Coaches – Roy Kessel

Roy’s Ramble 12-15-19

rkessel — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 02:13:47 +0000

Some very interesting stories to follow over these last couple of week.

This coming week I am excited about the Sports Philanthropy Network holiday events in DC (December 17th) and Chicago (December 19th), as well as the Aspen Institute’s event on the State of College Sports which is being held in DC on December 17th. Should be a a very interesting week ahead with lots to report next week.

NFL CELEBRATIONS—for so many years the NFL fought against allowing players to celebrate. The moniker of the “No Fun League” seemed to fit very well. I think one of the best things to come along in sports in a long time is the permission the NFL has given players to have fun planning, executing and enjoying the pleasure that comes along with a TD or a turnover. Though the games are long enough, I would much rather watch the players celebrating than seeing a commercial for the ~~100^th time~~, 500^th time. Let’s hope that they find other ways to encourage these positive spirited enhancements of the game!

CHRIS PETERSON—His retirement highlights the enormous pressure cooker college coaches are under. NFL coaches are no different, except that very few of them are able to make it past a few years in the league. Virtually no coach has an open ended contract, unless your name is Belichick or Tomlin. We have seen Urban Meyer retire multiple times and there are reports he will be back. Bill Cowher took a step back and there does not appear to be much chatter connecting him to any job openings this year. Jon Gruden stepped away for a long time before he was lured back. Though it gets in the coach’s blood, people often underestimate the mental, physical and psychological damage it can do to the coach and his family.

49ERS ANNOUNCER—This was a very disturbing incident in which the 49ers announcer Tim Ryan stated that one of the main reasons Lamar Jackson succeeded was due to his dark skin (and uniform) being able to hide the ball on play-action and read-option plays. The absurdity was highlighted by Jackson wearing white sleeves and white gloves and continuing to put up huge numbers. Anyone watching his performance will tell you that his running and passing abilities have nothing to do with “hiding” the ball due to his skin color. The announcer got the appropriate flack and hopefully this issue is put behind everyone.

BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP GAME—I had the privilege to get press credentials to cover the Big Ten Championship Game in Indianapolis last Saturday night. Indianapolis has the well-earned reputation for putting on a phenomenal show. It was doing so for many years of NCAA tournaments, Big Ten Tournaments and other events, before the Super Bowl showcased its capabilities to a much wider audience. The fan set up in Indy is tough to beat with the hotels and restaurants so close to the action. The Indiana Convention Center hosted a terrific Fan Fest and pep rallies letting fans get opportunities to kick field goals, run the 40 yard dash and much more. Some parents even let their kids get in front of them in line. The staff at Lucas Oil Stadium does a great job hosting the media and ensuring first-class access to the field and all of the necessary resources.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF— Returning from the Big Ten Championship game and watching the playoff field unfold was completely anti-climactic given that there were really no strong arguments for any of the other teams, highlighting the need for an 8 team playoff to keep things interesting for more of the country and putting home field at stake! Personally, I still hate having these games in advance of January 1^st so that the losers of the semi-finals are out of the college football talk before about half of the bowl games have even been played.

PATRIOTS VIDEOTAPES—It is hard to believe that the Patriots are embroiled in another scandal. You would think that they would have learned their lesson and that the specifications of working on a Patriots project would clearly articulate the need to be careful about videotaping improper areas of the field. While it is hard to see how this would give the Patriots a competitive advantage (because anyone in the stands can videotape anything these days), there are certainly multiple troubling aspects of this issue. First, the lack of “institutional control” in this case is surprising given the past history. Second, the videographer’s lack of ability to articulate his purpose is somewhat troubling. If you are filming for a particular feature, it would seem that you should be able to tell the “story” about why that film was needed. At minimum, it is just a bad look for the Patriots, but it is also the type of incident that has seemed to galvanize the team in the past.

PRESIDENTS CUP FIGHT—Golf is typically perceived to be a game of honor and sportsmanship. Patrick Reed’s failure to report his violation in the sand waste area created quite a storm leading into the Presidents Cup and the opposing fans at Royal Melbourne gave him an earful. Reed’s caddy was apparently tired of it at the end of one of his rounds and got in a fans face and shoved him after the fan’s explicative filled tirade. No matter the fan’s comments, physical assault by the caddie was unacceptable and the PGA rightfully suspended him immediately. Reed accepted that penalty. He also responded as you would expect and came back with a dominating performance early in the singles session to help set the tone for the USA’s comeback victory.

