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Whether you’re a fan of football, basketball, baseball, hockey, all of the above or any sport for that matter, coaches come along that make a profound impact on their sport. Given how long we’ve enjoyed these sports, there are plenty of significant names, but we’ve come up with our top five most influential coaches in sports history.
Before diving in, remember that this is not simply a list of the most successful coaches. So, before fans see that guys like Phil Jackson, Bill Belichick, Pat Riley and Nick Saban aren’t on this list, we fully recognize their greatness. That said, let’s get into who indeed made our list of the top five most influential coaches in sports history.
Even extremely casual college basketball fans have heard of John Wooden, and it doesn’t hurt that he won a ridiculous ten championships as the head coach of the UCLA Bruins. Seven of those were consecutive, and he also led the team to four perfect 30-0 seasons. However, we’ve already stated that this isn’t just about success.
While some of Wooden’s accomplishments seemed impossible to replicate, he truly changed how people looked at college basketball, and sports in general. That was thanks to his Pyramid of Success, which also helped earn him the nickname of the Wizard of Westwood. It’s a five-tier system with a foundation that includes aspects like friendship, loyalty and cooperation and condenses up to competitive greatness.
Next up on our list of the top five most influential coaches in sports history transitions from basketball to football, but also from the collegiate level to the professional. The San Francisco 49ers are often linked to the origin of the West Coast Offense, and that’s thanks to Bill Walsh.
Of course, he deserves the credit, as he went on to win three Super Bowls in 10 years with the franchise. Along with great success was his impact on the game and future coaches. After being the one to polish the greatness of Joe Montana, at least 32 coaches link back to Walsh, which is enough to cover the entire NFL. While it’s considered common practice, when fans hear of teams scripting their first set of plays before a game, they can also thank Walsh for that idea.
It didn’t take long, but it’s time to swap back to college basketball. For anyone who didn’t instantly recognize the name or had to double-take, that’s because Mike Krzyzewski earned the respect of having a much simpler name – Coach K. The Duke Blue Devils head coach of a whopping 42 years paved the way for today’s coaches.
Throughout that ridiculous tenure were five national titles, 13 Final Fours and the most wins by a head coach in men’s NCAA basketball history – 1,202. His ability to coach and relate to players was so well-respected and so coveted that Coach K was also the Men’s Team USA Olympic head coach, going 24-0 in the process. Rather than the hard-nosed, fierce attitude of the likes of Bob Knight, Coach K proved that relationships are the key to success.
Of course, that’s not to say that intensity can’t also breed success. Here is where we again transition back to football, and the NFL specifically. A reasonable argument can be made for Vince Lombardi to be higher on our list of the top five most influential coaches in sports history. After all, the Super Bowl trophy is named after him.
That in itself is a massive impact on the game, and he certainly earned it. After winning three NFL Championships, it was finally renamed to the Super Bowl, of which Lombardi and the Green Bay Packers won the first two. That brought his total to five titles in just seven years, and in terms of further impact, it was his keen attention to detail leading to discipline that set his teams apart from the rest.
There was significant consideration to head to the college gridiron to wrap up our list of the top five most influential coaches in sports history with Paul “Bear” Bryant, but we’re instead going to head back to the hardwood. This time, however, it’s on the professional level. Whether it’s the fact that there isn’t a trophy named after him or otherwise, the late, great Jacob “Red” Auerbach is likely the least-recognized name of the bunch.
Of course, Boston Celtics fans would push back on that, as Auerbach led the franchise to 16 NBA titles as both a coach, manager and executive. He won seven titles just as a coach, but as has been the theme, this is much more about his influence. If you’ve heard of basketball phrases like the pick-n-roll, sixth man and the emphasis on the fast break, those can all be linked back to Red Auerbach.
As if any more needed to be said, Auerbach made the Celtics the first franchise to draft a black player and name a black head coach, who you may have heard of: Bill Russell.
Mark has been a lifelong fan of all sports, and five years ago turned it into a profession, specializing in the NFL, NHL and MLB. He is a diehard Baltimore Ravens fan and has had his work published in sites such as Sports Illustrated, Pickswise and other top outlets.