Mount Rushmore non-interim Head Coaches

[dolphins4life]

Shula
JJ
Gase
McDaniel

Wanny had

Zach Thomas
Jason Taylor
Tim Bowens
Ricky Williams
Chris Chambers
Brock Marion
Patrick Surtain
Sam Madison

and others

He managed two appearances and one win with that

He had super talented teams in 2002 and 2003 and did nothing with them.

Shula and JJ are the obvious choices.

Here's every coach since Shula

Shula
JJ
Wanny
Bates*
Saban
Cameron
Sparano
Bowles*
Philbin
Campbell*
Gase
Flores
McDaniel

[Spider-Dan]

This is how far you have to reach to keep Wanny off of Mt. Rushmore: you have to put Adam Gase on instead, and throw up McDaniel after one season.  But the real fun will come in seeing who the JJ haters put on the mountain.

My choice is:
Shula
JJ
Wanny
Sparano

[Dave Gray]

This is hard for me.

I would definitely put:
Shula
JJ
McDaniel (winning percentage and vibes)

and then I think you can really make a case for Wanny.

I know it's crazy to have a coach be a Mount Rushmore on both sides of things, but we are where we are.


However, I think I'm gonna go with Sparano.  I just liked the guy.

[Spider-Dan]

Including playoffs, McDaniel's win percentage is .500.
Sparano's? .467.
Wanny's? .565.
JJ's?  .550.  With Dan Marino.

There's no logical justification, only bitter resentment.

[Dave Gray]

I would rather have McDaniels be my coach than Wannstedt.

It's silly to only go off of statistics.  The sample size is too small.  Surely, you must understand that.

Also, these guys don't exist in the same environment.

Your opposition and the makeup of the league is different.


Also, I think Wanny had a great team and squandered it.
He got another chance with Chicago and was 16 games under .500.

It's not like Wanny was a great coach and then all of a sudden was a bad coach.  He was probably always somewhat of a retread bum.

[Spider-Dan]

What did Jimmy Johnson do with that "great team"?
Again, Wanny inherited a team that just lost Dan Marino and IMPROVED it!  With Jay Fiedler!

[Dave Gray]

It's ok for us to disagree, you know.  You don't have to bludgeon someone with a different sports opinion than you into submission.

JJ built that defense.  He drafted and developed those guys and I give him credit for that.

Look, I just don't think Wanny passed my eye test.  I didn't care for the way he ran a game.  I was constantly frustrated with his (or maybe his GM's decisions not to address certain things, how they drafted, etc.)  It's more that just W/L. 

[Dave Gray]

The truth of it is that I only really think 2 people deserve this honor so far, and I really like McDaniel, so I can add him.

I struggle to add a 4th person because none of them pass, IMO.

[Spider-Dan]

It's ok for us to disagree, you know.  You don't have to bludgeon someone with a different sports opinion than you into submission.

I think it just feels like bludgeoning because you're on the wrong end of a particularly difficult side to advocate.  

The problem is that you are comparing Wanny not by what he accomplished, but by what your expectations were.  And your (our) expectations were... not reasonable?  Like, the fact that any of us expected the 2000 or 2001 teams to do anything seems comical today.  Those teams had a solid top-10 defense - maybe top-5ish if you squint - but certainly nothing like the '85 Bears or '00 Ravens.  And the offense was just bad; Wanny was never able to replace Marino because replacing Marino is hard (as we have seen over the following 20 years).  There was one year where it seemed like the problems were solved and the team was a legit SB contender, but we got Ray Lucased.

Mostly, my issue is that people have this (what I call) unjustified contempt for JJ & Wanny for their failures to advance further in the playoffs, and it's like... given the two decades that followed them, we should all be well past the point of the "He barely won any playoff games!" standard.

[Dave Gray]

I just don't think the guy is a very good coach.  It isn't all that deeper than that.

[Brian Fein]

1972 Shula
1973 Shula
1984 Shula
1992 Shula

No other coach deserves to be on a Dolphins Mount Rushmore than Don Shula.  Sorry.

[CF DolFan]

1972 Shula
1973 Shula
1984 Shula
1992 Shula

No other coach deserves to be on a Dolphins Mount Rushmore than Don Shula.  Sorry.

I disagree as I think JJ was pretty important tot he organization as well. Jimmy drafted 2 Dolphins who went on to become HOFers. That should be enough on itself but the team he built and turned over to Wanny was pretty good. 

[Brian Fein]

I disagree as I think JJ was pretty important tot he organization as well. Jimmy drafted 2 Dolphins who went on to become HOFers. That should be enough on itself but the team he built and turned over to Wanny was pretty good. 

Sure and I agree, but Shula's teams played in 5 Super Bowls, won 2 of them, Made the playoffs 16 times in 26 seasons (61.5%), and won 66% of its games in that span.
Jimmy Johnson in 4 seasons, won exactly two playoff games, never won the division, won 56% of his games, and handed the reins to arguably one of the worst coaches in team history on his way out the door.  Sure, he drafted 2 hall of famers... Shula drafted one of the best QB's in league history.

I dunno, Jimmy Johnson is fine - I don't hate him.  But I don't think he holds a candle to Don Shula.  Maybe they could carve a small bust of Jimmy over on the side, next to 1992 Don Shula's left ear.

[Spider-Dan]

Jimmy Johnson in 4 seasons, won exactly two playoff games, never won the division, won 56% of his games, and handed the reins to arguably one of the worst coaches in team history on his way out the door.

That coach, without a HOF QB under center, had a better record with the Dolphins than JJ did... and actually won the division to boot.

The Wanny hatred is bizarre.  You all sound like Bengals fans who think Marvin Lewis is one of the worst coaches in Cincinnati history.  We have had 20 years to see what REAL "bad coaches" look like.

[Downunder Dolphan]

1972 Shula
1973 Shula
1984 Shula
1992 Shula

No other coach deserves to be on a Dolphins Mount Rushmore than Don Shula.  Sorry.

I reckon that will do for me too.