That is a wild take on Cig. He's on record saying he was overly provocative coming out of the gate because he felt he had to wake up a dormant fan base (per your "Google me" reference).
He always gives his opponents the respect they deserve (although not afraid to point it out afterwards if they kicked their ass) and his coaches and players are incredibly loyal to him. Both coordinators have been with him for like 12 years. I don't think "jerk status" gets you that kind of loyalty and even if it does, the extrapolation of saying some provocative things into creating a broad and derogatory character label is a bit rich.
Yes, I'm biased but there is a distinction between "he's not my cup of tea" and "jerk."
I take your point. Jerkiness comes in many shades of gray. I think the larger question is how and why being "overly provocative" has become the dominant form of communication in this era, and whether that actually achieves anything when it comes to winning.
My experience as a sportswriter for 35 years was that almost all football coaches were jerks. I don’t think any sport I covered had the disparity I experienced between how I felt about the sport (loved it) and how I felt about the coaches (despised most of them).
I miss the Frank Beamer model. He looked like a casual fan hanging out on the sideline. But he was effective, and well respected. Now coaches are expected to act maniacal, to be perceived as properly engaged. But coaching takes all types, and (realistically) optics do matter.
I know this came in his pro coaching career, but an ultimate coaching jerkdom example was Urban M. ironically kicking his kicker..
2001 was my freshman year in the Cal Band, and the Bears went 1-10 with its only win in a rescheduled matchup at Rutgers.
In my first conference home game at California Memorial Stadium, I was walking toward the sideline prior to our halftime show and heard Washington coach Rick Neuheisel unleash a torrent of profanity toward his players.
I like college football as much as the next guy, but all I could think was: “What are we doing here?” The man was swearing gratuitously at 19-year-olds in front of everyone. It’s not as if the Huskies lost that game, either.
That is a wild take on Cig. He's on record saying he was overly provocative coming out of the gate because he felt he had to wake up a dormant fan base (per your "Google me" reference).
He always gives his opponents the respect they deserve (although not afraid to point it out afterwards if they kicked their ass) and his coaches and players are incredibly loyal to him. Both coordinators have been with him for like 12 years. I don't think "jerk status" gets you that kind of loyalty and even if it does, the extrapolation of saying some provocative things into creating a broad and derogatory character label is a bit rich.
Yes, I'm biased but there is a distinction between "he's not my cup of tea" and "jerk."
I take your point. Jerkiness comes in many shades of gray. I think the larger question is how and why being "overly provocative" has become the dominant form of communication in this era, and whether that actually achieves anything when it comes to winning.
I think that's a fair topic to analyze. Just felt a bit triggered by the "jerk" label.
My experience as a sportswriter for 35 years was that almost all football coaches were jerks. I don’t think any sport I covered had the disparity I experienced between how I felt about the sport (loved it) and how I felt about the coaches (despised most of them).
I think football lends itself to the Jerk as Coach model more than other sports.
I don't disagree. But it's interesting that the biggest coaching jerk in modern history was a basketball coach (Bob Knight).
It would be amusing if Penn St. beat Indiana in November.
I miss the Frank Beamer model. He looked like a casual fan hanging out on the sideline. But he was effective, and well respected. Now coaches are expected to act maniacal, to be perceived as properly engaged. But coaching takes all types, and (realistically) optics do matter.
I know this came in his pro coaching career, but an ultimate coaching jerkdom example was Urban M. ironically kicking his kicker..
2001 was my freshman year in the Cal Band, and the Bears went 1-10 with its only win in a rescheduled matchup at Rutgers.
In my first conference home game at California Memorial Stadium, I was walking toward the sideline prior to our halftime show and heard Washington coach Rick Neuheisel unleash a torrent of profanity toward his players.
I like college football as much as the next guy, but all I could think was: “What are we doing here?” The man was swearing gratuitously at 19-year-olds in front of everyone. It’s not as if the Huskies lost that game, either.
Rick was, and IS, a putz
Just another example of the extremes that are the New Normal