Quote:I would lean more towards the Bradley type, but I am a bit biased in this as I'm actively learning how to better manage people and develop teams.

 

To me, the underlying concept of the "Coughlin Approach" if I can name it that, is that the Player does not want to get better. Coughlin made those rules and treated the players as if all they were at the Practice Facility to do was to screw around and get paid. To me, coaches like that try to develop behaviors via rules and this is very much an Old School type of thought. I've always thought of it as "I'm going to punish you for doing what I don't want until you learn to do what I want." I feel like this is an inefficient way of working as the player spends more time figuring out what not to do rather than learning what to do. This is similar to the NFL's policy in general regarding On Field behavior; we're going to fine you until you do what we want. Well, why not teach them how to do what you want first?!

 

All of that being said, one thing that Coughlin pushed to his coaches and the players was that it was perfectly clear that he was interested in what they were doing. Whether it be good or bad, you knew that the Head Coach was concerned about how you acted pretty much every minute of your life. There is something to be said for that as I feel like Del Rio did not have this sentiment. He was happy just as long as you returned the results he wanted. Once you stopped doing that, he wasn't there to support you.

 

I view the "Bradley Approach" in that the Staff is focused more on developing and maintaining an environment where the player can grow on a consistent basis and learn how to self-judge their own performance. The "just get better" statement that gets thrown around a lot is a tool which is aimed at getting the player to evaluate himself consistently and to take ownership of his performance. In other words, it's not "I better not do that because Coach will be mad and I'll get in trouble", it's "I see what I need to get better and if I want to be a better player, this is what I have to do." As a staff, you aren't focusing on stopping bad behavior you are focusing on promoting good behavior. "This is what you need to do in order to improve."

 

The thing to me about the latter approach is that you are putting trust in a player that he wants to be great. And you are working towards giving him the tools to do just that. You aren't trying to stop them from doing bad things, you are encouraging them to do good things. That approach appeals to me.