When a tennis legend was announced as Novak Djokovic’s new head coach on Wednesday, Boris Becker became the latest star athlete to take a shot at coaching.
But where, on the spectrum of star-power coaches, will Becker fall? Results are decidedly mixed. Some former stars, such as Larry Bird and Lenny Wilkens, were able to make a strong transition. But for the most part ex-players have struggled with the move to the role of a professional coach.
With that in mind, here are five of the most successful and least successful former all-world players who tried their hand at coaching.
THE MOST SUCCESSFUL
Lenny Wilkens: After a Hall of Fame playing career with the St. Louis Hawks, Seattle SuperSonics, Cleveland Cavaliers and Portland Trail Blazers, Wilkens made the move to coaching where he led his teams to more wins than any other coach in NBA history. Throughout his extensive coaching career, Wilkens spent time with the SuperSonics, Trail Blazers, Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors (!!!) and New York Knicks. He won a championship with Seattle in 1978-79 and won the NBA Coach of the Year in 1993-94 with Atlanta. He was the first ever NBA coach to record 1,000 career victories. Of course, he also holds the record for most losses, but when you coach as long as he did…
Larry Robinson: Robinson is one of the rare NHL Hall of Famers who prospered as a coach. The two-time Norris Trophy winner first began coaching with the New Jersey Devils as an assistant in 1993. He was on the staff when New Jersey won the Stanley Cup in 1995. After winning the Cup, he was hired as the head coach of the Los Angeles Kings (1995-99) before returning to the Devils where he led the franchise to a championship as the head coach in 1999-2000. He stayed on and brought the Devils within a game of the Stanley Cup in 2001. He was fired two years later and eventually rejoined the organization as an assistant under Brett Sutter. Currently, Robinson is the assistant coach of the San Jose Sharks, so he’s got a shot at another ring.
Mike Ditka: Ditka is one of the only NFL players that has won a Super Bowl as a player and as a head coach. Ditka, who was a Hall of Fame tight end with the Bears and Cowboys, spent nine seasons as an assistant before he was named the head coach of Chicago in 1982. Under Ditka, the Bears made three NFC Championship berths, won six NFC Central titles, and won the Super Bowl in 1985. He left Chicago in 1992 and eventually became the head coach with the New Orleans Saints where he failed to recapture his success from the Bears. In his 14 seasons as a head coach, Ditka had an 127-101-0 record.
Larry Bird: One of the best players ever to suit up for the Boston Celtics franchise, winning three championships and three MVP awards. He could have been one of the great coaches in the NBA, too, but only coached for three years. The French Lick, Indiana native coached his hometown Pacers and was named the NBA coach of the Year after leading Indiana to a 58-24 record in 1997. The Pacers were beaten in game seven of the conference finals by Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. In 2000, Bird and the Pacers won the Eastern Conference but eventually lost in the Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games. Bird stepped down after his original contract expired and was replaced by former NBA all-star Isiah Thomas.
Frank Robinson: The Hall of Fame third baseman was far more successful as a player than he was a coach but still had a strong impact during his time managing the Cleveland Indians, San Francisco Giants, Baltimore Orioles, and Montreal Expos. Robinson became the first African-American manager in MLB when he was hired by Cleveland in October of 1974. He won the American League Manager of the Year award in 1989 with the Orioles when their record improved from 54-107 to 87-74. Over his managerial career, Robinson had a 1065-1176 record.
THE LEAST SUCCESSFUL
Mike Singletary: The legendary Chicago Bears linebacker was known for his intensity during his playing career. He got into coaching in 2003 when he was the Baltimore Ravens’ linebackers coach for two seasons before taking a similar position with the San Francisco 49ers from 2005-2008. He was promoted to interim head coach at the end of the 2008 season and was the 49ers’ head coach from 2009-2010. His over-the-top intensity peculiar coaching methods were the hallmark of his tenure in San Francisco where he had an 8-22 record in three seasons.
Magic Johnson: Johnson was one of the best point guards in NBA history but his coaching career was very brief. He replaced Randy Pfund in the 1993-94 season but the Los Angeles Lakers went just 5-11 in 16 games and he quit following the season after the Lakers finished the year on a 10-game losing streak. He never coached another NBA game.
Ted Williams: After retiring as a player in 1960, Williams became the manager of the Washington Senators from 1969-71. Williams’ most successful season as a manager was in 1969 when he led the expansion Senators to an 86–76 record in the team’s only winning season. He stayed with the team when they relocated to Texas. Over time he reportedly became frustrated with his ordinary players and ended his managerial career in 1972, finishing with a 273-364 record in his four seasons.
Wayne Gretzky: No one can doubt how dominant Wayne Gretzky was a player but his coaching resume with the Phoenix Coyotes was far from a great one. In his four seasons with Phoenix, the Coyotes finished above .500 just once and his teams never made the post-season. Since Gretzky left Phoenix, the Coyotes have been a perennial playoff contender with almost the same personnel under new head coach Dave Tippett.
Jason Kidd: A brand new entry, Kidd can certainly relate to the above Hall of Fame players who struggled to make it in the industry. Despite having no previous coaching experience, the Brooklyn Nets made the questionable decision to name Kidd the head coach of a team loaded with veteran players. In his first season, Kidd has looked out of place and has gotten little from a team that was expected to contend for a championship. Entering Wednesday, the Nets had a 9-15 record and sat in fourth place in an underwhelming Atlantic Division.