[gailtate]

I suppose that is a fair criticism, but I think fundamentally, you are asking for something that virtually no coach thinks you are entitled to.  I keep going back to the fact that the coach is required to give a press conference, even though (especially after a loss), they almost certainly would rather not do.  Answering questions from the press is not why they went into coaching, doesn't help them win the next game, and after a loss will put even the most thoughtful and engaging coach into a defensive posture.  We're paying our coach $6 million, so he's going to do a press conference if he's asked to, but I don't think it is a reasonable expectation to expect him to enjoy it or to offer anything more than platitudes in response.  Believe me "I give good press conferences" did not factor into his contract negotiations.

I try to empathize a bit with coaches.  I try to imagine what I would say if I had to give a press conference every time something at work went wrong.

BC

No, I'm not asking Shaw to do that.  I'm asking him to stop throwing shade at the student athletes, when is seem obvious from outer space that he is a big part of the issue.  Shaw needs to get more qualified/talented assistants; revamp a philosophy/playbook that fails as often as succeeds, yet squanders young talent; make better in-game and in-season decisions; stop telegraphing plays so obviously (gee, what's Sanders going to do this time, said no one ever....); and more generally wake up and smell the coffee.  He needs to adapt and grow, not blame the students because they didn't execute.  I actually like Shaw and want him to succeed, but the man is stubborn with a capital S.

Ah, the great imponderable: a guy so intensely competitive and yet voluntarily bound in a straight-jacket of his own making. A built-in competitive disadvantage.

[gailtate]

I suppose that is a fair criticism, but I think fundamentally, you are asking for something that virtually no coach thinks you are entitled to.  I keep going back to the fact that the coach is required to give a press conference, even though (especially after a loss), they almost certainly would rather not do.  Answering questions from the press is not why they went into coaching, doesn't help them win the next game, and after a loss will put even the most thoughtful and engaging coach into a defensive posture.  We're paying our coach $6 million, so he's going to do a press conference if he's asked to, but I don't think it is a reasonable expectation to expect him to enjoy it or to offer anything more than platitudes in response.  Believe me "I give good press conferences" did not factor into his contract negotiations.

I try to empathize a bit with coaches.  I try to imagine what I would say if I had to give a press conference every time something at work went wrong.

BC

No, I'm not asking Shaw to do that.  I'm asking him to stop throwing shade at the student athletes, when is seem obvious from outer space that he is a big part of the issue.  Shaw needs to get more qualified/talented assistants; revamp a philosophy/playbook that fails as often as succeeds, yet squanders young talent; make better in-game and in-season decisions; stop telegraphing plays so obviously (gee, what's Sanders going to do this time, said no one ever....); and more generally wake up and smell the coffee.  He needs to adapt and grow, not blame the students because they didn't execute.  I actually like Shaw and want him to succeed, but the man is stubborn with a capital S.

Ah, the great imponderable: a guy so intensely competitive and yet voluntarily bound in a straight-jacket of his own making. A built-in competitive disadvantage.