Coaches - should they stay or should they go?

A reprint of my Jan. 21 SlapShots column published in the Woodford Sun

Calvin and Hobbes ranks as my all time favorite comic strip. Calvin and company seldom failed to illicit at least a chuckle, while at the same time providing some pretty insightful commentary on the world we live in.

In one strip, Calvin finds himself in a neo-cubist world, a perspective revealing every side of every object in his room.

“It all started when Calvin engaged his dad in a minor debate. Soon Calvin could see both sides of the issue. Then poor Calvin began to see both sides of everything. The traditional single viewpoint had been abandoned. Perspective has been fractured.”

I felt a little bit like Calvin, suddenly transported into a neo-cubist world, as I followed the saga of Lane Kiffin’s sudden departure from the University of Tennessee football program to take the helm at USC.

On the one hand, I can’t blame a man for wanting to move up the career ladder. To better his position. To grab opportunities as they come along that will ultimately benefit himself and his family.

Kiffin has deep ties to USC and Southern California. He served as an assistant coach for the Trojans from 2001 to 2006, first as a wide receivers coach and later as offensive coordinator under Pete Carroll. He played his college football at Fresno State University. It really shouldn’t surprise anyone that Kiffin would jump at the opportunity to head home and coach one of the premier football programs in the country. I mean really, can you blame him? Can you honestly say you wouldn’t do the same thing in his position?

And fans should know by now – the college football coaching carousel does nothing to foster loyalty. After a couple of losing seasons, the same Volunteer fans and school administrators piously pontificating on Kiffin’s lack of character and fidelity would have picked up the former Vol coach and buried him under the turf of Neyland Stadium faster than the Tennessee band launches into Rocky Top after a Volunteer touchdown.

But come on, Lane. One season? Fourteen months was all you could give? Kiffin didn’t even stay long enough for the orange ink to dry on his letterhead. And that brings us to the other side of the coin. What about the players?

They are the ones who bear the brunt of the ever-shifting coaching landscape of college football. Perhaps players should expect it. But should they? Is it unreasonable to ask that a coach show some loyalty to the kids he recruited. Some sense of commitment to the promises he made?

Coaching football isn’t just about climbing the career ladder. It’s about educating and molding boys into men. What do we teach them about commitment and integrity when we make promises and sign contracts, only to bolt at the first next-best opportunity? Shouldn’t the almighty me become subservient to a greater principle at some point?

But do we expect a coach to stay in the same place forever?

Welcome to my neo-cubist world.

“The multiple views provide too much information. It’s impossible to move. Calvin quickly tries to eliminate all but one perspective.”

So deep in the subplot of this story I find a character who helps snap things into focus and who reminds me that there remains at least a shred of integrity in the world of big-time college football - Duke coach David Cutliffe.

Cutliffe was an offensive coordinator at Tennessee. He also served as head coach at Ole Miss back in 1998. He’s an SEC guy. He took the reigns of the struggling Duke program two years ago. The Blue Devils compiled a 9-15 record over the past two seasons under Cutliffe. As you might guess, Duke isn’t exactly a “destination” position.

But Cutliffe decided to stay, turning down the opportunity to coach a big time program in a big time conference. He said that he wanted to finish what he started at Duke.

“After much thought and consideration, Karen and I reached the decision that Duke is the place for our family,” Cutliffe said in a statement. “We have the best coaching staff in the country, and are convinced that we will continue to build a successful football program that both the Duke and Durham communities will be proud of.”

Cutliffe had a message for those thinking he was sure to take the Tennessee job.

“People that think that was automatic just don’t know me very well.”

There are all kinds of reasons Cutliffe might have turned down the UT job. But I’d like to think that it’s simply because Cutliffe possesses a measure of personal integrity. A desire to see something through to the end. A measure of respect for the kids he coaches and a sense of obligation to his promises.

As Calvin struggles to eliminate all but one perspective, his room snaps back to normal.

“It works. The world falls into recognizable order. ‘You’re still wrong, Dad,’ Calvin says.”

So yeah, I can see Kiffin’s side of things. But you’re still wrong Lane.

Quick Shots
Whew! Another close one for the Wildcats. Kentucky narrowly escaped Auburn with a 5-point win after blowing a 19-point lead. As one publication put it, the Cats have just about used up their nine lives.

I’m no Minnesota Vikings fan, but I can’t help but pull for Brett Favre. As an almost 43-year-old man, I find his youthful exuberance while playing a young man’s game inspiring.

