Playing to "Not Lose"

George Schroeder wrote about Nick Aliotti and how it's hard to "win" being a defensive coordinator. And I can say in general I agree. However, I think Nick has a double standard in the eyes of the head coach. Here's what I mean. George wrote, "We know Oregon ranks 10th in the Pac-10, and 104th nationally, in pass defense. We know the Ducks are seventh in the league in scoring defense and total defense, and rank 74th and 75th nationally in those categories."

So what if our offense ranks 10th in the Pac-10 and 104th nationally in passing? What if if we ranked 74th in scoring and 75th in total offense? I know exactly what would happen, CHIP KELLY WOULD BE LOOKING FOR A NEW JOB! Why? Because MB would be nudging him out the door. Ok in all honesty, I don't think Mike would do that after 1 season. After 2 or 3 almost with certainty. So why has he not done so with Nick? Because they are friends. Which I've stated before is ok, but enough is enough. You guys can still be friends after you've parted ways.

But I think George put it best at the end of his article with regards to Aliotti. "If he complains, he comes off like a whiner. If he explains, it sounds like excuse-making." Because that sounds like a man who knows he's doing a horrible job and has a friend that will bail him out.