I know that coaches usually end up paying for a team's failures, but that doesn't mean it's their fault. The fact of the matter is players win games, not coaches. Coaches are important for their work before game time--how they prepare, how they run practices, how they communicate with players, etc. But you don't hear coaches getting fired because they weren't the best at those things. Owners don't really care about anything besides the results. A coach could have the reputation as the best in preparation, practice, and player communication, but if he doesn't produce a lot of "W's" then he won't last long. Owners need to realize that winning is centered around the players. Don't believe me? Let's look at the teams of the past few Super Bowls. We'll do football since there seems to be a lot of turnover in the coaching department there.
Last season's Super Bowl was the great showdown between Manning and Brees, not Caldwell and Payton. The Saints and the Colts were by far the two best teams last season, neither of them losing a game until late in the season. The Saints of course had Drew Brees, Pierre Thomas, Marques Colston, Robert Meachem, and about 5 other offensive weapons. On defense they had Darren Sharper, Tracy Porter, Jonathan Vilma, Will Smith, and, again, about 5 other defensive stalwarts. The same goes for the Colts. On offense they had Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark, Austin Collie, etc. Defensively they had Dwight Freeney, Robert Mathis, Gary Brackett, Antoine Bethea, etc. These teams had both the offensive and defensive players to make it to the Super Bowl. Any coach could have lead these teams to the Super Bowl.
Go back two years and it was the Steelers vs. the Cardinals. Now the Cardinals were unlikely to make it to the Super Bowl, but that does not mean the team was not good. Offensively the team was led by Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, Steve Breaston, etc. Defensively they had Adrian Wilson, Darnell Dockett, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Karlos Dansby, etc. Steelers were one of the best teams in the league that year. They had Ben Roethlisberger, Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes, Willie Parker, etc on the offensive side of the ball. On D they had the likes of Troy Polamalu, James Harrison, James Farrior, Ike Taylor, etc. These teams were also built very well to go to the Super Bowl. Not to mention both head coaches, Ken Whisenhunt and Mike Tomlin, had only been coach of their respective teams for 1 year prior to reaching the Super Bowl.
Three years ago was when the Giants took on the undefeated Patriots. Now this game had two veteran coaches in Tom Coughlin and Bill Belichick, but they too also each had good teams. Pats led by Tom Brady, Randy Moss, Wes Welker, and a host of defensive greats, like Tedy Bruschi, Rodney Harrison, and Vince Wilfork. Giants had Eli Manning, Amani Toomer, Plaxico Burress, and also a had a great defense led by Michael Strahan, Antonio Pierce, and Justin Tuck. Two more great teams that made it to the Super Bowl.
As you can see, a team needs a good squad of players to reach the Super Bowl, which is every owner desires. Yes, I'm sure if you look hard enough you will find a team that was mediocre and won because of a great coach, but those are called exceptions to the rule. Owners and upper management need to give their coaches a good team before judging their coaches. If you keep hiring coaches to lousy teams, then those coaches are doomed to fail. Owners need to wake up and smell the roses. The key to a successful team is players. Players win games, not coaches.
References:
http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2010020700/2009/POST22/saints@colts/recap/analyze#tab:analyze
http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2009020100/2008/POST21/steelers@cardinals/analyze/box-score
http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2008020300/2007/POST21/giants@patriots/analyze/box-score
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Whisenhunt
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Tomlin
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