Of all the things you hear about Pete Carroll(which includes good and bad), the sentiment that is universally expressed is how much fun of a boss he is. He has successful straddled the line between "one of the guys" and "hard ass". His players aren't afraid to run their mouths(see: Richard Sherman) but they also show up and play hard. Simply put, players love to play for him. I've heard similar attitudes expressed about Gus Bradley in Jacksonville as well.
Philbin is the opposite. He demands a strict code of conduct and anyone who deviates from it is quickly gets slapped down. Watch what you say, be mindful of how you act, dont do this, dont do that, etc, etc, etc. Which is not to say i totally disapprove of some of that(Mike Pouncey in particular is one guy i do not want to act like himself, and the entire team should delete their ****ing twitter accounts), but is it any surprise that our players lack emotion? Every move they make has to be calculated and measured. They have been taught to never play loose. They watched Jake Long, Reggie Bush, and Karlos Dansby speak their minds to our staff and get shown the door for their efforts. Could you imagine Philbin letting a player regularly write for Sports Illustrated like Sherman does? I cant.
Coaches can adapt and change. Tom Coughlin famously relaxed for the first time since Eisenhower was President during his first Superbowl run. Going into his 3rd year, perhaps Philbin has a comfortable enough feel that he can let his players get a bit rowdy. That said, i tend to doubt it, especially after the Incognito scandal. Sometimes people simply are who they are. Philbin has made a concentrated effort to make his players toe the line. He succeeded. I suspect Coyle's efforts were doomed from the start.
