Most Difficult Coaching Job In Sports

Yankees manager.  Notre Dame football coach.  Dallas Cowboys coach.

What is the most difficult coaching job in sports?

This one is easy - the Yankee manager.   

You have the tools but if you don't win, there's no excuse.

Your roster essentially looks like a fantasy team in a league against 6-year olds (and Alan Fish) but you’d better win 95 games and make it to the World Series every year or else you're out of job.

There are no excuses.  The Yankees have more then double the payroll of most major league teams.  They have the best players.  They have multiple Hall of Famers.  They’ve got All-Stars all over the place.

What’s your reason for losing?  You don't have one.

If you suffer an injury, you’re expected to just trade for whatever you need whenever you need it.

Then there's the New York media.  The New York media will eat you alive. 

Look at Joe Girardi in his first season – he was a mess.

Every pitch is scrutinized.  Every single move you make is written about and broken down.  These writers are selling newspapers and are looking for anything to dig up.

If A-Rod sunbathes in Central Park, it’s a front page story about how he was sunbathing instead of taking batting practice.  Even if he was sunbathing on an off-day.

There are 30+ New York media members at EVERY game.  Do you know how many media members are at other teams’ games?  Maybe 10 - tops!

What about the fans?

When you’ve won 27 World Series titles, there are some serious expectations.  Fans are spoiled and anything less than a Championship means that manager has failed. 

I know that’s every teams’ philosophy, but it’s not always realistic.  For the Yankees, it totally is.

Every fan out there is a manager.  They’re analyzing every pitch from April 1st until October 1st.  Every move you make will always be second guessed by the fans.  Even if you’re right - in the fans' eyes, you've made the wrong move.

Talk shows, blogs and word on the street.  The Yankees dominate New York City.  It’s not even close.

Everyone follows them and everyone’s an expert.

That's why the Yankees manager is the most difficult coaching job in all of sports.