Toxic Environment?

[Root4GT]

None of us have a clue to the environment for coaches at GT. Coaches will come and go. That’s what happens in the life of a football coach.

 

[Oldgoldandwhite]

Over the years I’ve heard Saban, Daye, Dooley, Meyer, O’Leary, Kelly, and a whole bunch of others are hard to work for. I’d hate to be in charge of that big of an organization.

 

[RonJohn]

Exactly. I think of it like this; would you rather your boss be demanding and require the very best out of you so that the program as a whole gets better, or have a boss who cuts up and laughs all the time without focusing on things that matter, and your program goes to crap? Do I like being pushed out of my comfort zone at times? No, but it makes me a better person and better employee because I find out that I can do things I didn't think I could do.

Again, as long as he isn't harming someone physically, mentally, or emotionally, I'm fine with him being very demanding.

And from what I have seen, a boss who is very clear in expectations and is demanding is very likely to give you the support you need and have your back if there are issues. A boss who is vague is less likely to provide the support you need and more likely to turn on you as soon as there are any issues. That is a very gerneralized and probably subjective take, but I think it isn't far from being true.

 

[Buzzed_11]

Whatever environment key has going is still far far better than the environment that Coach waffle house bad.

 

[apatriot1776]

Didn’t Saban famously make a player cry? Didn’t half of Bear Bryant’s team and staffers quit during his first summer camp at Texas A&M?

I’d rather have a SOB that wants to win ballgames so bad he runs people off that can’t meet the standard, than a “players coach” hopped up on Mtn Dew…

 

[Lil G]

I can think of a recent head coach of ours that probably focused a lot on positivityand patience , and other key aspects of the gentle game of football

 

[BigDanT]

I was watching Swarm Talk by the Crowded Booth with Bryce Koon and he mentioned that Geep may have left due to a "Toxic" environment. Has anyone else heard anything like that? Key strikes me as a guy to have a demanding management style but I think there is a distinction between a demanding work environment and toxic. I am hoping for the former because it will be hard to keep good coaches if the toxic comment has any truth.

Which episode was it?

 

[jgtengineer]

I have heard from a staff member that CBK can be a very difficult boss. Watch how he handles the media as a hint. Believe me or not, but I don't think it will be unusual to see coaches leave on their own accord. I think he's a great fit for GT, but don't be shocked by staff turnover

So as saban for that matter. Key learned from o'lkeary and saban. He expects the staff to be the best.

 

[GTJacketClaw]

Which episode was it?

Yesterday

 

[BleedGoldNWhite21]

I have heard from a staff member that CBK can be a very difficult boss. Watch how he handles the media as a hint. Believe me or not, but I don't think it will be unusual to see coaches leave on their own accord. I think he's a great fit for GT, but don't be shocked by staff turnover

I’ve heard similar from multiple different sources. There is a fine line between a good no-nonsense ball coach and toxic. I personally think it’s the former and if it was the latter, the portal would deplete us every year. Our portal exists are pretty much average for a P4 team.

 

[GTJacketClaw]

I’ve heard similar from multiple different sources. There is a fine line between a good no-nonsense ball coach and toxic. I personally think it’s the former and if it was the latter, the portal would deplete us every year. Our portal exists are pretty much average for a P4 team.

That's good to hear and the vibe I got from watching Key from a distance. Seems to be very hard and demanding on his staff and players but I haven't ever heard anything mentioned as toxic before which is why I was a little surprised. Reminds me of my high school coach who was by far my favorite coach even though some days I wanted to cuss him out

 

[bikeseat]

A P5 staff is not like a company/corporate environment...but there are still standards of how people should be treated. This idea that a position coach at a P5 program expects to be coddled is hilarious. These are serious dudes and nobody is willingly moving their family to Nebraska for the same job because some coach wasn't nice to them one day.

 

[jgtengineer]

A P5 staff is not like a company/corporate environment...but there are still standards of how people should be treated. This idea that a position coach at a P5 program expects to be coddled is hilarious. These are serious dudes and nobody is willingly moving their family to Nebraska for the same job because some coach wasn't nice to them one day.

Well given that Geep was the OL coach and key was annoyed with OL play and having to hop in i bet they did have some arguments. The thing is since geep never stays anywhere long is it more he just doesn't get a long with anyone?

 

[gtee91]

I know someone who is an athletic trainer at a good sized college...you think coaches get yelled at ? Try being the one who tells the HC that the star has not been cleared to play after an injury....

 

[BainbridgeJacket]

Brent is kind of an *******. He's absolutely going to throw a sarcastic comment and the type to say something along the lines that there's no dumb questions, but there are dumb people who ask questions.

 

[billga99]

Geep wade is the canary in the coal mine? The guy that never stays long enough for the porch swing to stop moving?

And we are seeing teams lose players left and right, but our guys are choosing to stay in a toxic environment? None of this sounds right and I can’t see any evidence of anything “toxic”

If I remember didn't Buster recommend him from their time to together at MTSU? Maybe with Buster's departure, he wasn't comfortable he would have an advocate on staff.

 

[Richland County]

I prefer to pay attention to media that I have respect for. AJC is good for general news. KQ usually has some pretty good details and insights, IMHO. WreckTalk is fun sometimes if you want the good-ole-boy immediate fan reactions. A lot of those YouTube shows have people who are trying to be journalists, but are failing hard. I don't like any of those guys.

Jackson on SI is good.

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

If you want to exceed your competitors, you have to have extremely high standards for your staff, I don’t think that is any different in coaching than in business. More so, perhaps, because the competition is so direct and visible.

Turnover is going to be a part of that. And when some people appear to be moving up the ladder in their turnover, it won’t necessarily be bad for business either, other people will want in on a winning environment.

“Toxic” seems like it could be the sort of word it used by an opponent to negative-recruit.

i would think a truly toxic environment would have much more leaks about specific toxicity. But you aren’t gonna beat 90% of teams by not having standards higher than 90% of people.

My mother and father were watching Coach Saban roam the sidelines one Saturday and he got really upset with one of his players who had committed a pretty obvious personal foul and motioned for his two torpedoes (huge black guys) to remove him without so much as a look in the player's direction. My mother was upset with the look on Saban's face and remarked to my father that he looked like he was about to have a heart attack. My dad wiser in the ways of college football told her: "Sweetheart, Saban does not get heart attacks, he gives them." True story.

 

[BleedGoldNWhite21]

Brent is kind of an *******. He's absolutely going to throw a sarcastic comment and the type to say something along the lines that there's no dumb questions, but there are dumb people who ask questions.

I’m sure Saban was the same way. I think the difference between this attitude working versus not working is if the person in charge holds himself to the same standard he holds others and is not stubborn. People sometimes misinterpret this kind of behavior as a stubborn “my way or the highway”, but that’s not inherently the case. Saban is a great example of that. I don’t think anyone would have expected the kinds of offenses Alabama ran in the second half of his tenure there. He evolved with the game. He wasn’t simply stubborn in his ways. There is a small sample size here, but Key has already evolved. Something as simple as us implementing a package under center in the off-season after we struggled so much with 4th and shorts in 2024 is something that leads me to believe, regardless of how no-nonsense he is, if a staff member disagrees with him on an approach and can back it up, he’ll listen.

 

[LxUn1c0]

There is a fine line between a good no-nonsense ball coach and toxic.

One thing that makes it complicated is that everybody draws that line for themselves based on their own personal experiences and workplace relationships.

An assistant who has a lot of history with their head coach may see an emotional outburst as passion, while someone who doesn't have that same kind of bond could take it as toxic or abusive.