The Best No-Nonsense Coaches in Sports

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Sports today can feel like a circus, and even the coaches can get caught up in acting like clowns.

Rex Ryan makes himself the story game after game. Ozzie Guillen can't seem to keep his mouth shut. And who knows what the heck Les Miles is doing in Louisiana?

I love the coaches who are no-nonsense guys. No frills, no mugging for the media—just good, hard coaches who get their players to do exactly what they ask because the players know better than to test them.

We're going with coaches who are still coaching today. You do not want to mess with these guys, and that's what makes them great.

Bill Belichick

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If we're talking no-nonsense coaches, we might as well lead with the king. Bill Belichick is about as uptight as it gets.

He's surly, sarcastic and a genius play-caller to boot. Just look at the things the man wears. He's too busy with football to even dress himself properly. He got Randy Moss to fall in line. Belichick is strictly business.

Tony LaRussa

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Even though he's retired, Tony LaRussa still makes the list because he's coaching in the MLB All-Star Game this year.

LaRussa may be a bit of a mad scientist when he's playing with the lineup, but when it comes to his coaching methods, he's old-school. No excuses.

Cardinal fans may not exactly miss his personality, but they certainly will miss the results.

Gregg Popovich

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If you've seen Coach Pop smile, count yourself as one of the fortunate few.

Gregg Popovich embodies his team: good, smart basketball with no frills. The Spurs have rallied around their leader, no one more so than his protege, Tim Duncan. You may not like watching the Spurs play, but you sure as hell respect their game.

That's all Pop right there.

Tom Coughlin

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Tom Coughlin always seems on the verge of retirement, doesn't he? Like he's this close to being fed up with all the craziness of the NFL and the players and just walking away.

Thankfully he hasn't, and he's taken two Giants teams that weren't expected to do much and won Super Bowls with them. That's because he's taken teams that have appeared wild and out of sorts and made them play his way.

Tom's way just works.

Nick Saban

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I mentioned sports being a circus, but college football has to take the cake as ringleader of all the sports. College football is madness.

Yet somehow in the madness, Nick Saban reigns supreme. He doesn't take any crap and he doesn't give any crap. He gets the best players and he gets them to play at their best. 

Coaching college kids is no joke, and Saban just may be the best there is at it right now. 

Coach K

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If anyone could hold a candle to the success Saban is having right now in the college realm, it's Mike Krzyzewski at Duke. You know exactly the kind of players he's going to get and exactly how they're going to play.

Coach K engineered the floor-slapping, diving, hard-nosed play that Duke is famous for. No matter who, whether it be the benchwarmers or the star players, everyone on that team has bought into his system. 

John Tortorella

This press conference says it all, doesn't it?

John Tortorella wasn't going to throw his team under the bus. He wasn't going to say anything that the piranhas in the press could eat up.

If you're not going to ask the right questions, he's going to leave. That about sum it up?

Mike Tomlin

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Mike Tomlin is an intimidating man. The Steelers' coach had the unenviable task of taking over for another no-nonsense coach in Bill Cowher and has passed the test with flying colors, mainly by being the same kind of coach who doesn't accept excuses and sets a steely example for his troops.

The Steelers are in contention year after year under Tomlin. He cracks down with that stare and everybody falls in line.

I know I would.

Alex Ferguson

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Soccer is full of ridiculous characters. Guys like Mario Balotelli are a walking yellow card waiting to happen. Players prance and preen at every opportunity. These sort of things don't happen on Sir Alex Ferguson's watch.

The man is a great soccer coach, but most of all, he's a terrific player manager. He knows how to bottle up the craziness and get athletes to let it loose through their play on the pitch.

Would you expect any less from a man that's been knighted?