Maybe it is not just the coach...
Maybe it is not just the team... by anonymous
The University of Louisville believed that their Cardinal football team would continue to dominate this year considering our rankings in the past year. The Cards played in the Orange Bowl last year and played in various bowls during their career before. Who would ever believe that this year would be different? The losses against Kentucky and Syracuse caused the biggest upset for Cardinal fans. The Syracuse game caused crowds to rant about how Coach Kragthorpe ruined the game. University of Louisville fans cannot blame the coach entirely for losses because they should realize there are other factors that have caused these losses. Coach Kragthorpe is in a new environment with a new team and the players need to learn to cope with the new coaching style and should continue to play like they know how to play. A coach can only coach so much that the players need to learn to act upon it.
Head Coach Steven Kragthorpe was a successful coach at the University of Tulsa and I do not believe that all Cardinal fans know this. Before Kragthorpe became the coach for Tulsa, he had 15 years of previous coaching experience, 13 years in the collegiate level, 2 years as a graduate assistant coach, 11 years a full-time assistant; 2 years at the professional level with the Buffalo Bills. The coach has a lot of experience with football. In just three seasons with the Golden Hurricanes, he took the team to two bowl games, won more games in those three years than Tulsa had won in the previous seven seasons, he was able to bring Tulsa to their first conference winning championship since 1985 and he put the Hurricanes back on the map for national prominence (tulsahurricane.cstv.com). Since he had been coaching the Hurricanes, the team had a strong offense and was successful on the defensive side of the ball. In addition, Kragthorpe was named WAC Coach of the Year as voted by the leagues coaches. He was also one of the six semifinalists for the Eddie Robinson/FWAA Coach of the Year Award selected by the Football Writers Association of America. Kragthorpe was also selected as the FWAA/Scripps First-Year Coach of the Year Award, which is an honor given to the nation’s top first-year head coach (tulsahurricane.cstv.com). Kragthorpe was the fifth coach in school history to win eight games in his first season. That is really remarkable for a first-year coach to bring a team that far. So with all this experience, can someone really believe that the only reason for the Cardinals losing is the coach? Kragthorpe’s accomplishments and awards show that he is successful in the coaching profession. He was able to bring the Hurricane’s fame around the nation. Not all good things happen in an instant; good things take time.
“Nobody played well enough for us to win today”, coach Kragthorpe said (The Louisville Cardinal). Just by the coach’s statement, it indicates that the football team executed poorly and displayed lack of focus during the Syracuse game. Quarterback Brian Brohm went 45-of-65 for 555 yards and four touchdowns, but threw two interceptions (The Louisville Cardinal). Brian Brohm is the best quarterback in the country and is not known for throwing interceptions. In addition, Syracuse blew by the Cardinal defense for 480 yards. Once again, the defense gave up too many yards, too many big plays and had too many missed tackles. The Cards also contributed 12 penalties for 105 yards and their opening two punts combined only 18 yards (The Louisville Cardinal). Junior offensive lineman Eric Wood said, “We made too many mistakes to win the football game”. The Cardinals had trouble moving the ball and had opportunities to score in the Orange territory, but turned the ball over four times (uoflsports.cstv.com). A lot of the mistakes made were mental mistakes, and the players must learn from these mistakes.
During the Utah game, some of the starting line up was not playing due to suspensions. The mistakes off the field do contribute to how the team will play on the field. The cardinal defense has been a weak link this season and it did not take Utah long to spread its offenses. Utah gained more total yards in the first half than they have gained in a game.
In addition, it is not as if the Cards are losing all of their games. They did defeat Middle Tennessee, North Carolina State and Cincinnati. The football team is capable of winning; it’s a matter of how much they want to win each game. Coach Kragthorpe can only coach the team so far. He can only advise them so much that they have to learn to act upon it. The players need to execute and take control of each game. They also need to remember that inappropriate off field incidents hurt the team and places the University of Louisville in a negative national spotlight.
As an athlete I understand what the football team is going through. I understand that it is hard to deal with new coaching styles and it causes players to have less motivation to play. When I played for my high school volleyball team our old coach had left. The team was upset that he had to be replaced and we were not willing to play for someone new. I remember the first day of practice when we met the new coach. Practice seemed to drag on forever and everything the coach said went through one ear and out the other. The team and I felt no connection with him because we were not giving him a chance and we did not want to. We wanted things the way they used to be, but I became to realize that you couldn’t always get the old ways back. We needed to learn to deal with the situation because we knew that we were not getting our old coach back. After a couple of practices and a couple of games, the team, including the coach, warmed up to one another. We eventually started playing our game again and we became so successful. It just took a while to adapt to new concepts and to give the coach a chance.
Coach Kragthorpe was very successful at Tulsa. He gave the team national prominence and they earned respect as a team. Since he has been at the University of Louisville, the proud Cardinal fans have been putting down his coaching ability. Instead of the community putting down his efforts, they should be more supportive of the new coach to help him build confidence. He is in a new city with a new team. It is going to take some time for the team and the coach to adapt to one another. The Cincinnati game is proof that the Cardinals will return to championship form. The defense made the big plays and will continue to do so. This coach has plenty to offer, he is very experienced and he would never give up on his team. The Cardinal community needs to have a little patience and faith in the new coach and in the team. With that, the “boo-birds” need to leave and the Cardinal fans need to remain strong.
