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What do you have against "coach speak"?

Marcus

Marcus

Windmill cancer survivor
Contributor's Club
Whenever coaches talk publicly, whether it be after game news conferences, or on the radio, all of them, not just Kubiak, but all coaches speak publicly the same way.

But I notice a lot of you mock the way they talk.

Why is that? I'm just curious.
 
Marcus said:
Whenever coaches talk publicly, whether it be after game news conferences, or on the radio, all of them, not just Kubiak, but all coaches speak publicly the same way.

But I notice a lot of you mock the way they talk.

Why is that? I'm just curious.
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Probably because some folks think that they are entitled to the truth when it comes to something they either believe in or contribute money and time... Reality of it all is world doesn't work that way but it is a nice thought...
 
Repetitive terms used.

"execute" from the previous coach
"kids" from this coach

Other than that, I have no issue.
 
Nothing.

No matter what your career is you participate in "coach speak"...It's just that coach is replaced by whatever your proffession is...
 
I think the publics attitude about "coach speak" is directly related to the success of the team. When a team sucks - or is at least consistently not good - people get tired of the same terms over and over that lack any sincerity and are solely fluff to fulfill media obligations.

However, if the team was making the playoffs, that same coach speak would probably be perceived as some sort of deep strategy to keep the other teams from knowing what's really going on.

Fans are weird that way, but I suppose an emotional connection to a franchise with absolutely no control of it's fate can do that to people.
 
I don't think people have as much problem with "coach speak" as they do when coaches drag out the same tired cliches without much meaning behind it.

"Execute" with Dom Capers

"It's on me" Gary Kubiak

Just after a while each phrase just becomes....worthless without any backing.
 
Double Barrel said:
I think the publics attitude about "coach speak" is directly related to the success of the team. When a team sucks - or is at least consistently not good - people get tired of the same terms over and over that lack any sincerity and are solely fluff to fulfill media obligations.

However, if the team was making the playoffs, that same coach speak would probably be perceived as some sort of deep strategy to keep the other teams from knowing what's really going on.

Fans are weird that way, but I suppose an emotional connection to a franchise with absolutely no control of it's fate can do that to people.
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Agree with your assessment about it being related to winning. Now, in the case of the team losing more than winning, rather than listening to a coach's repetitive statements, and each and every coach has their own particular repetitive statements, fans want the coach to throw his employees (players, asst. coaches) under the bus.
 
Marcus said:
Agree with your assessment about it being related to winning. Now, in the case of the team losing more than winning, rather than listening to a coach's repetitive statements, and each and every coach has their own particular repetitive statements, fans want the coach to throw his employees (players, asst. coaches) under the bus.
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yep. I agree completely. Fans are looking for blood and sacrificial scapegoats. But, any head coach that does that is then looked at with disdain by those same fans.

Sometimes coaches can offer a scapegoat without throwing anyone under the bus. Capers had Palmer, and Kubiak had Smith. But neither head coach verbally threw them under the bus. They just offered up the sacrifice for some appeasement and buy-me-some-time.

Very few head coaches have the personality to withstand the storms and shine without coach speak. Bum had it (and it helped that he had some great teams). Rex Ryan is the only current coach that I can think of...and he's new and his team made the playoffs.
 
If unfiltered honesty in any way shape or form correlated to a Head Coach's ability, Jim Mora (Sr.) and Dennis Green would have numerous Vince Lombardi trophies. Instead, they have Coors Light ads.

Buddy Ryan might have one or two also.
 
disaacks3 said:
Lack of honesty. Tell it like it is, not how you want it to be perceived.
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In most cases, the coaches/players speak to the media before having a chance to speak with each other one on one. So what you call a "lack of honesty" is really the coach/player sparing the other coach/player from having to be told by a 3rd party (the media) rather than being told face to face.

So when the media asks Schaub "what happened on that half back pass from Chris Brown" Schaub isn't going to say "well our bonehead coach made the call not me." He's going to say "we executed it in practice and just didn't execute it in the game." Then in the privacy of the film room the situation can be addressed.
 
I like coach speak.