BEARS-PACKERS—As one of the oldest rivalries in sports, this game always means a lot. There were some very interesting plays and a finish which might have ranked up there with the famous Cal-Stanford rugby laterals (even if this one was shorter). The Packers seemingly had no idea how to defense the play and only the failure to make the last lateral properly kept the Bears out of the end zone. It has been a difficult year for the Bears franchise and it will be interesting to watch to see how they react in the off-season. Trubisky made a lot of very good throws in the game but still makes the critical mistakes that can turns wins into losses.

DARK WATERS—I don’t usually put much in here in terms of movie recommendations but I saw “Dark Waters” Saturday night and highly recommend it. It depicts the highly disturbing story of DuPont and the pollution it wreaked around the disposal of the chemical compound used to make Teflon. The compound cannot be broken down by the human body (or by most animals) and it causes all types of cancer and birth defects. The movie traces the lawyer who fought the battle for 15 years to the detriment of his own legal career and family. The heartbreaking elements of the story highlight the ongoing failures of the EPA, the inability of government (federal and local) to regulate chemical compounds for our food and water supplies and the challenges inherent in our legal system which allows a large well funded corporation to “bully” its own employees, cancer victims, the town hosting its plant, opposing counsel and everyone else involved in the legal process.

If you didn’t have a chance to see some of the other things I have been involved with or written recently, take a look here:

HUMOR FOR THE WEEK

MOTIVATION FOR THE WEEK

Roy’s Ramble (12-1-19)

rkessel — Mon, 02 Dec 2019 01:47:13 +0000

Thanksgiving—I was very appreciative of being able to spend the day with my parents, my sister Sharon and Kayla Bradham and her children. It was great to host them all and be able to share a full evening together. It was also great to have some time with my kids over the weekend and hear about my daughter’s first semester in college at Madison. We were also able to share in the celebration of the Badgers clinching a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game against Ohio State and we will be looking for a much better performance than the game in Columbus in October.

Most importantly, I am thankful for all of the good things in my life. A place to live, plenty of food, plenty of clothes and many friends and family to share happy occasions with. I hope to continue to do a lot of work with the Sports Philanthropy Network to help many organizations make positive impact in their communities.

Dean Smith Letters—These are some amazing letters that I found online. They were written from legendary North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith to a young basketball player named Michael Jordan. You can see the attention to detail Smith has and the eye for the game. What I also found interesting in these letters is the fact that you can see how they impacted Michael’s game at the NBA level. It would be very interesting to see other letters from Dean Smith or other coaches in terms of how they want to see their players improving in the off-season (and then looking back on these letters after a player becomes a star).

Nick Saban—Alabama losing 2 regular season games is almost unheard of. The loss yesterday really had to sting because Alabama mostly controlled the game. The first pick-6 was relatively normal, but the second one was a horrendous throw and an enormous turning point in the game. Instead of an 8-point Alabama lead it turned into a 100 yard INT return for Auburn. But the lasting image of the game will Nick Saban’s tirade at the extra time added at the end of the first half. By all rights, Saban is 100% correct. There is no way that the clock should have been stopped or that Auburn should have been given time to kick that FG (which was ultimately the difference in the game). The second dispute at the end of the game seems different to me. Auburn pulled off a good trick play and Alabama got caught with too many players on the field allowing Auburn to run out the clock. As in any close game, there are so many individual plays that can make the difference. Besides the two big disputes, you have a relatively short missed FG and a defense that was clearly not up to Alabama’s recent standards. Still, it is hard to see how so many Tide fans are calling for Saban’s head. As I wrote recently, be careful what you wish for Alabama Fans. You might not make the playoff this year, but I would not bet against Saban next season (and if I were one of his assistant coaches, I would not plan on much sleep).

The Hedges—There were some very funny images of people trying to get through the hedges at Auburn after the win. It would seem that if you were a fan at Auburn you might have a better game plan of how to get on the field after a big win. Surprisingly, Alabama is 0-7 at Auburn when both teams are ranked.

