Culture is vastly overrated

[Palatine]

The best team in the NFL has one of the most toxic cultures in the league. The QB, head coach and owner don't agree on anything. They are constantly at odds both privately and publicly. The reason for their greatness is a brilliant head coach who constantly manipulates players and tosses them away with little regard.

Belichick is the blueprint for football success on both the NFL and college level. Screw culture, what a team needs is dictatorical bully. The great ones, Lombardi, Parcells, Halas, Jimmy Johnson all fit the mold. Bear Bryant, Woody Hayes, Urban Meyer, even Saban are all tough SOBs. If you want to describe them in a phrase it's "My way or the highway."

How about college hoops? Calhoun, Bobby Knight, Pitino, Calipari (as if Calipari ever has players long enough to instill a culture), even the foul mouthed Coach K is a tough little dictator. What passes for "culture" is doing what the coach wants, when he wants or else. Period. And if you dont like it "Shut Up!"

You can find some exceptions, So what. Coming into a program and changing the culture is an exercise in uselessness. The great ones come into a program, and take over. They know how to motivate the kids, they know how to teach the kids what they know, and they know how to win.

Win and you can spew any nonsense you like. Win and you don't have to give a damn about the press. If you win you don't need to spend years talking about changing the culture, no on will care.

You can mumble like Belichick. Piss off your QB. Ignore your owner. Mistreat and insult your players. Ignore the media. Demand more money. Hate the donors. Break rules. All you have to do is be a brilliant football coach that knows how to win. And they will love you for it. Some will even write stories about your wonderful culture.

 

[UConnJim]

I totally disagree with your post. First, the Patriots have a very strong culture. It's all about championships and winning and that is what unifies Kraft, Bellichick, and Brady. Heck, Brady is underpaid because the Patriots need the money to use on the roster to compete every year. Typically, when a player is past his prime, the Patriots move on as they are not going to overpay based on past performance. That is the Patriot way.

At the top programs in college football, a new coach can come in and turn the program around relatively quickly because they usually have a roster of top recruits that need different coaching or schemes. At UConn, the key to success is developing players. Players must work hard to improve their strength and speed and that is up to the players and the culture on the team. The veteran players must lead the younger players in showing them how to work and behave. Right now, UConn does not have strong veteran leadership.

 

[uconndogs]

I don't understand the OP. All those organizations have a culture and that culture contributes to their success. It may not be a culture you like or condone, but they have a culture. As for the Patriots, Bellichick has absolutely built a culture around professional responsibility and execution. That culture certainly doesn't emphasis loyalty, but that doesn't mean there is not a strong culture.

 

[Stainmaster]

The program should model itself after the New England Patriots. Absolutely brilliant, Pal.

 

[Palatine]

I don't understand the OP. All those organizations have a culture and that culture contributes to their success. It may not be a culture you like or condone, but they have a culture. As for the Patriots, Bellichick has absolutely built a culture around professional responsibility and execution. That culture certainly doesn't emphasis loyalty, but that doesn't mean there is not a strong culture.

built a culture around professional responsibility and execution.

That's not culture, it is the result of top down demands by Belichick. He has total power and exercises it ruthlessly. He defines your job. It is the decree one very brilliant football coach. It a culture of one. Do what he says or you go.

Culture is the social behavior and norms that bind a group or society together. If you thinking trying not to run afoul of Belichick is a culture, fine. But it's really not. It's behavior.

 

[Excalibur]

Pal is so out of touch with what drives successful organizations that I probably shouldn't bother with a response, but I'll try to do so briefly

Culture absolutely matters. A strong culture drives engagement and motivation. The Billy Martin Yankees are the only example I can recall of a sports organization that succeeded with a truly poisonous culture. The Patriots are an awful example, and two seconds of critical thinking should reveal that in their case, an extremely strong culture is able to overcome personal conflict.

There is a threshold level of competence that is still required, and we lack that, both at the employee (player) and management (coach) level.

 

[Palatine]

The program should model itself after the New England Patriots. Absolutely brilliant, Pal.

