Firings Cause Concern Over Coaches’ Moves
Ralph Cindrich remembers it simply as the “send-’em-home drill,” a tactic employed by college football coaches that required a player to run through two lines of teammates who hit him as he passed.
“If they didn’t match up to scholarship requirements, coaches would make them go through the gauntlet until (they went) down,” said Cindrich, a sports agent who played linebacker at Pitt and in the NFL in the early 1970s. “Why did they do that? If someone quits, they give up their scholarship.”
What was acceptable behavior decades ago has become grounds for dismissal, as the conduct of coaches has come to the forefront of college football with the firings of Mark Mangino by Kansas, Mike Leach by Texas Tech and Jim Leavitt by South Florida in the past several weeks following allegations of emotional, mental and physical abuse.
The most stunning development is that all three were prominent coaches at BCS programs. Mangino and Leach are former recipients of national coach of the year honors, while Leavitt was the only coach in the 13-year history of USF football.
Mangino was fired Dec. 3 amid allegations that he was verbally abusive and forced one player to do bear crawls on scorching artificial turf that caused third-degree burns on his hands.
Leach was let go Dec. 30 after being accused of forcing a player suffering concussion-like symptoms to stand in a shed during practice.
Leavitt was dismissed Jan. 8, not so much for striking a player at halftime of the Louisville game but trying to cover it up.
“Shoot, when I was in high school, we did bear crawls all the time,” said Bill Fralic, the former Penn Hills and Pitt All-America tackle who spent eight seasons in the NFL. “I used to get paddled all the time, too, in grade school. I don’t think you can do that anymore.
“I’m sure it was hell, because I’ve been through some of that stuff. But toughness carries you through at the end of the day. With that stuff, you can win a lot of football games with mediocre talent.
“I didn’t want to go through it, but I was forced to. I think society has gotten softer.”
Which begs this question: Where is the line drawn between motivation and humiliation, and when do college football coaches cross it?
“I just wonder how much of this has gone on over the years under the disguise of motivation and mentoring,” said Dennis Dodd, a national college football analyst for CBS Sports. “You can put a lot of false labels on this stuff. When it comes down to it, it’s still humiliation of a player and mistreatment.
“These (coaches) have all the power. I don’t see the reason to do this stuff. It’s a power trip and a character flaw.
“I think something significant is happening here, that we’ve seen three of these in (just over) a month. I wonder if any teams are going to bring in someone from the university to say: ‘This is what you can’t do.’ ”
While NCAA guidelines outline principles for institutional control, student-athlete well-being and sportsmanship and ethical conduct, the onus of responsibility is on each institution to ensure appropriate behavior.
Cindrich doesn’t expect schools to be extremely specific, in part because it takes away some of the leverage they have over coaches with lucrative long-term contracts by having a vague out-clause written into the deal.
Mangino had four years left on a $9.2 million extension. Leach had four years remaining on a $12.7 million deal. And Leavitt was in the second year of a seven-year, $12.6 million extension. Where Mangino reached a $3 million settlement with Kansas, Leach and Leavitt have filed suit against their respective universities to challenge that there was cause for firing.
“If someone is looking to run someone out of town, that is a good way of doing it,” said Cindrich, whose clientele includes college and pro coaches. “It’s too easy of a way to get rid of someone.”
That could be the case for Leach and Texas Tech, as his firing was prompted by the furor caused after he ordered sophomore receiver Adam James, the son of ESPN college football analyst Craig James, to stay in a dark room during practice after Adam complained of concussion-like symptoms.
That football-related concussions are a hot-button topic only made matters worse, but high school football coaches Terry Smith of Gateway and Bill Cherpak of Thomas Jefferson also believe the reaction to the Texas Tech case shows the sense of entitlement belonging to today’s athletes.
“(The abuse is) not near as bad as it used to be,” said Smith, who played at Gateway and Penn State. “In today’s society, not as much is tolerated. I can remember being coached and called names and pushed and shoved and kicked and grabbed by the facemask, but it was tolerated then.
“That’s part of what’s wrong in society today. Kids are growing up with no respect for authority and no fear of authority. You look at the Texas Tech incident. Craig James has some influence and used it.”
Smith recalled being stunned at a prospect camp when a college position coach berated one of Smith’s players with profane language during a drill. Surprisingly enough, the player still signed to play at that coach’s school and had a productive college career.
Even so, Smith warns his players not to choose a school if they don’t like those types of motivational tactics.
“The mental side, that’s sometimes worse than being hit,” Smith said. “You hear: ‘You’re stupid’ enough, for a young, fragile mind, that might not go over too well.
“If you know their reputation, you’ve got to tell your player: ‘Here’s their coaching style. If you can handle this, then this is an option. If you can’t handle it, you’ve got to take them off your list.’
“Don’t get there and think something is going to change.”
• Former NFL Player
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