Tag Archives: Bruce Pearl

Man Cave

All I’m Asking For Is A Little Honesty

I wasn’t the most angelic child in the world.  I was mean to my sister, fought with my brother, spilled paint on the carpet, tried to run away from home (more than once), threw plenty of tantrums, and frequently talked back to my parents.  I got punished…often.  As bad as some of my deeds were, the discipline was always worse when I tried to lie.  I wasn’t very good at lying, and I had established such a bad track record of bending the truth, that my level of credibility was almost zero.  My sister took great pleasure in turning me in to the proper authorities, and it took me way too long to realize I was only making it worse on myself when I tried to hide the truth.

But lying was always easy, and it just felt right at the time.  It sure seemed better than admitting anything.  These days, there are plenty of prominent sports figures who are finding out the hard way that lying only makes things worse.

Tressel's lies played a huge role in his demise (courtesy AP)

Just ask Jim Tressel.  The Ohio State football coach, who portrayed a squeaky clean schoolboy image with his sweater vest and tie, resigned this week after lying to the NCAA about his knowledge of his players receiving improper benefits.  Last year, Tressel was alerted to the fact that several of his players had received tattoos in exchange for Ohio State apparel and memorabilia, a clear violation of NCAA rules.  Instead of informing his athletic director or anyone else in the athletic department, Tressel kept quiet.  In September 2010, he signed a compliance form saying he had no knowledge of any violations.  When Ohio State began its own investigation, emails were uncovered which indicated Tressel did indeed have knowledge of his players behavior.  Even though the school handed Tressel a five-game suspension and a $250,000 fine, the mounting pressure from the public and the media led to Tressel’s resignation on Tuesday.  If Tressel had exposed his players’ transgressions from the start, Ohio State may have been slapped with violations and suspensions, but its unlikely Tressel’s job would have been in jeopardy.  A lie is the reason Tressel is unemployed, and the NCAA doesn’t take kindly to lying.

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Man Cave

The Inexact Science of Finding A Coach

The coaching carousel is at full tilt this time of year.  The sports world is a vicious cycle of hirings and firings.  Now, the college basketball carousel is spinning fastest, but soon the NBA will pick up speed, followed by the NHL, college football, the NFL, and round and round we go.

At this very moment there are high profile basketball vacancies at Oklahoma, Missouri, Tennessee, Georgia Tech, and Utah just to name a few.  Athletic Directors are faced with the delicate task of finding not just a good coach, but a coach who is the right fit within the program and within the university.  Choosing a coach wisely means wins, money, fan support, national prestige, and more TV time.  Making a poor choice means losses, fans in retreat, revenues in the red, and the possibility of setting the program back for years to come.  Not to mention how bad it makes the Athletic Director look when the guy he hired turns out to be a bust.

The process of finding the right man for the job is at best, an inexact science.  There is no secret formula, no perfect path to follow when on the hunt for someone who is going to become not only a head coach, but a very well compensated representative of your university.  So many factors can go into a coaching search, but here are the very basics when narrowing down that long list of possibilities.

Even with Pearl gone, Tennessee may continue to suffer the consequences of his actions. (courtesy marioncountymessenger.com)

1.     CHARACTER AND INTEGRITY

Some might say winning is the most important thing and even trumps character.  However, the “win at all costs” mentality can be great for a while, but in the long run it can have devastating effects on a program.  Schools can overcome a couple of down years, but it takes much longer to overcome the public relations disaster brought on by a coach involved in a legal, sexual, or recruiting scandal.  Even if a coach avoids the police, the courtroom, and manages to keep himself out of incriminating Facebook photos, he can still take down a program by violating NCAA rules.  Just ask Indiana.  The once prolific Hoosiers aren’t competitive thanks to Kelvin Sampson’s NCAA transgressions.  Even though Tennessee fired Bruce Pearl, the Vols could be facing serious consequences thanks to Pearl’s lies and poor judgment.  Look at all the instances in the past where the coach had to deal with adversity.  How did he handle players who violated team policy?  Did he stick to his principles or did he lower his own standards in the name of winning?  Listen Athletic Directors of America, save yourself the embarrassment later by doing your research now.  Look at a coach’s past, examine his family life, check and triple check references, and make sure you have all the details on any and all run-ins with the NCAA.   Know what kind of man you’re getting from the very beginning and you limit the chances of an unpleasant surprise down the road.

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