Read the whole post not just the first word. You can do, sound out the words.

 

[polycom]

Horrible post and Pal name a more iconic duo...

 

[uconndogs]

built a culture around professional responsibility and execution.

............ It's behavior.

huh????? You lost me. That's fine. Best I go back to work than..............never mind.

 

[TRest]

Horrible post and Pal name a more iconic duo...

I'm convinced he's paid to stir the pot and get threads going. He magically appears a day or two after every football or basketball loss with a hot take everyone can rally against.

 

[Carl Spackler]

Pal is so out of touch with what drives successful organizations that I probably shouldn't bother with a response, but I'll try to do so briefly

Culture absolutely matters. A strong culture drives engagement and motivation. The Billy Martin Yankees are the only example I can recall of a sports organization that succeeded with a truly poisonous culture. The Patriots are an awful example, and two seconds of critical thinking should reveal that in their case, an extremely strong culture is able to overcome personal conflict.

There is a threshold level of competence that is still required, and we lack that, both at the employee (player) and management (coach) level.

LOL. The Oakland Raiders? The Jimmy Johnson Dallas Cowboys? The early 1980's SMU Mustangs?

I'm so sick of this attitude expressed in this post, and while the OP is often misguided and flat out wrong - his post is spot in. Leadership is top down, and rugged individualism is far more the dare I say - American - way to go about things than collectivism attitudes about culture.

This is why I don't care to hear, see, or read anything from Randy Edsall. His job is to teach blocking and tackling and game planning as of now.

The leadership needs to be coming from above in the chain (and above the AD is what I'm referring to.) The model the school wants to build and project for student athletes and academics and focus on football.

I would wager a lot of $, that you can assemble a football team out of inner city kids just from Connecticut that would be able to not just compete, but succeed in the AAC conference. Never mind the kids that can be found in the cities we are now part of traveling conference.

They're not qualifying for entry into a state school that has some cockamaymie image of being an Ivy.

But if the collectivism education George S. Counts academia administrators of northeast USA world really wants to provide and education and change the world, they'll find a way to get these kids enrolled, and get them an educations.

 

[polycom]

I'm convinced he's paid to stir the pot and get threads going. He magically appears a day or two after every football or basketball loss with a hot take everyone can rally against.

I'm starting to think Tom has a few of these pot stirrers around..

 

[buddy]

The program should model itself after the New England Patriots. Absolutely brilliant, Pal.

Didn't the Patriots deflate the ball? That would be helpful to a QB with small hands for passing downfield!

 

[phillionaire]

That's why I always go for diplomatic victory whenever I play Civ

 

[minidarren]

I totally disagree with your post. First, the Patriots have a very strong culture. It's all about championships and winning and that is what unifies Kraft, Bellichick, and Brady. Heck, Brady is underpaid because the Patriots need the money to use on the roster to compete every year. Typically, when a player is past his prime, the Patriots move on as they are not going to overpay based on past performance. That is the Patriot way.

At the top programs in college football, a new coach can come in and turn the program around relatively quickly because they usually have a roster of top recruits that need different coaching or schemes. At UConn, the key to success is developing players. Players must work hard to improve their strength and speed and that is up to the players and the culture on the team. The veteran players must lead the younger players in showing them how to work and behave. Right now, UConn does not have strong veteran leadership.

Do you have a link to his first post? I often wonder what post #1 of #18,834 looked like.

 

[Stainmaster]

Didn't the Patriots deflate the ball? That would be helpful to a QB with small hands for passing downfield!

The Patriots did nothing wrong.

 

[RSTuthill]

Guessing the emphasis on culture is an outgrowth of trying to herd 90 millenials every day. Nothing more. That said, I do agree with the OP. Sometimes being a fear mongering dictator is the only way.

 

[crazyUCfan23]

LOL. The Oakland Raiders? The Jimmy Johnson Dallas Cowboys? The early 1980's SMU Mustangs?

