[jayasena]

[quote author=leftcoast link=topic=10701.msg99296#msg99296 date=1411769336]
WIM, you have never seen an opposing coach at a news conference and winced, "Man, I'd rather have a boiled lobster in pot of pepper chili represent Stanford than that stiff!". 

I certainly have.

Indeed.  Other than the boiled lobster part, that is pretty much what I was thinking earlier this week when I saw a clip of a Nick Saban press conference [discussing Lane Kiffin].  Come to think of it, Saban reminded me a lot of a boiled lobster in that press conference...

I think how the person represents the school is important, for both coaches and athletes.  Maybe not more important than talent/results, but very close.

Andrew Luck.
Jameis Winston.
Rest my case.
[/quote]

I'm with WIM on this. The "off-field representative" aspect is easy to prioritize when both people in question are all-world talents but one is a near-saint and the other is a certifiable sleazeball. But i don't think anyone is advocating hiring/recruiting total embarrassments.

The more challenging case is when the "ideal representative" may not be the best player or coach. At that point, how much are you willing to give up on "idealness" as a representative for better on-field results? I honestly think Teevens was a better off-field representative of the university than Harbaugh was. But I know who I'd want if I had to pick between those two to return as the head football coach*.

* Hmm... typing that makes me appreciate Shaw even more.

[jayasena]

[quote author=leftcoast link=topic=10701.msg99296#msg99296 date=1411769336]
WIM, you have never seen an opposing coach at a news conference and winced, "Man, I'd rather have a boiled lobster in pot of pepper chili represent Stanford than that stiff!". 

I certainly have.

Indeed.  Other than the boiled lobster part, that is pretty much what I was thinking earlier this week when I saw a clip of a Nick Saban press conference [discussing Lane Kiffin].  Come to think of it, Saban reminded me a lot of a boiled lobster in that press conference...

I think how the person represents the school is important, for both coaches and athletes.  Maybe not more important than talent/results, but very close.

Andrew Luck.
Jameis Winston.
Rest my case.
[/quote]

I'm with WIM on this. The "off-field representative" aspect is easy to prioritize when both people in question are all-world talents but one is a near-saint and the other is a certifiable sleazeball. But i don't think anyone is advocating hiring/recruiting total embarrassments.

The more challenging case is when the "ideal representative" may not be the best player or coach. At that point, how much are you willing to give up on "idealness" as a representative for better on-field results? I honestly think Teevens was a better off-field representative of the university than Harbaugh was. But I know who I'd want if I had to pick between those two to return as the head football coach*.

* Hmm... typing that makes me appreciate Shaw even more.