OK. He made his point: “We’re all in this together: Come on out to the Swamp and support your team!”
Despite the refusal on the part of regents to give in to emotion-based mob-rule (and likely a desire on their part to protect the young students whose parents have entrusted them with their protection), our Coach for SOME reason doubled-DOWN on his “Pack the Swamp!” diatribe.
It is enough of an outrageous “grandstand play” (one, by the way, somewhat out-of-character for our usually relaxed and level-headed Head Coach) that it occurs to me:
More than just a way to deflect some blame for a particularly bad loss OR the generally EXTREMELY disappointing performance by our defense thus far, is this a move, conscious or not, to possibly force his own suspension? Because if he insists on continuing in such “rabble-rousing” fashion in the face of his employers’ determined (and I think somewhat surprised need to find it necessary in the first place) insistence that “it ain’t gonna happen—so back off!”, well, we might all quickly find ourselves at a publicly embarrassing impasse. And Coach Mullens, of all people, KNOWS that. Just as he knows that even “background mutterings” to that effect now could affect recruiting AND team chemistry and well-being at a crucial time.
We need to be hunkering down together AS A TEAM (“against the WORLD!”), rededicating ourselves and our work TOGETHER “right here, right NOW”—NOT getting bogged down in bickering with those inside OR outside the program about things that are not and SHOULD not be our focus, or for that matter our decision, in the first place.
Despite the refusal on the part of regents to give in to emotion-based mob-rule (and likely a desire on their part to protect the young students whose parents have entrusted them with their protection), our Coach for SOME reason doubled-DOWN on his “Pack the Swamp!” diatribe.
It is enough of an outrageous “grandstand play” (one, by the way, somewhat out-of-character for our usually relaxed and level-headed Head Coach) that it occurs to me:
More than just a way to deflect some blame for a particularly bad loss OR the generally EXTREMELY disappointing performance by our defense thus far, is this a move, conscious or not, to possibly force his own suspension? Because if he insists on continuing in such “rabble-rousing” fashion in the face of his employers’ determined (and I think somewhat surprised need to find it necessary in the first place) insistence that “it ain’t gonna happen—so back off!”, well, we might all quickly find ourselves at a publicly embarrassing impasse. And Coach Mullens, of all people, KNOWS that. Just as he knows that even “background mutterings” to that effect now could affect recruiting AND team chemistry and well-being at a crucial time.
We need to be hunkering down together AS A TEAM (“against the WORLD!”), rededicating ourselves and our work TOGETHER “right here, right NOW”—NOT getting bogged down in bickering with those inside OR outside the program about things that are not and SHOULD not be our focus, or for that matter our decision, in the first place.