by Lisa Ricco

Created on: September 27, 2008   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

Should coaches face criticism when a team loses?

If a coach calls in a play, and because of that one play, and only that one play, the team loses then yes, the coach should be criticized. But let's face it, that's rarely the case. When a team loses a game, there's always more than one reason for the loss, and you cannot put the blame on the coach. They should not be the ones facing criticism, the players should be.

The greatest example that I can give for this debate is the New York Yankees. On paper, they should be the best team in baseball. The team everyone chases for the championship. A team to be feared. But they are not, and this year they are not even making the playoffs. With the athletes they have on their roster this should not be happening. Their roster is filled with powerful names: Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Johnny Damon, Mariano Rivera, the list goes on with big name players. And yet this year, and even for the past few years, it has been a struggle for them to win. Can we really blame manager Joe Girardi for every loss this year? And was it Joe Torre's fault when he was manager? For the latter, obviously not, since Joe Torre now manages a winning team, a first place team, a team making the playoffs, a team who, on paper, would be deemed less powerful than the Yankees. Torre was let go as the Yankee's manager because he wasn't getting the results that the big boss wanted. He didn't have the stats, he wasn't winning the big games, and he wasn't making the playoffs. In reality, it's the team who didn't put up the big numbers, have the stats, and make the playoffs. And this year, with a new manager, the team still didn't get the job done. So, should Joe Girardi now be taking the blame for this? Hell no. The Yankee players should.

In any sport, not just baseball, the players are paid to do their job and are expected to do it well. The shortstop should have no problem making the outs on the field, the quarterback should be throwing touchdowns, and the goalie should be stopping the other team from scoring. The coach's job is to pick the best player for each position and hope that all goes well. They can give advice, they can help the players correct problems they may be having, but the coach cannot physically play the game for the players. When Jeter makes a fielding error, that's not the coach's fault, it's Jeter's. If the coach had his way, the play would be made with no problems. If Peyton Manning throws an interception, that's not the coach's

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