.

(this isn't specific to any sport. You can specify if you would rather coach pro football, but college basketball, vice versa, and so on)

What say you?
 
Pro, constantly recruiting to rebuild your team would get old real fast. Also more money.
 
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The NBA plays about 3x as many games as college hoops with preseason and playoffs considered. Assistants can help you recruit, they don't coach 50 road games a year for you.
 
Cyched said:
Urban flaming out so quickly in JAX, along with the debate that pro coaching takes a specific skill set, got me thinking. If you had a choice which would you pick?

I'd probably pick pros, for a few reasons:

- Dealing with professionals not amateurs
- Less of a seedy underbelly in the pros
- No donors to schmooze
- Personally I'd fare better as the 'manager' in the pros than a 'CEO' type required of college HCs.
- Higher earning potential

Of course there are drawbacks to pros, such as less job security. And if the franchise player (see: Aaron Rodgers) doesn't like you, you're toast.

(this isn't specific to any sport. You can specify if you would rather coach pro football, but college basketball, vice versa, and so on)

What say you?
Click to expand...
Pre free agency I'd say pro. I'd get too burnt out on the turnover and feeling like I'm not building something. Besides Belichek I can think of few coaches in the 2000s I see as building a franchise. A few more in NBA, but not many. MLB feels like a constant carousel.

But it seems like there's dozens in the major sports at collegiate level. That may change in the days ahead.
 
awd4cy said:
Pros pretty easily. I can’t really imagine going to the homes of teenagers and trying to beg for them to come to my university.
Click to expand...

Same. I think anyone who actually enjoys recruiting is weird as hell.
 
I think there are certain styles of coaching that are in vogue for the NFL compared to the NCAA in their current iterations. The NFL wants head coaches that bring in some sort of scheme and are usually primary play callers on one side of the ball: McVay, Shanahan, Reid, Fangio, LaFleur, Reich, Stefanski, etc.

Where as the current world of recruiting, and booster/donor management requires that HCs are the more CEO and salesmen types. These are guys who can identify good assistants to handle the scheme and play-calling, while the HC focuses on the bigger picture items.

Neither of these are exclusive: Riley and Kiffin are both scheme guys, Belichick and John Harbaugh are both CEO types.

The issue for Urban is that he was the CEO type that demands absolute control of his organization, and relies on fairly authoritarian methods to enforce that. That is easier to do in college where the players have less agency. In the pros, the players have more of a voice, and the leverage to push back on that style of coaching. Saban had similar issues in Miami (albeit less dramatic), and so is Rhule in Carolina.

The authoritarian thing is also loosing its effectiveness in college as well, which contributed to the end of Patterson at TCU.
 
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BMWallace said:
I think there are certain styles of coaching that are in vogue for the NFL compared to the NCAA in their current iterations. The NFL wants head coaches that bring in some sort of scheme and are usually primary play callers on one side of the ball: McVay, Shanahan, Reid, Fangio, LaFleur, Reich, Stefanski, etc.
Click to expand...

This is another good point. The most successful pro coaches are the ones that were longtime assistants, paid their dues and worked their way up. I think the players (generally) respect those types more.

Yet owners keep wanting to hire the hot college coach and failing. I don't get it.
 
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Cyched said:
This is another good point. The most successful pro coaches are the ones that were longtime assistants, paid their dues and worked their way up. I think the players (generally) respect those types more.

Yet owners keep wanting to hire the hot college coach and failing. I don't get it.
Click to expand...


Pro players respect white guys IF they have rings.
 
Cyched said:
This is another good point. The most successful pro coaches are the ones that were longtime assistants, paid their dues and worked their way up. I think the players (generally) respect those types more.

Yet owners keep wanting to hire the hot college coach and failing. I don't get it.
Click to expand...

Which sells more tickets immediately, hiring an assistant or hiring a hot name college coach? That may be the answer.
 
Football: pros - too much roster turnover in college now with the free transfer rule.

Basketball: college. Smaller rosters than football and I think I’d enjoy coaching that age range range more than professional athletes. Once you get the program rolling, it’s probably easier to have long term job stability in college rather than the NBA.
 
I’d take college any day, any sport. To be able to shape young people and develop them into future leaders, to show them that they are capable of so much more than what they may originally believe…that would be so fulfilling and worthwhile to me.
 
BCClone said:
Pros. Contracts are generally 100% guaranteed and you can fraternize with the cheerleaders and not get in trouble.
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You know those women are 18 in college, that should be fair game for coaches and if I remember right it was for some assistants at ISU.
 
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