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.”