Hey coach, why the long hours?

Sports Nut, in that typical know-it-all style we've grown to love so much looks at the long hours NFL coaches work, and concludes that it's unnecessary. But there's something Justin Peters didn't consider -- the long hours aren't for the coach; they're for the platers.

Success in football demands for 53 men, some of whom are superstar millionaires, to channel an extraordinary amount of effort toward the goals of the team. They must work through injury, study film, perhaps accept a less glamourous (and less compensated) for the success of the team.

Now, let's say you're a 325 pound offensive lineman with a guaranteed contract for this year. You would be 25% more effective if you weighed 310, not that most fans would notice. Getting to that weight would require you to not eat foods you like and to spend and extra hour a day away from your family.

Would you be more likely to that if your coach was Steve Spurrier, who's on the golf course, or Joe Gibbs who's studying film.

Yeah, a lot of the hours head coaches work is grandstanding. But that grandstanding has value. If I were an NFL head coach, I'd want the players to think I was working 20 hour days, even if I spent half that time "researching" by playing Madden.