Derek Dooley: Jedi Mind Master
by Joel Hollingsworth on Jul 28, 2010 6:54 AM EDT
in Rocky Top Talking Points
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These are not the droids you're looking for. Or maybe they are. When asked recently about black jerseys and the difficulty of balancing players' desires and his job responsibilities, Derek Dooley spoke of persuasion and influence and . . . well, here:
"There's always that balance about what the players want," Dooley said. "My 11-year-old wants to play video games all day. If I just want to make him happy, I let him do what he wants and he's going to fall flat on his face. There's a real balance in coaching in doing what the players want and convincing them that they want to do what you want them to do."
Don't do what Dooley does just because Dooley does it. And don't do what Dooley wants you to do just because he wants you to do it. Do what you want to do that Dooley wants you to do to the extent that Dooley wants you to do it if you want to because Dooley does and so do you. These are not the droids we're looking for.
. . . .
"I prefer the middle ground," Dooley told his audience. "I don't like to do what (the players) want all the time," he added. "And I don't like to tell them what to do. I like them to tell me that they want to do what I want to do. That's a key to coaching. That's the art of it.
"If you tell them what they're going to do whether they like it or not, they're going to be out there miserable, and morale's bad. Or you can let them do whatever they want, and you're going to have no control."
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Finebaum is a weird dude
I didn’t know until a few months ago that he’s actually a UT grad, which does not mesh with his on-air/in-print personality whatsoever. Even the good guys produce some losers every now and then, I suppose.
Anyway, I know I’m biased, but it’s a weak argument about Vanderbilt. Yes, we suck at football…but we’ve been terrible for a long time, so that’s not new. It sounds like his main thrust is that Caldwell is a joke and Vandy can’t survive in the “new era” of college football. I have no doubt Caldwell was playing up to the crowd, but c’mon, how does it make sense to offload the academic gem of the conference because the coach is “homey?” And this “new era” of football business…I’ll believe it when I see it. Armageddon didn’t happen, the status quo has been essentially maintained, and the Vanderbilts, Northwesterns, Stanfords and Dukes of the world are just fine where they are. Give me a break.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s certainly frustrating to be a Vandy student or fan and have all your home games actually be away games. However, I think that’s more because of the academic success of Vanderbilt and the fact that Nashville is the largest city in the SEC. The majority of our alumni are spread across the country and Nashville is constantly in flux. The lack of support for the football team in the city is just as much a product of demographics as of gridiron success.
Finally, I’d be willing to bet that the other 11 institutions of the SEC benefit from an academic/funding standpoint by having Vandy around. Last I checked, universities actually existed to educate students and prepare them to have a successful life. I know all we care about in the SEC is sports…I’m just saying.
Don't worry about Finebaum. Nobody takes his stuff seriously.
Fans in his locale may tend to use his stuff as an excuse to get all indignant, but I think they’re just addicted to the anger endorphines and he’s a cheap fix.
I don’t know that there’s anybody of merit suggesting that Vandy should be offloaded. And I know that fans of other SEC fans want to keep Vandy. They’re part of the family, after all.
On a side note: I’ve never really understood the academic angle with regards to athletic conferences. I can’t see how Vandy’s academic stature helps other SEC schools benefit academically. When research dollars are awarded, athletics never come into play. I think that the real link is the money. Wealthier schools have the money to pour into their academics as well as the support base to fund high-end athletic programs. A few places like Harvard and Yale have priced themselves out of the athletic spotlight, but that’s only because academia became more lucrative than athletics for them. (Sidebar: if Yale and Harvard ever seriously decided they wanted back into the 1-A game, they could be running at full speed within three years, and have full facility support within 5 to 6.)
;-)
by David Hooper on Jul 28, 2010 10:33 AM EDT up reply actions
Good points, all around
Perhaps Vandy’s worthlessness has just been beat into me for so long I’ve developed a football inferiority complex and feel like I have to tout academics to make up for it.
It's the one thing nobody has an answer to.
I can’t blame you for bringing it up. It’s certainly a more valid point than, say, belittling Auburn because they’re on the plains.
;-)
by David Hooper on Jul 28, 2010 12:25 PM EDT up reply actions
I am proud to say
That I have never ever listened to a Finebaum show or soundbite or anything. His reputation is so terrible that I never bothered. Don’t even know what he sounds like.
"I condone fun things" ~~ Cortland Finnegan
Hello ladies. Look at your man, now back to me, now back at your man, now back to me. Sadly, he isn't me.
Am I the only one...
seeing all kinds of theological parallels in Dooley’s words?
"It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone." A. Bartlett Giamatti
...political too.
Or maybe that is an imprecise way of saying it. The proper role of government is what I’m getting at. Line being drawn. Liberty without chaos. Crime laws that are tough but not draconian.
...just apologize for not thanking me.
"you can go about your business. move along."
thanks to denial, i'm immortal
by thetennesseethumper on Jul 28, 2010 10:19 PM EDT reply actions
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