How and Why European Football Coaches Have Style and American Football Coaches Don’t
The Euro Cup 2020(21) Final is set with Italy taking on the host nation England. Italy is on a remarkable streak, the longest unbeaten streak in team history, as they compensate for missing the last World Cup. England hasn’t been in a major tournament final since they won the 1966 World Cup, which they also hosted coincidentally. Sunday’s match is shaping up to be a thing of legend. Yet the topic preoccupying my mind is sartorial majesty displayed on the sidelines by both coaching staffs. The world’s greatest menswear exhibition may have just taken place in Florence at Pitti Uomo but the second greatest has been on display all over Europe at the Euro Cup.
Admittedly I’m an American with a fleeting interest in “football.” I appreciate the beautiful game when it’s played on this scale but I’ve only caught a handful of matches in this tournament and I can’t name a single player on any team (though I’ve come to recognize Sterling of England as probably the MVP of the tournament, especially if England wins). I do know a damn fine suit when I see one however, and I’ve seen a lot of them on ESPN this past month. Which brings me to the point that seeing excellent suiting, or excellent style in general, on the playing field is almost non-existent in American sports.
While the rest of the world has “football,” we Americans have Football and it is a sad fact that American Football coaches have embarrassingly poor style compared to their European counterparts. From Michigan’s Jim Harbugh with his khakis, turtleneck, M hat and clubmaster glasses to New England’s Bill Belichick with his cut off hoodie sleeves and general slovenliness, American coaches have their looks but it certainly isn’t stylish. Standing next to England’s Gareth Southgate and Italy’s Roberto Mancini, American football coaches look like the clearance section at Models.
In their defense, the poor wardrobe selection of most American coaches isn’t entirely their fault. As with so many ailments of American culture, marketing is to blame. The NFL and almost every major NCAA athletics program have contractual obligations with their apparel providers to wear only their merchandise during games. This includes every play, coach, and staff member down to the waterboys. This fact got media attention back in the mid 2000s when then Jacksonville and San Fransisco head coaches Jack Del Rio and Mike Nolan wanted to wear suits while coaching games. To avoid breaching their contracts they struck a deal with then NFL apparel provider Reebok to make them suits. The result was far from bespoke tailoring but it was the closest the NFL has come in half a century to the elevated style of European coaches. But there is a long lost age of elevated American Football coach style.
American coaches haven’t always dressed like suburban dads coaching rec. soccer. Before the monster apparel contracts began in the 1980s, coaches were free to wear whatever they wanted. American football coaches used to approach their wardrobes with the same attitude as modern European coaches: they were professionals representing a team and all the people who stand behind that team and they should dress accordingly. Legendary mid-century American coaches like Tom Landry, Vince Lombardi, and Bear Bryant always displayed iconic mid-century menswear on the sidelines. Landry’s suit and tophat combination was an inspiration for Don Draper’s style on Med Men. Lombardi’s topcoat game rivals anyone in history. Bryant single handedly made houndstooth a staple texture of American menswear.
Unfortunately there is far too much money involved with apparel contracts in American Football for there to be any hope of a coaching style renaissance. The culture of American coaches dressing like their fans, like a stereotypical suburban dad, doesn’t seem to be going anywhere any time soon. After all, it helps the NFL and Colleges sell more merchandise if fans can dress like their team’s coach. Even if very talented coaches come along that have excellent style, there are probably team owners and athletic directors behind the scenes coaxing them to stick with the brand.
For now, American menswear enthusiasts will have to continue looking across the pond to see excellent sideline style. Coaches at this year’s Euro Cup has turned out with bespoke tailoring, subtle team color accents, high fashion leisurewear, and the watches – my god – the watches. There is no doubt that Europe’s two best teams are meeting on the pitch Sunday (unless you’re from Denmark or Spain), and the match should be a display of football at it’s finest. Personally though, I’m excited to get one more look at that jacket and tie combination dawned by the Italian coaching staff.