Inspiration of Macho Tough Guy Coaches vs. Strategists/Tacticians

Dec 5, 2024, 11:20 AM

Lots of talk on the board about Wes Goodwin vs. Brent Venables. Funny thing I was starter in Single A-level high school football in VA in late 70's. We went undefeated my junior year and 6-3 senior year. Played on three youth league teams that never lost a game - many of those players went on to play for AAA/AAAA (at time) state champion Hampton High School and some for Va Tech/others.

Some of the grandma and aunt types asked me if I played for Clemson. LOL at 5'11-1/2" 175 lbs and certainly not 4.5-4.6 speed. Made a good fan for some great Ford teams. And enjoyed working out in the Dungeon and playing hoops vs Clemson girl hoopsters and intramurals down at Fike.

Anyway, with that background, I appreciate something universal at all levels of coaching as most former football players do. You have the tough and somewhat scary coaches you fear & admire (e.g. Danny Ford, Brent Venables); you have pure analysts & strategists (e.g. Wes Goodwin) who know and love the game but do not truly inspire the players.

Dabo is a hybrid, a former selfless & average player, who grew into a highly intelligent and relentless coach/motivator/recruiter/planner/organizer and once very hungry head coach.

But back to the message of this post. Wes Goodwin for all his analytical strengths & photographic recall, will never be a Brent Venables/Danny Ford-type leader. Players and analyst coaches back the leader. Leaders backing analysts is a rare phenomena though no doubt it exists somewhere. So go Tigers and remember, it once took Dabo five years to decode Spurrier. When he did, the rest was history. So as B-level as recent teams & seasons have been, Dabo has the ability and spark to emerge and win at the highest level. I'm a bad example of a patient fan or person, but trust Dabo to adjust & recalibrate.