Cal Coaching: Hands-On or Hands-Off?

by Avinash Kunnath on Apr 2, 2009 5:00 AM PDT in General

CalBear81 made a comment last week about how Pat Summit was being too harsh on her players. While I have no real opinion on Summit's thoughts about her team, it did get me thinking about the relationship between fan and coach. More importantly, it reminded me of about the two contrasting processes both our heads of sport provide.

Coach Tedford is, in one way or another, a PR dream for a school. He almost never trashes his player's performances publicly, and when he blogs it's just to provide even more PR support for his players. Oh, he'll tear into them in private when he knows their effort isn't there, but you'll never hear him call out someone for whiffing on a tackle or questioning their effort. He parses words carefully, making sure not only not to offend, but to go out of his way to praise.

On the other hand, most of what he says is media spin, so we only learn a little here and there about what he really thinks and feels. Sometimes like in 2007, it can work to his detriment, when things go wrong and he can provide no answers because it's not in his character to do so. This leaves fans and press to ponder and postulate, and the disagreements linger because he refuses to bow to their whims for soundbytes. His identity remains submerged behind the image of Cal football he wants to cultivate, not willing to let the press and the fanbase inside of the sanctum of Memorial. He'll let you nibble at the crumbs while keeping the pie to himself.

via www.wikihow.com

Coach Montgomery, by contrast, will let you in on what he feels. If you watched his eight minute interview with CBS, you probably learn more about his feelings about this team than Tedford provided you in the past six years. He provides nice copy for the press, which is why you here more of his words circulated around. The team isn't tough enough. Everyone has to learn more. We know we're reliant on our 3 point shots.

He not only provides his perceptions of he team; he colors them enough so that we factor his thoughts about the team into our own thoughts. You have to wonder how the players feel about this openness; maybe they internalize it, maybe they use it for motivation on the court. You can never really tell until they start playing.

It is a weird symptom that most college football coaches are very secretive about their gameplans, yet college hoops coaches are happy to reveal everything and anything. Perhaps it works for both worlds: In football, you need that privacy to keep people from bothering you during your shorter, intenser seasons, while the basketball season is a more laidback process, with the media only really tuning in for the Madness. It seems Tedford and Monty appear satisfied in their mediums, and we can only hope the way they deal with us as fans doesn't affect the business on the field of play.

via farm1.static.flickr.com

What do you guys prefer, the frankness of Montgomery or the aloofness of Tedford?

Poll

What do you guys prefer, the frankness of Montgomery or the aloofness of Tedford?

Tedford

35 votes

Monty

44 votes

I like the way both of them deal with it.

65 votes

I don't like the way either of them deal with it.

2 votes

146 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

I think each coach

does what is suited best for each sport. But I don’t think there’s much of a difference b/t JT and Monty as you suggest. Obviously as a fan we’d like for JT to give us more info. But is it really going to help the team and the player if he says: “Riley just hasn’t been consistent. His footwork is off. His delivery is slow, and he hasn’t been able to give us what we need at the QB spot.” No. Monty really just says things everyone knows already: “We rely on 3 point shooting.” “Our defense has to get tougher.” None of those type of statements are really saying anything are they? I think ultimately both coaches say what they need to say, even if it means us fans get kept in the dark about their true thoughts. But it seems easier to “scout” bball, whereas in football there can always be so many variables from week to week, so the need for more apparent “secrecy.”

by oaktownmario on Apr 2, 2009 9:18 AM PDT reply actions 1 recs

I don't think the difference is huge, but Monty is by far the franker coach, esp. mediawise

Example:

“We got hurt with athletic teams. We got hurt with physical teams,” he said. “We’ve got to change this.”

You would never see Tedford get that detailed strategywise.

by Avinash Kunnath on Apr 2, 2009 9:37 AM PDT up reply actions

I agree

I think we get the idea that Monty comes down harder on the kids because he doesn’t hide it from the media, whereas JT will sugar coat it with the media, and probably come down alot harder in private.
Example hear is how pissed he was at the end of Oregon state in 07, I think players see that way more often then we think.

by HOUSE66 on Apr 2, 2009 9:49 AM PDT up reply actions

Well, I think it’s a lot harder to hide strategy in basketball. You can maybe bust out an exotic defense to counter a specific team, but I think there’s a lot less cause to be cagey in basketball.

So, basically, you gotta Go Bears!

by ragnarok on Apr 2, 2009 10:14 AM PDT up reply actions

Gameplanning in basketball is nowhere near the level it is in football. Teams have sets they run every game, sometimes they focus more on one set than another but you rarely come up with a play specifically for a game (think the Stanford hook and ladder to Best) in basketball. Monty makes comments about his teams strengths and weaknesses that are obvious to even the casual fan. If he comes up with some sort of scheme, like going box-and-1 against a team with one really good player, there’s no way that information is going to get out ahead of time, and once they start doing it it’s obvious for everyone to see.

