Collegiate Times

Have you ever thought about what coach you would want to play for if you were a superstar athlete and had your pick of teams?

I have, and have picked the coaches I would most want to play for if I either played College Football, College Basketball, in the NBA, NFL or Major League Baseball.

Note: In the interest of fairness, I did not consider any Virginia Tech coaches.
College Football: Pete Carroll — USC

If I were a member of the 2007 graduating high school class and could play for any one of America’s great college football coaches, it would be the man in L.A. who has had tremendous success over the last four seasons.

Carroll has the appeal of previously being a NFL coach, something very eye-opening to potential recruits. Not only that, Carroll has quite a track record of getting players taken in the NFL draft.

Quarterbacks Matt Leinart (10th) and Carson Palmer (1st) were both Heisman Trophy winners and first-round draft picks. 

Additionally, notable skill players Reggie Bush and Mike Williams are Carroll products who have gone on to the NFL after big-time college success.  
College Basketball: Roy Williams — UNC

As a prospective recruit, I think I would be awed by walking in to the Dean Smith Center, home of Carolina basketball, and seeing all of the banners hanging form the rafters. If that were not enough, Williams’ presence would be.  
Williams appears to be a genuinely nice guy that cares about his players. 

I think that having a likeable guy as your coach would make getting up early every morning to go to practice and training a little more bearable — and the winning does not hurt.
NBA: Phil Jackson — L.A. Lakers

Growing up, the vast majority of the NBA games I watched featured teams coached by Jackson.

The Bulls and the Lakers have both three-peated under Jackson, with the Bulls doing it twice in eight years. The man is nine for 10 in the NBA finals. 

The combination of winning and living in L.A. would be too much to turn down.  
NFL: Joe Gibbs — Washington Redskins

I’m picking Joe Gibbs for two reasons: the winning tradition and the fact that I’m a huge Redskins fan.
Gibbs has emerged victorious in three Super Bowls, while coaching in four. He is dedicated to his job and puts in an incredible amount of time in preparation. 

Gibbs turned the ‘Skins around towards the latter part of last season, and he can’t ever be counted out.
Also, as I noted earlier, I love the Washington Redskins. 
MLB: Joe Torre — New York Yankees

Torre is a lifelong winner. He has won four World Series titles and makes postseason appearances year after year. 

Granted, he has the highest payroll and some of the best players in the game, but it definitely takes a great coach to handle Steinbrenner and the New York media.

On the money tangent, I’ll get paid about twice my actual value to play for him.

I don’t think I could actually turn down the opportunity to play in pinstripes.