NFL Head Coach review

The history of the NFL is peppered with tales of hyperactive head coaches sleeping overnight in their offices, drawing up crazy plays, and building championship clubs from the ashes of decrepit teams. NFL Head Coach from EA Sports allows you to experience this rather unique lifestyle; whether or not the activities that make up the job are more interesting than, say, your current employment situation is another question.

Head Coach is a freakishly in-depth sports simulator. The emphasis is on "sim," since you won’t be flicking Hit Sticks or mashing turbo buttons here. The term "micromanagement" may be an understatement when it comes to describing the game; there's hardly an aspect of your team that is not under your direct control. Everything that happens- whether those things turn out to be goodor bad- is attributed to you.

Preparing a team to be ready for the rigors of the NFL is one ginormous effort. The first thing you need to do is get hired. Once you're in the door, if you don't like your assistants, you can simply fire their sorry butts. After the smoke clears from that, you’ve got to meet with your owner, scouts, and coaching staff regularly (not to mention hire some replacements), sign players by negotiating with slimy agents, and manage the salary cap. There's even an email inbox to keep up with (as if your real life inbox isn't already jammed full).

After a few hours getting your house in order, it's time for the NFL Draft, with ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. on hand to mock your selections. Choosing players can be nervewracking, but that's part of the fun. Next up is training camp, when you've got to choose which plays to practice and the players to run them, then yell at them when they screw 'em up. Choose wisely, since what you practice drives chances of success when you eventually get around to game time.

Thankfully, NFL Head Coach allows "fast-forwarding" of sorts through the most mundane of tasks, although your scouts and coaches are liable to royally botch things when serious oversight isn't provided. If you've been unlucky enough to sign with a lousy team, it's an especially bad idea to delegate many of your responsibilities.