Tressel's tactic a shrewd solution that protects him, players, program
Friday, December 31, 2010 02:54 AM
The Columbus Dispatch
Coach Jim Tressel's solution helps the school's image while also ensuring the suspended players serve some form of penalty.
Neal C. Lauron | Dispatch
Coach Jim Tressel's solution helps the school's image while also ensuring the suspended players serve some form of penalty.
So much for Ohio State coach Jim Tressel not knowing how to draw up a creative offensive strategy. He just pulled off a masterful flanking maneuver that puts him back in charge and quiets critics who have questioned his leadership.
Tressel telling the Suspended Six underclassmen they would not be allowed to travel to the Sugar Bowl, much less play in the game, unless they promised to return next season is a stroke of strategic brilliance.
Mostly, Tressel regains some control. It could not have been a fun past week for the Senator, who must have felt helpless when the NCAA suspended five players - quarterback Terrelle Pryor, tailback Daniel Herron, wide receiver DeVier Posey, offensive tackle Mike Adams and defensive end Solomon Thomas - for the first five games of the 2011 season and linebacker Jordan Whiting for the first game. But it seems his hands were tied further when athletic director Gene Smith and Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany successfully lobbied the NCAA to keep the players eligible for Tuesday's game in New Orleans.
The overwhelming public outcry for Tressel to sit the players anyway placed him in a personal and professional predicament. Personally, the ability to lead his team was compromised. Sitting the players for one series or one quarter as a token punishment would ring hollow. Professionally, to suspend them for the entire game would undermine the work put in by his boss. That is a lose-lose for a coach who constantly searches for win-wins.
As one who is always intrigued and often impressed by Tressel's ability to turn negatives into positives, I wondered how he would turn dirty laundry into clean socks this time.
Ta-da. He presented Pryor and the others with an either/or proposition that smoothes a rough stretch of negative news. Either the players return, which would help the program while also ensuring they serve some form of penalty - even if Ohio State's appeal is successful, the five-game suspension only would be reduced and not eliminated - or they go back on their word, enter the NFL draft and become persona non grata in Columbus, where they risk losing money and status. Local radio and TV jobs don't go to turncoats. And what would an NFL team think about a player who reneges on a promise? How reliable can he be?
It's all sleight of hand, because the players' promises to return are nonbinding. Enforceable or not, Tressel's reputation in this gentleman's agreement is secure. If the players leave, it falls on them, not him. Not that Tressel wants them to suffer. Even strategists can be genuine in their sympathies, and Tressel no doubt feels for the fallen. But in this case he needed to show strength more than compassion.
Another interesting outcome of Tressel's tinkering: Two days ago, most fans thought the tainted Buckeyes would play against Arkansas. Today, we know they will. The only difference is in the degree of public outrage. Two days ago, many fans fumed that Ohio State's honor was at stake if Tressel did not sit the players for the bowl. Today, the criticism has quieted despite the players' bowl status remaining the same.
Whether reality or perception, it appears Tressel tackled the "should they play" issue by acting nobly in protecting the program, if not the six players. He even wisely made clear that this was a family decision, undertaken with the blessing of the 24 seniors who were consulted on the issue.
Few coaches are more adept than Tressel at combining a seemingly caring heart with the shrewd strategies of an elder statesman.
Friday, December 31, 2010 02:54 AM
The Columbus Dispatch
Coach Jim Tressel's solution helps the school's image while also ensuring the suspended players serve some form of penalty.
Neal C. Lauron | Dispatch
Coach Jim Tressel's solution helps the school's image while also ensuring the suspended players serve some form of penalty.
So much for Ohio State coach Jim Tressel not knowing how to draw up a creative offensive strategy. He just pulled off a masterful flanking maneuver that puts him back in charge and quiets critics who have questioned his leadership.
Tressel telling the Suspended Six underclassmen they would not be allowed to travel to the Sugar Bowl, much less play in the game, unless they promised to return next season is a stroke of strategic brilliance.
Mostly, Tressel regains some control. It could not have been a fun past week for the Senator, who must have felt helpless when the NCAA suspended five players - quarterback Terrelle Pryor, tailback Daniel Herron, wide receiver DeVier Posey, offensive tackle Mike Adams and defensive end Solomon Thomas - for the first five games of the 2011 season and linebacker Jordan Whiting for the first game. But it seems his hands were tied further when athletic director Gene Smith and Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany successfully lobbied the NCAA to keep the players eligible for Tuesday's game in New Orleans.
The overwhelming public outcry for Tressel to sit the players anyway placed him in a personal and professional predicament. Personally, the ability to lead his team was compromised. Sitting the players for one series or one quarter as a token punishment would ring hollow. Professionally, to suspend them for the entire game would undermine the work put in by his boss. That is a lose-lose for a coach who constantly searches for win-wins.
As one who is always intrigued and often impressed by Tressel's ability to turn negatives into positives, I wondered how he would turn dirty laundry into clean socks this time.
Ta-da. He presented Pryor and the others with an either/or proposition that smoothes a rough stretch of negative news. Either the players return, which would help the program while also ensuring they serve some form of penalty - even if Ohio State's appeal is successful, the five-game suspension only would be reduced and not eliminated - or they go back on their word, enter the NFL draft and become persona non grata in Columbus, where they risk losing money and status. Local radio and TV jobs don't go to turncoats. And what would an NFL team think about a player who reneges on a promise? How reliable can he be?
It's all sleight of hand, because the players' promises to return are nonbinding. Enforceable or not, Tressel's reputation in this gentleman's agreement is secure. If the players leave, it falls on them, not him. Not that Tressel wants them to suffer. Even strategists can be genuine in their sympathies, and Tressel no doubt feels for the fallen. But in this case he needed to show strength more than compassion.
Another interesting outcome of Tressel's tinkering: Two days ago, most fans thought the tainted Buckeyes would play against Arkansas. Today, we know they will. The only difference is in the degree of public outrage. Two days ago, many fans fumed that Ohio State's honor was at stake if Tressel did not sit the players for the bowl. Today, the criticism has quieted despite the players' bowl status remaining the same.
Whether reality or perception, it appears Tressel tackled the "should they play" issue by acting nobly in protecting the program, if not the six players. He even wisely made clear that this was a family decision, undertaken with the blessing of the 24 seniors who were consulted on the issue.
Few coaches are more adept than Tressel at combining a seemingly caring heart with the shrewd strategies of an elder statesman.
