Around the 'Shoe

Just got done watching Luke's portion -- you can tell he's picking up interview habits of Meyer (which in my opinion is good) -- last year he was trying to be Jim Tressel up in front of the cameras and microphones and this year you could tell he was much more blunt and straightforward with his answers. It was a lot more fun listening to his interview.

Edit: Wanted to add Tom Herman is great to listen to also. Gives lots of honest, direct answers that really helps the fans understand what's going on with each player. Really looking forward to seeing these guys coach this season. Wonder how long Fickell & Herman will be here before they move on to head coach jobs.

No that's not what I said or implied.

I said "you can tell he's picking up interview habits of Meyer (which in my opinion is good)".

IMO we really don't know what Fickell's interview style is yet because we've seen him emulate the two head coaches he's worked for so far. Last year I felt like he tried to be Jim Tressel in interviews. This year I think he's learning from Meyer that you don't have to be as guarded and it's ok to answer the questions you're asked. When worded properly, your responses can praise your team, and also light a fire under certain players who need to step up without going over the line.

Now that he's being given more control with regard to coordinating the defense, he will be interviewed more often than he was before 2011 and it will be interesting to see if he stays with a more direct approach as he did in yesterday's interview or if when he's on his own as a head coach, he reverts back to a more guarded approach, or maybe something in between. Time will tell, but I like how things are going and I think Fickell learning from Meyer is good in every category.

I think fick has some work to do. withers, too. last year's debacle isn't going to inspire anyone to put their names at the top of a head coach search list. it wasn't entirely fick's fault but he also didn't do anything to make a bad situation better. meyer saved their asses and if they stick around 3-4 years and becomes the co-architects of the best defense in the country, they'll get their shot again.

with herman, time will tell. i think he's more a glorified qbc than oc right now because it's urban's offense. but gawd knows he's still 100x better oc than bollman ever was and a better qbc than siciliano could ever hope to be.

+8000

I would have been in Fick's corner had he snapped the clipboard over his leg, thrown the clipboard 50 yards, or peeled Bollman's moustache off. The lack of emotion fueled my fire, while simultaneously raising my blood pressure for games. I understand that not every coach is an in your face type of guy. I respect that. Please, just show me a little something, especially when I am considering throwing a 52" tv through a glass door.