Savićević thus faced a make it or break it prospect right on his coaching debut.

Rocco made his coaching debut for Triestina in 1947.

Puhl made a hands-on impact in his coaching debut for Canada.

Edwards, the Jets' 15th head coach, had 24 hours to recover from the shock of a 21-point loss to Indianapolis in his regular-season coaching debut.

Pat Riley's coaching debut could not have been more pleasant.

Indiana Larry Bird's coaching debut could not have been much tougher: He lost a game and two players.

"We played the game in two parts," said Stu Jackson, who lost his coaching debut.

Outlook: Cynthia Cooper, who as a player always found a way to win, found mostly problems in her coaching debut.

His professional coaching debut came as a linebackers coach for the expansion Cleveland Browns in 1999.

Lindsay Gaze made his coaching debut, after playing at the 1964 Olympics.