Basketball

3 Coaches Who Made Controversial Decisions That Paid Off

Decision making is a key skill in life and something that most people will need to be successful. This is naturally something that comes in handy when carving out a career, for example. The ability to make decisions is key to getting ahead and certainly important when managing people. It is not just your professional life where this comes in useful, though.

Being able to think for yourself and make decisions based on your own beliefs can help you uncover new hobbies to try. These may not be what other people close to you enjoy, or hobbies that you have tried before. Playing fun casino games online is a great example and a hobby that you might decide to take up, if you think you will like it. Decision making will also help you choose a top online casino site to play at from the range of platforms available.

Of course, one group of people that needs to have great decision-making skills is sports coaches. In addition, they need to be able to have the bravery to make tough calls which others might find controversial. This is not only true for college ball coaches but also coaches in other college sports and in the pro game.

As such, those who coach must be unafraid to make brave calls that might see them get criticism initially but which actually pay off overall. But which three coaches across the world of sports did this to great effect?

 

Steve Kerr goes bold with Andre Iguodala

2015’s NBA Finals saw the Golden State Warriors overcome the Cleveland Cavaliers 4-2 to lift the trophy. This triumph was largely down to a controversial yet inspired decision from head coach of the Warriors, Steve Kerr. Kerr realized that he needed to spread the floor and go smaller if his side were to stand a chance against the Cavs.

To achieve this, he brought former All-Star Andre Iguodala into the starting lineup – to the surprise of many pre-finals. As a first-year head coach at the time, this was a brave move by Kerr. It shows that sticking to your guns as a coach and doing what you are convinced will work (even if others are not!) can pay off.

 

Coach Payton’s eye-catching call in Super Bowl XLIV

Although basketball has had its fair share of controversial calls from coaches, some of which came off brilliantly, it is also worth looking at other sports where this has happened. By doing this, we can see how it applies to sports in general and the power that coaches have to spur their teams to victory. Super Bowl XLIV is a case in point and saw coach Sean Payton of the New Orleans Saints come into his own.

His side were behind 10-6 at half-time and looking light on offense. Knowing he had to take a risk to get his team firing on all cylinders, he instructed his players to make an unexpected onside kick when play restarted. This caught opposing team the Indianapolis Colts out and led to the Saints scoring a touchdown. Hanging on to win the game overall, it was this bold coaching decision that made all the difference.

 

2007’s Fiesta Bowl final stands out

Coaching can be brutal at times, as was the case when Sean Miller’s dismissal by Arizona after 12 seasons with them shows. It is not just college ball where coaches are under pressure and often make bold calls, though. There are also other college sports that deliver lots of drama and plenty of big coaching calls that paid off – but might have been controversial to begin with. The call made by coach Chris Petersen in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl is certainly worth mentioning.

His outside-of-the-box thinking led to one of the biggest upsets in recent history, when his Boise State Broncos side beat the heavily fancied Oklahoma Sooners. The Broncos unforeseen victory was all down to a bold decision made by Petersen in-game – this was demanding a hook and ladder play be implemented, which led to a touchdown. A game-winning score, this gutsy move shows that coaches sometimes must trust their instincts to win.

 

Coaches make all the difference to their teams

As the above shows, those in charge have a huge impact on how their sides fare – in the college scene, the pro game and any sport you care to mention. Although some coaches may back away from making bold moves for fear of them not working out, those who stick with their gut instinct can often be handsomely rewarded.