College coach communication

If your a college football fan, you probably saw Mike Gundy's rant on a newspaper article about one of his players. For those of you who haven't seen it, here it is:

His issue is over this article, written by Jenni Carlson.

It bothers me that Mike Gundy uses a press conference for this kind of tirade, it give the article more attention that it deserves. It also bothers me that the press is defending Jenni Carlson as a some type of persecuted journalist whose only bringing the facts to life. If you read the article carefully, most facts are from "unnamed sources" and really have nothing to do with the story but are more about making the quarterback look like a "mamas boy". The blogosphere gets a lot of criticism for not being true journalism but most legitimate blogs cite sources better than this reporter.

Of course all this happened a week ago so maybe it's old news. This week I noticed something different that another Big XII coach is doing. I noticed it because it was from the coach of my alma mater, Dan Hawkins, coach of the Colorado Buffaloes. There are a lot of problems with it both technically (no rss feeds, trackbacks) and functionally (lack of categories, comments). However, I think its a better way to get your word out to the community than losing it during a press conference. You gotta wonder if Mike Gundy's message would have been better received if he had a blog that he regularly contributed to and one that he could have laid out his arguments in a more rational, controlled manner. - Paul Herring

Comments

[Cam Beck]

I'm glad he qualified the person from whom he received the newspaper. It came from a mother... of children. This as opposed to a mother... of an iPhone or the mother... of a Chevy.

Maybe if he wrote it down, as you suggested, he would have the good sense to make use of the delete key. It surely would have served him better than this tirade.

[Lewis Green]

Cam,

Gundy did give the article more attention than it deserves. I actually so some of the press conference in real time, and as a former sports writer, I cringed. First, I understand his eagerness to protect his players, most of whom will never play pro and deserve to be treated as kids, not professional athletes. Second, the tirade made him look like a jerk and painted the media with broad brush strokes, resulting in Gundy being guilty of what some of the same things he was screaming about. Thanks for sharing, Cam. The lessons to be learned here for far beyond the locker room.

[John Herrington]

You can't be a QB at any school, much less a school in the Big 12, and NOT expect criticism from all angles whenever you don't perform. While he's not a professional, he's still getting a free education (I'll assume he's on a full football scholarship) for playing football. This article wasn't even that bad and Gundy just perpetuated the kid's embarrassment by making national news of it and bringing new eyes to the article. Ridiculous.