I do need to take "Chris Johnson" speak classes though. Can't understand a word that guy says.
 
m5kwatts said:
In most cases, the coaches/players speak to the media before having a chance to speak with each other one on one. So what you call a "lack of honesty" is really the coach/player sparing the other coach/player from having to be told by a 3rd party (the media) rather than being told face to face.

So when the media asks Schaub "what happened on that half back pass from Chris Brown" Schaub isn't going to say "well our bonehead coach made the call not me." He's going to say "we executed it in practice and just didn't execute it in the game." Then in the privacy of the film room the situation can be addressed.
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I apply my feelings on this ONLY to the Head Coach. He doesn't need to "vett" his information against anyone else before talking. He's "it". He gets the credit or the blame - he has the right to tell it like it is.
 
disaacks3 said:
I apply my feelings on this ONLY to the Head Coach. He doesn't need to "vett" his information against anyone else before talking. He's "it". He gets the credit or the blame - he has the right to tell it like it is.
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Sure he has the right, but maybe not the need.
 
I can't stand hearing him call the players "kids."

That's a term that is just lame-o. They're making big bucks, Gary. They stopped being kids a long time ago.

Coach Speak is part of the deal when you watch sports, though. Being honest can sometimes be bad, too, because a coach/player shouldn't be opening up the treasure chest of information that might eventually hurt the team in the future.
 
Goldensilence said:
"Execute" with Dom Capers

"It's on me" Gary Kubiak
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Just how dangerous was a drinking game where you take a shot every time Dom said "execute" during a presser?

"It's on me" comes off as "It's really on them. I''m placing the criticism on my shoulders because I'm just a great guy." And that somehow deflects the real criticism of the coach.

I'll just take Kubiak's words at face value.
 
Lucky said:
"It's on me" comes off as "It's really on them. I''m placing the criticism on my shoulders because I'm just a great guy." And that somehow deflects the real criticism of the coach.
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wtf.gif


I'm not even going to try to figure that one out.
 
And as far as Kubiak referring to his players as "kids" . . . I guess you have to be in Kubiak's age group in order to not take that out of context.

Kubiak is in his 50s. So am I. I look at people in their 20s, and even some in their 30s, as kids, strictly from the age difference standpoint. That's it. There's no connotation to it other than that. The amount of money they make doesn't have anything to do with it.

I guess those of you who get offended by Kubiak referring to his players as "kids" are probably in the same age group as the players. If you're fortunate enough to reach your 50s, maybe you'll look back and see how silly it was to make such a big deal out of it.

I haven't heard any players saying there were offended by him referring to them as "kids". Maybe they're a little bit more mature, who knows?
 
Marcus said:
And as far as Kubiak referring to his players as "kids" . . . I guess you have to be in Kubiak's age group in order to not take that out of context.

Kubiak is in his 50s. So am I. I look at people in their 20s, and even some in their 30s, as kids, strictly from the age difference standpoint. That's it. There's no connotation to it other than that. The amount of money they make doesn't have anything to do with it.

I guess those of you who get offended by Kubiak referring to his players as "kids" are probably in the same age group as the players. If you're fortunate enough to reach your 50s, maybe you'll look back and see how silly it was to make such a big deal out of it.

I haven't heard any players saying there were offended by him referring to them as "kids". Maybe they're a little bit more mature, who knows?
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Although I get your point (I refer to my college freshman/spohomore students as children at times), Kubiak will turn 49 in a month or so. I more prone to think that "kids" is just a pet name he picked up somewhere down the line versus a true generation gap type issue.
 
Kubes pretty much tells it like it is we didn't play four quarters of clean football so we lost that pretty much sums it up u throw int and miss fg u prob going to lose the game
 
Double Barrel said:
I think the publics attitude about "coach speak" is directly related to the success of the team. When a team sucks - or is at least consistently not good - people get tired of the same terms over and over that lack any sincerity and are solely fluff to fulfill media obligations.

However, if the team was making the playoffs, that same coach speak would probably be perceived as some sort of deep strategy to keep the other teams from knowing what's really going on.

