Why Coaching Matters: 2022 College Lesson One

Why Coaching Matters 

For those looking for the regular UGA analysis, I decided to switch it up this season because the pressure is finally out of Athens and certainly no one at Georgia needs my opinion. There are, however, many programs across the country who could benefit, and I also want to relate more to life than to football. So instead each week I’ll discuss a major takeaway from the games and how it translates to a quality lesson of life. I will also steer this towards young men, because I feel young men are the overlooked population in today’s society and they need all the help and mentorship possible to grow strong and effective in life - that isn’t to say young women can’t learn from this though because every lesson will be mostly universal.

I really wish my biggest takeaway from week one is how Georgia and Alabama will be the clear apex predators once again this season. While that’s true so far in my mind, and it is time to formally recognize Todd Monken as the best Georgia offensive coordinator in at least my lifetime, the biggest takeaway actually took place on Sunday in New Orleans when first-year LSU coach Brian Kelly embarrassed himself once again and showed us all why coaching matters so much, both on the field and in life.

Rewind to a personal experience a couple years ago that I kept relatively quiet partially because it’s hard to admit failure. The Marine Corps went through some changes and my future in uniform was uncertain. Nothing bad at all, just different, and I didn’t know what my options would be. I began applying for coaching positions across the country just in case, and also because my number one passion outside of my family is to lead young men. There’s nothing more rewarding even in my current job than seeing my team members grow and succeed and achieve their goals, and why not apply that to a sport I love? I applied for internships and analyst positions at big schools like Georgia, and position coach roles at smaller schools and even high schools. I got a few offers from those smaller schools, but ultimately nothing that would be a great fit for my family, which is my priority. 

I got a lot of phone calls though, even from those big schools, because I have a unique background and skill set they probably don’t see very often. All my interviews went well, and the HR reps seemed to love my mentality and what I brought to the table, but the athletic departments mostly said no because I had no college football experience, either playing or coaching. I get it, these are major businesses and they can’t afford to gamble and lose on a no-name guy, but I was disappointed and really still feel it’s their loss. I’m not naïve enough to think I’d walk into the offensive line position at Georgia (which I think I’d be great at for the record), but the assistant player development coach? Name someone with a better background than me for that. Everything happens for a reason, though, and I certainly don’t regret anything and love what I get to do still today.

The focus of most of the phone calls and interviews was leadership, and how my experiences perfectly prepared me to inspire and mentor 18-22 year old football players, because that’s a big part of what I do in the Marine Corps. I explained even without a college football background, I’m more than smart enough to figure it out, my work ethic is unmatched, and if nothing else I guarantee I can inspire 11 young men to come together towards a common goal on the field. I still think those are true, and tying it back to the main focus, those are probably the most important abilities of a college coach today. Which is why watching LSU this weekend broke my heart.

Brian Kelly obviously knows how to coach X and O football. He’s the winningest regular season coach in a prestigious program’s history. But I always felt underwhelmed with his performance and thought he could win more than he did, which again was a lot. The level of effort and lack of discipline put forth by LSU players showed me what I figured from his time at ND too, he doesn’t inspire and he doesn’t lead his young men the way they need to be led. I’m not saying coaches need to act like fools and jump around on the sidelines, but Kelly had absolutely zero emotion regardless of how high or low the game got for LSU. He didn’t look engaged with the players or his staff, and certainly we don’t know what was said at halftime, but going into halftime his message was underwhelming and showed little genuine care for his team. It is always easy to say this from far away, but reassurance to your team after a mistake goes a long way, and he acted as if he could not care less if they learned from the mistakes.

I get bothered by this for a few reasons. The first is because of my personal experience discussed earlier, I know that if given a chance, I could at a minimum, inspire young athletes to work hard and fight harder, which clearly isn’t the case for Brian Kelly’s team at the moment. The second reason is for someone who learned so much from sports, especially football, I want these kids to have the same experience, and they won’t learn anything or become better men (let alone football players) when their coach shows zero interest in teaching lessons throughout the games. Third, and maybe the most important, is that for a lot of football players, coaches are father figures, sometimes even the only male role models they have, and from the outside looking in, Brian Kelly takes that for granted and neglects his duties to mentor and lead those kids to become better humans. That is devastating to me, and those players probably deserve better. 

I guess none of this should be a surprise after he left Notre Dame without telling his team, while still in contention for a playoff spot last season. Of course after that he came down to Louisiana and tried to act like a Cajun, and that probably lost more interest from recruits than it gained. But compare these actions and the performance of LSU to Coach Smart or Coach Saban, and their teams’ performances. 

After their 49-3 mauling of Oregon, Kirby Smart was asked what he said to Dan Lanning after the game, his previous defensive coordinator and now head coach at Oregon. Kirby’s answer was “I told him I loved him.” That says so much about where Kirby’s priorities are, and how genuinely he cares not only about his players, but also his staff. It translates on the field too – contrary to the effort put forth by LSU players, Georgia players sold out for each other the entire game. On the first Georgia TD of the game and of the season, Ladd McConkey (beast) took a little toss/end around for a score. On that play, both Brock Bowers and AD Mitchell (also beasts), who are two of Georgia’s and the country’s best pass catchers, took three Oregon defenders out of the play with their blocks and sent two of them out of the field of play. On a lot of other teams, both those guys get ten catches a game, but because of the team mentality and love for each other, they are happy with four catches and a ton of chances to put their teammates in the end zone. That is love on the field to me, and something that only happens when coaches and leaders genuinely care for their players. 

Georgia and Alabama might be bad examples, because so many of those guys play professionally, but college football is so much more about leading young men and raising them to do the same when their time comes. This is even more important in high school football, and even more so in the work-force, particularly the military, which is why it is such a priority of mine to understand and teach this to our future coaches and leaders.

Three years from now we might look back at this after an LSU national championship and say “man were you wrong about Brian Kelly”, and I am certainly no stranger to being wrong. But so far I hate what I see from LSU and think it is a good example of why genuine care and love for your team is a requirement as a leader, as well as being honest and up front with your people.