Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

Had to exclude pre-merger because if I didn't, then the answer would be pretty darn obvious...Jimmy Conzelman!

First thought of mine - not necessarily me thinking he was "best", but in simply just thinking of qualifying twice - was Ray Rhodes. Momentarily thought of Malavasi but then 'three' immediately came to mind. Mike Martz while totally forgetting about 12-4 in '03 in addition to that 8-8 playoff berth the following year! Same with Mike Sherman not realizing he also was a (consecutive) four-timer. Raymond Berry is a candidate! And also Ron Meyer but on such a lesser scale being his two playoff berths were strike-shortened seasons!

Whisenhunt?

I bet one of you will give an obvious answer that's right under my nose!

Chuck Fairbanks ... John Rauch(Before 69) ... Forrest Gregg ... Sam Rutigliano ... Sam Wyche ... Walt Michaels ...

74_75_78_79_ wrote:Had to exclude pre-merger because if I didn't, then the answer would be pretty darn obvious...Jimmy Conzelman!

Buck Shaw?

Bryan wrote:Buck Shaw?

He's overqualified, isn't he? 1949, 1957, 1960.

Shaw is a great example before 1969 but didnt coach the 49ers in 1957 ... That postseason collapse was on Frankie Albert.

Brian wolf wrote:Shaw is a great example before 1969 but didnt coach the 49ers in 1957 ... That postseason collapse was on Frankie Albert.

Ah, right! I forgot that Shaw was already in Philadelphia by then.

We can only imagine what the Patriots might have done had Fairbanks stayed with them but he obviously didnt like the cheap Sullivan family ... Despite winning the division and having a home playoff game in 1978, the team wasnt the same after Fairbanks was fired after announcing he was leaving. He really messed up not waiting till after the playoffs ... The Pats team of 1976 may have been one of the best of the decade to not win it all, with fans still upset about the loss to the Raiders in the playoffs. The Patriots were innovators of the fulltime 34 defense and could run the ball right through teams.

Brian wolf wrote:We can only imagine what the Patriots might have done had Fairbanks stayed with them but he obviously didnt like the cheap Sullivan family ... Despite winning the division and having a home playoff game in 1978, the team wasnt the same after Fairbanks was fired after announcing he was leaving. He really messed up not waiting till after the playoffs ... The Pats team of 1976 may have been one of the best of the decade to not win it all, with fans still upset about the loss to the Raiders in the playoffs. The Patriots were innovators of the fulltime 34 defense and could run the ball right through teams.

I was listening to Rough Injustice: The Story of the 1976 Patriots (I found it on the website of The Sports Hub in Boston). Pat Sullivan (the owner's son) basically said that the biggest mistake that they made back then was not showing the players that they had a commitment to winning, and getting everyone on board with that (players, coaches, management).

How about Don McCafferty?

Good call on McCafferty ...

Had the Colts taken care of business against Plunkett and the Patriots, might have been a different outcome for them in 1971/72, though beating the Chiefs, Dolphins, Browns or Dallas with a lot of veterans was a tough task.

Sam Wyche is interesting for developing DeBerg and Montana and then creating a powerful and innovative Bengals offense with Boomer Esiason. Why the wheels came off in Cincy I dont understand. Maybe he just couldnt get the right talent on the defensive side of the ball or just got too emotional for the players to stay motivated/focused. With the Bucs he couldnt generate a winning culture and may have overestimated the impact of the Florida heat on players and himself. He definitely couldnt adjust like Don Shula could but maybe he was somehow burnt out.