Head coaches often take the blame - and the firing - when their teams flop, but it may not be a winning game plan, University of Alberta research suggests.
A new study that explored coaching turnover among soccer teams in Brazil - a country notorious for its high rate of changes during a season - found that leading up to dismissals, a potent mix of internal and external pressures was in play.
The research provides better understanding of why coaches are a common target when teams hit a losing streak, says study co-author Brian Soebbing, associate professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation.
"They really just become scapegoats," he notes. "Upper-level management at some point feel like they have to relieve those pressures, because eventually it will turn on them. The easiest way to do that? Fire the coach."
The study looked beyond the idea of leadership as being down to one person, focusing instead on collective interactions and relationships among other staffers who are key to a team's success.
Through interviews with 59 Brazilian soccer staff, the researchers explored their thoughts on why they think their leaders are fired, and the potential consequences.
The insights from a team doctor, physical therapists and assistant coaches, as well as head coaches themselves, revealed five key pressures that make the latter convenient targets for failure.
Excessive media pressure played a role, including harsh coverage and criticism from fans on social media demanding some kind of change. Several irritants also existed inside the clubs, the study showed.
Coaches were largely controlled and undermined by "micro-politics" that influenced the actions of unskilled club administrators, with decision-making often based on impulse and ego rather than professionalism, interview subjects reported.
"A lot of times, these officials are responding potentially more to their emotions, rather than stepping back and addressing the whole situation more rationally."
Club management's planning around improving coaching and team performance also lacked long-term vision, direction and strategy, with head coaches often evaluated based on immediate game results. And the lag in strategy for building a team's potential meant if they lost revenue-producing cup tournaments, coaches were blamed.
Also in play were unrealistic, short-sighted expectations for teams to win all the time, regardless of particular circumstances such as injuries or tough opponents - making coaches easy targets, the research showed.
"There is an open public invitation for the coach to be the sole person blamed," Soebbing notes.
And though they stayed professional, players' attitudes and performance also tended to subconsciously shrink when they sensed their current coach was about to be fired, leading to complacency that further aggravates the current team situation, the study reported.
"It's a recognition that the pressure could be getting to everybody on the team, that there's tension occurring."
While firing a coach may "release negative energy directed towards a team or the owners," it is not a strategy that leads to winning, Soebbing says.
"At the end of the day, it's not necessarily going to improve team performance."
The research points to a few ways to avoid the blame game in tough times, starting with higher-up club officials, he adds.
