Taking Names and Keeping Score
The rumblings have started
Charlie Anderson
Here we are at week three of the football season and already Hthe rumblings and rumors have started about imminent coaching changes in the college ranks. The loudest noise at this point seems to be coming from two of the most prominent places in college football folklore. Can you say Anne Arbor home of "The Big House" and South Bend where the ghosts of the likes of Knute Rockne, The Gipper, and the Four Horsemen allegedly still roam Notre Dame Stadium?

Why, the noise has gotten so loud over the past two weeks at the University of Michigan that Lloyd Carr in his post game press conference this past Saturday felt compelled to tell everyone present as well as the multitude folks in the television audience, who would see clips of the conference on the news later, that he was a strong individual who can handle the pressures of losing even to the point of losing his job. Call it frustration, paranoia, or what have you, it was obvious that the boos from the Michigan faithful during Oregon's dismantling of the proud Wolverines last Saturday was touching a nerve in the somewhat beleaguered coach.

For Charlie Weiss over in South Bend the wolves outside his door don't seem to be at a fever pitch quite yet but if the downward trend should continue for the Fighting Irish throughout the remainder of the season, who knows how large or how loud the wolf pack on his trail might become.

Of course with Michigan and Notre Dame scheduled to play each other this weekend it is entirely likely that at least one of the two coaches in question will get a reprieve for at least one week. Then again, maybe not! For in this day and time the old statement "a win is a win" doesn't appeal to many football fans any more, its more about style points these days. If a team is heavily favored over their opponent or the odds-makers have declared that the score in a given game should be lopsided, the fans expect a massacre. There is no room for the possibility that the prognosticators may have underestimated the skill level of the underdog or for that matter overestimated the skill level of the favorite. Then there is the emotion and shear will to win that often play into the outcome of some games. That's something we all tend to forget about.

Lest anyone think those are the only two places where the pressure is on a coach at this juncture, those of us in this area need to look no further than our neighbor state to the west and the university town of Starkville, Mississippi where Sylvester Croom is considered by many to be on the hot seat. Shoot, there were even a number of folks in the "Loveliest Village on the Plains" Saturday night making noise about taking Tommy Tuberville's scalp after the University of South Florida defeated the Auburn Tigers 26 - 23 in overtime. The biggest bone of contention in that situation revolved around his apparent decision to play for overtime rather than take advantage of the remaining seconds on the fourth quarter clock and the two timeouts he had at his disposal. For his critics, having relatively good field position and arguably the best kicker in the SEC to go along with the aforementioned time remaining and available time outs, made going for the win in regulation a no brainer.

One thing is for certain, with the exception of the President of the United States there are no other jobs in this nation where so many people are routinely passing judgment on an individual's job performance than that of a coach. And that includes all of them who are trying to make a living in that occupation at any level.

Imagine what our country would be like on the whole if every individual in every profession had so many people regularly critiquing their work. Besides the obvious rise in the number of people seeking professional help for a physical or mental health problem, my suspicion is that the overall productivity of this country would suffer immensely.

Meanwhile the pot is boiling and we will just have to wait to see where it tips over first and who all will ultimately get burned when it does.

Until next time.......be safe!

Reader Comments

No comments have been posted. Be the first!

Other Stories With Comments:
Article	Comments
Frances Nichols passes at 91	1
Bryant is a contestant in Ms. Senior Alabama Pageant	1
Dunagans to celebrate golden anniversary	1