How some college football coaches have shown arrogance instead of leadership

As we approach the midway point of the college football season, it is time to reflect on the leaders in the sport. There is no manual for how a head football coach should conduct himself. If there was some sort of guide, the first chapter no doubt would be titled “Arrogance.”

In Jim Collins’ 2001 bestselling book “Good to Great,” the first characteristic of companies that obtained success was having leaders who are humble, but driven to do what’s best for the company.

“Those who worked with or wrote about the good-to-great leaders continually used words like quiet, humble, modest, reserved, shy, gracious, mild-mannered, self-effacing, understated, did not believe his own clippings, and so forth,” Collins wrote.

Let’s see where some college head football coaches fall under that standard. In almost every incident to follow, the coach later apologized. Sorry, no apologies accepted. They all should know better.

Alabama’s Nick Saban gets to go first.

The fall battle for Alabama’s starting quarterback position was between Jalen Hurts, the starting quarterback in last season’s national championship run, and Tua Tagovailoa, who came off the bench to throw two touchdowns and run for another in that title game. Then Saban unveiled Tagovailoa as the starter with the first offensive possession of the season against Louisville.

Immediately following Alabama’s 51-14 rout, Saban was interviewed on the field by ESPN’s Maria Taylor, who rightfully asked the most obvious of questions.

“What answers did you have after watching both of your quarterbacks play tonight?”

“Well, I still like both guys. I think both guys are good players,” Saban said, before shifting gears. “I think both guys can help our team, all right? So why do you continually try to get me to say something that doesn’t respect one of them. I’m not going to. So, quit asking.”

Summary: Typical Saban in dealing with the media.

Then there was the preseason when UNC’s Larry Fedora and Ohio State’s Urban Meyer turned generally mundane media days into incredulous events.

At the ACC gathering, Fedora said football is “under attack.” He did not stop there, adding that there is no verifiable connection between CTE injuries and football. Finally, he said de-emphasizing football could lead to a “decline of our country.”

Summary: Forget sexual assaults, millions of Americans living below the poverty level and soaring crime rates.

Meyer took it one step further, lying nine times at Big Ten media days when asked if knew about an assistant coach being charged with domestic abuse.

Summary: Only one person in this country is permitted to lie like that.

This one came at the Football Championship level where South Dakota State ran up a 90-6 victory over an Arkansas-Pine Bluff team that had lost 55-0 to Cumberland the previous week. S.D. State scored its final touchdown on a 76-yard pass play with 1:53 remaining in the game.

“I should have slowed it down earlier in the game,” said S.D. State coach John Stiegelmeier. “I should have taken all passes out. And I should have been more respectful to our opponent.”

Summary: You think?

Massachusetts coach Mark Whipple earned a one-game suspension for his comments following his team’s 58-42 loss to Miami of Ohio.

“We had a chance there with 16 down and they rape us, he picks up the flag,” Whipple said of the officiating.

Summary: No words.

It is only fitting to close with one more from the dean of arrogance, Nick Saban.

“So, I would appreciate it if you would sort of look at some of the things we didn’t do so well, all right, and write about that so I can show it to the players and say, ‘Look here, man. Here’s something you can do better,’ “ Saban said following Alabama’s 45-23 win over Texas A&M.

Summary: Rest assured, writing to somehow help the home team was never taught in journalism school.