Why can't one reporter at a presser ask this simple question

[Carcassdragger]

"Coach when you were first hired here, you stated that this is your last stop in your coaching career and if the fans and administration would have it, you would coach here until retirement. In light of the current rumors, would you care to reiterate that commitment to the many folks who are nervous about the possibility of your leaving?"

[Chicat]

Because you're asking a guy to professionally and personally paint himself into a corner, while either destroying his current team, destroying his prospects to advance his career, or eventually telling the entire world and his new team that he's a complete liar. I think that would be a shitty question.

[cordera89]

Unless you want him to be completely honest about that kind of commitment. I don't know if that would be true of what you just said. But if was in the same shoes as RR, I would basically just shut it up, and basically just say I'm trying to build a football program here, I'm not interested or remove my name completely. I mean Charlie Strong and James Franklin both shot down rumors of them being the possible candidate for Miami.

I don't have to follow if some reporter would ask me that type of question if I was HC of a football team. Because either it would show my true color or I made that promise that it would be my last coaching stop.

[Harvey Specter]

Because you're asking a guy to professionally and personally paint himself into a corner, while either destroying his current team, destroying his prospects to advance his career, or eventually telling the entire world and his new team that he's a complete liar. I think that would be a shitty question.

I don't care if anyone asks the question or not. We'll know what is going down in due time. But IF someone had the balls to ask it... It is completely fair game.

He offered that statement up unsolicited, of his own accord; he painted himself into a corner. He was not a 22 year old kid who might have accidentally let the excitement of the moment carry him away. If he's a complete liar, that is on him - it is not anyone else's (including some reporter's) fault; skipping the question simply affords him the embarrassment of having to do it twice. If he did not mean what he said originally , the declaration was Graham-esque.

Husker faithful thought it was a shitty question when a reporter in Lincoln asked Tom Osborne "If it was your daughter that the player in question raped, would you still have reinstated him to the team?" I though it was pointed, direct, gutsy, and good journalism.

Actual journalists are supposed to ask the tough question; coaches and celebrities have enough sycophants in tow; they don't need to add the media to their posse.

If nothing else, it would allow us to see if he truly is "comfortable being uncomfortable". Or if that is just a line too.

[Chicat]

Suppose the honest answer is, "Sometimes things change". And suppose RichRod had the balls to answer it that way.

What then? What happens to the team and program 8 games into the season?

I would agree that it's probably not a journalist's prerogative to protect the school, program, team, or players, but it is the coach's. You're asking him to burn his reputation (that he's trying to gain back) or burn his current team and boss (who gave him the opportunity to gain his reputation back).

Beyond all of that even, I'm guessing that anyone who does follow this team knows exactly how RichRod would answer that question. He'd hem and haw, and aw shucks I love this place until he was blue in the face, but he wouldn't say anything definitive either way and the rumor mill will churn on at an even higher rate.

There are other things RichRod said in those early days before he had ever coached a game, never knew what it would be like to work and recruit at Arizona, that could be asked about. He said, "I will not just coach University of Arizona football. I am going to live it. My family will live it. Everybody on our staff will live it.” A reporter could ask him if he feels like he's lived up to that promise and what that's been like.

He also said, "“I have something to prove. I don’t like it when somebody says, ‘Well, I don’t have anything to prove to anybody.’ I do. Every day, I do. And I always hope I have that. And I would expect my coaches and players to have the same attitude.” Does he feel like he's proven something to people? Does he feel like he's re-established himself as a top-flight coach and program director?

Yeah, he said "This is my final coaching stop." But no one wants to hear, "Hey, this is just a pit stop for me." I think RR is a sincere enough guy that at the time he said it he meant it, or at least he thought he did. It's pretty dumb to declare something like that when you haven't spent even one day being the coach of Arizona football, but is it really a statement that he deserves to have thrown back in his face in that manner? It seems somewhat petty and the type of stuff a jilted fan who is emotionally invested in the team would ask, not a reporter.

[Harvey Specter]

Suppose the honest answer is, "Sometimes things change". And suppose RichRod had the balls to answer it that way.

What then? What happens to the team and program 8 games into the season?

I would agree that it's probably not a journalist's prerogative to protect the school, program, team, or players, but it is the coach's. You're asking him to burn his reputation (that he's trying to gain back) or burn his current team and boss (who gave him the opportunity to gain his reputation back).

