[terry]

I agree with Lex24. 

I've noticed that there are those who criticize Shaw after losses for not sufficiently taking responsibility as a coach--when I actually think he did take responsibility.  But we are very quick to fault him around here if he doesn't say it in just the right way.

There should be much more outrage for Leach.  Leach doesn't take responsibility.  It's his players fault for being "fat" "dumb" and "entitled."  

I think his players are entitled.  They are entitled to a coach who behaves like a professional, not like a 4th grade bully.

Leach goes down in my book along with Frank Kush, Woody Hayes, and Bob Knight as brilliant minds in their sports (well, maybe Kush doesn't reach that level) who seem to have gotten their sports brilliance by hijacking the part of their brains that regulate emotional intelligence.

If a Professor abused his classroom in the way that Leach regularly abuses his players, he would be fired--even if he were tenured.  But I guess that it is not enough that sports gets fame and fortune, we also have different ethical standards for coaches than for the rest of a university, too.

Except we don't, at Stanford, which is a major reason I'm a Stanford fan.  And a Shaw fan.  Not once have I ever seen Shaw treat his players with even a hint of the condescension that  Leach constantly spews.  Shaw got that from Walsh, who whatever his faults (and there were a few) revolutionized football not only with Xs and Os but with the way he treated his players--both at Stanford and with the Niners.  I think his professionalism as much as his football IQ was behind his nickname, "The Professor."  And while Shaw doesn't emulate Walsh's offensive philosophy, I think he does emulate his professional attitude toward players.

Very well said.

[terry]

I agree with Lex24. 

I've noticed that there are those who criticize Shaw after losses for not sufficiently taking responsibility as a coach--when I actually think he did take responsibility.  But we are very quick to fault him around here if he doesn't say it in just the right way.

There should be much more outrage for Leach.  Leach doesn't take responsibility.  It's his players fault for being "fat" "dumb" and "entitled."  

I think his players are entitled.  They are entitled to a coach who behaves like a professional, not like a 4th grade bully.

Leach goes down in my book along with Frank Kush, Woody Hayes, and Bob Knight as brilliant minds in their sports (well, maybe Kush doesn't reach that level) who seem to have gotten their sports brilliance by hijacking the part of their brains that regulate emotional intelligence.

If a Professor abused his classroom in the way that Leach regularly abuses his players, he would be fired--even if he were tenured.  But I guess that it is not enough that sports gets fame and fortune, we also have different ethical standards for coaches than for the rest of a university, too.

Except we don't, at Stanford, which is a major reason I'm a Stanford fan.  And a Shaw fan.  Not once have I ever seen Shaw treat his players with even a hint of the condescension that  Leach constantly spews.  Shaw got that from Walsh, who whatever his faults (and there were a few) revolutionized football not only with Xs and Os but with the way he treated his players--both at Stanford and with the Niners.  I think his professionalism as much as his football IQ was behind his nickname, "The Professor."  And while Shaw doesn't emulate Walsh's offensive philosophy, I think he does emulate his professional attitude toward players.

Very well said.