This will be a long post. For those who don’t enjoy that sort of thing-BAIL NOW. For those who want to come along, get in and let’s go for a ride.
In this strange, bizarro, topsy turvy Lakers season, where the Lakers sit at 21-3 yet are disappointments with so many fans, questions are being asked, answers sought and criticisms levied.
Where’s the defense? Is Kobe slipping? Is the coaching staff making mistakes?
One natural target of examination is the architect and leader of this team-Coach Phil Jackson. He is the man responsible for game plans, rotations and minutes played. In the end, final responsibility for what happens on the court is laid at his feet.
Because many fans, including myself, have asked questions this year on certain moves he has made and deficiencies exhibited by the team, Phil has been the topic of some heavy debate on several threads in this young season. This has brought into play an interesting phenomenon that I have noticed on and off here (and I am sure on any team sport chat site) in the past. That is the habit of some fans to slough off any questions or criticisms of the coach by stating in effect, a layman could not possible know something a great coach does not. So questioning that coach is in essence illogical and nonsensical.
On the surface this seems like a perfectly valid response to any fans doubts about what Phil is doing. After all, Phil played professional ball, he is a hall of fame coach with nine glorious championship journeys on his resume. What right indeed do we have to question this mans judgments or decisions? What qualifications could we possibly have to even presume to challenge Phil? So presumptuous of us sad, ignorant fans to even insinuate such ability. Right?
But are the proponents of this quick and easy dismissal of coaching criticism really espousing a common sense and realistic approach or are they really thought police Gestapo promulgating a piece of sophistry covered in a false, pretty veneer?
Like so many pretty and shiny trinkets and baubles that are not constructed firmly, if one takes the time and effort to rub away and wear at the theory, then the logic of this glittery attraction starts to break apart and fade away revealing it to be just so much fools gold.
The foundation of this theory is based on two suppositions: 1. The Coach has to be right. 2. A Coach s always knows better than any fan.
Let’s take a look at number 2 first. A coach always knows better than any fan.
I want to now stress something to the readers. In the next segments I will use examples to show how this ostensibly logical and unassailable philosophy is actually very bankrupt and discredited. I will use my own experiences as an example in doing so. I don’t do this to blow my own horn. I will do this because I am forced to. I don’t know of the experiences of the readers on this site so I can only use the only ones I do know about-my own.
Besides the Lakers, the other team that has a special place in my heart is the Pittsburgh Steelers.
One of the all time great coaches in football history was Chuck Knoll. His resume is impeccable. Hall of Famer and four time Superbowl Champion, leader of the team that is almost universally considered the best in NFL history-the 1970’s Steel Curtain team that terrorized the league so bad that it forced the NFL to make rules changes to help teams overcome the type of defenses it put on the field.
In the years after his fourth super bowl the team began it’s natural decline. As he attempted to rebuild with new players he met with various degrees of success and failure. After a run of couple sub par seasons he went into what would turn out to be his last season with a starting running back named Merril Hoge. Hoge was a hardworking player of marginal athletic ability. That year they also had a running back named Barry Foster on the team.
During pre season I got to watch Foster is several of the games. He consistently broke tackles in a spectacular manner and turned in long, impressive runs. He also was a master at getting those tough 3 and four yard runs for first downs. As I watched this man play I knew he was a special player who would help the team immeasurably as the starting running back that year. To my shock and surprise, Noll elected to go with the old standby Hoge. The Steelers proceeded to have another bad campaign. At the end of the year the Rooney family (Steeler owners) asked Noll fire some of his assistants. He refused and eventually left the team himself that offseason.
His replacement Bill Cowher immediately installed Foster as his starting running back, and he then proceeded to rush for well over a thousand yards that year, establish himself as one of the best running backs in the NFL and helped lead the team back into to playoffs.
Bill Cowher would prove a worthy successor to Noll, returning the team to prominence and winning a superbowl of his own. Before he managed to get his ring and climb from Nolls shadow, he had to endure and amazing run of playoff losses. His teams at one point were 1-3 at home in AFC championship games. The reason for this was simple. Despite building overwhelming great defensive teams and having very capable offensive players he did not have a top quality quarterback.