Beyond all of that even, I'm guessing that anyone who does follow this team knows exactly how RichRod would answer that question. He'd hem and haw, and aw shucks I love this place until he was blue in the face, but he wouldn't say anything definitive either way and the rumor mill will churn on at an even higher rate.

There are other things RichRod said in those early days before he had ever coached a game, never knew what it would be like to work and recruit at Arizona, that could be asked about. He said, "I will not just coach University of Arizona football. I am going to live it. My family will live it. Everybody on our staff will live it.” A reporter could ask him if he feels like he's lived up to that promise and what that's been like.

He also said, "“I have something to prove. I don’t like it when somebody says, ‘Well, I don’t have anything to prove to anybody.’ I do. Every day, I do. And I always hope I have that. And I would expect my coaches and players to have the same attitude.” Does he feel like he's proven something to people? Does he feel like he's re-established himself as a top-flight coach and program director?

Yeah, he said "This is my final coaching stop." But no one wants to hear, "Hey, this is just a pit stop for me." I think RR is a sincere enough guy that at the time he said it he meant it, or at least he thought he did. It's pretty dumb to declare something like that when you haven't spent even one day being the coach of Arizona football, but is it really a statement that he deserves to have thrown back in his face in that manner? It seems somewhat petty and the type of stuff a jilted fan who is emotionally invested in the team would ask, not a reporter.

1. My post was addressing whether or not it would be a sh*tty question from a reporter,

2. 47 year old men don't say "I want to retire here" the first time they set foot someplace because they 'think they mean it". No one asked him if "this was his final coaching stop or if it was a pit stop". He did not have to say a thing, but offered it up unsolicited. Why I am not sure... But I'd hardly call it sincere.

Maybe he wants to be loved? We'll see how loved if he feels if he scours the web to see the majority of fan responses to rumors that he might be the next head coach, including at Va Tech, 19% positive response, I believe,

I don't feel jilted, because I did not believe that gratuitous bullshit when he said it. If he leaves, he did not fool me. I guess by your measure it's cool & smart for Graham to say "This is my dream job" at every stop. Funny, I thought you railed on him along with a lot of us - but I could be wrong. (Don't fans love hearing that?)

Call me old-fashioned... I don't like people who make up shit without being asked to get people to like them or to tell them what they want to hear. I am funny that way. If I was Byrne and he said that during his interview to me, I never would have hired him because I never would have believed it.

As for "what he had to prove"... he has proven to me that he can have Arizona football at the same level Mike Stoops did for a 4 year period, but on a schedule that was accelerated by 2 seasons. Although Stoops did leave him a little more than Mackovic,

My judgement of a person's effectiveness in a job is how much better shape they leave a job/ organization than they found it. We may find out next year the answer to that question... But the cupboard is not exactly overflowing, IMO. Undersized and slow... Which are the exact complaints he registered after his first spring ball. A real difference maker...

[Gladiator Cat]

Suppose the honest answer is, "Sometimes things change". And suppose RichRod had the balls to answer it that way.

What then? What happens to the team and program 8 games into the season?

I would agree that it's probably not a journalist's prerogative to protect the school, program, team, or players, but it is the coach's. You're asking him to burn his reputation (that he's trying to gain back) or burn his current team and boss (who gave him the opportunity to gain his reputation back).

Beyond all of that even, I'm guessing that anyone who does follow this team knows exactly how RichRod would answer that question. He'd hem and haw, and aw shucks I love this place until he was blue in the face, but he wouldn't say anything definitive either way and the rumor mill will churn on at an even higher rate.

There are other things RichRod said in those early days before he had ever coached a game, never knew what it would be like to work and recruit at Arizona, that could be asked about. He said, "I will not just coach University of Arizona football. I am going to live it. My family will live it. Everybody on our staff will live it.” A reporter could ask him if he feels like he's lived up to that promise and what that's been like.

He also said, "“I have something to prove. I don’t like it when somebody says, ‘Well, I don’t have anything to prove to anybody.’ I do. Every day, I do. And I always hope I have that. And I would expect my coaches and players to have the same attitude.” Does he feel like he's proven something to people? Does he feel like he's re-established himself as a top-flight coach and program director?

