Last weekend saw the Jedi vs Padawan matchup everyone was waiting for when Nick Saban stood across the field from former assistant Will Muschamp. In the end, the Jedi Master’s team crushed that of his pupil, and may have provided Muschamp with another lesson.
You may recall Muschamp’s exclamation while working the sidelines at Auburn. That celebratory moment was meant to fire up his team, and provided Muschamp a nickname that speaks to his style of coaching: brash, intimidating and emotional.
Contrast this with Nick Saban’s own F-bomb last weekend. He dropped it while doing something quite the opposite; trying to get his quarterback to control his own emotional outburst. Saban is a coach that preaches control and poise, and his team reflects this with its discipline.
After the game, there were reports of a Florida player assaulting former Alabama player Reggie Myles. Whatever the circumstances were, clearly emotion governed a player’s decision. This is the type story you don’t hear anymore about Alabama players.
It’s great to have emotion on the sidelines and on the field. But emotion should never be a team’s hallmark or what it counts on. Emotion is fleeting, while discipline remains in times of trial. When the game is on the line, a team is much better off with steady execution than emotional outbursts.
Roll Tide and looking forward to more good stuff