Manning and the Lack of a lead Dog

[cowboysooner]

The importance of field leadership is grossly underestimated in sports. Every good team has a lead dog. I think it is clear that Maddie was going to be that play every minute exceptional player and leader that this team is lacking. Morgan is trying but just isn't talented enough. I think losing Maddie has cost us 6-7 games. JMO

There are a lot of comments on the board that Sherri is a bad coach or doing a poor job. I disagree. I think she is a great head coach, with really just one flaw. Her flaw is that she doesn't understand and isn't comfortable around alpha men (or women) coaches, and so doesn't hire or have an "executive officer" on her staff. The military and virtually every other successful organization have used a "CO/XO" management model since the beginning of time. Every organization needs a "chief accountability officer", the person that is a complete azz, by job description. This person can't be the commanding officer. The positions and job duties are completely different. In the military, you would be evaluated as a CO completely differently than as an XO.

In short, I think Sherri's principal problem is that she is trying to do both jobs and can't. Nobody can. Mulkey had (don't know if she still has) the burr haircut old coot that actually coached the team during practice and kept the girls in line. For a while, Sherri had Bo overton, who the girls hated, but performed the duties of an XO perfectly. He and Sherri were a perfect team.

Some people are good COs but lousy XOs, and visa versa. Bo turned out to be a lousy CO. It isn't easy to get kids to work and be committed like they need to be, to play with focus and edge, to sacrifice their personal interest to those of a team, etc. You need a task master. However, the duties of a head coach are extremely varied and often require the opposite of a task master.

Sherri can recruit (I know some will disagree), she understands the importance of character, she is a good evaluator of talent (I know some will disagree), and she is a good motivator and game manager. She does a great job of selling her program. Unfortunately, I think she is just more comfortable without guys or girls like Bo on her staff, and so no one is cracking the whip. Which in my opinion, is really evident from the lack of effort, focus and adherence to basic fundamentals by the girls during the games.

All this being said, I want and support Sherri for head coach at Oklahoma.

 

[tycat947]

Good post! I believe Maddie's injury this year was a huge loss too. Before second injury this year, I didn't see any negative effects from the first injury. She seemingly was moving as before her initial injury over a year ago. I'm hopeful, the second knee responds as the first and no more knee injuries for her! That being said, she's lost a lot of court time the last couple of years and will take her a while to get back in the flow of the game IMO.

 

[hawks00]

You can't really say that Maddie is going to be able to be the player she was considering she's been out two full season.

 

[MsProudSooner]

The military and virtually every other successful organization have used a "CO/XO" management model since the beginning of time. Every organization needs a "chief accountability officer", the person that is a complete azz, by job description. This person can't be the commanding officer. The positions and job duties are completely different. In the military, you would be evaluated as a CO completely differently than as an XO.

Good Cop/Bad Cop? I don't know enough about Sherri's assistants to know what their coaching personalities are like. I know I've heard former players say she could 'blister the paint off the walls of a locker room, if need be." I think Kelvin was the Bad Cop and usually had someone on his staff that served as the Good Cop.

 

[sybarite]

The importance of field leadership is grossly underestimated in sports. Every good team has a lead dog. I think it is clear that Maddie was going to be that play every minute exceptional player and leader that this team is lacking. Morgan is trying but just isn't talented enough. I think losing Maddie has cost us 6-7 games. JMO

There are a lot of comments on the board that Sherri is a bad coach or doing a poor job. I disagree. I think she is a great head coach, with really just one flaw. Her flaw is that she doesn't understand and isn't comfortable around alpha men (or women) coaches, and so doesn't hire or have an "executive officer" on her staff. The military and virtually every other successful organization have used a "CO/XO" management model since the beginning of time. Every organization needs a "chief accountability officer", the person that is a complete azz, by job description. This person can't be the commanding officer. The positions and job duties are completely different. In the military, you would be evaluated as a CO completely differently than as an XO.

