b-rad

I was thinking the same thing but at least we won.

Do his assisstants or players have a huge problem with it? Is he like that all of the time? My guess is he gets into the game, a very competitive enviroment, and he hates to lose. I swear, there are some real cupcakes on this board. When I played ball in high school(I know, long time ago) our coaches were hard asses. We were held responsible for mistakes and yes we got yelled at, OMG. Then I got home and got yelled at by my dad. Then in a couple hours it was over and everyone forgot about it. My coaches back in high school are still people I talk to and consider friends, and I love my dad to death. It's football, it's competitive, and it's not for cupcakes. Other coaches get just as mad as Pelini does but Pelini's face just shows the anger more whereas other coaches can keep it off their faces, but believe me, it still comes out of their mouths. Please toughen up people!!! Everyone knows football coaches are intense. I think what some are saying is that his style is abnormally caustic. Of course no one knows if his assistants have a problem with it. Truthfully, probably most don't, and those that do vary in their opinions. Maybe its just his facial expressions. He really looks pissed. Of course a minute later he is fine, but that minute has gotten him into trouble e.g. the VTech game last year. BTW, anyone have some inside information on what exactly he said to that official? As much as I hated to see that penalty, I bet it was hilarious. I wonder if the refs get together after the season and tell war stories. The poor bastard that got an earful of Bo probably had the best story hands down.

I'm speaking along the terms of during bootcamp actually. I know I saw a Senior DI rip into one of his guys when he grabbed a recruit by the throat. That DI was put into his place immediately. I know that isn't common as well of course, but it got his point across. My point was basically that Bo is nothing compared to the coaches and DI I've had in my life. They all express their anger and they all will get their point across in the best way they see fit. Football is nothing like the corps, but there are ways that the DI's get to us as recruits, and Bo does this in his own way. He is nothing compared to a DI and I think we both can attest t that. Ha ha, very true, but he would make a great DI if he wanted to go that way! Semper fi by the way, and happy belated b-day.

Your anecdotal experience doth not a trend make. My anecdotal experience with jagermeister is that whenever I drink it, I hurl uncontrollably. So nobody should drink jager because it'll make you hurl. Doesn't work that way. I don't know what you're doing here but I'm hanging out giving my opinion which (based on anecdotal evidence), which I think is what most people are doing. I cannot give you a research paper with citations at this point. I can see I've struck a nerve with a few people, and, obviously some didn't read all my posts (which I wouldn't expect them to do). To sum up my OPINION: Calm assertive leadership is the ideal because that is how good decisions are made in the heat of battle. No doubt sometimes a calm assertive leader will lose his temper, that's part of the deal. Problems with motivation and poor performance can be dealt with by "fear" or "anger" after action but it is of little use in the heat of battle because the troops/player are scared, tired, frustrated, or whatever. What they need are clear instructions on how to proceed. If they are not motivated at that point, the leader failed to prepare them correctly. It sounds like some of you have had a good experience with a coach with a short fuse, that's fine I'm not doubting you. In my experience, calm assertive leadership has been much more successful in my life in high pressure situations (football, the USMC, kickboxing, work). Good luck to all. major difference, sir. The heat of battle as you put it is an actual war. LIVES ARE ON THE LINE. You can't be emotional because bullets will hit you if you dive right into battle. Football is not a war. Emotion, especially for a defense, is key. I will say what Bo does on the sideline is paltry compared to many across the country. Ever watched Spurrier? Saban? Carroll? Stoops? Meyer? Leach? Nutt? Bobby Knight? Chuck Daly? Pat Riley? Parcels? Switzer? Hell even Paterno in his 80s chews his assistants ass on TV. I could keep going, but the point is the stoic coach who is successful is the exception, not the norm. Your anecdotal evidence is completely unrelated because it is from a different world than a football field. This is a honestly a good point. I've never been anything close to a head coach in college football. I'm only guessing what I think it could be like. That being said, it's no surprise TO is my hero. He got it done without a lot of hair pullling.

Thanks, and I agree, its a good discussion.

Your anecdotal experience doth not a trend make. My anecdotal experience with jagermeister is that whenever I drink it, I hurl uncontrollably. So nobody should drink jager because it'll make you hurl. Doesn't work that way. I don't know what you're doing here but I'm hanging out giving my opinion which (based on anecdotal evidence), which I think is what most people are doing. I cannot give you a research paper with citations at this point. I can see I've struck a nerve with a few people, and, obviously some didn't read all my posts (which I wouldn't expect them to do). To sum up my OPINION: Calm assertive leadership is the ideal because that is how good decisions are made in the heat of battle. No doubt sometimes a calm assertive leader will lose his temper, that's part of the deal. Problems with motivation and poor performance can be dealt with by "fear" or "anger" after action but it is of little use in the heat of battle because the troops/player are scared, tired, frustrated, or whatever. What they need are clear instructions on how to proceed. If they are not motivated at that point, the leader failed to prepare them correctly. It sounds like some of you have had a good experience with a coach with a short fuse, that's fine I'm not doubting you. In my experience, calm assertive leadership has been much more successful in my life in high pressure situations (football, the USMC, kickboxing, work). Good luck to all.

Sorry dude, I did six years in the Corps so that don't fly with me. Calling out subordinates in front of other subordinates above the non-rate level is a pretty big deal, certainly not something you do on a whim.

