A Definitive Ranking of the Best Athletes Turned Coaches

16.

Perhaps the only job in sports that’s tougher than being a star player is being the coach who has to coax the best performance possible out of that athlete. While that sense of self-belief and confidence is an universal trait among those who are successful in sports, in many ways, being a star player requires a degree of selfishness that coaches always fight against.

It is not a huge shock, then, that in many sports the record of star players who go on to enjoy coaching success is a bit spotty. That’s not to say, however, that it is impossible to enjoy a long, fruitful career as both a pro athlete and pro coach. While basketball has produced the most success stories in this regard, every sport has its fair share. Here’s A Definitive Ranking of the Best Athletes Turned Coaches.

15.Mike Scioscia

Anyone who has watched or played baseball can tell you that being a catcher puts a physical toll on you that makes it very difficult to remain productive for over a decade. So, the fact that Mike Scioscia was able to enjoy his best offensive seasons during the 10th and 11th years of his career is perhaps his greatest achievement as a player. Although you could also argue that his World Series rings in 1981 and 1988 aren’t so bad either. He’s been a staple on the bench of the Los Angeles Angels, taking over in 2000 and experiencing early success with a Manager of the Year award and World Series ring in 2002. He took home the award again in 2009, and overall, has guided the Halos to the playoffs six times.

14.Doc Rivers

Doc Rivers enjoyed a long career as a point guard, playing for four different NBA teams over 13 seasons. He made the All-Star Game in 1988, and with Dominique Wilkins, led the Hawks to the playoffs, where they pushed the Celtics to the brink before being eliminated in an all-time classic Game 7 in Boston. After retiring in 1996, Rivers found himself in charge of the Orlando Magic for the 1999-2000 season and guided the team to four consecutive seasons at .500 or better before being fired when they started 1-10 in year five. He landed on his feet though, moving on to Boston, where he led the Celtics to the NBA title in 2008 and back to the Finals in 2010. He is held in such high esteem that the Clippers gave up a first-round pick just to secure his services. Then, during the Donald Sterling fiasco, he basically ran the entire organization—now that is serious respect.

13.Tom Flores

You don’t hear Tom Flores’ name mentioned all that much when it comes to the all-time most successful football coaches, but he was a trailblazer in several different areas during his NFL career. After enjoying a solid six-year stretch with the Raiders as the first Hispanic starting quarterback in NFL history (including one Pro Bowl appearance), Flores got a ring with the Chiefs in the final year of his playing career. He then moved to the sidelines, where he won Super Bowl XI as an assistant coach with the Raiders and Super Bowls XV and XVIII as the head coach, becoming the first minority head coach ever to win a NFL championship.

12.Larry Bird

Larry Bird’s accomplishments as a player need little-to-no introduction. One of the greatest clutch performers of all time in any sport, Bird won three NBA titles and three MVPs as a member of the Boston Celtics from 1979 to 1992. He worked in the Celtics’ front office after retiring, assuming that he would eventually get a chance to coach. However, when they instead handed the job to M.L. Carr, Bird accepted the job as the head man for the Indiana Pacers. He won Coach of the Year during his first season on the bench, and in his final year, the Pacers reached the only NBA Finals in franchise history. Despite a cumulative 147-67 record during his time at the helm, Bird retired from coaching at age 43 and hasn’t been back to the bench since.

11.Mario Zagallo

Mario Zagallo made history as the first person ever to win the World Cup as both a player and a manager, and has lifted the trophy a total of four times. He scored a goal in the 1958 Final and helped Brazil to consecutive World Cup wins that year as well as in 1962. Then in 1970, he oversaw what many believe is the greatest national team of all-time as Brazil rampaged through the World Cup en route to the title. He also served as an assistant on the Cup-winning 1994 squad, then took the head coaching reins again as Brazil lost in the Final in 1998. His four appearances in a Final are more than any nation can claim, with the exceptions of Brazil, Argentina, Germany, and Italy.

10.Pat Riley

The enduring legacy of Pat Riley will be his time as a coach, and justifiably so. He has won five rings as a head coach, winning titles at the helm of both the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat. He was also a solid role player in the NBA after winning SEC Player of the Year honors in 1966 at Kentucky, providing depth off the bench and serving as a key piece in the Lakers’ run to the 1972 NBA title. Additionally, Riley gets bonus points for being drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the 1967 NFL draft, and for playing wide receiver in college for the Wildcats.

9.Tommy Heinsohn

The blusterous Tommy Heinsohn is a bit of a forgotten man in conversations about highly successful professional athletes who became equally good coaches, partially due to the fact that he hasn’t coached an NBA team since 1978. As a player, Heinsohn made six All-Star appearances and won eight rings as an essential member of the Celtics’ Russell-Cousy era—a prolific scorer in an age where there were very few. He took over the Boston head coaching gig in 1969-70, winning Coach of the Year in 1973 after a 68-win regular season and capturing NBA titles in 1974 and 1976.

