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Coaches who didn’t get second chances

cyclingwriter2

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 7, 2014
Messages
4,990
The discussion about Fashel on the NFL thread got me thinking about coaching retreads. Who are the guys who found success and never got a second chance? Or third chance? And maybe as sports journalists we can shed some light as to why?

The two I am thinking of:

Raymond Berry: took the pats to the super bowl; followed with an afc east title and then two more winning seasons; then had his first losing season and was fired. Never got more than a qbs coach gig after that.

Brian Billick: super bowl win and an overall winning record with the ravens. Was relatively young when he left in 2007. Does some television, but isn't a super high profile guy.

I would add Bill Cowher, but I feel when he left the Steelers, he put up the signal that he was done for good and no interest in coaching again.
 
I seem to recall reading somewhere that Billick, once he started doing TV, liked it so much, he didn't want to go back to coaching.

John Madden also was a pre-Cowher, in that he just didn't want to coach anymore.

Tom Landry never got another coaching job after Jerry dumped him, but maybe he didn't want to coach?

Ray Malavasi coached the Broncos for a year as an interim, then coached the Rams to a Super Bowl loss. After his firing, he did some odd gigs with a startup league that never started, was an ashistant in the USFL, and coached an Australian team before dying a few years later. Never got a (technically) third chance in the NFL.
 
NFL: Red Miller, who preceded Dan Reeves in Denver.

NBA recent history: Mark Jackson. Winning record, playoffs in two of three years, jackash.

NBA ancient history: Al Attles, who never stopped loving Golden State, even after he was bounced after more than a decade coaching there.
 
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I think Billick is smart and a good organizer. But his limitations were pretty well exposed over a 10-year stretch.
It does not look good for a guy not only (a) with an offensive pedigree but (b) as pompous as Billick is/was to be leading a *terrible* offense for that long.
He might say he likes TV. But if you're him and you're being pashed over for gigs by coaches like Jack Del Rio then it's over.
 
I also want to say Ray Perkins, by the way.
He sucked in Tampa but he was no worse than a deck Jauron who kept getting jobs after the ones he most recently sucked at.
Perkins was a Junction Boy and tougher than a 50-cent steak but he deserved another shot somewhere.
 
I seem to recall reading somewhere that Billick, once he started doing TV, liked it so much, he didn't want to go back to coaching.

John Madden also was a pre-Cowher, in that he just didn't want to coach anymore.

Tom Landry never got another coaching job after Jerry dumped him, but maybe he didn't want to coach?

Ray Malavasi coached the Broncos for a year as an interim, then coached the Rams to a Super Bowl loss. After his firing, he did some odd gigs with a startup league that never started, was an ashistant in the USFL, and coached an Australian team before dying a few years later. Never got a (technically) third chance in the NFL.

I think Landry also had an age thing. He was in his mid 60s when he was sacked.

Malavasi is an interesting one. He died five years after his career ended so maybe there were health concerns that made people leery?
 
It does not look good for a guy not only (a) with an offensive pedigree but (b) as pompous as Billick is/was to be leading a *terrible* offense for that long.

Billick was always on the defensive after his intellectual offense got shredded as a young man.

 
Steve Mariucci probably should have gotten another shot sometime in the decade following Detroit -- since the huge huge majority of the disaster there was Millen's fault -- but he was another guy making good money on teevee, so there was no reason for him to troll after jobs.
 
I also want to say Ray Perkins, by the way.
He sucked in Tampa but he was no worse than a deck Jauron who kept getting jobs after the ones he most recently sucked at.
Perkins was a Junction Boy and tougher than a 50-cent steak but he deserved another shot somewhere.
It's a Shame About Ray.
 

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