For years he went with Neil O’Donnell- a stand up, classic drop back passer. When I first watched him during the preseason he looked good. Hit his passes, moved the team, seemed to make the right reads. I was excited. But then the regular season started. His play seemed to drop off. He seemed robotic, could not salvage broke down plays or extemporize. He had trouble hitting longer passes and could never seem to make the big play for a quick seven.
After watching him for two years I thought he was the most dangerous type of player for a team to have. Good enough to win games with a good team around him, but bad enough never to win championship. I told my friends and fellow Steelers fans I didn’t think we could ever win a super bowl with him as quarterback. After many years of playoff losses culminating in a disasterous two interception performance in the super bowl Coach Cowher and the organization finally agreed with my assessment and let him go to the Jets for a big contract. He quickly wore out his welcome there and ended up being a backup for teams the rest of his career.
Next came the athletic marvel Kordell Stewart. He was an early version of Michael Vick. Cowher and the organization were mesmerized by his athleticism and ability to run from trouble and gain yardage. As I watched him though, I got a sinking feeling in my stomach. While an amazing athlete, as a quarterback I did not like what I saw: He fixated on his target, did not seem to see the field, could not read defenses and was not an accurate passer. Because of his amazing ability as an athlete, he was able to still make many big plays for the team and achieve a certain success. Like with O’Donnell, I was sure we would waste more great teams and years with a quarterback who would never do the things that he has to do to win a championship. The more he played the stronger I felt about this.
When his first contract was up, I felt so strongly (and back then was so naïve) that I wrote the team owner and President Dan Rooney a long detailed letter about both Kordells flaws and the need to have a better quarterback to help our very powerful team get over the hump and win the championship. That year Chad Pennington was coming out in the draft and I urged him not to sign Kordell and to take Pennington in the draft. Mr. Rooney was nice enough to write me back, thanking me for my ideas and suggestions. In the end he said, “the coaching staff and organization believe in Kordell Stewart.”
The proceeded to sign him to a huge multi-million dollar contract. As time went on, Stewarts mistakes kept hurting the team, including costing them another home afc championship game with three interceptions. Eventually the Steelers let him go, replacing him with a quarterback who had not played in several years. Stewart quickly bounced around to a couple teams and was drummed out of football at a early age.
Had the Rooney’s and Cowher seen what I did, they would spared themselves throwing millions of dollars away and drafted a quarterback who was so much better than Stewart.
I think the point of these stories is pretty clear to those still with me. Here you had a fan, a layman, me, and there you had two hall of fame superbowl winning coaches. In both instances I saw something that both these men (and their entire organizations) didn’t.
I could give you a few more examples but I know you get the point of what I am saying.
Does that mean that I was a better coach or talent evaluator than Chuck Noll or Bill Cowher? Of course not. If I even thought that I should be committed for treatment.
Does it show that even Hall of Fame coaches can make mistakes and not see things that an observant fan can? Yes it does.
Had I been on a Steelers fan site back then and posted my misgivings about what the coaches were doing, I have no doubt some Steeler fans would have said, “Who are you to question Coach Noll?” and years later, “How do you know better than Coach Cowher?”
Back then I would have only able to answer, “I’m just a fan telling you what I am seeing and thinking.”
Now I could answer, “I was just a fan who was right about what I was seeing and thinking and the two Hall of fame coaches that I questioned were wrong.”
Because of the insightful and sometimes even brilliant posts I have read over the years on this site, I know that many of you must have experienced similar situations either with the Lakers or other teams you follow. I know that I am hardly alone in seeing things that even great coaches have not and all of you out there could recite your own examples. To those fans who say, “Who are you to question Phil Jackson,” because you have not personally ever had the experiences I have, I can’t help that. Because it hasn’t happened to you that doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened to others.
Now that that canard has been put to rest for good, let’s take a look at supposition number one: The coach has to be right.