Fans are weird that way, but I suppose an emotional connection to a franchise with absolutely no control of it's fate can do that to people.
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My friend, you have just nailed it perfectly.

A lot of us understand that coach speak exists, but we get frustrated at hearing it over and over and over again. If, as you pointed out, we were winning and heard the same thing, we would be praising the coach for his low key insight and intelligence.

And yep, having an emotional - and in some cases, financial - connection to a team with no say in how things go can drive you mad. Trust me. lol.

Great post.
 
JB said:
Sure he has the right, but maybe not the need.
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A Head Coach really doesn't have a "need" to EVER speak to anyone but his coaches and players. My point is simple, if he's GOING to talk, then speak the unvarnished truth. It wouldn't hurt MY sensibilities one iota.

MY bosses have little trouble throwing members of the staff under the bus when mistakes are made. Learning how to take criticism is part of growing up. If coach/athlete egos are THAT fragile, then this would provide a well-needed overhaul.

Maybe I'm unique, but it (coach speak) bothers me whether the team is winning OR losing. I can live with a coach saying "Hey, we played a lousy, sloppy game on both sides of the ball and got one good bounce that made the difference."
 
disaacks3 said:
A Head Coach really doesn't have a "need" to EVER speak to anyone but his coaches and players. My point is simple, if he's GOING to talk, then speak the unvarnished truth. It wouldn't hurt MY sensibilities one iota.

MY bosses have little trouble throwing members of the staff under the bus when mistakes are made. Learning how to take criticism is part of growing up. If coach/athlete egos are THAT fragile, then this would provide a well-needed overhaul.
Maybe I'm unique, but it (coach speak) bothers me whether the team is winning OR losing. I can live with a coach saying "Hey, we played a lousy, sloppy game on both sides of the ball and got one good bounce that made the difference."
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I have to take you at your word, but do your bosses really stand-up in a public forum and say we lost the Anderson account (or whatever is correct for your industry), because Diasacks screwed around on resolving a minor issue that would have taken an hour to handle? When a lot people say they want the truth, that's what they want to hear versus we played a sloppy game or made key mistake that cost us the game, which is the truth when a QB throws an INT or a DB misses a tackle. For me, this is different than a boss or coach doing it private whether that's one on one or in company only meeting.
 
Any NFL coach who would publicly throw one or more of his players under the bus after a loss . . . not only would he instantly lose his team, but more than likely end up not getting rehired as an assistant coach after he gets fired.

Dom Capers could have very easily said a whole lot more than just the word "execute", but he didn't. If he had said what the fans wanted him to say, he wouldn't have a job in the NFL now.

Facing the fans is one thing. But having to look your peers in the face is a whole lot different.
 
Marcus said:
Any NFL coach who would publicly throw one or more of his players under the bus after a loss . . . not only would he instantly lose his team, but more than likely end up not getting rehired as an assistant coach after he gets fired.

Dom Capers could have very easily said a whole lot more than just the word "execute", but he didn't. If he had said what the fans wanted him to say, he wouldn't have a job in the NFL now.

Facing the fans is one thing. But having to look your peers in the face is a whole lot different.
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Some people take it to an extreme.

You can easily honestly assess a game performance without throwing specific individuals under the bus or having an epic Jim Mora "Playoffs" rant after a game.

My problem with Gary throwing out "It's on me" constantly is it's meaningless after a while. Sure on face value it seems good and it might FEEL like he's taking personal responsibility. But, he's not. It's faking laying down on the the sword. It's faking laying yourself on the sacrificial alter.

It's like a child getting caught in the middle of doing something bad and almost immediately admitting that they were wrong, it shouldn't have happened, they know they should be punished and are willing to accept it. Truth is they are just trying to get out of trouble quickly by feigning taking responsibility.
 
Goldensilence said:
My problem with Gary throwing out "It's on me" constantly is it's meaningless after a while.
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Kubiak gets away with it because he coaches in the country's softest media market. Try that "It's on me" line in New York or Philly, and he'd get a "Yeah, we know. Now what exactly were you thinking when you allowed the clock to run to the 2 minute warning and allowing the Colts a free look at instant replay?".
 
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