Does the Head Coach or Manager actually make a difference in his team's result?

Does the Head Coach or Manager actually make a difference in his team's result?


This season, the San Diego Charger fired Marty Schottenheimer, who led the team to a 14-2 record in 2006, to hire head coach underachiever Norv Turner. Schottenheimer had a proven success of turning around NFL teams and leading them to the playoffs, but never won a Super Bowl. Meanwhile, Turner had won several Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys in the 90's as the offensive coordinator, but did little as a head coach at stops in Washington and Oakland. Is Turner the missing ingredient? Well, the Chargers are off to a lackluster start and already have lost more games this season than they did all of last year. If the Chargers underachieve in this system, Turner and GM AJ Smith are going to feel the blame.

But before you write Turner off, I remember another lackluster skipper who took over a team in 1996 that had not been to the World Series in 15 years. That manager had previously managed the Braves, Mets, and Cardinals. Up to then, he had a record of 894 wins and 1,003 loses, a .471 average. World Series Winning managers Davey Johnson and Lou Pinella were available. Nevertheless, that manager with the lackluster record was hired. From then, that same manager led his team to a record 11 straight playoff finishes. His name: Joe Torre.

Now, Steinbrenner wants to fire Torre for his recent loss in the playoffs. But who is going to do a better job than Joe Torre? Joe Torre was not responsible for the pathetic outings of Roger Clemens and Wang. Torre is not responsible for Jeter hitting into numerous double plays. Will hiring a new manager make the difference for the Yanks next year? Only time will tell.