Can Woody Win? That's a question that every Hawks fan should think about. I mean, honestly, does it matter how good the individual players are, without a good coach, we're not going to win anything. Good coaches win championships. I don't care what anybody says, Doc Rivers outcoached Phil Jackson this past summer. Doc has placed himself into the league of good coaches. So how about Woody? For Woody has it been a lack of talent or is he just not a good coach?
Well, let's look at how Woody got here:

He started his career under Bobby Knight in College.
In the pros, he played for:

Red Holzman
Larry Brown
Cotton Fitzsimmons
Jack McKinny
Phil Johnson
Don Chaney
Gene Shue

However, as a player, he spent a lot of time with Bobby Knight, Don Chaney, and Cotton Fitzsimmons (not bad stock). As an assistant, he worked for Chris Ford, George Karl, and Larry Brown. So there are a lot of guys whom he could have learned a thing or two from in this league. If there was anybody from his past that I would want Woody to imitate, I guess it would be Cotton Fitzsimmons. Fitzsimmons was balanced. He had good offensive teams and his team's defenses were not so bad. Before he died, Fitzsimmons wrote a little bit about Coaching that I would hope Woody would learn:

Some coaches believe that the players are on one side, they’re on the other and you only meet at the games. That’s not my style. My style is for me to know my players and my players to know me, so that we can figure out what to expect from each other. I think that’s an important part of coaching style. Some coaches say very little to players and other guys chew ‘em out pretty good. I fell that there is a time and a place for everything. A coach should never embarrass his players in from to other people and you don’t want them to embarrass you.

Appearance has become part of a coach’s style and it can run the gamut. There’s Pat Riley with his Italian suits, the wet look, the whole bit. Then, at the other extreme there’s Doug Moe or Frank Layden. Rumor has it that their clothes are made in New Haven, Missouri at the local tarpaulin factory. That doesn’t mean that Riley is a better coach than Doug Moe or Frank Layden. I think that appearance is the least important aspect of a coach’s style. He has to be himself. If anybody else tried to be Frank Layden in the NBA they’d fail. Frank laughs at himself and he laughs at his team. That’s his style and it works for him and the Jazz.

I’ve always tried to tell young coaches: “Don’t try to imitate anybody, be yourself.” I know it’s easier said than done. Young coaches have a tendency to want to impress people with their style. Whether it’s their clothes or their tough, drill sergeant attitude, they’re trying to impress people. As they stay in the business a little longer, they fall into their own niche and develop their own way of operating. Everybody’s a little different. I have two assistant coaches with the Suns, Paul Westphal and Lionel Hollins. Paul Westphal is a little more outgoing, a little more opinionated and has a lot more to say to the officials during the course of a game. Lionel Hollins is a little more withdrawn, not as outgoing, says very little to the officials. They’ll both be able to get the job done. They’ll have to be themselves and that’s what’s so interesting about style.

What exactly is Woody's style? Who knows? Is he a guy who is unapproachable by the players? Is he a guy who cuddles the players too much and allow them to get away with too much (like Smoove and that blasted three pointer)? Is he a coach that works his players too hard? Is he a coach that has a plan but doesn't know how to convey it?

I don't think anybody outside of the team knows. However, this is what we do know. He was brought here to grow with the team. He was left for dead by his former GM but in one series with the Celtics, he became the living embodiment of a great coach. In 3 games, during a 7 game playoff, he looked matched wits and intensity with Doc Rivers in a way that Mike Brown, Flip Saunders, and Phil Jackson couldn't do. It has seemed like he finally turned the corner. So going into the 2008-2009 season, what Woody will show up. Will it be the Woody that has lost over 200 games as a coach or will it be that guy who stood tall with the bald head and shined the championship ring and made his guys want it? Thanks to Rick Sund, We shall See.