11-30-2021, 07:06 AM
Press conferences are meaningless unless they aren't.
I challenge you to watch Kyle Shanahan after the Niners were drilled by the Cardinals to drop their record to 3-5, and compare to David Shaw.
Shanahan answers challenging questions matter of factly, explaining how he sees things and why he makes the decisions he does. There is not an ounce of defensiveness in his answers. No excuse-making, and he doesn't blame.
Yes, he does answer a lot of things with boiler plate "we have to play better" and "we have to execute better," but that's where he leaves it. Not only does Shaw make excuses, he gets defensive and says things aren't as bad as everyone can see. That loses you copious credibility.
You lose enough credibility when losing. That's just the way sports are. But it demonstrates very poor judgment to get defensive and give people something to talk about. I've never heard anyone complain about Shanahan's press conference performances. Why? Because he is a straight shooter who doesn't make excuses, doesn't get defensive, and answers every question, no matter how challenging or silly, with a grounded, attitude-free answer, unless he uses humor, which he sometimes does to show he's not bothered by questions.
If David Shaw did this, he wouldn't be facing a credibility crisis and nobody would be calling him entitled and arrogant - which are not superlative traits and erodes the support he needs right now - because he never would have come off that way in public. Not only did he reveal his off-putting attitude, but he tried to insult the intelligence of anyone listening to him.
I challenge you to watch Kyle Shanahan after the Niners were drilled by the Cardinals to drop their record to 3-5, and compare to David Shaw.
Shanahan answers challenging questions matter of factly, explaining how he sees things and why he makes the decisions he does. There is not an ounce of defensiveness in his answers. No excuse-making, and he doesn't blame.
Yes, he does answer a lot of things with boiler plate "we have to play better" and "we have to execute better," but that's where he leaves it. Not only does Shaw make excuses, he gets defensive and says things aren't as bad as everyone can see. That loses you copious credibility.
You lose enough credibility when losing. That's just the way sports are. But it demonstrates very poor judgment to get defensive and give people something to talk about. I've never heard anyone complain about Shanahan's press conference performances. Why? Because he is a straight shooter who doesn't make excuses, doesn't get defensive, and answers every question, no matter how challenging or silly, with a grounded, attitude-free answer, unless he uses humor, which he sometimes does to show he's not bothered by questions.
If David Shaw did this, he wouldn't be facing a credibility crisis and nobody would be calling him entitled and arrogant - which are not superlative traits and erodes the support he needs right now - because he never would have come off that way in public. Not only did he reveal his off-putting attitude, but he tried to insult the intelligence of anyone listening to him.