Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

Both tied for 1st place in NFL titles won at 6. Who’s the better HC and why?

I think the Packers drop in the standings in the post-war late 40s gives Papa Bear the edge.

74_75_78_79_ wrote:Both tied for 1st place in NFL titles won at 6. Who’s the better HC and why?

A really interesting question to me, since I met both of them, saw them coach against one another quite a few times, and talked to guys who played for them.

Neither of them was notable with the Xs and Os aspect of coaching. Halas played in the T formation under Zuppke at Illinois and Lambeau played in the Notre Dame shift offense under Rockne and they both used those formations for most of their coaching careers. However, Lambeau perhaps deserves a little extra credit for what he did with the passing game, first when he started splitting out Johnny Blood instead of using him strictly as a wingback and then for splitting both Hutson and Blood, thus creating the NFL's first formation with two wide receivers.

They were both known as great motivators, so that's probably a wash.

On the whole, I think I have to give Halas the edge for adapting better to changes. First, he brought in Ralph Jones in 1930 to create the T's man-in-motion offense and Halas was able to continue coaching that system after he took after again. Then he used Clark Shaughnessy as an advisor in creating the modern T formation, with wide line splits, in 1940. Lambeau was too much of an egotist to do anything like that. The growing popularity of the T formation was pretty much his death knell, while Halas was adaptable enough that he could coach well into the 1960s, even winning a championship in 1963, 19 years after Lambeau's last title and 10 years after Lambeau's coaching career ended--and not because Lambeau wanted to retire.

rhickok1109 wrote:Lambeau perhaps deserves a little extra credit for what he did with the passing game, first when he started splitting out Johnny Blood instead of using him strictly as a wingback and then for splitting both Hutson and Blood, thus creating the NFL's first formation with two wide receivers.

Interesting. I wasn't aware that the Packers did that.