Do Coaches Get too Much Credit or Not Enough?

It's very easy for the casual fan to turn to the only thing he knows when his team is unsuccessful, and call for a coach's head. 

Often, though, the fans chuckle at that notion.  The problems run much deeper, we realize—players, scouting, and GMs.

We know that Bill Cowher coached for years before bringing a trophy to Pittsburgh. It often takes the confluence of many positive forces to win a championship. 

But, more and more here in Chicago, I listen to the talking heads of the media lavish credit upon Tony LaRussa and Dave Duncan in St. Louis for taking pitchers and other players off the scrap heap and forming them into formidable MLB players.  And I'll tell you the truth: As a Cubs fan I do have a lot of respect for the Cardinals this year. 

But when I listen to the talking heads here in Chicago, they simply deflect calls for Gerald Perry's resignation, as the entire Cubs team not only struggles, but looks downright amateur with the bat. They gasp in horror when fans criticize Larry Rothschild as the entire pitching staff walks batter after batter.  "The players must execute," they say. "Any team would love to have Larry! He created Carlos Marmol!" (Who is also struggling, even with his confidence).

So, I posit this: Casual fans usually place too much blame on the coaching staff, while the true sports nuts and analysts (perhaps out of reverence) place too little.

Is there a right answer here?  I suppose there are coaches like Phil Jackson, whose championship rings I have literally lost count of.  Then again, he's had Jordan, Pippen, Kobe and Shaq.  Could he have taken a bunch of no names off the heap, like LaRussa? 

What about Bobby Cox, who coached the Braves to 16 straight division titles?  Was that just good drafting and a solid GM? How about Joe Torre? Piniella's done okay, but has only won one Series. Even Da Coach, Ditka, won only one Super Bowl, while many around football think he could've had more.

Do coaches make good teams, or do good players make good coaches?

Is the firing of a coach only symbolic?  Does it help or should you stick with one?

And almost most important during baseball season: Are the answers to these questions different when you're talking about hitting and pitching coaches?