Players we get. We see and mostly understand what they bring. It's not so obvious with coaches and often it's only after they have moved on, gone elsewhere, that we understand what it is that they did.
It tends to be the same old thing: teams win, players get the credit; teams lose ... fire the coach.
It's never that simple, though, and this year has delivered some classic examples of how much good coaching matters. This year has shown that the influence of a coach can pervade deep into the inner workings of a side - pull him out, and the structure collapses. Look at champion teams such as Manchester United and the Breakers; they have fallen off the cliff after being forced into coaching changes when Sir Alex Ferguson retired from the former and Andrej Lemanis moved on from the latter.
On the flip side, the Sydney Roosters, a basket case in 2012, won the NRL title in 2013 after installing rookie head coach Trent Robinson. He delivered immediate success, much like the Chiefs enjoyed in 2012 when they hired Dave Rennie.
Manchester United are best illustrating the dramatic impact a new coach can have. They are not so much doing it tough in their first season without Ferguson, as doing it disastrously - on the domestic front at least. Many suspected it would be a struggle for new man David Moyes. Ferguson was, and may remain for an eternity, the greatest manager in the Premiership.