Joe's Average Takes: Coaches Throwing Players Under the Bus

Joe’s Average Takes: Coaches Throwing Players Under the Bus

Time Stamp: November 2, 2023 8:15 AM
Source Node: 2361735

Joe’s Average Takes is a weekly column where I will go through some of the opinions thrown out by the mainstream media or on Twitter. Are these takes enlightened or just average? I’ll go through that on each edition of Joe’s Average Takes. (Yes there is some irony with Joe’s average take calling out other average takes)

Several College Coaches Throw Players Under the Bus

Following several college football week 9 games, head coaches pointed out flaws with their players. This wasn’t all the coaches in the sport, but it was enough doing it in the same week to raise an eyebrow or two.

Following Colorado’s loss to UCLA, Deion Sanders mentioned that he has to get new linemen to protect the quarterback. He said that he will paint that picture for Colorado.

Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi made some similar comments following the Panthers’ loss to Notre Dame. He implied that they lost great players and thought they replaced them, but didn’t adequately do so.

Maryland head coach Mike Locksley worded things better after the Terrapins’ loss to Northwestern. He took accountability for the coaching staff, but still noted that some plays should have been made.

This is nothing new, as several coaches have been criticized for not taking more of the blame in the past. It does seem to be more rampant this season than in years past.

Fans appreciate honesty and all of these coaches are being pretty truthful. Colorado’s offensive line has struggled this season. Pitt has had a year to forget and really hasn’t done a good job of retooling their roster. Maryland has the talent to beat Northwestern if their “players make plays”.

While it may be truthful, it doesn’t mean it is the right thing to do. Other things can be said to be honest without throwing players on the bus. Colorado can work on the scheme or Deion could say they’re going to compete at practice to find who wants to play. Maybe he could say they need to run the ball better to keep defenses honest (that still calls out the offensive line without totally throwing them under the bus) Narduzzi and Locksley could say similar things to address the issues without throwing the players under the bus.

Not only do these comments make it look like coaches are passing the blame, but they may also make it tougher for these coaches to recruit in the future. Who wants to be a player that suits up for a coach calling them out in the media? It is one thing to hold players accountable behind closed doors, but passing blame to players publicly may not be the right move for the future.

Does it give coaches more job security to say these things? Not really. College football coaches are CEOs in charge of every little detail about their program including player acquisition. If anything the comments that they don’t have good enough players really puts a light on their ability (or inability) to convince players to come to their schools. With Sanders at Colorado that might be understandable since he’s in year one and has already done more than expected with the Buffaloes. For Narduzzi and Locksley they have been there for years and should’ve done a better job of getting players who could help them win.

There is a whole side discussion on whether these schools have enough NIL money to recruit. But if that’s the case, then say that. Those coaches may be criticized like Mark Stoops was at Kentucky when asking fans to pony up, but at least they aren’t calling out their own players and maybe some more money comes through the program.

At the end of the day, throwing players under the bus may be truthful and shield some of the initial blame away from the coaches. Ultimately though, the blame will come back to them because it is their responsibility to recruit the guys on the field to make plays.

Verdict: Throwing college players under the bus is an average fan take

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