If one peruses the list of Super Bowl winners.. there's more crusty coaches on there than what I consider even tempered ones. Tony Dungy is an outlier..
However Belichik rarely( never?) let's his temper show in public except when it's directed at the refs.
Guys like John Harbaugh, Andy Reid, Pete Carroll, Mike Tomlin. maybe even Mike Vrabel.....that’s the modern NFL coach. Guys like Tom Coughlin, Greg Schiani, Eric Mangini, Todd Haley get run out of town quickly now and find themselves unemployed. If anything Belichick is the outlier in today’s NFL but he has the resume to back up his crusty self. Gregg Williams while rough around the edges, is well received by players and most coaches. I wouldn’t put him in the second bucket at all. I’d much rather he were our HC over Gase.
I agree about Williams over Gase. I think they'll be a place for grumpy coaches for years to come. At least I hope so...it's a lot more entertaining.
Grumpy is fine as long as players relate to you and buy in. That’s the style Williams has, it’s consistent with his personality, and the players respond to that. Kind of like Westhoff in that regard. The coaches that fail miserably are the control freaks, arrogant approach, wannabe tough guys, and unnecessary disciplinarians. Guys that try to replicate Belichick w/o the resume or experience is another failing recipe. That’s the second bucket I referenced...and I think Gase falls into that as well as Mangini.
Quoting myself on the “maybe even Mike Vrabel”... Think I was on to something and now I’m taking away the maybe. Vrabel is legit.
The curmedgeon hasn't completely disappeared though. Mike Zimmer and Bruce Arians fall into that bucket as well. Gruden is an odd ball because he is said to rip his own players to shreds in private but he doesn't come off like a grump. I think most of what you said in your OG post is true. But I don't think the fuck off don't speak unless spoken to coach is completely gone from the game just year.
Players absolutely love Arians for sure and Zimmer is well liked as well. I think the fuck off type coaches are pretty well done I disagree there. It just hasn’t been effective. It’s a different game and different athlete today. It’s not necessary to take the 5 mins early is still late approach. Treat men like men, it’s the NFL not college. The exception may be if said coach is truly gifted and players believe in them regardless of personality a la Belichick. That’s now the exception though.
They do love Zimmer and Arians. But they're the same style of coach as Belichick (who players also love a ton). But that doesn't mean they don't operate like a drill sergeant more than a friend.
Zimmer and Arians are nothing like Belichick from a personality or coaching style perspective imo. Players for most do not like Belichick. I don’t think Parcells or Brady even like him much and they worked with him forever. Many former players flat hate him. His personality doesn’t work w/o the resume to back it up, but again he’s the exception. Drill Sargents don’t work in the NFL anymore at least not for new HCs. Schiano was a drill Sargent how long he last? Control freaks with the my way or high way don’t work either. There can be exceptions of course, but those type of coaches need to find a way to get the team to buy in to what they are selling in order to be that exception.