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Chat session

By JOHN C. COTEY and DAVID MURPHY
Published January 12, 2007

Times staff writers David Murphy and John C. Cotey logged on to instant messenger and spent a few minutes chatting about some topics du jour:

DMurph003: Well, I guess we'll have to hold our "greatest college football team of all time: 1945 Army or 2006 Ohio State" chat session for another day.

johncotey: Agreed.

DMurph003: So what's on your mind?

johncotey: I'm trying to figure out what the Ohio State coaching staff was doing in the 55 days before it played Florida

DMurph003: Debating the merits of the BCS?

johncotey: Standing in line for a PS3?

DMurph003: Looking through the dictionary trying to find a word that rhymes with "Tebow?"

DMurph003: Practicing Sears Trophy acceptance speech in the bathroom mirror?

johncotey: Vest shopping?

DMurph003: Devising a way to get Ted Ginn as many kickoff returns as possible?

johncotey: Checking out the unbeaten Mitchell girls basketball team?

DMurph003: Interviewing in Dade City for the Pasco job?

DMurph003: Registering the domain name "HireRonZook.com?"

johncotey: Helping Bush plan for Iraq surge?

DMurph003: Here's what's on my mind: Pasco and Hernando, the signature programs in our respective counties, both fired their football coaches this past year. Dale Caparaso at Pasco was let go after four years. Matt Smith at Hernando was let go after three years. ...Are we putting too much pressure on high school coaches to win, and win fast?

johncotey: I don't think there is too much pressure because really, firings are pretty rare. Pasco's case is a perfect example. It's more than wins and losses. It's the way a team acts, the way a team performs, the way a coach coaches.

DMurph003: I think I actually agree with you, though this is a subject that has presented me with some significant existential distress over the years. I mean, 95 percent of these coaches have the best intentions, and 100 percent of them are losing money on the deal. They do everything from wash the uniforms to cut the grass.

And, like you said, winning isn't everything.

But wins and losses are important...

johncotey: Go on...

DMurph003: Look at it this way: If you aren't good enough as a player, a coach is going to cut you during tryouts. There's no reason coaches shouldn't be judged on the court or playing field as well.

DMurph003: Right?

johncotey: ABSOLUTELY!

DMurph003: Capital letters: Does that mean you are shouting, or did you drop your hotdog on the caps lock key?

johncotey: No, just agreeing emphatically. I mean, a bad team is a bad team. But a bad decade? Time to go. Coaches should be held accountable for their wins and losses. That's that. But if they aren't winning, they'd better have a well-mannered bunch of kids and be trying to help them get into college and all that stuff.

johncotey: Here's one for you: Does a national title make a kid want to go to UF?

DMurph003: Of course. You can't spell national championship without C-H-O-M-P.

johncotey: You've been waiting all chat session to use that haven't you?

DMurph003: Of course.

DMurph003: Seriously, though, the national title has absolutely no bearing on where a kid is going to go. If I'm a quarterback, I go to Ohio State because Troy Smith is leaving. I'd go to Troy University before UF because Tim Tebow is there.

[Last modified January 11, 2007, 22:35:52]