Many a coach would no doubt trade today's problems for worrying about whether or not Don Meredith would smoke a cigar at a team meeting or if their quarterback was out the night before. A further example is the fact that when Fran Tarkenton was traded from the Minnesota Vikings to the NY Giants it created a stir in the press for two reasons. First of all, New York then had 'Saint Francis' and Joe Namath in the same town. They were thought to be a study in contrasts. Secondly, Fran Tarkenton created a stir when he asked to be traded to get away form Norm Van Brocklin, his Minnesota coach.
Today requesting a trade is common place.
More to the point, if the player is good enough, management will fire the coach and keep the player. Everyone was aware of Namath's penchant for being out on the town. Now management has to worry about whether or not someone is going to get killed while their player is at a nightclub. One could say the players of days gone by had their problems, and they did. What bothers me is the attitude the players themselves.