Jim Harbaugh Press Conference—After becoming the first Michigan coach to be 0-5 against Ohio State, Harbaugh was obviously quite testy at his press conference. It might not have risen to the level of contentiousness as Mike Leach does at Washington State, Harbaugh was clearly irritated by questions of what Ohio State did better. It is going to be very interesting to see where Michigan is slotted for a bowl game and how the sentiment around Ann Arbor in the off-season will impact the Harbaugh era. Many Michigan alums were unhappy going in to the season and Michigan lost to the three best teams they played (Ohio State, Wisconsin and Penn State). They were not even close against Ohio State or Wisconsin and needed a huge comeback against Penn State to get within striking range, a comeback which appeared to be the turning point for Michigan to play well for the second half of the season. While Harbaugh has made Michigan more competitive than the last two coaches (Hoke, Rodriguez), he hasn’t been able to get over the hump in the way that many expected. This will be an interesting story to watch in the off-season.

8-Team Playoff—I recently wrote why I think the 8-team playoff will save college football. The enormous pressure on coaches is just another reason. With only 4 teams making that playoff, there is virtually no margin for error for any team not named Alabama, Clemson or Ohio State. You look at Championship Weekend and there are very few teams that can really improve their spot and only a couple (Georgia, Utah, Oklahoma and maybe Baylor) that can likely play their way in. By contrast, an 8-team playoff would still have a lot of room for movement not only into the field but also into the matchups and into the home-field advantage. What would be better than seeing and SEC team travel to the Midwest for a game in a snowstorm?

Coaching changes—One of the things that I hate most about this time of year (and also Black Monday after the NFL season), is seeing all of the coaches who lose their jobs. These guys gave their hearts and souls to the programs that they are working for. Clearly it is a business and they all understand that it is part of the profession, but too many of us fans fail to recognize the impact these decisions have on all of the family members, especially the children uprooted to new schools or faced with abusive attacks on their parent in the media and on social media. It was refreshing to see the positive press release Northwestern put out after the decision to move on from Mick McCall as offensive coordinator after a truly dreadful offensive season, one which ironically ended up with their best offensive performance of the year.

Josh Shaw betting—The NFL doesn’t play games when it finds out that one of its players has been gambling on NFL games. Josh Shaw was a backup player on injured reserve who laid some action at a Vegas casino, supposedly due to his misinterpretation of the rules. Though he did cooperate fully, he is suspended through 2020. According to the NFL’s own language it would appear to prohibit fantasy football but you frequently hear players referencing their fantasy teams. Maybe they are all just playing for fun. Here are six other things you might not know about Shaw, including the fact that he fabricated a story while at USC about leaping off a balcony to save his drowning nephew.

Medical Independence—One disturbing story this past week was about the lack of medical independence on many college campuses. According to NCAA regulations, the sport coaches are not supposed to be in charge of the hiring and firing of medical personnel for their programs. Unfortunately, it has become apparent that there are still way too many coaches who control this aspect of their programs leading to enormous conflicts of interest and unreasonable pressure on the athletic trainers and other medical personnel. The NCAA itself has provisions for dealing with this situation but it appears that they are rarely enforced or even investigated.

Arena Football Bankruptcy—The Arena Football League filed for bankruptcy this week. The league has had many lives and there is no reason to believe that it is gone for good. There is always a huge appetite for football, but one important element of the league may be replaced by the XFL. The development aspect of arena football is limited because too many NFL positions really do not have equivalent positions in arena. The XFL will be a better developmental mode but the desire to see football is likely to create another desire to resurrect this league. Its biggest obstacle is likely to be the concussion crisis since players are going to be increasingly reluctant to sacrifice their brains and bodies for the meager financial rewards of arena football, especially if it is not a true developmental option for the NFL.