Quote of the Week
“College coaches lie. How do these guys sleep at night? It’s unfair, of course, to include all coaches in the Liars Club, but it’s an odious and ever-expanding group. Put Lane Kiffin in a room with Jeff Jagodzinski, John Calipari, and Rick Pitino and you could make a polygraph machine explode.” - Dan Shaughnessy, Globe columnist

Puck to the Head
This week’s puck flies at the head of Massachusetts Democrat senatorial candidate Martha Coakley for calling former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling a Yankee fan. Schilling summed up how ridiculous the statement was in his blog. “I’ve been called a lot of things. But never, and I mean never, could anyone ever make the mistake of calling me a Yankee fan. Well, check that, if you didn’t know what the hell is going on in your own state, maybe you could.”

WCHS athletic trainer gets the axe

Winner of the 2009 Kentucky Press Association Best Sports Story - Class 3 Weekly (circulation over 4,600.) Originally published July 9, 2009

The Bluegrass Community Hospital announced last week that it has eliminated the athletic training position at Woodford County High School, leaving the future of Walker Terhune’s job unclear. The announcement left school officials scrambling to find alternative funding with the start of football, soccer, cross country and volleyball practices only weeks away.

Terhune served as the Yellow Jacket athletic trainer for three years, providing on the field medical care and rehabilitation services to athletes in every sports program at the school. Bluegrass Community Hospital employed Terhune and contracted his services to the WCHS.

Bluegrass Community CEO Kathy Love said eliminating the position, along with the athletic trainer at Midway College, will save the hospital about $100,000 per year.

“We always have to preserve our core hospital services,” she said. “It was a painful decision.”

The hospital did not eliminate any other positions, and Love emphasized that the organization remains financially sound.

“We’re not in any sort of crisis,” she said. “We are tightening our belts.”

Love cited a drop in donations, as well as cost pressures with driving the decision to eliminate the athletic trainer positions. A rise in uncompensated care has strained the hospital’s budget, and uncertainties in the health care industry regarding the possibility of healthcare reform have administrators taking proactive measures. Love said that regardless of what form healthcare reform takes, she expects future cuts in provider reimbursements.

Woodford County High School assistant principal and athletic director Bob Gibson said that the school has already started looking for other healthcare organizations to partner with in order to keep an athletic trainer at WCHS – preferably Terhune. He said that school officials have meetings scheduled for later in the week.

“We may be able to get everything back on board,” he said. “Obviously, we would want to maintain not only the position, but the individual.”

Neither state law or the Kentucky High School Athletics Association require Kentucky schools to have a trainer on staff, but Gibson said that he recognizes the importance of the athletic trainer for health and safety of Jacket athletes.

“It’s of vital importance to our program.”

Gibson said that he understands the hospitals decision and that he doesn’t want people to perceive Bluegrass Community as the bad guy.

“They’ve been a big sponsor of our programs,” he said.

It remains unclear whether the Woodford County School Board will provide any funding for an athletic trainer if the school cannot find another healthcare organization to foot the bill.

“Obviously, we just found out last week,” Superintendent Scott Hawkins said. “We’re trying to explore all of our options. If we can keep an athletic trainer, we certainly want to do that.”

But dollars will factor into the decision.

“We don’t know what costs we’re looking at. We’ll see what kind of expenses we might be looking at. We want to provide quality service at a price that we can afford,” Hawkins said. “We’ll have a much clearer picture once we have some of these meetings and see what our options are.”

Yellow Jacket football coach Chris Tracy expressed concern about the possibility of going into late summer practices without an athletic trainer on the sideline. Last summer, Pleasure Ridge Park football player Max Gilpin died after collapsing during practice on a hot August evening. Prosecutors charged PRP coach Jason Stinson with negligent homicide. There was no athletic trainer at the practice when Gilpin succumbed to the heat.

“After what happened in Louisville, I don’t know that I want to be out there doing what we do without a trainer,” Tracy said.

Several WCHS athletes reacted to the news of the possible elimination of the athletic training position with dismay.

“I don’t really know what to say right now. I’m kind of in shock,” Yellow Jacket soccer player Katrina Ott said.

Terhune helped Ott rehab several injuries and she credits daily sessions with him for getting herself healed and back on the field faster. She said that she probably took his presence on the sidelines for granted.

“It’s really important to have a trainer at your convenience,” she said. “Sometimes when you’re hurt, coaches are not as qualified and don’t know.”

Terhune not only heals the body, he serves as a mentor and trusted adult figure in the lives of many Woodford County athletes.

