re: Top sports coaches/managers of all times

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Tom Osborne @ Nebraska

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Blatant juicing across the board

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True but everyone was doing it.

The crux is Osborne sucked out of conference in the 80's like Bama in the 60's.

Famous for beating up the Big8 or like Bama the SEC...

He was a bust in the 80's...the only Conference he beat up was the SEC.

He beat Moo State, LSU, LSU, LSU. Which is why LSU have such reverance for Nebraska.

From 1980-1994 he lost to in bowl games:

Houston
Clemson
Miami
Michigan
FSU
Miami
FSU
Georgia Tech
Miami
FSU
FSU

In 14 years Tom Osborne had 11 bowl losses; he could only beat LSU but nobody else in big time bowl games.

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True but everyone was doing it.

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Nobody was doing it bigger and better than Nebraska.They were some of the 1st innovators of a big time S&C program and they were way ahead of the curve.

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From 1980-1994 he lost to in bowl games:

Houston
Clemson
Miami
Michigan
FSU
Miami
FSU
Georgia Tech
Miami
FSU
FSU

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Sure but he get didn't blown out like he did during that 7 game streak...lost 3 games by 20+ points.

I think you need to be evaluated on two criteria: strategic/tactical innovation and winning. My best guess at each sport, though the competition is fierce.

MLB: John McGraw. Probably pure evil, but he also practically invented modern baseball. He was the first manager to understand platoon splits, and he used the lefty/righty matchup to his advantage. He also invented bullpen aces. Before McGraw, pitchers stayed in the game until they died or became completely ineffective. McGraw was the first guy to anticipate matchups and lift his starter for tactical reason for a better bullpen matchup. He didn't have pitch counts, but he was the guy who admitted pitchers can get tired. He also bent ever rule to the breaking point, and some rules we take for granted our McGraw innovations (like he used to have runners move up the outfield foul line during sac flies and then start running to the bag so that when the OF caught the ball, the runner on 3rd would have a running start to home).

NFL Bill Walsh. The West Coast offense changed football. He used his running backs primarily as receivers, and set the run up with the pass, instead of vice versa. He was a shrewd drafter and evaluator, and took a worthless team to 4 Super Bowl titles in a highly competitive era. Walsh transitioned football from a game of static violence to one of speed and space (and it helped to have Ronnie Lott committing acts of violence)

CFB Nick Saban. Sigh. He's won at an unprecedented level in an era when it is much easier for smaller programs to compete. It is far more difficult for programs to hoard talent now with TV exposure for all and scholarship limits. Saban simply defies these global trends by being the greatest recruiter in college history and finding every loophole in the rulebook to get every roster advantage possible. He's not much of a tactician (he's not bad, but he's not a genius like Walsh), but he simply ruthlessly exploits the rulebook in roster management like no one before or probably since. He's now applying the same philosophy to coaching with his invention of the shadow staff.

NBA Phil Jackson. OK, the triangle offense only works if you have the best player in the league, but plenty of coaches had the best player and didn't win every year. But he was the first major coach to de-emphasize the center position. Before jackson, it was simply the word of God that you needed a massive post presence to win. Dr J didn't win until he got Moses. But he won by building from the wings and honestly, had terrible centers on the Bulls. He also figured out how to manage egos, so he could transition his style. BTW - Dr. Jack Ramsey was a genius, and how he won a title with Portland with essentially Bill Walton and nothing else is amazing.

CBB John Wooden. Duh. Totally dominating the game for a decade. Yes, he had great players and an easier road to the finals, but he still dominated at a near unprecedented level against really good competition.

NHL Scotty Bowman. No contest. Nine Cups with three different teams and in two entirely different eras. He didn't invent the trap, but he perfected it. The left wing lock turned a defensive system into a way to score goals without sacrificing any of the defense (it helped to have perhaps the best lineup post-expansion in league history). He also won multiple Cups without great goaltending, which is remarkable in the modern NHL.

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Walsh transitioned football from a game of static violence to one of speed and space

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There were a few coaches that did the pre Walsh:Don
Coryell,Lavelle Edwards,Sid Gilliam and Paul Brown (to
some extent)

Can't disagree with your selection though.Walsh took something from each of those guys and transformEd
it to his own style...especially with the way he used the passing a game as a ball control offense.

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of the national champions that decade were dominating or transcendent teams

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Huh?Miami won 4 NC's between '83 and '91 and probably 2
of their best teams ('86 and '88) didn't even one.

They absolutely transformed the way CFB defense played
by putting a huge emphasis on team speed on that side of the ball.

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Huh?Miami won 4 NC's between '83 and '91 and probably 2
of their best teams ('86 and '88) didn't even one.

They absolutely transformed the way CFB defense played
by putting a huge emphasis on team speed on that side of the ball.

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The 1986 team was the best of all the Miami teams during that time period and dominated elite competition that entire season, just didn't win the chip analogous to the 2007 Patriots for pro football

There wern't dominating or transformative compared to
who? Even Bama with its great run with Saban has had only 1 undefeated season. The only other completely dominate team moving forward from the 80's would be
Nebraska in '96.

But I'll still argue that their acquisition and style of defensive personnel changed the way CFB played.

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Paul Brown
Vince Lombardi
Bill Belichick
Bob Knight
John Wooden
Don Shula
Bill Walsh
Bill Parcells
Coach K
Nick Saban

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7 football and 3 basketball? Seems legit.

Billy Martin