Birko19
Registered User
I think that's true of a lot of great coaches. Bowman wasn't that well liked by his players either but they got results. The role of a coach is not to baby players and be a buddy to them, it's to get the most he can out of them and turn them into a more effective team by any means necessary.
Found a quote from Steve Shutt about Bowman that I like.
"Bowman is the kind of coach a player hates for 364 days a year before putting on his championship ring on Day 365"
Yes, Bowman was not liked either, but he got results because a side from being a great coach, he also had a lot of leaders and veterans that knew how to keep these problems in check.
I should also mention that while the coach may be disliked, it would be a good idea to have assistant coaches that are buddy buddy with the players, Detroit had that with Dave Lewis, and that sort of balanced things out.