Yeah, he said "This is my final coaching stop." But no one wants to hear, "Hey, this is just a pit stop for me." I think RR is a sincere enough guy that at the time he said it he meant it, or at least he thought he did. It's pretty dumb to declare something like that when you haven't spent even one day being the coach of Arizona football, but is it really a statement that he deserves to have thrown back in his face in that manner? It seems somewhat petty and the type of stuff a jilted fan who is emotionally invested in the team would ask, not a reporter.

Chicat,

that wasn't just good, that was a PHD level of "he changed his mind" misdirection, covering for what may turnout to come true and if it does, it will rightfully and clearly be classified as a lie wrapped in a special layer of chocolate BS excusing what Rich Rod said and what that statement actually meant just four short years ago.

We now have a fan-base that is so engulfed in a George Orwell matrix that even they will completely twist the meaning of standard American English in an effort to protect a potential untruth. Remember, black is white and up is down in 21st century America.

All that your wrote doesn't mean a hill of beans because if RR resigns from Arizona and excepts another job at any time in the future, he will have lied.

No amount of sugar coating or gamesmanship with words or thoughts will ever change those facts.

[azpenguin]

RichRod got a reputation as a mercenary job hopper because he left WV for Michigan. He wasn't looking to jump ship at UM (he's still chapped about not getting to finish the job there) and he tried to stay at WV and make things work - remember, he turned down Alabama the year before. The WV admin didn't live up to their promises so he left. One job change to one of the biggest jobs in America and he got labeled a job hopper. Now his name surfaces for half the jobs out there and everyone thinks he's going to jump ship because hey, that's what he does. It's not a fair reputation for him but that's what he's labeled as and he knows it. Hell, he may leave, who knows, but it's not like he's been jumping to new jobs at every opportunity like Graham.

[Chicat]

Hang tight Gladiator. I think you're misconstruing what I'm talking about. I'm answering the question of why won't a reporter ask that question, and I'm imagining the scenarios if it was asked and answered. That's it.

You accusing me of essentially having Stockholm Syndrome when it comes to RR is pretty funny and not at all true. I'm not covering for him. Nor am I twisting his words in any way, shape, or form. Do me a favor and show me the same respect and don't twist mine.

[Gladiator Cat]

Hang tight Gladiator. I think you're misconstruing what I'm talking about. I'm answering the question of why won't a reporter ask that question, and I'm imagining the scenarios if it was asked and answered. That's it.

You accusing me of essentially having Stockholm Syndrome when it comes to RR is pretty funny and not at all true. I'm not covering for him. Nor am I twisting his words in any way, shape, or form. Do me a favor and show me the same respect and don't twist mine.

OK Chi, my mistake. Sorry about that.

The reporter was the key take away as you said. Harvey does have a point though. RR doesn't get a pass from me just because things may have changed.

[Spaceman Spiff]

"Coach when you were first hired here, you stated that this is your last stop in your coaching career and if the fans and administration would have it, you would coach here until retirement. In light of the current rumors, would you care to reiterate that commitment to the many folks who are nervous about the possibility of your leaving?"

Because that isn't how the world works.

Even if you love your current job, say another company asks you to do the same thing, with potentially more room for advancement and to make a few million more per year. Anyone is going to at least consider it.

That's why the question shouldn't be asked. The true answer will always be that someone's commitment is always dependent on their options to some extent. How does RR giving that answer help anything?

[azthrillhouse]

Yeah, he said "This is my final coaching stop." But no one wants to hear, "Hey, this is just a pit stop for me." I think RR is a sincere enough guy that at the time he said it he meant it, or at least he thought he did. It's pretty dumb to declare something like that when you haven't spent even one day being the coach of Arizona football, but is it really a statement that he deserves to have thrown back in his face in that manner? It seems somewhat petty and the type of stuff a jilted fan who is emotionally invested in the team would ask, not a reporter.

This. 50% of marriages end in divorce. Does that make 50% of married people uncommitted or disingenuous? No. They meant it at the time, or thought they did. What RR said at a pep rally disguised as a press conference doesn't concern me a bit.

I personally think RR is handling the rumors perfectly, deflecting the issue without making another statement that will be thrown in his face if he decides to leave.

If RR's agent is soliciting offers & RR hasn't told him not to, or even if RR has told his agent "hey, go see what might be out there for me", I don't hold that against him at all. If nothing else, he should be gauging his market value. This type of thing is done in the business world all the time, it's just not done under the microscope of the public eye - and the business world isn't nearly as capricious and cutthroat as NCAA football coaching.

