Chip, Harbaugh, Petey yes. Nick Saban and Spurrier were no good. Is this a coincidence or is this evidence that the Pac 12 is the strongest league?

Given the Pac 12 has a tradition as a passing/QB league, it makes sense because the NFL is a passing/QB league. This was even the case back in the day when the SEC, Southwest Conference, etc. ran those wacky run options offense like the veer, wishbone, etc., while it was bombs away in the Pac.

Even if Petey and Harbaugh both rely on power running games it helps. Petey is a defense guy but he has plenty time to defend the pass which is now a trademark of Seattle.

burritos;842268191 said:

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Chip, Harbaugh, Petey yes. Nick Saban and Spurrier were no good. Is this a coincidence or is this evidence that the Pac 12 is the strongest league?

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Harbaugh and Pete are players coaches. Their personalities fit with dealing with NFL players. Saban and Spurrier are old school and couldn't relate to the modern day pro athlete. I don't think guys like Mike Ditka or Bill Parcells would succeed in today's NFL.

Chip Kelly is just an evil genius like the hood wearing dude in NE.

SurvivorOf1and10fkaLEA;842268204 said:

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Harbaugh and Pete are players coaches. Their personalities fit with dealing with NFL players. Saban and Spurrier are old school and couldn't relate to the modern day pro athlete. I don't think guys like Mike Ditka or Bill Parcells would succeed in today's NFL.

Chip Kelly is just an evil genius like the hood wearing dude in NE.

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+1, i agree with this. it has more to do with their personalities than what conference they are from. for instance i dont think that shaw or tedford would be good nfl head coaches because theyre conservative but offensive coaches to the extreme, though i think that they would be excellent coordinators as we shall see with tedford.

SurvivorOf1and10fkaLEA;842268204 said:

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Harbaugh and Pete are players coaches. Their personalities fit with dealing with NFL players. Saban and Spurrier are old school and couldn't relate to the modern day pro athlete. I don't think guys like Mike Ditka or Bill Parcells would succeed in today's NFL.

Chip Kelly is just an evil genius like the hood wearing dude in NE.

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I agree for the most part but Harbaugh is much more old school then Pete Carroll. He is much more the disciplinarian and company man type. However, Harbaugh does tend to have more fun than Saban or Spurrier regarding the players because he actually was one that was worth a damn.

Cal_Fan2;842268211 said:

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I agree for the most part but Harbaugh is much more old school then Pete Carroll. He is much more the disciplinarian and company man type. However, Harbaugh does tend to have more fun than Saban or Spurrier regarding the players because he actually was one that was worth a damn.

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Spurrier won the Heisman, so hard to say he wasn't worth a damn as a player. Spurrier was more interested in golf than coaching and although he is a great offensive schemer and playcaller, he's much less hands on than other top coaches and enjoys his time on the golf course. I think Saban ultimately would have been a good NFL coach.

Unit2Sucks;842268232 said:

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Spurrier won the Heisman, so hard to say he wasn't worth a damn as a player. Spurrier was more interested in golf than coaching and although he is a great offensive schemer and playcaller, he's much less hands on than other top coaches and enjoys his time on the golf course. I think Saban ultimately would have been a good NFL coach.

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Well since we were talking about the pros, I thought most would know what I meant...which was a career in the NFL so he relates better to players in the NFL. Any Tom, Dick and Tebow can win a Heisman and be sh*t in the pros which of course you know.

Personally i think it all depends on the players they inherit when going to the NFL. Harbaugh landed on a team with an already amazing D and really good offensive weapons. Petey also got a great D but he go lucky with the Wilson pick IMO. Those other two took over bad teams.

Oh yeah and Chip took over a team with perfect weapons on offense. Got lucky with Nick Foles. D still needs some work however things are looking up in Philadelphia.

gobears725;842268210 said:

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+1, i agree with this. it has more to do with their personalities than what conference they are from. for instance i dont think that shaw or tedford would be good nfl head coaches because theyre conservative but offensive coaches to the extreme, though i think that they would be excellent coordinators as we shall see with tedford.

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Well, then, maybe the conference attracts these kinds of guys more than other conferences.

Or maybe it's just a small (and selective) sample.

OP did forget several recent college->pro failures: Petrino, Schiano just to name a couple of recent names. Have there been any successes not from the Pac?

The coaches you listed with good young QBs did well. The others didn't (i think, have no clue who was Sabans QB to be honest)

Harbaugh succeeded with Alex Smith, previously a bust. Petey "succeeded" (enough to not get fired, at least) with Hasselbeck, a decent but hardly spectacular QB. Heck, he managed to win 7 games with Tavaris Jackson. The roster he inherited wasn't nearly as good as the 9ers when Harbaugh took over.

Lane Kiffen

Carroll was a .500+ NFL coach with a division title before going to USC which suggests to me that he was never as bad as many suggest. His USC success bought him the time to build the Seahawks for their current run.