Howell is a very below average coach and probably one of the worst coaches in the country at his position.
Great coaches can take the crappiest of situations, the less talented players, and turn it into something good. A good coach can still overachieve and do good things with less talent.
If Howell needs talent to make him look good... he is not a good coach at all. Considering Howell's history as a coach, I'm pretty dang confident that Howell is a very below average coach.