Brett Favre vs. Brad Childress: Top 25 Worst Player-Coach Feuds
Brett Favre vs. Brad Childress has become a pretty compelling feud in the past few days.
Like many sports great feuds, it fulfilled a certain list of criteria.
-It sprung up fast
-It was born out of losing, preceded by success
-It was based on a lot of speculation and rumor
Still, the Favre-Childress conflict isn't one of the worst (or best, depending on your definition) of history. Here are the top 25.
No. 25: Scottie Pippen Vs. Phil Jackson
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The clash of Michael Jordan's two sidekicks from the Chicago Bulls dynasty might have been a one time, isolated moment. But it's so infamous in NBA history that it was a feud nonetheless.
In the 1994 Eastern Conference Semifinals against the New York Knicks, the Jordan-less Bulls were tied 102-102 in Game Three. With 1.8 seconds left, Jackson drew up a play for the game-winning shot. But Toni Kukoc was the shooter, not Pippen.
Pippen allegedly refused to take the court for the play. Kukoc hit the game-winner, and Jackson later told the press what happened. Even if it lasted just that one day, it was a pretty remarkable feud.
No. 24: Carlos Zambrano Vs. Lou Piniella
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Less than two months before he retired from managing, Lou Piniella and Carlos Zambrano got into it with his once-star pitcher Carlos Zambrano.
After the incident in June 2010, the manager and front office spoke of Zambrano's behavior as a chronic problem.
And if he was lashing out at Piniella in the dugout that day, it's a good bet that the two had been feuding long before they squared off in the dugout of Wrigley Field.
No. 23: Rocky Balboa Vs. Tommy
3 of 25So what if it's "fictional" sports history? It was still a pretty good feud.
Having (sort of) retired from fighting, Rocky Balboa trained up-and-comer Tommy "The Machine" Gunn, much to the ire of his wife, son, and Paulie.
Eventually, Gunn got too big for his britches, was angry at being deemed "Rocky's Robot," then challenged Balboa to fight.
Guess who won?
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No. 22: Randy Moss Vs. Bill O'Brien
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It appears that the rumors (which head coach Bill Belichick denied) regarding Randy Moss and a fight with the Patriots quarterback's coach were true.
They feud itself might not have been very heated, with punches thrown or anything like that. But if it was significant enough for the team to trade away a talent like Moss, there has to have been more to it than we know.
No. 21: Mike Leach Vs. Adam James
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No one really knows what happened that week of Texas Tech 2008 football season. But it cost Red Raiders head coach Mike Leach his job.
Wide receiver Adam James—son of ESPN's Craig James, the former SMU and New England Patriots star running back—suffered a concussion late in that season and was told by the trainers not to practice the next week.
James claimed that Leach made him stand in a shed during the team's practice as some sort of punishment or........whatever.
Later, Leach said that Craig James often lobbied for more playing time for his son, but that he didn't play Adam James because, according to a New York Times interview, he was "lazy" and felt "entitled."
If there wasn't a feud before that happened, there certainly was one after. Leach was fired later that year, and his wrongful termination suit is still pending.
No. 20: Charles Woodson Vs. Bill Callahan
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Prior to the Raiders firing Bill Callahan after their horrific post-Super Bowl 2003 season, the team was in shambles.
And though Callahan's relationship with several of his players could not have been very good—remember that press conference where he called the Raiders "the dumbest team in America"?—Charles Woodson was the most outspoken about it.
Woodson talked about how miserable the season was and how personal Callahan's attacks were following a benching for missing the team's curfew prior to the 2003 regular season finale. Woodson also said Callahan was stubborn and the team had lost respect for him.
Nobody on the Raiders seemed to like one another after the nightmare of Super Bowl XXXVII.
No. 19: Bobby Petrino Vs. The Entire 2007 Atlanta Falcons Roster
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When you quit in the middle of a season without telling your players about it, there is going to be animosity.
