Substance over style

Tommy Bowden never really preoccupied himself with what people said about his style.

He was criticized for being arrogant and aloof because of his unwillingness to really open up when the microphones were on. As he revealed in the excellent interview Cris conducted with him over the summer, he always had his guard up in the public eye because he didn't want his team to see him show weakness.

I have said before that it was unfortunate, because Clemson fans never really got to see much of his passion for winning, nor his love of Clemson (and I'm convinced he had both, in abundant measure). Clemson is just a different kind of job because Clemson people want to be able to embrace their coach. And Bowden was never all that embraceable.

But his public persona had zero influence on his success or failure as a coach, and he recognized that.

"My job is about two things," he would say. "Wins. And losses. That's it."

It might sound kind of cold, but it's the truth. Wins and losses have a tremendous effect on the perception of a coach and his methods, and we see that everywhere.

Nick Saban draws admiration from a lot of people (including yours truly) for his no-nonsense form of leadership. The YouTube video of his post-game press conference following the 2008 beatdown of Clemson, posted yesterday on the board, is a true classic.

Just minutes after a huge win that helped turn his program from mediocre to great, Saban went off on a reporter who dared to ask what the win meant in a broader context. Saban wanted to send a message to his players not to celebrate too much, that it was just one game.

Everyone laps this stuff up when a coach is winning big. But Saban's methods are a 7-win season away from being derided as a detriment. If the Crimson Tide slipped -- and at this point they're a looooong way from having to deal with that -- Saban would be criticized for being out of touch with his players. He's too strict, never has fun, to much of a dictator, bla bla bla.

Les Miles does all sorts of crazy stuff and is definitely ... um ... out there. But if he weren't winning big, the eating grass and the zany one-liners would be used as ammunition to run the guy out of Baton Rouge. Yet his team is pretty darned fantastic, and as a direct result his quirks are endearing.

I wonder if Mark Richt still has the passion necessary for his position. I wonder if he might be ready to walk off into the sunset and start fulfilling his spiritual obligations on a full-time basis.

But you know what? I could be way off-base on that. Because not long ago, when Richt was winning SEC titles and crafting an amazing road record in SEC games, his calm and reserved nature was regarded as a strength. It was regarded as a major part of his team's ability to keep its cool and pull out close games in hostile environments. Now his reserved nature is automatically evidence of a lack of passion, and reason enough to run the guy out of town. But if the Bulldogs keep winning and claim the SEC East, just watch: It'll go back in the other direction. Today's weaknesses will suddenly be essential ingredients to winning.

I did interviews with about 10 radio shows across the country last week, and often some of the questions centered on Dabo Swinney's passion and enthusiasm. They asked me how important it was that he relates to his players, and how jacked up they get when they see their coach wearing his emotions on his sleeve.

Had the Tigers started 2-3 instead of 5-0, I'd be getting questions about a hot-seat coach being in over his head and not knowing how to control his emotions. His methods would be cited as evidence of a rudderless program with no substance.

Bottom line to all this is, there are many different ways to lead. There's no boilerplate. Saban's way is not "the way" any more than Swinney's way.

The substance is infinitely more important than the style. And the substance is in the win-loss column.

Bowden was right: Wins and losses. Nothing else matters.

LW