NFL Head Coach 09

For me, it’s closer to a 10. I found it extremely easy to look past some of the issues that it has since I was easily able to work around them, and the on-field action kept me up until two in the morning. However, without online play, I can’t give it a score like that. But if there was ever the very definition of a realistic, deep, and fun football game, NFL Head Coach is it. There are parts of the interface that should be improved (contract negotiations, defensive audibles during the hurry-up offense, adjustments in general), but overall, the game is incredible. I’d also go so far as to say it’s one of the most significant releases in console football history for football aficionados.

If EA wants to do it right, they'll just add a "Head Coach" mode to a future Madden title and never look back. I can't recommend this game to either a casual gamer or a casual football fan. The game fills a rather small niche in the gaming world, but it does a much better job at doing it than the previous version of Head Coach. If you played the first version and enjoyed it, then you'll love Head Coach 09. I would give this game a 5 out of 10 if I were thinking of it in broad general terms, but I would go as high as an 8.5 out of 10 if you've been a fan of Madden these past 20 years and really enjoy the franchise mode. Basically, if you don't know anything about football, don't bother.

Even with its quirks and bugs, NFL Head Coach 09 is the type of game that will silently siphon away hours of your free time. Sitting down at night after the family has gone to bed to get in an hour or so of game time only to discover that all of a sudden it’s the middle of the night and your eyes are straining. In many ways NFL Head Coach is the Civilization of sports games. Just one more turn, just one more week of planning -- just one more scouting report. There are some games that simply bring too much fun to the table and are a joy to play despite its problems—Head Coach 09 is one of those games.

For years, we wondered why NFL coaches tossed their clipboards and screamed at players, and now we understand. It sucks calling what seems like a winning play and then watching some idiot fumble the football or commit a stupid penalty. To that end, NFL Head Coach 09 is a great way to peer inside this exciting profession and get a better feeling for the gridiron. Anyone that obsesses over Xs and Os should consider buying it.

If you’re one of “those guys,” pick up NFL Head Coach 09, stat. The rest of football fans will want to tread lightly on NFL Head Coach 09’s sidelines first; give it a rent before committing to this level of managerial depth.

There are also options to create your own plays and playbooks, though they aren’t anything special. Taking your competitive spirit online isn’t worth your time since it’s basically a chess match where players pick their plays but never watch the plays unfold. Besides these few options, the biggest drawing point to play NFL Head Coach 09 is to build your dream team. If you’d rather play with your favorite players than being the genius who put the team together, I’d recommend playing Madden 09 over NFL Head Coach 09.

NFL Head Coach features many innovations that are uncommon in sports games and offers an engaging coaching/GM experience. The depth and authenticity with regard to team management are impressive, and there are moments during a game when you actually feel like a head coach. Provided that you are a hardcore football fan and can look past its flaws, Head Coach is an enjoyable game with rich replay possibilities.

NFL Head Coach 09 is sort of like a Tamagotchi that has been built specifically for adult males who are foaming at the mouth for more football than any one Sunday could bring. It delves very deep into the actions of a head coach and, while most of it does feel like plodding through an endless stream of menus, there’s a good chunk of Monday morning quarterbacks who are sure to enjoy it.

NFL Head Coach features many innovations that are uncommon in sports games and offers an engaging coaching/GM experience. The depth and authenticity with regard to team management are impressive, and there are moments during a game when you actually feel like a head coach. Provided that you are a hardcore football fan and can look past its flaws, Head Coach is an enjoyable game with rich replay possibilities.

NFL Head Coach 09 is sort of like a Tamagotchi that has been built specifically for adult males who are foaming at the mouth for more football than any one Sunday could bring. It delves very deep into the actions of a head coach and, while most of it does feel like plodding through an endless stream of menus, there’s a good chunk of Monday morning quarterbacks who are sure to enjoy it.

This game is like your favorite team going from a 5-11 one year to a 6-10 record the next. Regardless of whatever improvements have occurred, you aren't going anywhere with that kind of record.

This game is like your favorite team going from a 5-11 one year to a 6-10 record the next. Regardless of whatever improvements have occurred, you aren't going anywhere with that kind of record.

Despite being packed with scads of options and details normally suited for spreadsheets and salary cap gurus, it’s hard to justify Head Coach’s full-price treatment. Between the NFL Network announcer that has the same canned sound bite for common transactions and the lousy framerate of the in-game action, there’s a decidedly second-class-citizen feel from the get-go. Head Coach succeeds as a solid statistical simulator for hardcore football junkies; unfortunately, that translates into a pretty dull experience.

While the thought of a football RPG may bore some who enjoy the hands-on experience of Madden and other similar titles, there are some positives to NFL Head Coach 09. Football heads may enjoy the fact that the game does a good job of applying what your team learned from the drills they worked on throughout the week to the game you play the following Sunday, and that EA does a good job of adding a level of excitement to a very slow-paced game. Where it fails is in its ability to appeal to a wide audience. The only people who may actually be interested in purchasing NFL Head Coach 09 are those who crave so much football that their latest installment of Madden simply won't do.

If you love the Madden franchise mode and want more depth, then here you have it. But is it worthy of a standalone release? Anyone who was interested in playing NFL Head Coach is likely a die-hard football fan, so it's hard to conceive of a target audience for this game who wouldn't have already picked up this year's version of Madden. NFL Head Coach is a decent value when considered as part of the 20th anniversary Madden NFL 09 package, but doesn't quite do enough to merit a purchase for the standalone version.

Despite being packed with scads of options and details normally suited for spreadsheets and salary cap gurus, it’s hard to justify Head Coach’s full-price treatment. Between the NFL Network announcer that has the same canned sound bite for common transactions and the lousy framerate of the in-game action, there’s a decidedly second-class-citizen feel from the get-go. Head Coach succeeds as a solid statistical simulator for hardcore football junkies; unfortunately, that translates into a pretty dull experience.

While the thought of a football RPG may bore some who enjoy the hands-on experience of Madden and other similar titles, there are some positives to NFL Head Coach 09. Football heads may enjoy the fact that the game does a good job of applying what your team learned from the drills they worked on throughout the week to the game you play the following Sunday, and that EA does a good job of adding a level of excitement to a very slow-paced game. Where it fails is in its ability to appeal to a wide audience. The only people who may actually be interested in purchasing NFL Head Coach 09 are those who crave so much football that their latest installment of Madden simply won't do.

If you love the Madden franchise mode and want more depth, then here you have it. But is it worthy of a standalone release? Anyone who was interested in playing NFL Head Coach is likely a die-hard football fan, so it's hard to conceive of a target audience for this game who wouldn't have already picked up this year's version of Madden. NFL Head Coach is a decent value when considered as part of the 20th anniversary Madden NFL 09 package, but doesn't quite do enough to merit a purchase for the standalone version.

Nothing says a simulator can't be fun. I love the idea of plotting out my draft board, targeting free agents, cutting dead weight, and juggling the salary cap. But Head Coach 09 just left me frustrated and angry.

Nothing says a simulator can't be fun. I love the idea of plotting out my draft board, targeting free agents, cutting dead weight, and juggling the salary cap. But Head Coach 09 just left me frustrated and angry.