Basically in basketball practice leading up to a game the backups, like the scout team, will run the opponents offense to practice against, but the starters will just run their normal stuff and focus on execution and the actual game planning in that sense is limited. Most of the focus is on the strengths/weaknesses of the opponents (can they shoot? go right and left equally effectively? what are their go to post-moves? etc.).

by HyphyBearsFan on Apr 2, 2009 10:35 AM PDT up reply actions

I wouldn’t say it’s obvious. You have to be finetuned to either the strategies of basketball and football to understand exactly what’s going on down on the field or court. Football strategy is probably more intricate (esp when it comes to blocking patterns), but hoops strategy can also be very complicated because you have to continuously follow the action.

by Avinash Kunnath on Apr 2, 2009 4:12 PM PDT up reply actions

Yeah, but NBA coaches generally are much more secretive about the way their players play than college hoops coaches. The most media-friendly people in the world are college hoops coaches, and they’re willing to talk about anything. It’s the weirdest thing.

by Avinash Kunnath on Apr 2, 2009 4:09 PM PDT up reply actions

Yeah I agree… the casual fan can watch a basketball game and understand exactly why a team is winning or losing. In football, unless you are in the huddle you are missing a substantial portion of what is really going on. I think that this is pretty standard. College football coaches are also made out to be geniuses, whereas basketball coaches arent. I think this give football coaches more incentive to not give much away – keeping secrets allows them to take full credit for every win on the basis of what goes on behind the scenes.

by Tedfordisgod on Apr 2, 2009 6:03 PM PDT up reply actions

I rarely, if ever, have any idea what’s going on in a basketball game!

I am the Tyrant Boy King Of UC Eugene! An endless cavalcade of worthless inanities is my currency!

www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com

by TwistNHook on Apr 2, 2009 7:08 PM PDT up reply actions

JT, easily.

JAI HO!

by Rishi on Apr 2, 2009 9:24 AM PDT reply actions

^ what he said

Heaps and Hinder...come on down!

by carp on Apr 2, 2009 3:52 PM PDT up reply actions

Could you guys elaborate as to why?

by Avinash Kunnath on Apr 2, 2009 4:06 PM PDT up reply actions

They are both great coaches.

Tedford’s one one of the best coaches I have ever seen. In any sport. I would love to be a player for Coach Tedford. In fact, I wonder if we’re selling “how great Tedford is” to recruits. Seems like we get a lot of “meh” PR from the media (“Tedford’s good and all, but when will Cal break out”).

Monty’s great, too…but he’s older and recruiting is still a question mark. Perhaps in one year it may be different.

IMO, we need to be seeking out and targeting the Jeff Tedford of the basketball program. Sure, he’ll build off of Monty’s efforts, but I’m not expecting big things from Cal basketball until the next coach takes over.

I wonder if we’ll see some hotshot young assistant all of a sudden join the team in the coming years.

Heaps and Hinder...come on down!

by carp on Apr 2, 2009 4:19 PM PDT up reply actions

Ummm…I meant as to why you preferred the way Tedford deals with the media as opposed to Monty.

by Avinash Kunnath on Apr 2, 2009 4:47 PM PDT up reply actions

o…no preference. It be nice to no more about Tedford and the team, but if that’s how it needs to be, then that’s ok.

Heaps and Hinder...come on down!

by carp on Apr 2, 2009 6:24 PM PDT up reply actions

I voted for Tedford in the poll because don’t like a lot of the media attention college athletes receive. College athletes are students, and shouldn’t be expected to cater to every whim of the media. Keeping issues inside the team lets the kids focus on college and football, not the big media circus. I always see these kids in Texas (or wherever) that have to explain themselves at press conferences and I don’t like it.

by paleodan on Apr 2, 2009 5:45 PM PDT reply actions

As long as the team wins, I don't really care if the coach is open or closed.

But if the team starts to do shitty, he owes it to the fans to at least attempt to explain why he thinks so, especially after the season.

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by Spazzy Mcgee on Apr 2, 2009 6:13 PM PDT reply actions

So you disagree with Tedford's approach after the 2007 collapse

by Avinash Kunnath on Apr 2, 2009 6:16 PM PDT up reply actions

Well, a 7-6 final record isn’t really “shitty.” And while he didn’t come out and say “there were locker room and management issues,” his actions and implications after the collapse indicated just as much. By saying “I’m turning over playcalling duties so I can focus on the team” he is basically saying “there was a shortcoming in player management and that needed to be addressed.”

An unclassy coach might have said “there were locker room primadonnas that led to bad team vibes that I couldn’t focus on because I needed to decide on whether to throw SS or WS swing passes against ASU.”

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by Spazzy Mcgee on Apr 2, 2009 6:28 PM PDT up reply actions

Ah ok. Yeah that’s reasonable.

by Avinash Kunnath on Apr 3, 2009 4:04 PM PDT up reply actions

As long as Tedford calls out his team in private when they play like crap, I have no qualms with the way he does business. And I’m 110% sure he does that. Monty and Tedford are both accomplished coaches, so both have the leverage to be frank with the press. Monty chooses to do so, Tedford doesn’t, and both are great. I think if a new coach without a resume like Monty’s was that honest with the press, he might lose some of his players. But when you have a proven winner as a coach, you respect his style and play your ass off for him.

by Sharkbit12 on Apr 2, 2009 7:17 PM PDT reply actions

Interesting. I wonder if the older Tedford gets, the more honest he’ll get with the media. Somehow I doubt it. Just not in his character.

by Avinash Kunnath on Apr 3, 2009 4:05 PM PDT up reply actions

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