Are Coaches that important?

When ever a team loses it seems that the coach gets fired for the teams poor performance. Are the coaches to blame and do they have that big of an impact on how the team performs. Some people would argue that coaches have the biggest impact whether a team performs well or not. In certain cases this seems to be true, Ewen McKenzie head coach of the Reds took them from a team of fairly unknown youngsters to Super Rugby champions. This evidence would suggest that he made the world of difference. Another instance was Roberto Di Matteo of Chelsea who took a struggling team to an FA cup and UEFA Champions League title.

Examples that stand out are Italian Jose Mourinho who has found success with numerous teams. Sir Alex Ferguson who has had major success with Manchester United. Robbie Deans who has won more Super Rugby titles than any other coach. This would all point to the fact that coaches do make a difference. The other side of the argument would be that coaches don't make that big of a difference. Barcelona who have been on top of the World regardless of who has been the coach would be a perfect example. New Zealand rugby team, Australian cricket team have been the best in the world with numerous coaches. This could be that there players were of the best quality and didn't require a good coach.

Real Madrid would be the perfect example of a team full of super stars and having arguably the best coach in the world, this would prove that good players and a good coach is the best solution.