I'm so sick of this attitude expressed in this post, and while the OP is often misguided and flat out wrong - his post is spot in. Leadership is top down, and rugged individualism is far more the dare I say - American - way to go about things than collectivism attitudes about culture.

This is why I don't care to hear, see, or read anything from Randy Edsall. His job is to teach blocking and tackling and game planning as of now.

The leadership needs to be coming from above in the chain (and above the AD is what I'm referring to.) The model the school wants to build and project for student athletes and academics and focus on football.

I would wager a lot of $, that you can assemble a football team out of inner city kids just from Connecticut that would be able to not just compete, but succeed in the AAC conference. Never mind the kids that can be found in the cities we are now part of traveling conference.

They're not qualifying for entry into a state school that has some cockamaymie image of being an Ivy.

But if the collectivism education George S. Counts academia administrators of northeast USA world really wants to provide and education and change the world, they'll find a way to get these kids enrolled, and get them an educations.

I hope your speaking in hyperbole here, but I would wager a lot of $ that you absolutely cannot assemble a competitive football team in the AAC comprised strictly of "inner city kids from Connecticut." Here are the records of "inner city schools in CT" this year: Class LL: New Britain (6-1), East Hartford (6-1), Danbury (4-3), West Haven (3-3), Norwalk (3-4), Wilbur Cross (3-4), Hamden (2-5), Brien McMahon (2-5), Stamford (1-6), Westhill (1-6), Bridgeport Central (0-7) The only schools here I would consider "inner city" are East Hartford, New Britain, Wilbur Cross, and the two Stamford Schools, and Bridgeport Class L: Maloney (6-1), Platt (6-1), Bristol Central (4-3), New London (3-3), Harding (3-4), Hartford Public (1-6), Bassick (0-7), Crosby (0-7) Class M: SMSA Co-op (3-4), Hillhouse (2-5), Bukely Co-op (0-7), CREC Co-op (1-6), Class S: Bloomfield (7-0), Windham (4-2), Capital Prep/Achievement (1-5)

Are there some good inner city schools? Sure. But most of the football talent in CT exists at the more affluent schools in the FCIAC (Darien, New Canaan, Ridgefield, St. Joes).

 

[Nostical]

Speaking of culture, I’ll take the Herm Edwards approach. I’m sitting in the Phoenix airport and all the old naysayers are now high on Herm and ASU. The man can lead and can coach. And he throws the ball when it rains.

 

[kemba]

Hard to find a worse example to prove the point "culture doesn't matter" than the Patriots.

 

[HuskiesFan1014]

I was surprised at this post.

Then I let go of the whole Patriots thing and read it again as "kids sometimes need a mean dad." I kind of get it. We've heard about changing culture and the monster under the bed and making Alfredo and thought we were over that. Now it's back to changing culture again and look where we are. The blame game.

We need a coach that makes tough decisions, demands more from his players than they believe they can give, and if comparing a Belichick to the coaching we've had over the past 8 years is Pal's example, so be it. Maybe tough love would do the job more efficiently than changing culture and blaming small hands and lack of execution week after week.

If a guy like Belichick seemingly mailed it in like we saw last week, playing not to lose instead of to win, would he make a statement like "we just didn't finish the game out at the end" or would he own the loss? Blame small hands? Lack of execution, again?

I've always like Randy (except for a short time after his desertion) and expected more from him.

Change admission requirements. Get some less-intelligent, more athletic kids and coach them hard. Demand more from them, demand more from your coaches, demand attention to technique, and maybe be a mean Dad once in a while. Maybe we start watching what used to look like UConn football.

 

[Nostical]

Change admission requirements. Get some less-intelligent, more athletic kids.

That ain’t happening nor should it.

 

[crazyUCfan23]

That ain’t happening nor should it.

So all of BC's football players meet the academic requirements of the general student population?

 

[ZooCougar]

Culture needs player buy in and player leadership to enforce.....

 

[junglehusky]

You could have saved a lot of keystrokes by saying Randy isn't winning fast enough for your liking.