Sports > September 27, 2007

By Ryan Durham | Sports editor

After seeing the tirade by Oklahoma State’s head coach Mike Gundy, I have realized how crazy some coaches can be.

Of course you have your Bobby Knights who are famous for outbursts, but usually those outburst come with bad calls or a humiliation at home.

This rant came after a 49-45 win over Texas Tech.

One would think Gundy would take his time to congratulate the hard working players, the intelligent coaching staff or at least take all the credit himself.

Instead, Gundy decided to focus on a point not even pertinent to the game, especially considering the player in question did not play.

It is instances like this that sometimes cause me to question what exactly it takes to be a college football coach today.

At Wake Forest, we are fortunate enough to have one of the classiest coaches in college football.

After sitting through many press conferences and talking with Head Coach Jim Grobe one-on-one, several facts have become apparent to me.

Grobe rarely raises his voice, is always insightful in answering questions and is unlikely to try and sell you something that is out in left field.

After the Deacs’ Sept. 22 overtime win over Maryland, Grobe could have harped on something utterly different than the question at hand or even tried to take the credit himself.

These two actions do not fit in his mold though. He instead talked about the hard play of both the Wake Forest and Maryland players and said that the decision on who won or lost was ultimately on the shoulders of the players.

When asked about why he did not go for two at the end of regulation Grobe said that he wanted the kids to have a chance to win the football game.

Grobe is a proponent of his players both on and off the field, but does it in a respectful and dignified way.

Though I am sure Gundy’s heart was in the right place when he began his rant, he should really take a lesson from coach Grobe on focusing on the issue at hand and taking up problems in a grown up way.

Actions like Gundy’s take away from experience of the game and distract attention from the sport.

Yes, these coaches are under a lot of stress, but they are also paid very handsomely to do their jobs.

They should know when the appropriate time to have an outburst is (i.e. away from reporters and cameras) and when it is time to maintain their composure.

When a coach has an outburst it merely detracts from the play of the team and ultimately looks poor on the state of a program.

Coaches should not be a focus of the game. They should sit back and watch the fruits of their and their players labor.

The players should be the focus of the game, and Grobe is a perfect example of this behavior.