First of all, I would like to make it clear that the title of this piece has more to do with being an eye-catcher than any sort of a swipe at the [University of Tennessee]. If anything, it is meant as a swipe at the [NCAA] in general. For I find the way things are today to be most appalling.
Nonetheless, it was the news of Tennessee’s Head Football coach [leaving] to take the same position at [USC] that was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back for me. For Lane Kiffin had only been at Tennessee for one season, and that certainly sets a fine example for his players to follow.
Yes, it is arguable that there is nothing unusual about what transpired. For when Pete Carroll [left] USC to become the new head coach of the NFL’s [Seattle Seahawks], it left a vacancy that many coveted, and since Kiffin was a former long-time assistant under Carroll at USC before becoming the head coach of the [Oakland Raiders] in the NFL, he had an inside track to getting the job.
On the other hand, let us look at little thing called commitment. For becoming a head coach at a university should be about a lot more than a business decision, but my parents always did refer to me as being rather gullible.
Okay, perhaps naïve would be a more apt description, but regardless of what word is used, the way I look at sports is that it is personal. For one cannot be a truly great player without pouring everything they have into not only the game itself—but to the team they are on.
Therefore, one does not just pack up and leave when the grass looks greener somewhere else, and if this sentiment is not shared by the coach, there will not be anything truly great about the program. Oh yeah, they may win a lot of games just on account of talent alone, but they will be hollow victories—kinda like having fantastic sex with an incredibly beautiful stranger as opposed to making love with your soul mate. It may be something to brag about to those who don’t understand, but to those who do, there is no substitute for what is pure.
No, morality cannot be legislated. Neither can a rule enforce the maintenance of a proper attitude at least throughout the length of a contract.
On the other hand, making it to where a coach cannot coach at another institution of equal stature for at least one year after leaving early might help slow down some of the poaching that is going on. After all, what is good for the goose is also good for the gander, and there is a rule in place that keeps a player from switching schools from year to year in order to prevent schools from recruiting players that they play against.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I realize that there are all sorts of legal ramifications to such a rule. For that is what contracts are supposed to insure against, but contracts are evidently not what they used to be. For coaches jumping from one school to the next with a supposedly better deal seems to be happening more and more frequently each year.
Of course, it can also be argued that it is all part of the educational process. For in the real world, it is all about survival of the fittest, and if one school is not strong enough to keep what they have, they deserve to lose out.
Speaking of such, I just recently discovered something about the [athletic scholarships] that are generally offered to student/athletes. For instead of them being for a full four-year ride, they are actually for only one year at a time, and, “What have you done for me lately?,” most certainly applies when renewal time rolls around.
So, is [Darwinism] true, or are these things some more clear signs of just how far we have wandered away from where we could be with our Heavenly Father? For it is written: There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. [Proverbs 14:12 NIV]
Nonetheless, it was the news of Tennessee’s Head Football coach [leaving] to take the same position at [USC] that was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back for me. For Lane Kiffin had only been at Tennessee for one season, and that certainly sets a fine example for his players to follow.
Yes, it is arguable that there is nothing unusual about what transpired. For when Pete Carroll [left] USC to become the new head coach of the NFL’s [Seattle Seahawks], it left a vacancy that many coveted, and since Kiffin was a former long-time assistant under Carroll at USC before becoming the head coach of the [Oakland Raiders] in the NFL, he had an inside track to getting the job.
On the other hand, let us look at little thing called commitment. For becoming a head coach at a university should be about a lot more than a business decision, but my parents always did refer to me as being rather gullible.
Okay, perhaps naïve would be a more apt description, but regardless of what word is used, the way I look at sports is that it is personal. For one cannot be a truly great player without pouring everything they have into not only the game itself—but to the team they are on.
Therefore, one does not just pack up and leave when the grass looks greener somewhere else, and if this sentiment is not shared by the coach, there will not be anything truly great about the program. Oh yeah, they may win a lot of games just on account of talent alone, but they will be hollow victories—kinda like having fantastic sex with an incredibly beautiful stranger as opposed to making love with your soul mate. It may be something to brag about to those who don’t understand, but to those who do, there is no substitute for what is pure.
No, morality cannot be legislated. Neither can a rule enforce the maintenance of a proper attitude at least throughout the length of a contract.
On the other hand, making it to where a coach cannot coach at another institution of equal stature for at least one year after leaving early might help slow down some of the poaching that is going on. After all, what is good for the goose is also good for the gander, and there is a rule in place that keeps a player from switching schools from year to year in order to prevent schools from recruiting players that they play against.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I realize that there are all sorts of legal ramifications to such a rule. For that is what contracts are supposed to insure against, but contracts are evidently not what they used to be. For coaches jumping from one school to the next with a supposedly better deal seems to be happening more and more frequently each year.
Of course, it can also be argued that it is all part of the educational process. For in the real world, it is all about survival of the fittest, and if one school is not strong enough to keep what they have, they deserve to lose out.
Speaking of such, I just recently discovered something about the [athletic scholarships] that are generally offered to student/athletes. For instead of them being for a full four-year ride, they are actually for only one year at a time, and, “What have you done for me lately?,” most certainly applies when renewal time rolls around.
So, is [Darwinism] true, or are these things some more clear signs of just how far we have wandered away from where we could be with our Heavenly Father? For it is written: There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. [Proverbs 14:12 NIV]
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As this is only concerns throwball surely it is not worth a post?
ReplyDeleteWell, it actually concerns all university sports. For basketball coaches have been trading benches an awful lot, as well. Of course, since no one of any true worth wants to coach soccer, that...um...well...sport is not affected so much. Thanks for stopping by again, my dear Adullamite!!!
ReplyDeleteContracts and commitment seem to have gone the way of everything else in our disposable society. As much as I hate to say it, I have to say that this kind of thing no longer surprises me (annoying? most definitely, but no surprise :o/
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by again, my dear Jen!!! I hear you, and to be perfectly honest about it, I really wouldn't mind so much if it wasn't for how much it messes up their recruits. I mean, many of those kids signed just on account of getting to play for a certain coach at a certain institution, and now, he's gone. Of course, no one associated with my beloved Arkansas Razorbacks would ever consider doing such a thing, and I cannot really blame other coaches for desperately wanting to be there.
ReplyDeleteIt sure seems to me that things like honor, pride, commitment and dedication are becoming things of the past. Now it's all about money. I could go on and on about what I think is wrong with the world but I'll save it for another day :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by again, my dear Ann!!! Taking it a little farther, it just kills me to see professional players switch teams just for more money--especially when they go to a bitter rival of their old team. I can understand seeking to better oneself, but loyalty has to count for more than money--doesn't it? Apparently not as much as it used to--huh? Nonetheless, be assured that it will be as it should be in the end.
ReplyDelete