Overrated, underrated coaching position

This isn't meant to minimize the pressure of being the head coach, which is huge. Even more than the quarterback, the head coach is usually the focus of the media's and the fans' scorn when things dip south, just as he is lavished with the most praise when the club is humming. In reality, however, head coaches have far less impact on the successes and failures of their teams than the attention given to them suggests.

In the overly compartmentalized world of the NFL, a head coach often operates as an overseer of the on-field operation, providing blueprints whose execution is carried out by assistants. With few exceptions, a head coach devotes the bulk of his energy to either the offense or the defense, where he collaborates with the coordinator of that unit to formulate a game plan. Furthermore, during the game, the coordinators are generally responsible for making the calls, with the head coach only intervening when he sees fit.

As for the players on the field, their talents are honed on the practice field by position coaches, and they're given their job by some combination of the head coach, general manager, scouts and even the owner — it's hardly a one-man operation.

Keep in mind that this "overrated" designation for head coaches is for those in the NFL, not all levels of football. At the collegiate level, the success of a program is often a direct reflection of its recruiting effort, on which the head coach has tremendous influence.

Underrated: Strength and conditioning coach

Championships are won in the offseason, you say, in weight rooms and on the hills? Well, not exactly, but you better believe that there's a pretty strong correlation between those who get their bodies in the best shape and those who perform best on Sundays. More than any other mainstream American sport (baseball, basketball, hockey, tennis, golf, etc.), football values physical tools (size, speed, strength) over coordination and motor skills. That's why scouts place such stock in Combine performances, where 40-yard dash times and bench-press reps are scrutinized with the same intensity as game tape.

It's therefore incumbent upon strength and conditioning coaches to mold players into premier athletes before they're turned over to the coaches who are responsible for cultivating football players.

Now, if teams were outfitted with 53 players who had the work ethic of Jerry Rice or Walter Payton, strength and conditioning coaches would be about as relevant as the dropkick. Unfortunately, most players need a kick in the ass to maximize their potential and, on top of that, need the technical know-how to get there. That's where this oft-ignored staff position comes in. Strength and conditioning coaches craft training programs geared for individual positions and even individual players, and their work is more behind the scenes than any other coach on staff.

True, there's less of a difference between the best and worst strength and conditioning coaches than there is between, say, offensive coordinators — much of their work involves a mastery of human physiology, where there's only so much room for interpretation — but that doesn't make them any less vital to the health of a team.

In addition to what you can read on our Web site, PFW editors sounded off on 10 more "overrated/underrated" topics in the Preview '09 magazine by PFW and Yahoo! Sports, now on sale at bookstores and newsstands across the country and online at PFWstore.com.