Why do some coaches win so often? Well, truth be told, some coaches are in the right places at the right times and have built or inherited (and sustained) supportive relationships within their greater realm of their communities. Of course, these are special people, but I'm more of the opinion that most coaches have special personalities.
To support my main point(s) above, look at the recent and first rankings of the NCAA football polling for entry into the national championship tournament. Baylor is undefeated and ranked 12th and another undefeated team, Univ of MN Gophers, are 18th. It is not what you have done, but who you are, sadly. And, these are programs in big-time conferences. Navy, Memphis, SMU, ha. That's for another day. Look to see what teams are 20-25. There is no harm in putting undefeated teams to the top 10. Sure, they'll play other games and everyone won't be undefeated for long. But 18th is a disgrace. And, it happens over and over. These early polls are a way to keep repression alive and justified.
If U of MN beats PSU this week, will it move up to top 5? Doubt it.
This makes a great case, given the long view, for coaches to job hop and climb the ladder by getting better and better positions.
But, it also makes great sense for coaches to really work on their relationship skills and capacity. Getting to the right places in the right times with superior relationship building skills and winning with the highest rankings are more of a guarantee.
This is one reason why swimming is so great, BTW. Great coaching and support matched with some excited kids can make a big splash and climb very high. We race the clock. We don't use rankings to suppress as much as other sports. But, swimming still has its hang-ups and ceilings in other, more subtle ways.
Three cheers for the great coaches and the great programs. They are an inspiration and their models, especially in terms of their relationship development, is worth the investigation, study and replication. Furthermore, I'm a super-fan for the underdogs, the upstarts, the one's who are bold enough to turn their green turf fields a blue color and build programs (and brands) that come from "nowhere" and make waves of change.
Struggle on!
Gift of inclusion!