Today, April 20, is Steve Spurrier‘s birthday. The Head Ball Coach who coached at South Carolina, Florida, Duke and with the Washington Redskins, turns 71. And, well, Spurrier is greatly missed in the sports world. As you probably know, Spurrier was a quote machine and never backed down from good banter. And in the #content business, someone like Spurrier is extremely valuable. All big personalities are.
In honor of Spurrier’s birthday, we’ve compiled a list of the best coaching personalities across all sports (all the main ones, anyway). Not every coach on here necessarily had a big personality, but all did leave major marks on those around them. Whether they’re giving great sound bites or doing outlandish things on the sidelines, these are the coaches who don’t hold anything back.
Honorable mentions: Bret Bielema, Woody Hayes, Earl Weaver, Pete Carroll, Mike Ditka, Bobby Valentine, and probably dozens of others that you’ll be upset we left off.
10) New York Knicks President Phil Jackson
What makes Jackson unique compared to the other coaches here is that he’s anything but the loudest person in the room. Yet, he has the command of someone who is. He’s won 11 championships in Chicago and L.A. with arguably the best collective group of players a single coach has ever had. While that’s a luxury, it also means managing a lot of egos. Jackson was able to do that better than anyone. His style isn’t larger than life, but he still comes across that way because of all that he’s accomplished.
9) NBA Broadcaster Jeff Van Gundy
It’s not a personality thing per se, but Van Gundy clinging to Alonzo Mourning’s leg remains one of the funnier things I’ve ever seen in sports. That earns him some points, for sure. But he’s also found his voice in broadcasting. He’s an insightful color analyst, but he’s also been given free range to say pretty much whatever he’s thinking with total honesty. For instance, his extended rant on flopping was pure gold on live television. That’s what Van Gundy brings that many other color guys don’t. He’ll break down a player’s performance just before going off on a tangent about the state of the game.
8) Washington State Coach Mike Leach
It’s never struck me as a coincidence that Mike Leech has thrived in remote college towns like Lubbock and Pullman. He’s just a couple of clicks in another direction. What direction is anyone’s guess, but Leach is just quirky enough that he’s embraced by the community. His brand of football is never boring, either. He coaches the type of game that involves throwing for 500 yards and giving up 600 on defense. Punting is like pulling teeth for him. He’ll beat at least one team he shouldn’t each year, and will immediately follow that up by losing another game 69-62.
Leach a pirate aficionado and once called out his players’ “fat little girlfriends.” College football, a weird sport in and of itself, is that much better because of someone like Leach.
7) San Antonio Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich
You could say in some sense that Popovich and Bill Belichick are cut from the same type of personality cloth. They’re both dry, stubborn and couldn’t possibly seem less interested in speaking with media folks. However, there’s a key difference between the two: Pop actually has a personality. Sure, he gives short and extremely condescending answers in interviews, but part of him seems like he secretly enjoys making mockery of Q&As. Like it’s some little guilty pleasure of his that no one knows about. Somehow, this has become almost an endearing quality. It might be because, every once in a while, Pop shows a softer side:
You can count those types of moments on one hand, which means Pop’s already back to being Pop before you can even savor them. But that also makes them special.
6) Former Baseball Manager Jim Leyland
ESPN’s Dan Le Batard really did say it best when he noted that Leyland was as good a ranter as there was in baseball. If there was something he was unhappy about, he never kept it in, that’s for sure. This is a guy, after all, who went all-in against Barry Bonds while the two were with the Pirates. Leyland’s post-game rant after losing to the Red Sox in 2012 is another classic. Remember, he’s not ripping the umpires, he’s just talking very loudly about accountability.
5) Buffalo Bills Coach Rex Ryan
Rex Ryan and the New York Jets were made for each other. If it was possible, Ryan should have been the head coach of the Jets forever because it was that perfect. The Jets’ season on HBO’s Hard Knocks peeled really back the proverbial curtain on Ryan’s big personality and he became an instant video clip sensation when he told everyone to go “eat a goddamn snack.” Now at Buffalo, Ryan still says outlandish things from time to time, but he’s ventured out into other areas, like introducing Donald Trump at a rally.
And then there’s the whole foot thing. Yes, that is a private matter, but look, all we’re saying is if the guy is willing to have his picture taken with a photo of feet on his desk, it’s fair game.
4) Former Indiana Coach Bobby Knight
Yeah, Bob Knight threw a chair once. And, yeah, that’s going to get him on this list. But there is also a laundry list of incidents and audio clips spanning decades that warrant Knight’s presence here. The chair toss is just the most memorable. There’s also the profanity-laced speech to motivate his team against Purdue, his post-firing interview with ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap and a long list of similar audio clips.
However, Knight was a wildly successful coach. He won three national championships at Indiana and took two other programs, Army and Texas Tech, to postseason play. He just also happened to have an extremely short temper and a knack for allegedly putting his hands on other people. That combination made Knight one of the most polarizing personalities in coaching.
3) Former Football Coach Jimmy Johnson
Jimmy Johnson won a national championship at the University of Miami when it was “The U.” Then, he won two Super Bowls when he was the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys (who, by the way, are still on a quest to relive those days some 20 years later). Now, he’s tearing it up on Fox’s Sunday NFL coverage in a role he was born to play. Johnson has always been a big personality, but his ability to successfully manage a ton of different personalities is also what puts him so high on this list. Additionally, Johnson’s greatest quality was that he was brutally honest and refused to abide by traditional coachspeak. He gave preferential treatment to his best players and never once tried to hide it. It was refreshing, frankly.
2) Former College Football Coach Steve Spurrier
No, Steve Spurrier wasn’t college football’s original hatin’ ass, but he did perfect the craft. The guy lives to throw shade at other people and programs. He breathes it like oxygen. Over the years, Spurrier has become so good at throwing verbal darts that you can no longer tell a backhanded compliment from a forehand slap to the face. His all-time classics (as compiled by ESPN) include:
“I don’t know. I sort of always liked playing them [Georgia] that second game because you could always count on them having two or three key players suspended.”
“You know what FSU stands for, don’t you? Free Shoes University.”
“I know why Peyton came back for his senior year. He wanted to be a three-time star of the Citrus Bowl.”
1) Michigan Coach Jim Harbaugh
Call this a pick of the moment, but Harbaugh is a delightful weirdo and college football is way more fun with him in it. Harbaugh’s an out there guy to begin with and his varying interests make him a compelling follow on Twitter. Speaking of which, he’s not afraid to craft some wicked subtweets if someone ever gets in the way of what he wants. His sideline antics are insane. His #dadbod game, with his khakis and no shirt look, is on point. But above all, Harbaugh embraces being college football’s villain. That’s what makes him fun. He’s not afraid to speak his mind, call others out (directly or indirectly) and try things no one else is trying. When the inevitable backlash arrives, he bathes in it.
So there it is. Agree? Disagree? Fire away with “Your list is invalid because” replies as you see fit.