Lets use Phil himself and all you guys who say, “who are you to question the coach” as examples of what a lie this theory is and how hypocritical a person can be when they espouse this philosophy.
I think we can all agree that the four seminal players in Phils career are MJ, Kobe, Pippen and Shaq. These are the four on court engines who ran the teams that brought Phil nine rings.
These are the four players who’s play and personality most figured into Chicagos, LA’s and Phil’s amazing success. There can be no doubt that Phil Jackson watched and observed and learned all he could about these seminal players in years he coached them.
Because of their status and abilities he had to know these four players as well as any coach can get to know players. It would be in his professional interest to do so.
Now let us take Kobe. This a player that Phil did it all with. For years he got to know this guy on an intimate level-both on the court and off.. He helped integrate him into the team. He coached him. He talked with him. He had meetings with him. He bought books for him to read. He went to through the regular seasons and playoff wars with him. He won championships with him and experienced playoff failure with him. He was there every day as Kobe fought with Shaq and when he went through his rape crisis.
Phil Jackson knows Kobe Bryant.
Now I want to ask all you fans who ascribe to the, “who are you to question the nine time NBA championship coach”, a question.
When the nine time NBA champions, Hall of Fame coach left here the first time. He revealed that he had gone to Mitch Kupchak and said about the Kobe Bryant he has observed, lived with and knows so well: This guy is uncoachable. We will never win a championship with him. We have to trade him.
When Phil said that did you come on here and say, “Who are we to question Phil? We have to trade Kobe now!!” If you weren’t on here at the time did you tell yourself that? Did you tell other Laker fans that you know that we had to trade Kobe because Phil said so?
I will bet you that ninety percent of the fans who now say, “who are you to question Phil” said back then, “Screw Phil!” Right guys?
So you see. You can’t have it both ways. When you agree with Phil about something, you can’t use that phony baloney argument when someone brings up a thoughtful and intelligent argument challenging something Phil is doing, then turn around and not apply the same logic to yourself when you don’t agree with him-like in the trade Kobe situation.
Ether Phil is right ALL THE TIME or he can be legitimately questioned- even by us ignorant laymen fans as I conclusively proved earlier.
As for the question is Phil always right, lets just demolish that one too while were at it.
We will use the same Kobe case which has been so instructive for our argument so far.
Now remember, when Phil said this about Kobe, he wasn’t saying this about some bench player or guy he barely knew was on the team. This is guy he watched play and live under the famous Phil Jackson brain for years, under every kind of circumstance.
As we have established, Phil knows Kobe.
So the great coach, the coach of the nine rings and Hall of Fame bust, takes this great player he has observed for years and says, “He must go!”
So was Phil right about Kobe when he said this? We’ll if he was right, then he must be wrong now when he came back to team, doing a complete 180 degree turn in his thinking. Phil surely didn’t come back here to coach a “uncoachable” player or one who will “never lead his team to a championship.”
Phil was either right back then or wrong now. Or wrong back then and right now.
Either way the great coach was wrong about one of four greatest players he ever coached.
If Phil Jackson could be so wrong about one his greatest players, are you really going to say he can’t be wrong about other things? About a defensive scheme? About whom he is starting? About whether he should be playing Bynum in crunch time? About any number of topics questioned on this site?
Coaches, even great ones can be wrong for two simple reasons: They are human and like every human they make mistakes; also because of their success they can become stubborn. Even if something they are trying, or a player they are playing is not succeeding they become loath to admit an error and correct a mistake they made- especially when fans or sports writers start to question the situation or the coaches’ judgment.
The next time someone on this site brings up a thoughtful and intelligent question on something Phil is doing, don’t bring up that same old disreputable and bankrupt rebuttal of “Who are you to question the coach”, but instead take a moment to sit back and think of your own thoughtful and logical responses to express your own point of view on why the coach is right. It will be a lot more interesting to read, carry a lot more weight and lead to some fun debate and discussion.
If you can’t think of any, don’t worry, I am sure someone else will come along shortly who gladly will.
For those who made it all the way through-thanks and hoped it was worth it. If it wasn’t you were warned, lol!
