NFL Coaches

1110 Words3 Pages

Coaching is not only showing a team what to do, but explaining to them why it is so. Each game, the coach is accountable for getting all 11 players on the field working as one unit. He's responsible for preparing his team for battle each week and for making sure his game-time decisions are flawless. The coach is not only the head of the team, but a leader for all the players. A coach must maintain a pristine level of emotion and discipline so that he is respected by everyone. OVER THE YEARS, FOOTBALL HAS GONE THROUGH DRAMATIC CHANGES. Played back on November 6, 1869, the first American Football game did not show the characteristics that it does today; the game resembled rugby more than it did football. Yet, over the years football has been molded into the way people see it now. During the early years of football, many players were injured due to the violence in the game, and as a result of this, many people wanted to change the way the game was played. From 1876 to 1882, Walter Camp pioneered the idea of a Quarter Back handling the ball every play. He also thought of the four-downs system. In this system, each team had four chances to move the ball ten yards, or the other team would receive the ball. His new ideas helped reduce injury drastically. Amos Alonzo Stagg designed the huddle so that the players on each team would know which play the Quarter Back was running, and therefore, would have less chance of running into another player. However, the most revolutionary idea ever came in 1906. John Heisman, a former college football player, thought of the idea of throwing the ball forward, instead of just back and across the field. This creative new concept changed the face of American Football forever. NO OTHER COACH IN HISTORY CHANGED THE GAME MORE THAN VINCE LOMBARDI. Lombardi, who's quotes still echo through locker rooms before football games across America, achieved such a high coaching excellence that it has yet to be matched. Lombardi, who took a 1-10-1 Green Bay Packer team to 7-5 in only one year with the program, started his career in Green Bay in 1959. Within ten years he led the Pack to six divisional titles and 5 NFL championships, including Super Bowls I and II. "Our greatest glory was not in never failing, but in rising when we fell," Lombardi was quoted saying.

More about NFL Coaches

Open Document