Ohio State coach Jim Tressel and Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio. / RASHAUN RUCKER/DFP
EAST LANSING -- The aftershocks of the Jim Tressel mess at Ohio State extend as far as Michigan State. Tressel's supposedly self-imposed five-game suspension for conduct detrimental to NCAA protocol means he'll miss the Buckeyes' Big Ten opener against the Spartans on Oct. 1.
That's a crucial game in Michigan State's defense of its first Big Ten championship in 20 years.
But the Tressel controversy hits MSU coach Mark Dantonio much closer than it does others because of the pair's longtime relationship.
"Like many people out there, I was saddened by all of it," Dantonio said Monday. "I'm not qualified to speak on those things."
But he has a better insight on the man than most. He was Tressel's defensive coordinator during the Buckeyes' 2002 national championship season. When he assumed the reins of the MSU program five years ago, he pointed to that tutelage under Tressel as one of the principal foundations of his coaching philosophy. The ties between the two are so strong that Dantonio hired Mike Tressel, Tressel's nephew, as one of his assistants.
"He remains a good friend of mine," Dantonio said. "I think of him as a very good friend who's been very important in my life and my progress as a coach and a person. We'll see what happens."
Dantonio said he has spoken with Tressel since the scandal involving players improperly selling team memorabilia last spring erupted this month, but wouldn't offer a sense of what Tressel's going through emotionally.
"That's why we have private conversations," he said.
Dantonio told me following Monday's news conference that it was important that everyone allow this story to fully play itself out before rendering a final judgment. He's correct in that: Sometimes, the truth lies somewhere between the paucity of facts revealed and the tsunami of public opinion.
Dantonio might not openly admit it, but privately he must concede that Tressel's actions -- whatever his intentions -- made it much harder for every other college head coach. It's imperative that the coach, the parent in this relationship, adhere to a higher standard of conduct than the player, because coaches are more experienced and less likely to react impulsively. It has been long understood that as tirelessly as coaches explain the NCAA's rules and consequences to their teams, players will still test the boundaries. There is no remedy for such temerity. That's why there's more attention devoted to the coach's response to the offense than to the act itself.
That's why Tressel stews in his own hot water.
Dantonio hasn't dealt with anything relating to NCAA transgressions, but he understands the job of a major college coach today requires judge's robes as much as it does a coach's whistle. His judgment in policing the wrongs of his players receives as much attention as his third-down play-calling.
Dantonio said linebacker Max Bullough and tight end Brian Linthicum would miss the first two spring practices as well as other internal sanctions for their recent arrests in Aspen, Colo., on misdemeanor charges.
He also said tight end Dion Sims, who pleaded guilty in October to one felony count of receiving and concealing stolen property stemming from a laptop theft ring, was reinstated for spring practice. Sims received one year of probation.
Dantonio is like every other coach in this predicament. He's asking everyone to trust him that he knows more about the specifics than everybody else and that he'll do the right thing.
But Tressel's stupidity makes it harder to believe any coach again.
SOURCE: http://www.freep.com/article/20110329/COL08/103290417/0/ENT07/Drew-Sharp-Tressel-s-stupidity-damages-close-friend-Dantonio?odyssey=nav|head
That's a crucial game in Michigan State's defense of its first Big Ten championship in 20 years.
But the Tressel controversy hits MSU coach Mark Dantonio much closer than it does others because of the pair's longtime relationship.
"Like many people out there, I was saddened by all of it," Dantonio said Monday. "I'm not qualified to speak on those things."
But he has a better insight on the man than most. He was Tressel's defensive coordinator during the Buckeyes' 2002 national championship season. When he assumed the reins of the MSU program five years ago, he pointed to that tutelage under Tressel as one of the principal foundations of his coaching philosophy. The ties between the two are so strong that Dantonio hired Mike Tressel, Tressel's nephew, as one of his assistants.
"He remains a good friend of mine," Dantonio said. "I think of him as a very good friend who's been very important in my life and my progress as a coach and a person. We'll see what happens."
Dantonio said he has spoken with Tressel since the scandal involving players improperly selling team memorabilia last spring erupted this month, but wouldn't offer a sense of what Tressel's going through emotionally.
"That's why we have private conversations," he said.
Dantonio told me following Monday's news conference that it was important that everyone allow this story to fully play itself out before rendering a final judgment. He's correct in that: Sometimes, the truth lies somewhere between the paucity of facts revealed and the tsunami of public opinion.
Dantonio might not openly admit it, but privately he must concede that Tressel's actions -- whatever his intentions -- made it much harder for every other college head coach. It's imperative that the coach, the parent in this relationship, adhere to a higher standard of conduct than the player, because coaches are more experienced and less likely to react impulsively. It has been long understood that as tirelessly as coaches explain the NCAA's rules and consequences to their teams, players will still test the boundaries. There is no remedy for such temerity. That's why there's more attention devoted to the coach's response to the offense than to the act itself.
That's why Tressel stews in his own hot water.
Dantonio hasn't dealt with anything relating to NCAA transgressions, but he understands the job of a major college coach today requires judge's robes as much as it does a coach's whistle. His judgment in policing the wrongs of his players receives as much attention as his third-down play-calling.
Dantonio said linebacker Max Bullough and tight end Brian Linthicum would miss the first two spring practices as well as other internal sanctions for their recent arrests in Aspen, Colo., on misdemeanor charges.
He also said tight end Dion Sims, who pleaded guilty in October to one felony count of receiving and concealing stolen property stemming from a laptop theft ring, was reinstated for spring practice. Sims received one year of probation.
Dantonio is like every other coach in this predicament. He's asking everyone to trust him that he knows more about the specifics than everybody else and that he'll do the right thing.
But Tressel's stupidity makes it harder to believe any coach again.
SOURCE: http://www.freep.com/article/20110329/COL08/103290417/0/ENT07/Drew-Sharp-Tressel-s-stupidity-damages-close-friend-Dantonio?odyssey=nav|head
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario