Player-coach
A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player-coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make changes to the squad and also play on the team.
Very few current major professional sports teams have head coaches who are also players, though it is common for senior players to take a role in managing more junior athletes. Historically, when professional sports had less money to pay players and coaches or managers, player-coaches were more common. Likewise, where player-coaches exist today, they are more common at, but not exclusive to, the lower levels where money is less available.
Player-coaches in basketball
The player-coach was, for many decades, a long-time fixture in professional
Player-coaches in American football
In the early days of professional American football, player-coaches were a necessity, as most leagues' rules prohibited coaching from the sidelines. The National Football League eventually allowed sideline coaches in the late 1920s, and they quickly became the norm. During the 1920s, legendary player-coaches in the NFL include Curly Lambeau, who played for the Green Bay Packers from 1919 to 1929 and served as their head coach from 1919 to 1949, and George Halas, who held similar roles for the Chicago Bears, a team for which he was also part-owner and business manager. Ernie Nevers held the positions of both fullback and head coach for the Duluth Eskimos in 1927 and the Chicago Cardinals from 1929 to 1931. Jimmy Conzelman was player-coach for four teams during the 1920s. In the mid-1950s, Tom Landry played defensive back while serving as defensive coordinator for the New York Giants. In the early 1970s, when Landry was coach of the Dallas Cowboys, he made running back Dan Reeves a player-coach.
In the television era, pro football evolved into a higher-impact two-platoon game, so players serving as head coaches became impractical.
More modern players have acted as player-assistant coaches in an unofficial capacity, such as journeyman quarterback Steve DeBerg, who served as an unofficial mentor for younger, more skilled arms while also serving as their backup.
In an official capacity, much like the NBA, the current
By the 21st century, on-field playcalling duties would often be split between the head coach or offensive coordinator and the Quarterback. Peyton Manning, Brett Favre, Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger and Drew Brees pioneered what would essentially become roles as on-field offensive coordinators by taking vocal leadership in playcalling and game management.
Player-coaches in cricket
Player-coaches in
More recently the ICC full-member team of India had a spell in following the resignation of head coach Anil Kumble where the team played without a coach. In this instance, team captain Virat Kohli was given the nickname 'Koach' (Kohli + Coach) as he served as player coach for the tour of the West Indies in 2017.[6]
Player-managers in association football
The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. (January 2016) |
In
In British men's football
Notable football player-managers include:
A number of bigger clubs have appointed player-managers on a temporary basis but not given them permanent contracts. Notable cases include
There have been four player-managers in the Premier League since 2000:
- Stuart McCall, who managed two Bradford City games on an interim basis in late 2000
- Garry Monk, who was appointed interim player-manager of Swansea City in February 2014, after their manager, Michael Laudrup, was sacked
- Leon Britton, who also became player-manager of Swansea City after the sacking of Paul Clement[9]
- Manchester United by David Moyes on 4 July 2013 and Giggs served as interim player-manager until the appointment of Louis van Gaal on 9 May 2014 as manager following Moyes' dismissal[8]
In English women's football
In Slovak men's football
In Slovakia, comparably to surrounding countries, player-coaches and player-managers are most common in semi-professional or amateur clubs with sides being led by formerly professional players on the brink of retirement or in early stages of their managerial careers. Frequently, such player-managers are linked with clubs from their native areas. Examples include Milan Jambor playing and managing FK Svit, Stanislav Šesták playing for and managing a club from his native village of Demjata or Peter Petráš's tenure in Tatran Prešov during their years in crisis in 3. Liga.[11][12][13] In professional football (top two leagues) such cases are rarer but have occurred in the past, especially in smaller and financially struggling clubs, such as Senica, which has cooperated with Juraj Piroska simultaneously in a role of a players and assistant manager.[14]
In other European football
In 2019,
In September 2021, Ferencvárosi TC appointed forward Fanny Vágó as player-manager, who then led the team to two Női NB I championships in 2021–22 and 2022–23 while also continuing as the league's leading goalscorer in both seasons.[15] When prompted to choose between managing her club and continuing to play for the Hungary women's national football team by its manager Margret Kratz, Fanny chose club management and ended her international career.[16]
In Brazilian men's football
Brazilian world-cup winner Romário was also a player-coach for Vasco da Gama in 2007.[17] He was appointed in November 2006 when Celso Roth was sacked after a loss and debuted in a 1–0 win against Club América in the quarterfinals of the Copa Sudamericana. Despite the victory, Vasco was eliminated because of a 2–0 loss in the first leg. He continued as a coach until early February when he decided to go against Vasco's president Eurico Miranda forced him to use the then youth player Alan Kardec in a match for Campeonato Carioca. Romário left Vasco both as a coach and player.[18]
In American women's football
In 2009,
Challenges
The chief executive of the League Managers Association stated his belief that the increased workload for managers made combining the two roles difficult. The last permanent player-manager in the top flight of English football was Gianluca Vialli, who retired from playing in 1999 when he was the manager of Chelsea.[9] The governing bodies have also imposed requirements for managers to hold professional coaching qualifications, which few players obtain before retiring.[9]
Player-managers in baseball
In baseball, the manager selects the lineup and starting pitcher before each game, and makes substitutions throughout the game. In early baseball history, it was not uncommon for players to serve as player-managers; that is, they managed the team while still being signed to play for the club. One reason for this is that by hiring a player as a manager, the team could save money by paying only one salary.[22][23]: 4 Also, popular players were named player-managers in an effort to boost game attendance.[23]: 4–5
While no
The most recent player-manager in MLB was Pete Rose, who, upon being traded from the Montreal Expos to the Cincinnati Reds in August 1984, was immediately named the Reds' manager.[24] Rose managed and served as a backup infielder until the end of the 1986 season, when he retired as a player. Rose continued to manage the Reds until 1989, when he was given a lifetime ban by MLB for gambling on baseball.
During the 1999 Season
In their final game of the 2016 season, the
Australian rules football
Captain-coaches used to be a relatively common occurrence in Australian rules football, even at the highest level of play; in fact, for the first nine years of the VFL (1897–1905), the premiership-winning team was coached by a player in every instance. However, the increasing professionalism and complications of the game late into the 20th century meant that the efficacy of captain-coaching was becoming increasingly unviable. The last captain-coach to win the premiership at the top level was Carlton's Alex Jesaulenko, who managed to secure a 5-point victory in the 1979 VFL Grand Final against Collingwood. Jesaulenko was also the final captain-coach in the VFL/AFL, serving as captain-coach until Round 8 on 16 May 1981.[26] However, Malcolm Blight was a non-captaining player-coach at North Melbourne until Round 16 of the same season but was not captain during this time.[27]
See also
References
- ^ "Sources: Broncos' bid to start coach at QB nixed". 29 November 2020.
- ^ "Broncos WR-turned-QB Kendall Hinton goes 1-for-9 with two interceptions in loss to Saints".
- ^ "At 42, Deitz set for hip return to cricket after 10-year hiatus". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
- ^ "HKCA appoints Ryan Campbell as Specialist Batting Coach" – ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
- ^ "Hong Kong pick ex-Australia keeper Campbell for WT20" – ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
- ^ "Kumble resigns as partnership with Kohli becomes 'untenable'". ESPNcricinfo. 20 June 2017. Retrieved 2021-11-13.
- ^ a b c One's Kompany: just where have all the player-managers gone?, FourFourTwo, 22 May 2019
- ^ TalkSport, 21 May 2019
- ^ a b c d e Austin, Simon (28 March 2013). "Where have football's player-managers gone?". BBC Sport. BBC. Archived from the original on 28 March 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
- ^ Voakes]], Kris (24 August 2018). "'I've always wanted to do this' - Stoney unfazed by pressure of managing Man Utd". Goal. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
- ^ "TJ Sokol Ľubotice". sokollubotice.sk. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
- ^ "Rezerva MFK Zemplín zdemolovala Svit- Noviny Zemplína". www.novinyzemplina.sk. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
- ^ "Petráš chcel ušetriť hráčov. Po piatich rokoch nastúpil za Prešov". sportnet.sme.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 2022-12-06.
- ^ "Piroska tvárou Senice! Nový káder, nové ambície". Fortuna liga. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
- ^ Vágó Fanny: "Veszíteni is tudni kell, és talán példát kellene mutatni" [Fanny Vágó: "You have to know how to lose, and maybe you should set an example"]. Sportal (in Hungarian). 2 June 2023. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
- ^ "Ferencváros vagy címeres mez" [Ferencváros or jersey with a crest]. M4 Sport (in Hungarian). 22 March 2023. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
- ^ "GloboEsporte.com > Futebol > Vasco - NOTÍCIAS - Romário vai treinar o Vasco". globoesporte.globo.com. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
- ^ "GloboEsporte.com > Futebol > Flamengo - NOTÍCIAS - Kléber Leite abre as portas para Romário". globoesporte.globo.com. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
- ^ Giase, Frank (July 30, 2009). "Sky Blue FC coach quits abruptly; Christie Rampone to serve as player-coach". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
- ^ McCauley, Kim (May 19, 2020). "Sky Blue FC's surprise 2009 championship run is an all-time underdog story". All For XI. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
- ^ "Rampone expecting second child". Fox Sports. August 25, 2009. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
- The Evening Independent. November 25, 1933. p. 6A. Retrieved April 16, 2012 – via Google News.
- ^ ISBN 0-7864-1228-3.
- ^ "Pete Rose's return as manager-player wowed the media, – 08.27.84 – SI Vault". cnn.com. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
- ^ "Martin Prado Serves As Marlins' Player-Manager In Season Finale". cbslocal.com. 3 October 2016. Archived from the original on 4 October 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
- ^ "St Kilda v North Melbourne – Match Stats". afltables.com. 16 May 1981.
- ^ "The North Story: Malcolm Blight profile". kangaroos.com.au. Archived from the original on 20 November 2012. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
External links
- Wulf, Steve. "The evolution of player-coaches" ESPN.com, 21 June 2013