10 Famous Coaches and the Actors Who Should Play Them

We've all seen our fair share of our favorite sports movies of all time.

Bull Durham, Field of Dreams, Miracle, The Rookie, Remember the Titans, For the Love of the Game, the list goes on and on. But how many movies haven't been made?

How many times have we watched our favorite sport and wondered if that person will ever be featured in a movie?

In the next 15 slides, we'll take a look at those famous coaches who have yet to have their life or career portrayed in a movie and the actors who should land the leading role.

Dustin Hoffman as San Francisco 49ers head coach Bill Walsh

Bill Walsh

Head Coach of the San Francisco 49ers (1979 - 1988)
102-63-1 all time coaching record
Two-time Super Bowl champion
1981 AP NFL Coach of the Year
1981 Sporting News NFL Coach of the Year
1981 Pro Football Weekly NFL Coach of the Year

Finished his coaching career at Stanford from 1992 to 1994. Passed away in 2007 after a long battle with leukemia.

When you think of someone who can play a legendary coach and person such as Bill Walsh, you want to make sure that his personality and his legacy are portrayed more than anything else.

That's why you need an actor like Dustin Hoffman to play that kind of a role. He brings a passion and a seriousness to Bill Walsh that we all can remember through his days with the 49ers to his battle with leukemia.

Sean Penn as Hall of Fame basketball coach Dean Smith

Head Coach at University of North Carolina (1961-1997)

Second most in wins all-time (879)
Two national championships
13 ACC Tournament championships
Four-time Coach of the Year
Nine-time ACC Coach of the Year

Overall coaching record: 879-254

When you think of Dean Smith, you not only think of one of the best college basketball coaches of all time, but you think of a coach who had players like Michael Jordan, Sam Perkins, Jerry Stackhouse and Rasheed Wallace. A coach who shaped who those players became.

You need to show a fire and a passion for the game as well as for his players. Sean Penn can bring across that fire and passion as a young Dean Smith.

William H. Macy as Detroit Tigers' manager Sparky Anderson

Manager of the Cincinnati Reds (1970-1978)
Manager of the Detroit Tigers (1979-1995)

Three-time World Series champion
Two-time AL Manager of the Year
Sixth on the all-time wins list for managers
Inducted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000

Sparky had a personality unlike any other baseball manager. It's what made his ejections that much funnier during his tenure with the Reds and especially the Tigers.

There's a clip of Anderson, while with the Tigers, sending up Kirk Gibson up to bat and predicting he was about to do something good.

Good happened, as Gibson smoked a home run and the camera showed an elated and giddy Sparky Anderson in the dugout.

Though William H. Macy doesn't exactly have the kind of personality that Sparky has, there's no doubt that he's able to kick it up a notch and make an incredible performance out of it. A performance that would make Sparky proud.

Ed Harris as long time Dallas Cowboys' head coach Tom Landry

Head Coach of the Dallas Cowboys (1960-1988)

1966 AP and Sporting News Coach of the Year
Two-time UPI Coach of the Year
Two-time Super Bowl Champion
Five NFC Championships
Holds the All-Time record for wins for the Dallas Cowboys (250)
270-178-6 overall record

Tom Landry succeeded not only as a player but a coach as well. He was a Pro Bowl selection and First Team All-Pro selection in 1954. Another little known fact was Landry played for the New York Yankees in 1949.

There's no one more perfect to play this role than Ed Harris. He brings a performance of Landry that only he could be capable of.

Landry is still famous with the Dallas Cowboys and he needs an actor who can portray him with an air of invincibility and respect.

Ed Harris can bring every bit of Landry into this role and make it an incredible movie.

Laurence Fishburne as former Georgetown head coach John Thompson

Head Coach at Georgetown University (1972-1999)

NCAA Champions (1984)
Three NCAA Regional championships
Six Big East Tournament championships
Five regular season Big East championships
596-239 overall record

John Thompson was, and continues to be, one of the most respected college basketball coaches of all time. He coached players like Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Mutombo and Allen Iverson.

His most notable moment was back in the late 1980's when Thompson confronted known D.C. drug lord, and avid Hoya fan, Rayful Edmond about his involvement with players like Alonzo Mourning.

When Edmond tried to convince Thompson that his players were not in any danger, Thompson allegedly stepped up to Edmond and unleashed a tirade on him.

It's been said that although Edmond's associates had been involved in over 30 murders, he respected Thompson to the point where he heeded Thompson's words and was not involved with any players from then on.

It's a confrontation like this that makes Laurence Fishburne a perfect actor to play Thompson. Fishburne brings the ability to bring that kind of fire to a scene and make it exactly what Thompson made it.

