At the college football level, a small number of coaches control so much of the power that the idea of a Cinderella postseason tournament run is not only unrealistic, it’s essentially blocked out of the rule book like some kind of Nick Saban–led political redistricting.
In the NFL, a relatively small number of coaches and general managers are so much smarter than everyone else, running a timely offense that gouges the weaknesses of whatever en vogue defense is spread around the league at the moment. This makes the idea of a Cinderella postseason run highly unlikely, especially when the processes of those smart teams are carbon copied, leaving us with a kind of pleasant homogeneity within the upper crust of football organizations.
But at both levels of football, Joe Burrow has managed to truly stun and amaze us, to conjure a storybook run at a time when even believing that his teams would be contenders would get you labeled a fool. First, LSU in 2019, amid the sea of Clemsons, Georgias, Alabamas and Ohio States. Now, the Bengals in ’22, after finishing the previous season 4-11-1. One more improbable than the last.