You say you're not making a blanket statement, then follow it up with the line in bold. What is that if not a blanket statement? Again, there have been very effective leaders who were calm and rational in the face of adversity, and there have been very effective leaders who blew their top when it hit the fan. Bo is who Bo is. You're not going to change him beyond toning it down a notch or two, so worrying about it isn't doing anyone any good. Call it a blanket statement if you want. My opinion, based on my experience, is that blowing your top with blow up in your face eventually. By the way, Ghegis Khan got poisoned by his assistant coach, Ceasar got backstabbed by his athletic director, Napoleon? please, he was ok in the regular season by got woodshedded in the BCS bowl...who else did you mention? Grant? His success was before scholorship limits, his rival, Lee, was a much better gameday coach. I'll give you Patton, he made it work even after pissing everyone off. BTW, I'm certainly not worrying about it and I'm damn sure Bo isn't either. Just an opinion.

That's what I love about the internet, it's either one or the other, black or white, democrat or republican, chevy or ford, stratocaster or les paul, the beetles or the rolling stones...is there no room for something in between? That's exactly the point i was making. I think Bo walks a fine line but that's the way a high stress job can be. Fair enough.

Great post. I hope I'm not making the impression that his task is easy or that he is overall doing a bad job. I think this one aspect of his coaching style is too extreme and could be better. And to be honest, it has improved since last year, probably in no small part due to TO's influence, who, IMO, is one of the all time greatest leaders in college football history.

That's what I love about the internet, it's either one or the other, black or white, democrat or republican, chevy or ford, stratocaster or les paul, the beetles or the rolling stones...is there no room for something in between?

This "calm and assertive" ideal you're theorizing isn't the only way to go. History is full of successful generals with short tempers. Genghis Khan. Napoleon. Alexander. Caesar. Pompey. Patton. Stonewall Jackson. Grant. Teddy Roosevelt. Football history is full of successful coaches with short tempers: Switzer. Bryant. Paterno. Schembechler. There is no correlation between being calm and assertive and success. There are many different kinds of people with many different personalities. All kinds have been successful at life. You cannot make a blanket statement that one way or the other is wrong. I'm not sure I was making a blanket statement. I think my post is pretty clear in that I described what I want in a leader. Of course different people respond to different leadership styles. However, I've seen them all and I have an idea of what works best in my opinion. By far, the most impressive leaders are those who can motivate and get the job done without throwing tantrums and losing their cool (to be perfectly clear, no one is perfect). My point, and maybe I didn't make it clearly, is that Pelini goes too far, especially when he calls out his assistants in front of "the troops". Of course you have to get people's attention at times. Pelini does show a lot of great leadership in how he is accountable and how he makes his assistants accountable. There is a clear chain of command. That part is spot on. Realistically, no one is perfect, of course the more intense people may tend to be more likely to lose their temper. This is something that he needs to work on in my opinion. Also, I think we may not be as far off in our opinions as you think. When I say calm I'm not saying he should be picking daisies and whistling dixie*. What I am saying is that good decisions are not made when you are thinking irrationally, which happens when you totally lose your temper. (*the right word is assertive)

I think when things go wrong or when things are on the line I want my leader to be calm (intense is fine) and giving clear instructions, not freaking out. I think losing control of one's emotions shows a lack of leadership (of course it can happen but with Pelini it is excessive). Butt chewings are for "after action" and are inappropriate for the heat of battle. The exception would be for motivational issues, but that generally takes care of itself unless you hired or recruited the wrong people. I think you can yell and scream and pull your hair out and make it work for a while, but it is unsustainable in the long run. He will lose assistants and gain a reputation of someone that is hard to work with. That being said, I can only guess what Bo is saying. Maybe he is giving clear instructions and just happens to have a angry look on his face.

In my opinion the best leaders are calm and assertive. Pelini is acting like Cotton either doesn't see a problem or is too lazy to correct it, which of course is absurd. If he can't fix the problem, then fine, we need a new line coach, but dressing him down on national tv, as others have pointed out, is completely counter productive. In the moments after the "incident" do you think he is thinking about the game or about what a jerk his boss is? I would assume the latter. I really respect Pelini but, IMO, he has to fix this.

There's no kool-aid allowed in the Husker locker room. If Pellini every wins a National Championship the first thing he will say in the press conference is "well, I saw some good things but we have a lot to work on.

Oklahoma certainly has had some injuries and I guess you could make a case for lack of mental focus, I'm not so sure about work ethic, I guess I would have no way of knowing. I totally agree with you about Nebraska's perceived lack of speed. We seem pretty fast. I've even seen some posts on other boards comparing our team speed to a Big Ten team and our offensive philosophy is three yards and a cloud of dust...I have no idea where they are coming from.

Well, I can recall broken coverage a handful of times so far this year, but overall the secondary has played much better than last year...and of course, not even in the same, (what's the Pelini-ism, solar system or galaxy?) as 2007. Maybe I'm nit-picking.

This is great...I've been trying to figure out how to get rid of the SOS variability and this is exactly how to do it. That being said, and as you alluded to, it is impossible to take into account all of the variables. I suppose some statistician somewhere has correctly identified the most important stats to correctly predict the outcome enough of the time to actually make money, but he isn't sharing the info with us!