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Public Speaking - Does Not Make a Good Head Football Coach?
- Thread starter McPeachy
- Start date
He is the worst spoken head coach I can recall at Wyoming.
There are a lot of times where I don't even know what point he is trying to make despite him speaking for a prolonged period of time. For example, when he was talking about seeing the "asses" on the ASU and BYU players during warm-ups. I still don't know what the hell he was referring to. Are the "asses" supposed to represent big/strong guys? Sawful seems to speak in his own language - it's English, but the words seem to mean something else to him then they do to everyone else.
The athletic department should strongly urge him to get some public speaking training - it is a learned skill that can be improved with some teaching and practice. Either that, or just tell him to say the same 3-5 phrases to every media question like most coaches do.
There are a lot of times where I don't even know what point he is trying to make despite him speaking for a prolonged period of time. For example, when he was talking about seeing the "asses" on the ASU and BYU players during warm-ups. I still don't know what the hell he was referring to. Are the "asses" supposed to represent big/strong guys? Sawful seems to speak in his own language - it's English, but the words seem to mean something else to him then they do to everyone else.
The athletic department should strongly urge him to get some public speaking training - it is a learned skill that can be improved with some teaching and practice. Either that, or just tell him to say the same 3-5 phrases to every media question like most coaches do.
You are correct, he sucks at speaking. But in my opinion, the worst was ("and again") Steve McClain. He was the worst by a long shot.
OrediggerPoke
Well-known member
He is what he is. Some people don’t have the ability to process information quick enough to put together a thoughtful or articulate response. Unfortunately, I believe that the same skill is needed to make quick decisions regarding game strategy within the confines of the play clock. I’d rather the university spend the money on a game and clock manager than any public speaking training.
I guess it is a long way of saying that I believe we have a meathead for a head coach (which can be fine if you surround them with the right people to cover their deficiencies).
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McPeachy
Well-known member
You may be right on that, but we have the new "pause, confusion, stutter, and then...look" over and over and over again. I would say the 3rd place prize goes to Edwards with his continual repeated "at the end of the day" buzz term. Jesus that drove me batshit.
rocket city poke
Well-known member
Joby Wright should be mentioned, i don't know that he was particularly bad, but he may have been too forthcoming. One time he got on the post-game radio interview and said, "I don't want to name any names, but number 44 is not doing a very good job."
Itsux2beaewe
Well-known member
Yeah. That was Sawful.
ragtimejoe1
Well-known member
This cracks me up to no end. Too funny. Deep reflection. Continuity.
I find the talk about the qualities of winning coaches to be mostly amusing. The profile of good coaches have one thing in common...winning. I think we spend way too much time discussing these peripheral qualities like they are the main thing. Ask anybody what is wrong with a failing coach and you will get soooo many answers...but guess what....they might just be bad at coaching and the other stuff only becomes annoying in the presence of failure. Insert a bunch of wins into it and it flips...it becomes some evidence of their maverick genius.
OrediggerPoke
Well-known member
The number 1 quality of good coaches is good players. But coaching decisions, gamelan and preparedness absolutely matter in close games and matchups of relatively equal squads.
That is a great point...player quality probably trumps a lot of this.
I lump coaching decisions, game planning and preparedness into the "winning games" category. Public speaking ability and media savvy would be in the category of things that I don't think map meaningfully on on to things in the "winning games" category.
This relates to how I view Tom Burman. He picks bad coaches. That's why he's a bad AD. If we run the experiment where he does everything else right, where the AA re-seating exceeds expectations and he is a rock star in all the non coach-picking categories, I don't think he's really any better.
I know we have touched on this before, but I disagree about the reason Tom Burman is a bad AD.
In my opinion, he has made mostly good coaching hires. As I see it, the problem is that the Wyoming athletics program, as a whole, is not built to allow for success. You can certainly blame Tom Burman for that failure, so the onus still ends up on him anyways.
Think about Bohl. When he was hired, almost everybody - including die hard Wyoming fans - thought it was a home run hire. A lot of people called it the best possible coach we could have gotten. Was that a bad hire by Tom Burman?
Bohl had a mediocre record at Wyoming…almost the definition of average. Do you think Bohl was just an average college football coach? I don’t. And if you don’t, then why was he just average at Wyoming?
This is interesting to me. I apologize if you have laid this out before... Could you say more about Wyoming's athletic department not being built for success?
Douglaspoke
Well-known member
I don't think BOHL was mediocre. He had the first two seasons that he had to completelky dismantle the program that Christensen left in near shambles. Thereafter he had respectable teams. Some very starnge games we lost and teamds that did not show up once in a while. BOHL had a vision--never got us there. That loss to AFA at Co Springs a couple yearss ago if not would have pushed us into the top 25--the year we beat Texas Tech at home. Close, buit no cigar, but right now in a furyure watered down conference and Saw in charge, I am not feeling great--lets see what happens vs Akron--we could very much lose that game!! Saw--what is his vision? What is the [lan! He doesn't know either!!
In my view, Bohl was barely average. He came in with a vision, but his stubbornness and pride soon alienated many fans. I give him credit for stabilizing the program, but any good coach to do that. Good coaches often found other gigs. Then, I think, he discovered he could manipulate Burman and got some good pay increases. Reporters were reluctant to ask questions for fear of losing their credentials. After one particular extension he even commented "I'm not a rich man." He put all his eggs in one basket with Svoboda and Sawful that doomed 2024 season. He managed "convince" Sawful to name his son Defensive Coordinator. And Bohl manages to have influence on the program from his cozy gig in Texas. Bohl overstayedd in welcome about 3 years in. He can stay in Texas.
OrediggerPoke
Well-known member
Disagree strongly. Bohl built a real program from a program in tatters. We never got over the hump but we had a tough team that few were eager to face. I rank Bohl up there with Tiller in what he meant to the Pokes.
ragtimejoe1
Well-known member
Likely splitting hairs between the 2. Tiller was.56 winning and .53 in conference. Bohl was about .500 overall but had a losing record in conference. Bowl games aren't comparable because of the era Tiller was in. Still the only team to finished ranked and not make a bowl.
I probably give the nod to Tiller for the better conference record
Side note: Northern Iowa on the schedule this year. Anyone remember that scare during Tiller's Copper Bowl year (93)?
OrediggerPoke
Well-known member
I tend to throw out Bohl’s first 2 years when comparing the two. Roach left a solid Wyoming program. Christensen burned it all down. Both failed to get us ‘over the hump’ and truly to national level success. Under that microscope - they look very similar to me and both produced some exciting teams/players.
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