For NFL fans or sports fans in general, it would be hard to find anyone who didn't hear the news that swept through American sports this past week. When it comes to the elite — the epitome of head coaches in American sports, Jon Harbaugh and Mike Tomlin are undisputed.
Yet, even with the best of the best, there is always an end, and both Harbaugh and Tomlin experienced one such as this following their teams' disappointing seasons in the NFL. For Harbaugh, it ended when his now former team, the Baltimore Ravens, finished the season without making the playoffs. He coached in Baltimore for 18 years.
For Tomlin, who, during his 19-year Pittsburgh Steelers stretch, never had a losing season, his time in the Steel City closed after last weekend's Wild Card weekend loss. Both men were two of the three longest-tenured head coaches across all four American Sports — the NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL. Now, only one remains still breathing — still standing, is Erik Spoelstra.
Miami Heat's Erik Spoelstra is now the longest tenured head coach in American sports
Recently, while guest-appearing on The OGs Show hosted by former Heat players Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller, team president Pat Riley shared a snippet of what made him start to believe that Spoelstra was special. Riley shared a story about how he would have his coaches slip practice notes under his door during the early days when Riley was still coaching the Miami Heat.
Riley would go on to say that he became more impressed with the notes that came from Spoelstra. Well, everyone knows what would eventually happen next: Riley stepping down, or moving up, better said, and handing the team over to Spoelstra. He showed greatness early, but his greatness evidently began before his head-coaching journey started.
Time jump 18 years later, and Coach Spo has coached the Heat to three championships — one during Dwayne Wade's early days, and two more during the Wade-LeBron James-Chris Bosh era. Spoelstra would eventually get the Heat back to the finals several years after that era ended, twice, in fact, but no championships would develop from those trips.
Now that Tomlin and Harbaugh have left their long-time NFL franchises, Spoelstra is the longest-tenured head coach in American sports. What's even more special about this, however, is that Spoelstra could continue to coach the Heat for many more years.
Spoelstra seems to have the same type of relationship with Miami’s brass that Steve Kerr has with his in Golden State; the only pathway either man departs his team is if he chooses to walk away of his own volition.
It should be an honor for Spoelstra to live in that reality; the likelihood of his never getting fired is virtually unimaginable. But that is part of why Spoelstra is great — a sure-bet future NBA Hall of Fame coach. He will get to choose his future because he has earned it. Much like Tomlin chose his when he decided to step down in Pittsburgh. Harbaugh didn't get that same opportunity, but he should have, and that's a tragedy.
In response to Tomlin's exit from Pittsburgh, Spoelstra expressed a somber view of being the longest-tenured coach, even saying he wishes this were not the case.
"Some people could look at that as a badge of honor," Spoelstra said to The Sun Sentinel. "I look at that as really a disappointment to this profession, that there's not more coaches that are given an opportunity to work through things. For sure, my greatest opportunities of growth have been from disappointing seasons, where we really went to work during the offseason to find ways to get better."
Spoesltra is right about one thing: coaches in at least the four major sports in North America (Canada has a significant presence in the NHL, of course) get hired and canned before they can even learn each of their players' last names. In the NFL, 14 of 32 teams have gone through head coaching changes in the last two seasons. In the NHL, well, coaches change teams so often it's hard to keep track. Simply said, loyalty and patience are not virtues most franchises possess.
That is Spoelstra's safety net, though, loyalty and patience coming from the one who makes the decisions, Riley. Despite the struggles the Heat are going through this year, Spoelstra's leash remains long, and he's doing the best he can with what he has available to him. He may not like the position he's just been handed this week, but there's no doubt he is grateful for the extended time the Heat have afforded him.
Now, if only Miami could rediscover its greatness as a franchise and get back to contending for the playoffs every year. Nevertheless, it may be a long time before we see another coach leading the Heat from the basketball court sideline. But if you ask most, if not all Heat fans, Spoelstra is still the man for the job.