Somewhat to my surprise, yesterday’s piece on coaching geniuses has gone over really well. Thanks to all those that seemed to dig it. The mail, of course, has been pretty interesting. Let’s start with Kevin in Cali.

I loved your article on the “geniuses” of football. Reading it made my day.
I am a loyal Sooner alum (who is almost over the Oregon debacle) and a shameless admirer of Barry Switzer (yes, yes, I know – he’s a lout, but he’s a lovable lout and, more importantly, he’s OUR lovable lout). I have always appreciated that Switzer never took himself all that seriously. He took coaching football and winning seriously – no doubt about that. But taking himself seriously? No way.
Living for 20 years at Ground Zero for the cult of football coaches as geniuses (i.e., the SF Bay Area), I grew very weary – and wary – of that cult many years ago. The Original Genius wasn’t such a success in his second stint at Stanford. Wonder why that was? Could it be that his genius had subsided? Or that the Stanford student-athlete could not grasp and implement the quantum mechanics taught by Bill? Or was it that Stanford just did not have the horses to keep up with the USCs and the Washingtons of the Pac-10?
And for all the complaining that has been lodged this past week against my beloved Sooners about being crybabies post-Oregon, does anyone in college football whine more – or behave more petulantly – than Notre Dame’s head genius? The guy has been at ND one year – where he had the same record as Ty Willingham. I guess having worked at the knee of the Hooded Genius – along with being the head guy at ND – confers automatic geniushood. (Although I don’t recall anyone saying Bob Davie was a genius. Maybe it was because he came from Texas A&M. Insert your favorite aggie joke here.)
But Switzer was an original. It was brilliant to use him as the petard on which to hoist the self-important geniuses in your story. If the phrase “comfortable in your own skin” were in Wikipedia, the definition would be a picture of The King (as he is referred to back in my home state). I still recall a Roy Firestone interview with Barry where Roy marveled at Switzer’s seeming comfort with (for lack of a better phrase) “the big picture.” Barry’s response to that was, predictably, a chuckle – and a comment that none of us gets out of here alive, so you might as well enjoy the ride. So true.
No ask yourself, could you see any of those so-called “geniuses” being that self aware – or being comfortable enough in their own skin – to say that? I thought so.
Thanks for the wonderful article.

An overwhelming number of people e-mailed to not just thank me for mentioning Switzer in a positive light, but also to find out how I got his speech patterns like that. Here’s the thing–while I’m an unapologetic Orangeblood, I’m the child of an OU alum. For that reason and a few others, I absolutely love Switzer. Never took himself too seriously and seemed to really appreciate what his players did for him, the state, and the university. For those reasons, he’ll always get love from me.

Some guy named Joseph says he’s heard it all before.

Wow! Another black man taking a shot at Notre Dame’s football coach. Say it isn’t so. It’s funny how your argument for ND’s success in 2005 was due to the weak schedule. Then, when giving your Walsh analysis, you say he was successful only because of his Hall of Fame defense. Somethin’s gotta give, right? (see 2005 Defensive stats for ND).
Now, I realize this was just a fun article on how loosely the media comments on winning coaches as “geniuses.” I really do appreciate your article, but your true beliefs clearly shine through. Nice try with your excuse for Willingham: “He was good under his previous coach, too, but he was young.” Unfortunately for Willingham, while he may be a “molder of men,” he is an average coach who had 1 good recruiting class because of the excitement of a new coach that always occurs in South Bend.
Thanks in advance for your response Jason, er Scoop, er Jas………… whatever. Same articles.

Right…because only black people think that Weis is a little overhyped. But the most interesting thing about this to me–I don’t mind people thinking black people all look alike, but now our words do, too? Man, who knew?
Anyway, I’d like for someone to find me a single place where I sung the praises of Ty Willingham. When you see it, lemme know.
Butch Fisco doesn’t like me cutting into his action. At least I think that’s what his problem was.
Advice: Stop trying to be funny. Either you are or you aren’t. You aren’t. Your attempts at humor is pathetic.
Sadly,
Butch Fisco–Professional standup comedian and author.
Yeah buddy, no one’s an authority on humor like a comic that I’ve never heard of. I did find out, through Google, that he co-authored a book of putdowns. Author indeed.
Dr. Chris in Tampa also thinks I’m a moron.

Ah, stupid. That’s my assessment.
Plus, Albert’s initials are “AE”. Way to check.

Apparently, Dr. Chris thought I was writing “AI” when I wrote “Al.” But of course, I’m the one that’s stupid. Don’t even get me started on what I think of doctors.
J.J. thinks I’m selling coaches short.

Are you that naive, or do you just have something personal against Belicheck, Weis, and Walsh? I don’t think any one of them has ever stood up on a soapbox and preached of their genius – in fact if anyone questioned them on it, they’d probably be too modest to discuss it. It’s your cohorts in the media who play up their IQ, and with good reason I might add. Teams win because they’re better than the opposition, but they’re generally better due to being well-coached. I think even Barry Switzer could figure that out.

It’s not that I don’t think coaching matters. It’s that I don’t think it matters a lick without talent. Bad coaching is more influential than good coaching, though. Either way, my point is that none of these dudes are really geniuses. They do something well, but so does my mechanic. And no one’s trying to put him into MENSA.
Finally, the greatest compliment I’ve gotten in a while. I don’t tend to get too gassed up about compliments, but this one made me drop my jaw for a second.

Hey man – that was the best P2 article I’ve read since Wiley passed. Keep it up.

I wouldn’t go that far, but I sure as hell appreciate the thought.