Monday, July 29, 2013

The ART of Leadership: A look at Patton, the 1958 Packers and the 2012 Colorado Buffs

One of the greatest misconceptions about college football is that it is an individual player driven sport. Nothing could be further from the truth. Football requires more concerted teamwork by a larger number of players than any other sport. The main orchestrator of this teamwork is the head coach, and it is disseminated to the team through the coaches and the players respected as leaders among them.

Winning in football is generated from the top down more than any other sport. Being a great college football player does not make one a great NFL player. By the same token, being a great high school player does not make one a great college player. At the same time, while it is possible to be a great player on a lousy team, it is virtually impossible for a lousy coach to lead a team to greatness.

On paper, the 1958 Green Bay Packers and the 2012 Colorado Buffs have a lot in common. The Packers ended the season with a record of 1-10-1, while the Buffs ended the season with one victory and 11 losses. Each team had what is generally considered to be the worst season ever for their franchise or school.

Another thing CU and the Pack had in common is that conventional wisdom held that the main reason behind the horrible records in those years was due primarily to a lack of quality players. Vince Lombardi arrived in Green Bay in 1959 and proved that assumption to be wrong.

Five players on that horrible 1958 Packer team went on to have careers under Lombardi that earned them a place in the NFL Hall of Fame. It's kind of stunning just how much difference that a coaching change made in the the lives and careers of five NFL players who played on the worst team ever for their franchise.


The more one listens to new Colorado Buffalo football coach Mike MacIntyre, the more one hears commitment to the ideals shown by Vince Lombardi. Like the man who is considered to be  the greatest football coach ever, CU's new head coach stresses hard work and sacrifice, conditioning and perseverance, dedication and respect, and most of all, a commitment to the success of the TEAM.

Mike MacIntyre respects and realizes these ideals by leading from the top down. He demands it of himself and expects it from his coaches and his players as well. Those who refuse to show commitment to the law, their schoolwork, their teammates, their coaches, and themselves have no place on this TEAM. Anytime someone is not held accountable for their actions or inaction, it is a slap in the face to those who have committed themselves.

In football, the greatest player at any position can be reduced to insignificance by the players around him. Imagine Jerry Rice without Joe Montana or Steve Young to throw him the ball. Imagine John Elway or Barry Sanders without great linemen to block for them. A dominating defensive player can be double or triple teamed if his teammates do not do their jobs. Football is truly a team sport.

Lombardi used to say that "football is only two things -- blocking and tackling." But he also emphasized that TEAM was the only way to make that work. He also knew that fitness and strength, individually and as a team, made it possible to compete in the athletic arena. He stressed this with his famous mantra that "fatigue makes cowards of us all."

It is a belief similar to that held by General George Patton during World War II. He took over a demoralized army that had been ransacked by the Germans in their first battle and built those men into the most dominating force in the war. According to the Academy Award winning film about his life, Patton was reputed to have said about the men when he arrived in North Africa that "they don't look like soldiers, they don't act like soldiers, why should they be expected to fight like soldiers?"

Before Patton's arrival, both the officers and the servicemen had no discipline. And this fact showed on the battlefield. What this same group of men achieved under new leadership showed that a change at the top can bring about a radical and almost immediate change in performance. Lombardi showed how to do it again in 1959, and MacIntyre is poised to do it now with the Buffs like he did at San Jose State.

Leadership takes many forms and styles, of course, but all great leaders who have achieved radical turnabouts have done it with discipline and high expectations of themselves and everyone under their command.