If you didn’t have a chance to see some of the other things I have been involved with or written recently, take a look here:

HUMOR FOR THE WEEK

MOTIVATION FOR THE WEEK

Second Guessing Play Calls is Like Second Guessing Rock, Paper, Scissors?

rkessel — Thu, 14 Nov 2019 15:53:44 +0000

Most fans think they are smarter than the football coaches of the team that they cheer for. They curse, stomp their feet, throw things at the wall (or the TV) and tweet up a storm. Coaches are in a no win situation. If a play fails (regardless of reason), the talking heads on TV and sports talk radio will join in the cacophony and support the fans who were outraged by the decision to run/pass. Perhaps no play in NFL history symbolizes this phenomenon better than Pete Carroll’s decision to allow Russell Wilson to throw from the 2 yard line with the game on the line. Malcolm Butler makes a play for the ages and forces his way inside to pick off the pass and the Patriots are the ones that are raising the Lombardi Trophy.

“What are you thinking?” was the theme of the outrage. “How can you not hand off the ball to Marshawn Lynch?” Lynch was certainly having a great game. But would that play have worked? None of us know that answer. Wilson’s pass could easily have resulted in a TD and the masses would have jumped on board and said “Great decision to fool them and NOT hand the ball off to Marshawn!” On the flip side, had they handed the ball off to Lynch and he was stopped by the Patriots defense, the critics would have howled “How could you call such a predictable play?”

Though I am certainly guilty of that at times as well, when you truly think about it, we do not watch as much tape as the coaches. We do not know the health of the players. We do not know the feel of the game in terms of what is working. That doesn’t mean we can’t express our frustrations and that we cannot believe a different decision would not have created a better result.

Each time I find myself going down that rabbit hole, I try to come back to this theme—Second guessing play calls is like second guessing decisions in a game of rock, paper, scissors (RPS). Actually, it is probably worse. Nobody spends 50+ hours a week studying rock, paper, scissors film (at least I hope not). Therefore, you really cannot tell someone’s tendencies. In addition, unlike RPS, which has only three options, a football play has hundreds of options on each the offensive and defensive side of the ball. No call is inherently good or bad. It only becomes so based on the combination of several factors:

Offensive play call
Defensive play call
Offensive execution
Defensive execution
Player mistakes (beyond fundamental execution, things like slipping on a pass route or dropping a well thrown ball)
Officiating mistakes

We have all seen plenty of well blocked screens where a RB drops a ball, or a WR slips. Or a well defended pass that deflects up in the air and gets caught for a first down. When a play works, it looks artful. When it doesn’t work, it looks pathetic. As frustrated as we might get, try to remember this next time you are tempted to attack your favorite team’s coaching staff.

Instead, go track down your friends and ask them why they threw Scissors when they clearly should have known that your other buddy was going to throw a Rock. See their reaction when you throw a tantrum at their decision and you will get the sense of what coaches think when you do the same thing.

“FIRE SABAN!” Bama fans, be careful what you wish for!

rkessel — Wed, 13 Nov 2019 15:27:59 +0000

The critique of college football coaches (really, all football coaches) has become worse in recent years. Alabama fans have apparently become even more unreasonable given Nick Saban’s historic success. But if you look more closely, are they really different from any other group of fans.

Listening to a sport talk radio show after a college or NFL loses can be highly entertaining. The entire program is falling apart, the head coach needs to go, the backup QB is better than the starter, both coordinators are atrocious and the recruiting has dropped off.

It seems that the Twitter age has made fans even more unreasonable and has given them an easy and widely distributed platform to voice their anger/frustration/knowledge.

The intensity of every game and the importance in the standings has made each week a do-or-die mentality for the fans. Patience is not an option. Contentment with mediocre results is not an option. Lose a game and the “Coach must go” tweets start, regardless of how well the team has done in the past. You might expect to see that in schools that are struggling to breakthrough to the next level and feel that they just lost their opportunity due to a “bad” or “disappointing” loss.

The quick trigger finger has not served many organizations well. Look at how frequently Nebraska has changed coaches since it ran off Bo Pelini wih a winning record. 9-3 was not good enough. You would think that winning 5 Nationals Championships would buy you a little bit of leeway, but as soon as Alabama lost a tight home game to LSU, the calls for his replacement started. Sentiments like “too old”, “the game has passed him by” or “he is not interested” littered the Twitterverse.

Be careful what you wish you Bama fans. You might not remember the lean years (i.e. Pre-Saban) where the Tide were little more than an afterthought to college football’s elite. Historically, the most successful programs have had a lot of stability at the top. Once you starting changing, it takes a new coach 2 to 3 years to truly get everything the way that they want it. Most schools don’t have that patience.