Player - coach A player - coach , in sports , is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties . The term can be used to refer to both players who serve as head coaches , or as assistant coaches . Virtually no professional sports teams have head coaches who are also players , though it is extremely common for senior players to take a role in coaching more junior athletes . An exception to this is Shane Warne , who is Captain and Coach of the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League . It remains common in amateur and semi - professional sports . For instance , a common career path for former Australian Football League players immediately after their retirement is as player - coaches in suburban or rural leagues . Player coaches in basketball . The player - coach was , for many decades , a long - time fixture in professional basketball . Many notable coaches in the NBA served as player - coaches , including Bill Russell and Lenny Wilkens . This was especially true up through the 1970s , when the league was not as financially successful as it is today , and player - coaches were often used to save money . The practice fell out of favor in the 1980s ( though Mike Dunleavy Sr . , while an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Bucks , once came out of retirement and played several games when a rash of injuries decimated the team ) . Today , the collective bargaining agreement between the NBA and the players ' union prohibits the use of player - coaches , in order to avoid circumventing the league ' s salary cap , as coaches ' salaries are not counted under the cap . Therefore , if a player is to serve as a coach , he would have to receive commission from his contract as a player . The player , then , is not technically an official coach of his team but instead simply a coach in name . One example of a player in recent years who was groomed for eventual official coaching duties using this practice was Avery Johnson . Player - manager . Player / manager is a sports term used to described a manager of a team who is also registered to play for the team . In association football , this situation usually arises when a manager leaves a team suddenly , and the chairman has to make a quick decision to appoint someone new as a caretaker manager . The chairman will usually either ask a coach to take temporary charge or turn to the club ' s most senior player . If this particular player gains good results for the team during his time in charge , he may be appointed full - time manager , which leaves him a player / manager . One of the most well known football player - manager was Kenny Dalglish who was appointed player - manager at Liverpool FC following the Heysel Stadium disaster . Other notably successful football player / managers include Alan Curbishley ( Charlton Athletic F . C . ( 1991 - 1996 ) ) , Trevor Francis ( Queens Park Rangers FC ( 1988 - 1989 ) , Sheffield Wednesday FC ( 1991 - 1995 ) ) , Ruud Gullit ( Chelsea FC ( 1996 - 1998 ) ) and Gianluca Vialli ( ( Chelsea FC ( 1998 - 2000 ) ) . However , there are instances when a free agent is signed by a new team as a manager and offers his playing abilities . In the United States , player / managers and player - coaches were once common , especially in the early days of baseball . The last player - manager in Major League Baseball was Pete Rose , who began managing the Cincinnati Reds in 1985 , the second - to - last season of his playing career . Ty Cobb , Cap Anson , Joe Cronin , Connie Mack , John McGraw , Tris Speaker , Frank Robinson , Joe Torre and Lou Boudreau all spent time as player - managers . In this capacity , Robinson became the first African - American manager in Major League Baseball ( for the Cleveland Indians in 1975 ) . Fred Clarke ( Pittsburgh NL ) spent the longest time as a player - manager . Major league rules are somewhat different for trips to the mound by the manager if he is a player - manager ( this is with regard to being required to change pitchers ) , and a player - manager puts himself into or out of the lineup just like any other player .