Here's what I don't get.....

[Rawkhawk73]

By all accounts, Ferentz is a control freak. He brings the team to a hotel out of town the night before a game. He does not let true freshmen or redshirt freshmen talk to the media. He doesn't release anything of substance regarding injuries. Anything that can give his team an edge, get them focused and keep them focused, he controls.

Now, there's nothing wrong with that. In fact, I prefer that to the opposite (i.e. most SEC coaches). We are THE team in the state and as we've seen over the last few days, what happens in the 319 reverberates througout the entire state.

Given all that.....it still just boggles my mind that he had no knowlege that the biggest star and most popular player on his team was living in a drug house with an individual that had prior arrests and convictions on drug charges. We're not talking about the 4th string long-snapper here. We're talking about a guy that was not only a record-setting player, but one that spent the better part of 5 years in the doghouse.

It's just hard for me to reconcile how he runs and controls his program and then something as basic as where your star players are living and who they are living with seem to escape him. Maybe it's the NFL guy in him that assumes players have the maturity level to handle those decisions, I don't know. But given his lack of knowledge concerning where players were living when the Everson/Satterfield saga occured and now his lack of knowlege concerning DJK and his living arrangements, it might be time to take a more pro-active approach with players' living arrangements.

 

[tm3308]

1. DJK had lived in that house for 3 years, with no problems. I can see how the coaches may not have been as stringent with him about that.

2. The stuff about bringing the players to a hotel, even before home games? That's pretty common practice in BCS conferences.

 

[Iowafarmgirl]

Guys in prison are watched non-stop, their living quarters are searched regularly, any visitor they have is screened, as is any thing delivered to them. Yet they still get drugs. Kids with over-bearing parents with no respect for boundrys can get drugs.

The point is, there is no possible way for an authority figure to be omnipitent in these matters.

And how is knowing where your star player is living a "basic" in running a football team?

 

[Rawkhawk73]

Guys in prison are watched non-stop, their living quarters are searched regularly, any visitor they have is screened, as is any thing delivered to them. Yet they still get drugs. Kids with over-bearing parents with no respect for boundrys can get drugs.

The point is, there is no possible way for an authority figure to be omnipitent in these matters.

And how is knowing where your star player is living a "basic" in running a football team?

I would agree with you if were were talking about 1980 and the average football coach was making about $75k/year. Nowadays, with football coaches making several million dollars and overseeing programs that fund entire athletic departments, the days of saying "That's not a football coach's responsibility" are over. Rightly or wrongly, the coach is the face of the program and what happens on his watch will ultimately come back to him. Nowadays, you aren't just coaching players in practices or games, you are building the team and school's brand, you are responsible for the financial viability of an entire athletic department. Take a look at what happened to North Carolina. It only takes one knucklehead or a small contingent of knuckleheads to disable a program. Knowing that, these coaches are going to have to be more diligent than ever. If that means setting ground rules for living arrangements, so be it.

 

[OnLookin08]

There has to be some point that a coaches responsibility stops and the players begins. I feel like this is the trend of society these days, but at some point people need to be accountable for themselves and not push the blame to someone else. The guy is 23 years old, not a freshman any more. He made is bed, and he'll have to lay in the crap stained sheets for a while now.

The easiest way is to understand this I think is to apply it to your job. If I, as a teacher, decide to off and slap some kid is my principal responsible for it because he is the face of the school? Should he have seen it coming because in the past I've been late to school a few times and have found myself in the doghouse for something unrelated?

It's called accountability. I wish more people would learn about it. On a personal level, I really wish parents would learn more about it. No, it's not my fault your kid is lazy and didn't turn his stuff in.

 

[OnLookin08]

Also, this thread title reminds me of a Billy Madison quote:

Whoa, whoa, whoa, Ms. Lippy! The part in the story I don’t like is that the little boy gave up looking for Happy after an hour. He didn’t put posters up or anything, he just sat on the porch like a goon and waited. That little boy’s gotta think: ‘You got a pet. You got a responsibility.’ If your dog is lost, you don’t look for an hour then call it quits; you get your @SS out there and you find that F******’ dog!

 

[clicheusername3]

Also, this thread title reminds me of a Billy Madison quote:

Whoa, whoa, whoa, Ms. Lippy! The part in the story I don’t like is that the little boy gave up looking for Happy after an hour. He didn’t put posters up or anything, he just sat on the porch like a goon and waited. That little boy’s gotta think: ‘You got a pet. You got a responsibility.’ If your dog is lost, you don’t look for an hour then call it quits; you get your @SS out there and you find that F******’ dog!

all the people at the zoo are very nice penguin

 

[HawkeyeNTexas]

If you have never seen the movie Idiocracy, watch it. That is the future of America.

 

[AHawk1]

Let me ask you this. If your son goes away to college and lives with a well dressed, well mannered kid who comes from a very good home and has successful parents are you going to do a back round check on that person?

 

[clicheusername3]

Let me ask you this. If your son goes away to college and lives with a well dressed, well mannered kid who comes from a very good home and has successful parents are you going to do a back round check on that person?

My dad would google them if they weren't one of my homies.

 

[imported_ankle23]

My dad would google them if they weren't one of my homies.

what if you didn't want your dad do know who you were living with?

 

[Warhawks77]

When i went to college to play basketball, we didn't get the choice to live were we wanted. Our coach assigned living quarters, it was an appartment complex off campus and all of the players roomed with other players. I do know that anything that happened that got a player in legal trouble was automatic suspension and possibly even removal from the team.