But there must have been something under the surface before hand for players and coaches to call Petrino "gutless" (assistant caoch Mike Zimmer) and that they "still hate him" (former cornerback DeAngelo Hall) even years after he left town.
You don't just leave a team like that unless there has been a lot of behind-the-scenes feuding.....or unless your quarterback is sent to federal prison for 15 months.
No. 18: Bill Parcells Vs. Jeff Hostetler
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Giants head coach Bill Parcells and second-string quarterback Jeff Hostetler won a world championship together, pulling off one of the biggest upsets in recent NFL history, defeating the Buffalo Bills 20-19 in Super Bowl XXV.
That game was the time Parcells and Hostetler were ever together since Parcells retired the next May.
Hoss spent nearly seven full seasons on the Giants bench before getting an opportunity, in December 1990, to replace starter Phil Simms. During those years, Hostetler was infuriated at the lack of playing time, but more importantly, being told (on more than one occasion) he would play only to sit.
Eventually, Hoss got his chance led the Giants to a Super Bowl win.
Their feud resulted in a championship, not the other way around.
No. 17: Bill Parcells (again) Vs. Terry Glenn
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The 1996 conflict between New England Patriots head coach Bill Parcells and his wide receiver Terry Glenn was probably just a short-lived feud: When Parcells was hired by the Cowboys in 2003, one of the first players acquired was Terry Glenn, who remained during each of Parcells four-seasons in Dallas.
Still, there had to be some kind of unspoken conflict between the two men during the run to Super Bowl XXXI. When asked about the health of his first round draft picks hamstring, Parcells referred to Glenn as "she."
That couldn't have sat well with the rookie from Ohio State.
No. 16: Magic Johnson Vs. Paul Westhead
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In 1980, Lakers rookie guard Magic Johnson and rookie head coach Paul Westhead won the NBA Championship.
But the union couldn't last and Westhead was fired in the middle of the 1981-82 season. Allegedly, Johnson helped push Westhead out the door. He demanded a trade, criticizing the offense and the head coach to owner Jerry Buss, who knew that you don't trade a player like Johnson.
Buss replaced Westhead with a guy named Pat Riley, who went on to lead the Lakers to four more titles over the next seven years.
No. 15: Barry Bonds Vs. Jim Leyland
11 of 25During spring training in 1991, the Pittsburgh Pirates star leftfielder was mocking one of the team's coaches. No-nonsense manager Jim Leyland didn't exactly like that and laced into Bonds for it.
It's highly unlikely that cameras were there for the only time the two engaged in a shouting match. With Bonds' abrasive attitude and Leyland's temper, they probably came to near blows dozens of times.
Bonds played another two seasons for the Pirates, helping the Pirates reach the NLCS both years. But as soon as he was eligible for free agency, he bolted to San Francisco.
No. 14: Tiki Barber Vs. Tom Coughlin
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Since retiring after the 2006 season, former Giants running back Tiki Barber has burned a lot of bridges recently, both professionally and personally, it would seem.
He's criticized Eli Manning and other former teammates. And this past season, when the Giants were 1-2, he claimed that head coach Tom Coughlin had a "crisis" on his hands. Since then, Big Blue has won four straight.
But even during his playing career, Barber criticized the coaching staff and the play calling. And after retiring, he told the press that if Coughlin had not been around, he would have continued to play.
For him to say that, there must have been some real heated exchanges between the two during their four years together.
No. 13: Bobby Knight Vs. Neil Reed
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Former Indiana Hoosier player probably wasn't the only one who coach Bobby Knight feuded with: we know that he also (allegedly) slapped one of his players.
But the Reed incident is the one that most squarely placed a bulls-eye on Knight and hastened his departure from Bloomington.
Sports Illustrated reported in 2000 that during a 1997 practice, Knight choked Reed.
It can't take much to set off Bobby Knight, but to actually choke one of his own players, that has to have been some feud.
No. 12: Reggie Jackson Vs. Billy Martin
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Billy Martin's feuds with Yankee owner George Steinbrenner were more infamous. But Martin and his star rightfielder didn't always get along either.