Senior Jay Tackett, a soccer and football player, posted his feelings on the Woodford Sun Sports Facebook page.

“This is terrible. Woodford’s losing an awesome sports trainer. Walker’s been a great friend of mine through all my years of high school and he would be greatly missed.”

They said what??

A reprint of my Jan. 7 Slapshots column from the Woodford Sun

For the most part, I thoroughly enjoyed my New Year’s Day trip to football Nirvana.

I managed to spend the bulk of the day firmly planted on the couch. It all started at 11 a.m. with the Outback Bowl and continued past midnight as I celebrated the Gators’ 54-24 thumping of the Cincinnati Bearcats. And with a little channel surfing, I also managed to catch parts of the NHL Outdoor Classic between the Boston Bruins and the Philadelphia Flyers.

Yeah, hockey in Fenway Park was pretty cool.

I followed up on Saturday watching my USF Bulls win the meaningless International Bowl over Northern Illinois and then caught the UK-U of L basketball game.

But with all of that time absorbed in sports, there was bound to be a downside. And no, I do not consider eating an entire bag of Tostitos and a container of salsa in one afternoon a low point.

No, that involved some of the TV commentators.

Is it just me, or do some of these guys need to learn the value of silence?

I think the low point came during the Kentucky-Louisville game when Clark Kellogg repeatedly used the word “spurtability.” Really Clark? On network TV?

And other announcers managed to make themselves sound like idiots using real live words – from the English language.

So I thought it would be fun to start the year by sharing some of the more asinine comments out of the mouths’ of TV analysts.

“Neither one of these defenses want to give up the big play.”

As if somewhere a defensive coordinator is sitting in his darkened office scheming ways to give up the big play - hopefully leading to points.

“That is just a pure football player.”

As opposed to all of the diluted football players on the field? Or perhaps some hybrid players.

“The game’s changed a little, you’ve got to make plays.”

I vaguely remember football back in the early ’70s. They didn’t have to make plays back in those days. Refs arbitrarily awarded points.

“I think Jimbo (Jimbo Fisher, offensive coordinator for Florida State) would love to make first downs.”

After watching the Seminoles play the Gators a few weeks ago, I could debate that notion.

“And Florida State makes this a football game.”

I’m not sure what they were playing before. Perhaps badminton?

“They each have a touchdown, so they both know how to get into the end zone”

If they need help, they can always purchase one of those fancy GPS contraptions.

“Not quite as straight, but they all count if they go through the uprights.”

Woohoo! Thank you obvious man!

And finally, my personal favorite…

“Good feet. He needs those feet.”

I guess I won’t ask to borrow them then.

Happy New Year, sports fans.

Quick Shots
University of Kentucky football coach Rich Brooks announced his retirement on Monday, Jan. 4. He said that he felt like it was just time to step aside.

“This is the end of the road of the old man’s coaching career,” Brooks said.

Some inside sources say that frustration with the university partly drove his decision – frustration stemming from UK’s reluctance to pour money into the football program, particularly facilities and assistant coaches salaries. Brooks is too classy to come out and blast the program, but the fact that he mentioned facilities upgrades on his laundry list of things he’d like to see Kentucky do in the future makes me wonder if there isn’t some truth to the rumors. Basketball will always reign as king in Kentucky. Perhaps Brooks got tired of playing in the backup band.

Analysts have raised a number of valid questions regarding Tim Tebow’s future as an NFL quarterback. It was almost as if he set out to erase those question marks in the Sugar Bowl. The Gator senior completed 31 of 35 passes for 482 yards and three touchdowns. Some may suspect his throwing mechanics. They may question his ability to read pro defenses. But I sure wouldn’t bet against the heart and desire of this kid.

Broadcasters praised UK big-man DeMarcus Cousins for maintaining his cool despite the intensity of the Kentucky-Louisville game. After watching several replays of his elbow to the head of Jared Swopshire, I’d hate to see what would have happened if he HAD lost his cool.

Quote of the Week
“I’d like to start like I always do with the injury report. I’m walking and well, so that’s the injury report.” –Former University of Kentucky football coach Rich Brooks opening up the press conference announcing his retirement.

Puck to the Head
This week’s pucks fly at the heads of the four University of Tennessee basketball players for getting themselves arrested after a traffic stop in Knoxville. Tyler Smith, Melvin Goins, Brian Williams and Cameron Tatum were arrested after police say they found a handgun with an altered serial number, marijuana and an open container of alcohol in the car. Police initially pulled the car over for speeding. Mixing guns, alcohol and drugs. Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. * Insert strains of Rocky Top here *