8.Jerry Sloan

He may never have won a title despite having the third-most wins as a coach in NBA history, but that is not the only measure of Jerry Sloan’s on- and off-the-court success. In his playing days, Sloan was one of the premier defensive stoppers in the entire NBA, and was named to the All-Defensive First Team four times, as well as the Second Team twice. A solid scorer who averaged 14.0 points per game for his career, Sloan retired in 1976 and joined the Chicago Bulls coaching staff as an assistant in 1978. Fired after two-plus seasons in Chicago, he joined the Jazz as a scout and eventually took over the head coaching position during the 1988-89 season, presiding over the highly successful Malone-Stockton era. While they were able to make the NBA Finals twice, both of those trips ended with Game 6 losses at the hands of Michael Jordan’s Bulls.

7.Jacques Lemaire

It’s somewhat surprising that throughout the history of professional hockey, very few people have achieved success both on the ice and in the box. Really, the only unabashed success story is Jacques Lemaire, who won eight Stanley Cups as a player with the Montreal Canadiens in the 1960s and ‘70s (scoring two cup-winning goals along the way) and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1984. As a coach, he won the Stanley Cup with the New Jersey Devils in 1995 and won the Jack Adams Award for Coach of the Year in both 1994 and 2003. He retired in 2011 as one of just eight men in history to have coached 600 regular season games.

6.Franz Beckenbauer

Franz Beckenbauer—known commonly as “Der Kaiser” in the "football" world—has been one of the most influential figures in the game for over five decades. He was one of the greatest defenders in the history of the sport, winning the World Cup with West Germany in 1974 as well as numerous club titles throughout his playing career. He moved to the bench after retiring in 1983, guiding West Germany to the World Cup Final in 1986 where they lost to Diego Maradona’s Argentina side. He got another shot at the Argentines in 1990, and this time West Germany were able to take home the trophy with a 1-0 win. In the mid-1990s, he took the helm of his former clubs, Bayern Munich, and was able to cap his career with a Bundesliga title in 1994 and a UEFA Cup win in 1996.

5.Mike Ditka

Mike Ditka is still regarded as one of the greatest tight ends in NFL history, revolutionizing the position. He made 56 catches as a rookie with the Chicago Bears in 1961, while at the same time remained one of the most tenacious blockers in the league. He made five consecutive Pro Bowls to start his career—winning the 1963 NFL championship as a star with the Bears—and also was a key reserve on the Dallas Cowboys teams that won Super Bowls VI and XII. Upon retiring in 1972, he immediately became an assistant coach for Dallas under Tom Landry, and in 1982, the Bears hired him to turn the team around. By his third year, the Bears had the best defense in the NFL, went 15-1, and won the Super Bowl. In 1988 Ditka was enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

4.Kenny Dalglish

There aren’t many trophies that Kenny Dalglish hasn’t won in the footballing world. Playing with Celtic in Scotland, he won both the league and Scottish Cup four times each before moving to Liverpool, where he won six First Division titles, one FA Cup, four League Cups, three European Cups (now known as the UEFA Champions League), and one UEFA Super Cup. He’s a member of both the English and Scottish Football Halls of Fame, and was runner up for the 1983 Ballon d’Or. As manager of Liverpool he won three English First Division titles, and then in 1995 won the Premier League title with Blackburn. He returned to Anfield briefly in 2011-12, and now holds a front office job with the club.

3.Phil Jackson

No NBA coach has ever won more championships than Phil Jackson’s 11. It will be a tough record to catch—one that requires longevity, skill, and some luck. Jackson’s success on the bench with the likes of Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Shaquille O’Neal has overshadowed his playing career, which also brought him multiple titles. Named to the All-Rookie First Team in 1968, Jackson played a total of 12 NBA seasons and won two titles as a member of the Knicks in 1970 and 1973. While his offensive game was okay at best, Jackson’s tenacity on defense and willingness to commit hard fouls made him one of the most notoriously difficult post matchups in the league.

2.Joe Torre

A living legend, Joe Torre was much more than just the man in charge of the Yankees’ dynasty in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He was a Hall of Fame player as well, making nine All-Star teams and winning National League MVP with the Cardinals in 1971, when he hit .363 with 24 home runs and a whopping 137 RBIs. In 1977, he served as a player-manager after their regular skipper was fired early in the year, but the Mets didn’t experience a winning season in his five years at the helm. He had moderately successful stints with the Braves and Cardinals before hitting it big with the Yankees, where he took over in 1996 and won four World Series titles in five years, including two American League Manager of the Year awards. Torre’s 2,326 career victories are the fifth-most wins for a manager in MLB history.

1.Lenny Wilkens

The soft-spoken Wilkens owns the distinction of being inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame three different times: once as a player, once as a coach, and once as a member of the 1992 Dream Team coaching staff. His 1,322 victories as a coach were the most of all-time until Don Nelson passed him in 2010, but on the court, there was no comparison. As a point guard for several teams, Wilkens was a nine-time All-Star and was named one of the 50 greatest players of all-time in 1996. His teams were winners, too. He won a championship ring coaching the 1979 SuperSonics, coached in 178 playoff games (seventh-most all-time), and played in 64 more.