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We interviewed the greatest defensive minds in history on how to coach for Super Bowl LVII. Their answers are enlightening and essential reading before making any picks on the Big Game.
Bill Belichick is considered the greatest defensive head coach ever and holds the record for the most Super Bowl wins (6) and the league’s worst post-game interviews.
Knute Rockne is regarded as the greatest coach in college football history. During the 13 years he coached Notre Dame, Rockne win over 100 games, three national championships, and his .881 winning percentage was the highest in history. His motivational rants are available on vinyl records.
Buddy Ryan has coached the greatest defensive teams in NFL history including the Super Bowl III victors, N.Y. Jets, Minnesota’s Purple People Eaters, the Philadelphia Eagles of the late ‘80s and he masterminded the 46 Defense for the Super Bowl ‘85 Chicago Bears. The Bears have not played defense since.
RunYourPool: How do you stop Patrick Mahomes?
Bill Belichick: [barely audible] I ran some analytics and instead of putting a player to mirror him I would use edge rushers to contain him in the pocket [long silence] and take it one series at a time.
Knute Rockne: You gotta go. YOU GO, GO, GO! WE’RE GOING TO RUN HIM RIGHT, WE’RE GOING TO RUN HIM LEFT AND WHEN WE FINISH RUNNING HIM, WE ARE GOING TO RUN HIM SOME MORE!
Buddy Ryan: Overrated, overpaid. First, you put three or four Reggie Whites on him. Next, I’d have Mike Singletary blitz on every play. I designed one play where William “The Fridge” Perry just sits on Mahomes. Everyone gets bonuses for late hits. So that’s the plan. We take a few roughing-the-quarterback penalties and knock the son-of-a-bitch out of the game.
RYP: The Super Bowl has a super long halftime. What do you tell your team if they’re protecting a one-score lead?
Bill Belichick: I just tell them to play one series at a time… [long silence] …what we won’t be doing is looking into the ball’s air pressures and see what we can do there.
Knute Rockne: I will get up on a soapbox and tell my men, “YOU GOTTA GO OUT THERE AND RUN, RUN, RUN! RUN RIGHT, RUN LEFT, AND GO, GO, GO! NOW, GO OUT THERE AND WIN ONE FOR THE GIPPER!”
Buddy Ryan: One score? What the hell are you talking about? We will be up by three or four scores by halftime. Ditka and I plan to grab some beers and watch the halftime show with the cheerleaders.
RYP: Who do you think is going to win?
Bill Belichick: The better team. [long silence] I’m not going to worry about that until the 4th quarter… [barely audible] the score will dictate who wins.
Knute Rockne: The Gipper is going to win this one and do you know why? Because WE’RE GOING TO HIT THEM HIGH, WE’RE GOING TO HIT THEM LOW AND THEN WE’RE GOING TO RUN, RUN, RUN…
Buddy Ryan: I put three bills on the Eagles to cover, got money on the Over and $50 on Rihanna having a wardrobe malfunction.
