9 seasons coaching the Green Bay Packers
5 championships - including the 2 first editions of the Super Bowl
He's got the freakin Super Bowl trophy named after him amongst other things including a few campuses, roads and squares throughout the USA. That's as good as a testament to how awesome Vince Lombardi was in making the Green Bay Packers one of the most legendary names in the modern era and putting little Green Bay, Wisconsin on the world map. Curly Lambeau may have got the team going but no doubt Vince Lombardi not only made the Packers what they are but ensured the fledgling NFL and Super Bowl's popularity for years to come.
10 seasons coaching the Chicago Bulls
13 seasons coaching the Los Angeles Lakers
11 NBA titles
He could possibly come closest to taking out the title as greatest sports team manager of all time. He has won more titles than any other coach in American professional sport and has done it with two sides. Granted, they were two of the most talented sides the NBA has ever seen with the likes of Scotty Pippin and Michael Jordan for the Bulls and Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant for the Lakers but as the Miami Heat showed last season, you still need a coach to get all that talent together. A true servant to basketball.
21 seasons coaching the Brisbane Broncos
2 seasons coaching the St George-Illawarra Dragons
7 Grand Final wins
The greatest coach in rugby league surely. The Brisbane Broncos' version of Curly Lambeau - he helped build the Broncos franchise from its infancy into one of the powerhouses of Australian rugby league. After the Broncos felt the need to move on, Bennett moved south into enemy territory and coached the Dragons to their much overdue first title since the merger of the St George and Illawarra clubs. Now at Newcastle, Bennett is aiming to be the first coach to win the NRL Grand Final with 3 different clubs - and you wouldn't bet against him doing it soon. Oh yes, Bennett did enjoy success coaching the Maroons and Kangaroos too, along with assisting the Kiwis win the World Cup.
5 seasons coaching Auckland
3 seasons coaching the Blues
5 seasons coaching Wales
8 seasons coaching the All Blacks
1 Rugby World Cup, 2 Super 12 titles, 4 NPC championships
His place in New Zealand sport is sealed but Henry shouldn't only be remembered for winning back the Rugby World Cup after 24 long years. Henry has been a tremendous coach from school level with Auckland Grammar and Kelston Boys High to provincial level with the dominant Auckland team of the early 90s. When rugby turned professional, Henry was there, guiding the Blues franchise to 2 titles and narrowly missing on a hat-trick of titles - he assisted too in their only other triumph in 2003. Before taking on the All Blacks job, he honed his skills at the highest level with Wales and is widely considered the man responsible for guiding Welsh rugby into the professional era and the success they now enjoy. One of the great rugby union coaches.
12 seasons coaching the New York Yankees
8 World Series wins
George Steinbrenner may be the man who built the Yankees into the team they are today off the diamond. But there is no disputing the fact that Casey Stengel was the man who made the Yankees the team they are today on it. 5 straight World titles from 1949 to 1953: no baseball team has achieved that since. He had great players in Joe di Maggio, Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle and knew how to get the most out of them. Probably the greatest baseball coach ever.
25 seasons coaching Manchester United
12 Premier League titles
2 Champions League titles
Arise, Sir Fergie. I've already had a long tribute to the man despite being a Liverpool man but there is no disputing that Fergie is undoubtedly the greatest manager football has ever seen. He has lasted longer than most of his peers - this despite at one stage looking like he would get the sack at the turn of the 1990s. He has had his critics but he has withstood them all and looks set to continue for years to come.
There are many others that could be good candidates.. Nick Malthouse, Ruth Aitken, Fabio Capello, Joe Torre, Don Shula, Bill Belichick, Jean Todt.. But here were some of those that definitely stood out for me.
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