They quarreled on camera at least twice, which means they probably quarralled off-camera 100 times more often.
But then again, during the course of their baseball careers, both men probably had more heated feuds than World Series at bats, and they had nearly the same amount of those: 99 for Martin, 98 for Jackson.
No. 11: Shaquille O'Neal Vs. Stan Van Gundy
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The Miami Heat acquired "The Big Aristotle" in the summer of 2004. And in that first season together, Shaq and young Dwayne Wade did great things under Van Gundy. The team won the Southwestern Division and swept their first two playoff series.
The subsequent seven-game series loss to the Detroit Pistons was heartbreaking, but not enough to think there was something wrong with the Wade-O'Neal-Van Gundy marriage.
But there must have been. After an 11-10 start to the 2005-06 season, Van Gundy "resigned" and Pat Riley took over. Eventually, Shaq's distaste for Van Gundy would become public. When Van Gundy criticized Shaq for "flopping," the big man called Van Gundy "The Master of Panic" and a "nobody."
No. 10: Troy Aikman Vs. Barry Switzer
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A great feud has roots in something that happened long ago, and the Troy Aikman-Barry Switzer feud started long before Jerry Jones brought Switzer in to coach Aikman's Cowboys team.
In the early 1980s, Switzer recruited Aikman to Norman to play for his perennial powerhouse Oklahoma Sooners. The 18-year-old quarterback signed, only to be discouraged by the option-only offense that limited passes to a minimum.
Switzer's Sooners won the 1985 National Championship, with Aikman starting the season, then losing his job due to an injured ankle in October. No longer the quarterback, he transferred to UCLA, where he would eventually become the number one pick in the 1989 NFL Draft and win two Super Bowls under Switzer's former college teammate, Jimmy Johnson.
Johnson resigned/was fired after 1993, and Jones brought in Switzer. The pair won a third Super Bowl two years later, but their tenure together was rocky to say the least.
No. 9: Bud Kilmer Vs. Mox (Varsity Blues)
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Classic sports movie moment: upstart quarterback stares down bully head coach. Bully head coach attempts to choke upstart quarterback.
But there was something uncliched about this sports movie feud: The ultimatum that Mox (played by James Van der Beek) gives head coach Bud Kilmer (Jon Voight) at the end of the movie, during halftime of the "big game."
"The only way we're going back out on that field is without you."
Oh, and threatening to have Mox's scholarship to Brown taken away—no matter how absurd and unlikely-to-happen—doesn't help quell a budding feud between player and coach.
No. 8: Babe Ruth Vs. Miller Huggins
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During his first season with the New York Yankees (1920), Babe Ruth became the greatest player and biggest star in the world sports world.
But his manager, Miller Huggins, had already been in charge of the team for two seasons, prior to Ruth's arrival. He wasn't going to entirely turn over the keys to his child-like, irresponsible superstar.
Naturally, there was animosity between the two men. Although Ruth was irreplaceable and unlike any player who had ever come before him (and so much more physically imposing than the little manager) Huggins still made the decisions.
And since Huggins demanded discipline from his players—and Ruth wouldn't give it to him—the skipper was constantly irritated with The Bambino. He frequently fined the Sultan of Swat.
Regardless, the two men did lead the Yankees to six pennants and three World Series titles in just 10 years.
No. 7: Terry Bradshaw Vs. Chuck Noll
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Most franchises will tolerate a feud that produces four Super Bowl titles in six years.
Still, Terry Bradshaw didn't really get along with Steelers head coach Chuck Noll despite all their wins together.
Back in the 1970s, you'd be hard pressed to find any player—even an outspoken and confident superstar like Bradshaw—to speak out against anything the coach does. So he mostly kept silent about his feelings.
They only came out after his career, during interviews and books that Bradshaw wrote. Still, behind closed doors, this feud was probably as heated as they come.
No. 6: Tiger Woods Vs. Butch Harmon
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The media made more of this than it really was. But it was still a feud, and one of major significance.
