Why Is the NFC East Good?

In continuing to think about the NY Giants, and their placement relative to the other teams in the NFC East, it got me thinking about why the NFC East is regularly so strong. The NFC East has earned five of the six NFC wildcard births in the last three seasons. Wow.

The easiest thing to point to are the coaches:

• Bill Parcells took over for Dave Campo in 2003
• Joe Gibbs took over for Steve Spurrier in 2004
• Tom Coughlin took over for Jim Fassel in 2004
• Andy Reid has been around since 1999 (and, surprise surprise, the Eagles have been the most consistently successful team in the last 10 years).

Huh. I didn't have that list made up before I started writing this (I looked up everything as I was writing) and now that it's all laid out in front of me it seems pretty conclusive - get your team a good coach. Consider:

• The last ownership change in the NFC East took place in 1999, when Dan Snyder bought the Redskins.
• Parcells, Gibbs, and Reid all took multiple quarterbacks to the playoffs.
• GM info has been tough to find, but the Cowboys have always had Jerry at the helm, the Eagles last change was an in house promotion, as was the Giants. The Redskins apparently have no GM, so I'm not sure what to make of that.

Overall, of the four categories I've looked (owner, GM, coach, quarterback), each team's coach seems to be the most significant factor in the success of the NFC East teams.

And, of course, the obligatory NFC West sidebar:

• The Rams with Mike Martz were just like Mike Martz - good, but erratic. Under Scott Linehan? Not that good.
• The 49ers were decent with Steve Mariucci, and have done much since with Dennis Erickson and Mike Nolan.
• The Arizona Cardinals have been a dumpster fire for quite some time. I thought Dennis Green was a decent coach, but he couldn't do anything with the Cardinals. If Ken Whisenhunt fails miserably as well we'll know the organization is cursed.
• The Seahawks have future hall-of-fame coach Mike Holmgren and have been the most successful NFC West team since Holmgren was relieved of his duties as GM.

I'm not saying anything, I'm just sayin'.