Martin Sheen as former Dodgers' manager Tommy Lasorda

Manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers (1976-1996)

Two-time World Series champion
Two-time NL Manager of the Year
Inducted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997
2006 Branch Rickey Award recipient
1,599-1,439 overall managerial record

Tommy Lasorda is arguably the most lovable former major league manager there has ever been. Whether you loved or hated the Los Angeles Dodgers, Lasorda was the goofy, funny, and legitimate good guy of the game of baseball.

Not only was Lasorda beloved as a manager but he was also named as United States Ambassador to the game of baseball.

With a role like this and a character like Lasorda, you need a character who can not only argue with an umpire and make it comical but also bring a level of respect to the game and the players he managed.

If you ever watched the long-running series "The West Wing," then you'll know that Martin Sheen would be the best pick to play a guy like Tommy Lasorda.

Jamie Foxx as former Indianapolis Colts' head coach Tony Dungy

Head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1996-2001)
Head coach of the Indianapolis Colts (2002-2008)

After being fired by Tampa Bay on Jan. 14, 2002, Dungy was hired by the Indianapolis Colts just eight days later.

After making the playoffs through Dungy's first three years as the Colts' head coach, they could never seem to get to the big game.

That all changed in 2006 as the Colts made it to the Super Bowl and defeated the Chicago Bears 29-17 on Feb. 4, 2007.

Though Dungy has been known as one of the most respected coaches in all of football, the family was struck by personal tragedy as his son, Jamie, committed suicide at age 18 on December 22, 2005.

Through that tragedy came a No. 1 best-seller for Dungy as his book, "Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices, and Priorities of a Winning Life," was released July 10, 2007. It reached No. 1 twice in 2007.

I don't know of a better leading man to play Tony Dungy than Jamie Foxx. Though it's just a coincidence that Foxx and Dungy's late son share the same first name, the famous Hollywood actor has already received tremendous reviews when portraying Ray Charles in the 2004 movie "Ray."

Gene Hackman as the late, great Red Auerbach

Head coach of the Boston Celtics (1950-1965)
Celtics' General Manager (1967-1984)
Celtics' President and vice chairman (1984-2006)

There was no one quite like the great Red Auerbach. He made his post-game cigar smoking a routine during his tenure as the head coach of the Celtics all the way up through his days as the general manager and president of the club.

He drafted or coached guys like Bill Russell, Bob Cousy, K.C. Jones, and John Havlicek. Auerbach also named Russell the head coach of the Celtics after he retired from coaching in 1966.

Russell became the first African-American head coach in NBA history that year, also leading the team to NBA titles in 1968 and 1969.

An actor who has already played one hot-headed coach in long time Indiana Hoosier head coach Bobby Knight in the movie "Hoosiers." A guy who is no stranger to the cigar, either. I'm referring to Gene Hackman.

Jodie Foster as long time Tennessee basketball coach Pat Summitt

Head coach of the University of Tennessee women's basketball (1974-current)

Eight NCAA National Championships
15-time SEC Conference Champions
14-time SEC Tournament Champions
Eight-time SEC Coach of the Year
Seven-time NCAA Coach of the Year
Naismith Coach of the 20th Century
1022–195 overall record

When you talk about women's basketball, there are only a few names that come to mind. None surpass Pat Summitt, who has made Tennessee women's basketball the standard in athletics.

Summitt coached her first game on Dec. 7, 1974 and the wins have piled up in record numbers. She has an astounding 83.98 winning percentage through her almost 37 years at the school.

But what would a movie be without some sort of a villain, am I right? Enter University of Connecticut women's basketball head coach Geno Auriemma.

The feud between himself and Summitt has become legendary as the two will undoubtedly challenge for the national championship again this season.

With the kind of passion that Summitt brings to the game of basketball, you need an actress who can meet that passion. Look no further than Jodie Foster.

Though I know Foster isn't exactly your prototypical sports actress, she brings an air about her that would be perfect for this role.

Kevin Spacey as legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden

Head Coach of the UCLA Bruins (1948-1975)

Ten NCAA National Championships
Seven Consecutive National Championships (1967-1973)
88 consecutive victories (longest in NCAA history)
12 Final Four Regional Championships
Six-time NCAA Coach of the Year
Inducted into the National Basketball Hall of Fame in 1972
Inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006
664–162 overall record

John Wooden's accomplishments will forever live on in a legacy that still continues to this day, even at age 99. Though he lost his wife, Nell, on March 21, 1985, he continues to live in the same home and still has her things right where she left them.

He is still as sharp at his age now than he was when he retired from coaching after the 1975 season. He's what college basketball coaches, both male and female, strive to become but there will never be another John Wooden.

In a role that may be among the hardest in sports movie history, it's a role that will come with a great deal of humility and respect.

It's a role that goes from the jubilation of national championships to the despair of losing a partner in life, to the continued praise Wooden gets even to this day.

It's a role not to be taken lightly, but a role that could be one that an actor would be honored to play. That role couldn't be done better than by Kevin Spacey.

He brings the kind of softness to this role that Wooden brought to his own life and to his coaching philosophy.