In short, I think Sherri's principal problem is that she is trying to do both jobs and can't. Nobody can. Mulkey had (don't know if she still has) the burr haircut old coot that actually coached the team during practice and kept the girls in line. For a while, Sherri had Bo overton, who the girls hated, but performed the duties of an XO perfectly. He and Sherri were a perfect team.

Some people are good COs but lousy XOs, and visa versa. Bo turned out to be a lousy CO. It isn't easy to get kids to work and be committed like they need to be, to play with focus and edge, to sacrifice their personal interest to those of a team, etc. You need a task master. However, the duties of a head coach are extremely varied and often require the opposite of a task master.

Sherri can recruit (I know some will disagree), she understands the importance of character, she is a good evaluator of talent (I know some will disagree), and she is a good motivator and game manager. She does a great job of selling her program. Unfortunately, I think she is just more comfortable without guys or girls like Bo on her staff, and so no one is cracking the whip. Which in my opinion, is really evident from the lack of effort, focus and adherence to basic fundamentals by the girls during the games.

All this being said, I want and support Sherri for head coach at Oklahoma.

Good post.

 

[SoonerNorm]

I'm pretty sure that Bob Knight was bad cop bad cop.

 

[Oliver Hardy]

I think we can all be pretty certain that Sherri is the Alpha Dog in this pack and doesn't like her judgement questioned. We've all heard the recruiting tails and many of us surmise that's at least part of the reason Hansmeyer left.

That isn't to say, Sherri doesn't foster discussion. I think she does. It's just that when she makes a decision, it appears to be final -- as in almost forever and until she's is forced by circumstance to change.

I think we've seen that a bit with player rotations, especially this year and last.

 

[Soonerbay]

The importance of field leadership is grossly underestimated in sports. Every good team has a lead dog. I think it is clear that Maddie was going to be that play every minute exceptional player and leader that this team is lacking. Morgan is trying but just isn't talented enough. I think losing Maddie has cost us 6-7 games. JMO

There are a lot of comments on the board that Sherri is a bad coach or doing a poor job. I disagree. I think she is a great head coach, with really just one flaw. Her flaw is that she doesn't understand and isn't comfortable around alpha men (or women) coaches, and so doesn't hire or have an "executive officer" on her staff. The military and virtually every other successful organization have used a "CO/XO" management model since the beginning of time. Every organization needs a "chief accountability officer", the person that is a complete azz, by job description. This person can't be the commanding officer. The positions and job duties are completely different. In the military, you would be evaluated as a CO completely differently than as an XO.

In short, I think Sherri's principal problem is that she is trying to do both jobs and can't. Nobody can. Mulkey had (don't know if she still has) the burr haircut old coot that actually coached the team during practice and kept the girls in line. For a while, Sherri had Bo overton, who the girls hated, but performed the duties of an XO perfectly. He and Sherri were a perfect team.

Some people are good COs but lousy XOs, and visa versa. Bo turned out to be a lousy CO. It isn't easy to get kids to work and be committed like they need to be, to play with focus and edge, to sacrifice their personal interest to those of a team, etc. You need a task master. However, the duties of a head coach are extremely varied and often require the opposite of a task master.

Sherri can recruit(I know some will disagree), she understands the importance of character, she is a good evaluator of talent (I know some will disagree), and she is a good motivator and game manager. She does a great job of selling her program. Unfortunately, I think she is just more comfortable without guys or girls like Bo on her staff, and so no one is cracking the whip. Which in my opinion, is really evident from the lack of effort, focus and adherence to basic fundamentals by the girls during the games.

All this being said, I want and support Sherri for head coach at Oklahoma.

I certainly disagree with you. Why? Because SHE said she's not a good recruiter and I believe her based on results. She said it during a televised interview back in 2007ish....one of those televised ESPN, Fox interviews...or it could have been her weekly show.

Edit: I believe that a head coach does not necessarily need to be the BEST recruiter on the coaching staff, but he/she must SURELY be the best "closer" after an assistant that is a great recruiter has brought the talent to the table.