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Quick thought on Fuente & VT stuff
I talked at length with Bronco Mendenhall one time about the public role of a football coach. He said how introverted he is by nature & how big the toll is on him - emotionally & physically - to have to be âonâ for an audience so often.
I talked at length with Bronco Mendenhall one time about the public role of a football coach. He said how introverted he is by nature & how big the toll is on him - emotionally & physically - to have to be âonâ for an audience so often.
Bronco said he schedules in time to read or relax after media sessions or donor meetings to ârecharge.â Itâs a routine heâs had to cultivate over the years to find a way to make it all work. I found it really insightful but also a reminder of how much is asked of coaches.
Guys get into coaching because a) they like football & b) they want to help young guys in the sport. As an assistant, even an HC at a smaller school⊠thatâs still most of the job. But you get to a role like Bronco or Fuente⊠or bigger yet, Saban or Dabo⊠thereâs so much more.
I think some guys are just a lot better equipped to be âthe face of a programâ or even the face of an entire region or state than others. The ones who arenât â ya gotta figure out a way to do it that doesnât destroy you.
For example, I know how hard this past year has been on Dabo personally because of all the criticism. Some of it was deserved, no doubt. That comes with the job, too. Some of it isnât, just a matter of not saying the perfect thing or telling people what they want to hear.
Given all that, I think itâs easy to sympathize with any coach who is more âclosed offâ as Babcock said of Fuente today. "Better to say nothingâ is the thought. That doesnât usually work, but I get the desire to go that route.
Long story short, Iâd say there are lots of coaches who do this well. It suits them. But for others, itâs an absolute gut-wrenching responsibility. As Bronco told me, it literally saps your energy. But thatâs the job. The âcoach as superhumanâ myth is a double-edged sword.