 

[AIRHAWK]

Let me ask you this. If your son goes away to college and lives with a well dressed, well mannered kid who comes from a very good home and has successful parents are you going to do a back round check on that person?

One of my favorites:
You look lovely today Mrs. Clever

 

[clicheusername3]

what if you didn't want your dad do know who you were living with?

I'm not getting your question.

 

[imported_ankle23]

I'm not getting your question.

everyone is saying how KF should have known who DJK was living with. Who knows, maybe he should have. Or could have. What if you wanted to live with someone you knew your parents would not approve of? Do you think you could swing it without them knowing? You could give your Dad any name for him to google. Use your answer here and apply it to a 115 man football team.

 

[azhawkphan]

I would agree with you if were were talking about 1980 and the average football coach was making about $75k/year. Nowadays, with football coaches making several million dollars and overseeing programs that fund entire athletic departments, the days of saying "That's not a football coach's responsibility" are over. Rightly or wrongly, the coach is the face of the program and what happens on his watch will ultimately come back to him. Nowadays, you aren't just coaching players in practices or games, you are building the team and school's brand, you are responsible for the financial viability of an entire athletic department. Take a look at what happened to North Carolina. It only takes one knucklehead or a small contingent of knuckleheads to disable a program. Knowing that, these coaches are going to have to be more diligent than ever. If that means setting ground rules for living arrangements, so be it.

1.) Was the "roommate" on the lease? I assume the DJK "roommate" was in this case, but I guess Gary/Kirk need a new fund for the "Private Detective". Sheltering football players from life even college life is not in their (coach's/player's) best interest. DJK's teammates (at least the one's who knew who he was living with), let DJK down. Not Kirk/Gary.
2.) Where does the controlling of players lives end? At some point you have to trust 22/23 year old ADULTS to make sound decisions. How does one learn to make decisions if they are already made for them, you know prepare for life?
3.) "Danny, Is this Russia? This isn't Russia, is it?

 

[ForeverHawk]

By all accounts, Ferentz is a control freak. He brings the team to a hotel out of town the night before a game. He does not let true freshmen or redshirt freshmen talk to the media. He doesn't release anything of substance regarding injuries. Anything that can give his team an edge, get them focused and keep them focused, he controls.

Now, there's nothing wrong with that. In fact, I prefer that to the opposite (i.e. most SEC coaches). We are THE team in the state and as we've seen over the last few days, what happens in the 319 reverberates througout the entire state.

Given all that.....it still just boggles my mind that he had no knowlege that the biggest star and most popular player on his team was living in a drug house with an individual that had prior arrests and convictions on drug charges. We're not talking about the 4th string long-snapper here. We're talking about a guy that was not only a record-setting player, but one that spent the better part of 5 years in the doghouse.

It's just hard for me to reconcile how he runs and controls his program and then something as basic as where your star players are living and who they are living with seem to escape him. Maybe it's the NFL guy in him that assumes players have the maturity level to handle those decisions, I don't know. But given his lack of knowledge concerning where players were living when the Everson/Satterfield saga occured and now his lack of knowlege concerning DJK and his living arrangements, it might be time to take a more pro-active approach with players' living arrangements.

You lived under the same roof as your parents as a teenager I am guessing? Did they always know what you were doing at all times? I for sure know that mine did not! If your own parents don't know, why should we expect a coach to know everything about 115 football players?

 

[olivecourt]

1.)
3.) "Danny, Is this Russia? This isn't Russia, is it?

Hardest I've laughed all day. Thanks.

 

[clicheusername3]

everyone is saying how KF should have known who DJK was living with. Who knows, maybe he should have. Or could have. What if you wanted to live with someone you knew your parents would not approve of? Do you think you could swing it without them knowing? You could give your Dad any name for him to google. Use your answer here and apply it to a 115 man football team.

In my situation in college no. My dad would want to see the lease to make sure I wasn't getting screwed (in the lease which would name the tenants). In DJK's situation I actually think it would be easier to hide it from my parents than my football coach or someone that could relay the information to my coach however.

What I was getting that in this day and age it is so easy to find things out, especially on people with records, that not doing the 10 seconds of work to dig in to this a little bit deeper could have saved everyone a lot of trouble. So in your example of 115 people that would be (115X10 seconds=1,550 second or about 20 minutes). If there isn't a GA or TM that couldn't spare 20 minutes to do this at the beginning of the school year then that is pretty sad.

At today's press conference KF said more than once something to the effect of part of his job is to shape or direct young people's lives. He failed in this case.

 

[imported_ankle23]

In my situation in college no. My dad would want to see the lease to make sure I wasn't getting screwed (in the lease which would name the tenants). In DJK's situation I actually think it would be easier to hide it from my parents than my football coach or someone that could relay the information to my coach however.

What I was getting that in this day and age it is so easy to find things out, especially on people with records, that not doing the 10 seconds of work to dig in to this a little bit deeper could have saved everyone a lot of trouble. So in your example of 115 people that would be (115X10 seconds=1,550 second or about 20 minutes). If there isn't a GA or TM that couldn't spare 20 minutes to do this at the beginning of the school year then that is pretty sad.

At today's press conference KF said more than once something to the effect of part of his job is to shape or direct young people's lives. He failed in this case.

Lease? come on, be creative. a person can live in a place without a lease, without the landlord or anyone knowing. my gf lived with me, in a house i lived in. she had her own lease at an apt. with roommates, i had mine with roommates. she lived with me. her parents never knew and visited often. easy to do in djks instance, especially if he rented a house. he could rent it all by himself, and have a roommate off-lease.