This type of stuff comes with the territory when you have a coach that is well-thought of, and I think the way RR has handled it is better than the way someone like Mora has handled it. I would rather go through the drama and have a coach that is desired by other programs than feel secure with a coach that nobody else wants.

[RazorsEdgeAZ]

Yeah, he said "This is my final coaching stop." But no one wants to hear, "Hey, this is just a pit stop for me." I think RR is a sincere enough guy that at the time he said it he meant it, or at least he thought he did. It's pretty dumb to declare something like that when you haven't spent even one day being the coach of Arizona football, but is it really a statement that he deserves to have thrown back in his face in that manner? It seems somewhat petty and the type of stuff a jilted fan who is emotionally invested in the team would ask, not a reporter.

This. 50% of marriages end in divorce. Does that make 50% of married people uncommitted or disingenuous? No. They meant it at the time, or thought they did. What RR said at a pep rally disguised as a press conference doesn't concern me a bit.

I personally think RR is handling the rumors perfectly, deflecting the issue without making another statement that will be thrown in his face if he decides to leave.

I wouldn't hold it against RR for what he said. He actually said "last HC job" on multiple occasions and even said he would sign a permanent contract to stay at AZ if State law allowed it.

I actually posted that I was glad he stopped saying that stuff publicly a year ago because of any potential ramifications coming back at him. viewtopic.php?f=9&t=455&p=32812&hilit=s ... ing#p32812

Do think he was sincere at the time. Seemed he was grateful for the opportunity. Play out that chip on his shoulder. Still hope. IF he stays (big IF), then I think he will stay for the long haul. He's also been adamant about retiring at 60-62 (also has said multiple times). Takes long time to build in your stuff at a new program.

[azthrillhouse]

[
I actually posted that I was glad he stopped saying that stuff publicly a year ago because of any potential ramifications coming back at him. viewtopic.php?f=9&t=455&p=32812&hilit=s ... ing#p32812

Good call.

P.S. there's also the thing about being asked to address rumors. I think there MIGHT have been some validity for a journalist to ask the type of question in the OP back in the days of traditional media, where the only people who had the ability to publicize rumors were professional journalists who had reputations to uphold and would only put something out there if they had sources. In today's day and age when any asshole with a keyboard and and internet connection can start a rumor (and in fact, are incentivized to do so) I don't think it's fair to ask a coach to address them unless there's overwhelming evidence (i.e. RR was spotted in Blacksburg).

[Harvey Specter]

Yeah, he said "This is my final coaching stop." But no one wants to hear, "Hey, this is just a pit stop for me." I think RR is a sincere enough guy that at the time he said it he meant it, or at least he thought he did. It's pretty dumb to declare something like that when you haven't spent even one day being the coach of Arizona football, but is it really a statement that he deserves to have thrown back in his face in that manner? It seems somewhat petty and the type of stuff a jilted fan who is emotionally invested in the team would ask, not a reporter.

This. 50% of marriages end in divorce. Does that make 50% of married people uncommitted or disingenuous? No. They meant it at the time, or thought they did. What RR said at a pep rally disguised as a press conference doesn't concern me a bit.

I personally think RR is handling the rumors perfectly, deflecting the issue without making another statement that will be thrown in his face if he decides to leave.

If RR's agent is soliciting offers & RR hasn't told him not to, or even if RR has told his agent "hey, go see what might be out there for me", I don't hold that against him at all. If nothing else, he should be gauging his market value. This type of thing is done in the business world all the time, it's just not done under the microscope of the public eye - and the business world isn't nearly as capricious and cutthroat as NCAA football coaching.

This type of stuff comes with the territory when you have a coach that is well-thought of, and I think the way RR has handled it is better than the way someone like Mora has handled it. I would rather go through the drama and have a coach that is desired by other programs than feel secure with a coach that nobody else wants.

Not so sure about that... I suppose it all depends on where you work and what you do. Coaches typically get a lot more leeway and patience than executive leaders do; never have I seen an executive in charge of a $29M operation get a '5 year rebuilding grace period' and get paid anywhere remotely in the neighborhood of ~10% of annual revenues. And someone in charge of that kind of revenue definitely does not get a long-term guaranteed contract; you need to be a lot higher on the food chain to get those kind of golden parachutes.

Although most places there is certainly not the microscope that NCAA coaches have.... and privacy is worth a great deal, undoubtedly.