 |
| Screenshot from YouTube |
1) The photo was taken by Ryan Kang, my former colleague at the University of Oregon's student newspaper, the Daily Emerald. Sad to see Kang struggling so much...
2) This quote:
"'He always did a good job of not making you feel dumb,' said Rudy Carpenter, one of his quarterbacks at Arizona State."
I covered Oregon football last year for the Emerald. On one of my first media days, a fellow reporter told me (paraphrased), "Helfrich gives substance-less answers as much as Chip Kelly did, only Helfrich makes you feel better when he answers." I didn't cover Kelly, but I can vouch for the Helfrich part. I'd attend media sessions after practices every day, and when Helfrich spoke, I felt like he was giving great answers that would make my post-practice recap shine. Then, I would transcribe his interviews and 99 percent of his answers were in coach-speak. Frustrating for reporters but brilliant for a coach trying to carve a positive image of his program.
But I never got the sense that Helfrich was playing the media. He was simply following his job description: deflect, deflect and deflect some more. And he seemed to respect the media, despite dreading talking to us (which coach doesn't?). Kelly seems to enjoy embarrassing reporters; Helfrich seems to do the opposite. He didn't make you feel dumb.
Tonight will be a big test for Helfrich against a great coach in Urban Meyer. A loss will heap additional doubts on Helfrich's already burdened shoulders. A win will make people say, "Huh, Chip is regarded as a better coach but Helfrich actually won a title." It's a flawed argument, but at least it will confirm what we've seen for a while: Helfrich is a good coach.
No comments:
Post a Comment