Harmon was Woods' swing coach beginning in 1993. First, they produced three consecutive U.S. Amateurs from 1994-96, then eight major championships, including the "Tiger Slam."
They parted in 2004, and because of his subsequent "slump" during the 2004 season, the question arose as to whether Woods made the right decision in leaving Harmon.
Of course Woods—who joined forces with Hank Haney—proved his doubters wrong by returning to top form from 2005-2008.
And when Harmon teamed with Woods' lone "rival" on the PGA Tour, Phil Mickelson, the perception that there was a rift between Woods and Harmon only became stronger.
No. 5: Alex Rodriguez Vs. Joe Torre
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Even before the book, co-written by former Yankee skipper Joe Torre, "The Yankee Years" came out, there was known hostility between the MVP player and four-time World Series winner.
Alex Rodriguez was never a "real Yankee" in some people's eyes, a belief not quashed by Torre in his book. In the book, Torre says several Yankees (unnamed) referred to Rodriguez as "A-Fraud" and that he was as two-faced and self-involved as he seemed.
No. 4: Kobe Bryant Vs. Phil Jackson
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To do write a book like that—while you're still a big league manager who eventually has to play the Yankees in inter-league play—shows Torre's disdain for A-Rod, which was probably mutual.
They seem to have patched things up since the first Laker three-peat of the century.
But back when Jackson retired in 2004 and did the Joe Torre-book-writing thing, he said Kobe was "uncoachable" and reportedly said that he would not coach again if Bryant was back following the 2004 season.
Given Kobe's feud with Shaq, don't you think he felt the same about Jackson?
No. 3: Jim Palmer Vs. Earl Weaver
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Just because a star player and coach/manager don't get along doesn't mean that they can't win. Look at Bradshaw-Noll or Kobe-Jackson. Conflict doesn't always breed losing; occasionally, it's the exact opposite.
From 1969-79, the Baltimore Orioles won six division titles, four pennants, and one World Series. And they did all that with their manager, Earl Weaver, often at odds with his best pitcher, Jim Palmer, who won three Cy Young Awards and 20-or-more games eight times during that stretch.
Back in the 1970s, to a rough-around-the-edges figure like Weaver, Palmer was probably considered something of a "pretty boy"—remember he used to appear in print ad with him wearing nothing but his jockeys.
The two also didn't usually see eye-to-eye on strategy. Palmer thought Weaver (a minor league second baseman) didn't know very much about pitching or over-working a pitcher and implied as much through the press.
Anytime Weaver left the dugout headed for the mound during a game Palmer was pitching, there was a palpable tension between the two. But then again, anytime Weaver ever left the dugout, there was a good chance he would get into a fight with the umpire, his player, opposing players and managers, fans, hot dog vendors, etc.
No. 2: John Elway Vs. Dan Reeves
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The feud between Denver's head coach Dan Reeves and his Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway was one of the biggest issues in pro football during the late 1980s, early 1990s.
Essentially, owner Pat Bolen had to choose between Elway and Reeves after the 1992 season. He naturally chose his franchise quarterback.
It wasn't a terribly unique situation, much like what happened with Magic Johnson and Paul Westhead or Shaq and Stan Van Gundy. But what makes this feud one of the best is the epilogue to the story.
In Super Bowl XXXIII, six years after Reeves was pushed out of Denver, Elway's Broncos faced Reeves' Falcons. In his final game, Elway won the MVP and his second straight Super Bowl. Reeves ran his Super Bowl record as a head coach to 0-4.
No. 1: Latrell Sprewell Vs. P.J. Carlesimo
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What other feud on this list led to the player choking his coach....not the other way around?
That's why this is the ugliest in sport history: we could actually see the scars on Carlesimo's neck.
Criticism from the Golden State Warriors head coach (Carlesimo) prompted his best player (Sprewell) to attack, choke, and drag him around during the team's December 1997 practice.
There's no way it wasn't brewing long before then.
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