The Perfect Pro Football Coach

“A “successful” coach in the National Football League is one who simply: (1) wins, and (2) gets his team into the playoffs. It would certainly seem that NFL franchises, would have by now refined the critical process of finding a new head coach, but clearly they haven’t. Is it any wonder that so many new coaches are flops right out of the box? Grounded strictly objective historical perspective, The Perfect Pro Football Coach provides an in-depth look at head coaching in the NFL. Using only hard quantitative parameters we have developed the Coaching Assessment Scoring Hierarchy (“CASH”) system to rank all of the 300 head coaches since in the 1960’s. There are more than a few surprises on the list. We closely scrutinize the careers of these the best and the worst and then blend them together to produce the “perfect coach”. We also apply CASH rankings to the selection of new coaches through a “Success Predictably Indicator”, which compares a new coach to those who have successfully gone before him. We ran “Success Prediction Indicators” for nine new head coaches in 2009, and were right in about two-thirds of the cases. Our rankings will stimulate discussion among fans.

“Success”, as defined within the head coaching fraternity in the National Football League, is really quite simple: (1) be a winner, and (2) get your team to the post season. Defining success, however, is infinitely easier than finding someone who can make it happen. The task of bringing in a new head coach is necessarily daunting since successful coaches come in all shapes, sizes, philosophies, and approaches. It would certainly seem that NFL franchises, who lead us to believe that they are the epitome of sagacity and sophistication, would have by now refined the process to solve the most critical dilemma they all face. Clearly, though, that is not the case. There is scant regard for historical perspective beyond what the last poor soul did not accomplish. Is it any wonder that so many new coaches prove to be flops right out of the box? There should be a better way. The Perfect Pro Football Coach shows that there is. Grounded strictly objective historical perspective, The Perfect Pro Football Coach takes an in-depth look at head coaching in the NFL over the past fifty plus years. The first order of business is to establish and define the real performance parameters of the head coaching position. Just what makes a good coach? We tried to take all the emotion out of the equation and developed four simple basic quantitative indicators that define success for an NFL head coach. We really don’t care if an individual was liked and revered by fans or not. How his teams performed on the field is all that matters. To measure performance we developed the Coaching Assessment Scoring Hierarchy (“CASH”) rating system which provides a straightforward, yet incisive way to readily rank and compare all of the almost 300 head coaches who have prowled the sidelines since the AFL-NFL merger in the 1960’s. Using the CASH system, we then rank every coach from number one to the end: from best to worst. There are more than a few surprises on the list which we present in its entirety. With our rankings in hand, we then focus in on the All-Time “Best Ever” and “Worst Ever” individuals. We closely scrutinize the careers of these two polar opposite groups by slicing and dicing all the salient credentials of the great, and not-so-great, coaches and then blend them together to produce the “perfect coach”. What did Don Shula, for instance, have that Dan Henning did not? There are sections in the book where we look in depth at the careers of our ten best and ten worst coaches. There are enough numbers and charts to be interesting without crossing the line of statistical paralysis. We believe it will be fascinating for the reader to find where his “special coach” on our all-time list, but we have even taken the analysis a bit further. We thought it would be very interesting if we could apply what we have learned not only to the past but also going forward during the actual selection of new coaches. To accomplish this ambitious task we came up with a “Success Predictably Indicator”, which enables the credentials any prospective coach to be compared to the credentials of the best (and worst) of all time. The more your new guy resembles the best, the more likely you won’t be firing him in three years. To add meat to our skeleton, back in 2009 we ran “Success Prediction Indicators” for the nine new head coaches that year. Rex Ryan was a prominent member. We watched as it took about five years for all of them to wash out one way or another. We missed on a couple, but for the most part we were right in about two-thirds of the cases, a far better batting average than the NFL owners. With team fortunes so closely tied to the head coach, the spotlight has never been more brightly focused on who is running the show. Our rankings are designed to stimulate discussion among fans. “Bill Belichick is the best ever.” “You’re nuts!” The Perfect Pro Football Coach can solve the argument.

While baseball has traditionally been described as our “national pastime”, there is no question in recent times that American style football, especially pro football, has become far and away the most popular sport in the United States. Bob DeLuca was lucky enough to be on hand when the nascent American Football League upstart elbowed its way onto the scene in the 1960’s, and he has had a front row seat through the years as the National Football League has blossomed, boomed and exploded into the hearts of tens of millions of fans throughout the world. Early on he became fascinated by the head coaches and has spent a lifetime studying what it takes to have the “right stuff” to succeed in this most demanding profession. For most of his adult life Mr. DeLuca has been fully engaged in a profession in the well-traveled world of real estate and finance, where successful outcomes can be reasonably predicted in terms of risks and rewards He toiled (and prospered) within tightly restrictive business parameters closely defined by market conditions, standards of conduct, government regulations, and many other restraining variables. As an author, however, he is pleased to be enjoying the incredible uplift of unbounded endeavor that is limited only by his own creativity and passion. Mr. DeLuca has always had a strong interest in writing, which he cultivated through his formal education at Brown University and the University of Pittsburgh, where he earned BA and MBA degrees respectively. During his professional career, he called upon his written communicative skills on a daily basis. As an institutional lender he was required to prepare and present for approval comprehensive loan proposal requests. While an active real estate broker and developer he organized and arranged numerous feasibility studies, sales packages and new project requests for buyers, equity partners, planning boards, and other governmental agencies. In fact, his extensive business background provides a strong platform and fertile resource in support of his writing endeavors. He served as a Captain in the United States Marine Corps in Vietnam and was subsequently awarded a letter of commendation. Upon leaving the service he initially joined the Mellon Bank and later moved to Citibank, where he was a lending officer involved in real estate transactions across the country. Eventually, he settled in Houston to become the chief financial officer for a residential construction company. Subsequently, he founded Desert Southwest Realty Services, which offered an array of industry services. Until recently he was a developer of affordable rental housing using low income tax credits. In years past while actively pursuing business interests and raising a family that has produced four grown and professionally successful sons, there was scant time to focus on writing. Recently, however, he has completed three novels, a non-fiction work, and a memoir. He has just finished, “The Pact with the Devil”, which pits a head-strong Texas businessman against a vicious Mexican drug cartel baron. A previous novel, “The Sister Edith” centers on the dreadful dilemma of a man torn between his birth and blood brothers. “The Perfect Pro Football Coach”, which deals with the best and worst qualities of NFL head coaches and intriguingly ranks the proficiency of every incumbent during the past fifty years, is currently available through most E book retailers. ”Beatles, Books, and Bombs” is a self-account of life as an ROTC student on an ultra-liberal Ivy League campus during the turbulent 1960’s and then serving with the Marines in Vietnam. It is largely a tribute to fallen comrades. A New Englander by birth and jarhead by choice, Mr. DeLuca left Boston before the Patriots stopped being a joke. After the service and spending several years in Pittsburgh, he landed in the Houston area, where he has been lamenting the Oilers flight and trying to resuscitate the Texans ever since. He resides with his awesome wife, grandchild-of-the-week, and bullmastiff in Friendswood, Texas.