lacene
10-08-2006, 01:43 PM
Spurrier takes his secondary coach to task
By KENT BABB
Staff Writer
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Ron Cooper’s necktie might as well have been a noose.
Cooper, USC’s secondary coach, stood in front of a room of media and answered questions, his voice trembling at times, minutes after coach Steve Spurrier sent team spokesman Steve Fink toward the Gamecocks’ locker room to retrieve Cooper. There were questions that Spurrier could not answer.
There were questions Spurrier needed to hear for himself.
“Bring him in,” Spurrier said to Fink. “I want to know what happened, too.”
Spurrier wanted to know what happened to USC’s secondary on Kentucky’s two drives after the Gamecocks seized a 24-10 lead.
Spurrier wanted to know how Wildcats quarterback Andre’ Woodson was able to complete a 63-yard pass to Dicky Lyons to set up a touchdown with 2:56 remaining.
Spurrier wanted to know how, on the Wildcats’ final possession, the team traveled 38 yards on its first play, into USC territory, giving Woodson a realistic chance at a Hail Mary pass.
And Spurrier wanted to hear the reasons from Cooper, the man who coaches the players who let their assignments slip.
Moments after Spurrier asked Fink to find the Gamecocks’ assistant head coach, Cooper interrupted Spurrier’s media conference. His white dress shirt was buttoned and tucked neatly, but Cooper straightened his silver necktie while standing before the surprised group.
The two-dozen or so reporters had little to ask. It was Spurrier who acted as a one-man firing squad.
“Coach Cooper, they want to know what coverage we were in on that 62-yarder,” Spurrier said. “Three deep?”
Cooper responded: “Three deep. Had the bust by the left corner and the left nickel.”
Spurrier: “And the middle guy wasn’t real deep, either, was he?”
Cooper: “Had a bust. Yes, sir. They played good except for that one play. And that one play gave us a bad day.”
Spurrier: “How about the 22-second play? What, we just didn’t prevent, right?”
Cooper: “Just didn’t prevent.”
Cooper paused for a moment and loosened the tie.
“Yep,” he said finally. “We were in three deep.”
Spurrier finished the news conference, and Cooper stood at the coach’s side during an awkward few minutes. As Spurrier concluded his remarks, Cooper told reporters that they should not blame USC’s defensive backs; the blame should fall on his shoulders. He said players must improve their communication and that coaches would smooth out the rough edges in the two weeks before the Gamecocks’ game at Vanderbilt.
Cooper said later that he did not mind being put on the spot in front of both the media and his boss. He admitted that he was surprised; he added that he had just gotten out of the shower when Fink found him and told him that Spurrier needed to see him — and so did everyone else.
“We just sort of blew it,” Cooper said after Spurrier left the room.
It all made for a tense few minutes in which Cooper stood at Spurrier’s left and could do little more than explain himself, explain the secondary’s shortcomings and fiddle with a necktie that appeared to tighten after each of the questions Spurrier needed to hear for himself.
Reach Babb at (803) 771-8357.
Article Link (http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/sports/15710988.htm)
By KENT BABB
Staff Writer
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Ron Cooper’s necktie might as well have been a noose.
Cooper, USC’s secondary coach, stood in front of a room of media and answered questions, his voice trembling at times, minutes after coach Steve Spurrier sent team spokesman Steve Fink toward the Gamecocks’ locker room to retrieve Cooper. There were questions that Spurrier could not answer.
There were questions Spurrier needed to hear for himself.
“Bring him in,” Spurrier said to Fink. “I want to know what happened, too.”
Spurrier wanted to know what happened to USC’s secondary on Kentucky’s two drives after the Gamecocks seized a 24-10 lead.
Spurrier wanted to know how Wildcats quarterback Andre’ Woodson was able to complete a 63-yard pass to Dicky Lyons to set up a touchdown with 2:56 remaining.
Spurrier wanted to know how, on the Wildcats’ final possession, the team traveled 38 yards on its first play, into USC territory, giving Woodson a realistic chance at a Hail Mary pass.
And Spurrier wanted to hear the reasons from Cooper, the man who coaches the players who let their assignments slip.
Moments after Spurrier asked Fink to find the Gamecocks’ assistant head coach, Cooper interrupted Spurrier’s media conference. His white dress shirt was buttoned and tucked neatly, but Cooper straightened his silver necktie while standing before the surprised group.
The two-dozen or so reporters had little to ask. It was Spurrier who acted as a one-man firing squad.
“Coach Cooper, they want to know what coverage we were in on that 62-yarder,” Spurrier said. “Three deep?”
Cooper responded: “Three deep. Had the bust by the left corner and the left nickel.”
Spurrier: “And the middle guy wasn’t real deep, either, was he?”
Cooper: “Had a bust. Yes, sir. They played good except for that one play. And that one play gave us a bad day.”
Spurrier: “How about the 22-second play? What, we just didn’t prevent, right?”
Cooper: “Just didn’t prevent.”
Cooper paused for a moment and loosened the tie.
“Yep,” he said finally. “We were in three deep.”
Spurrier finished the news conference, and Cooper stood at the coach’s side during an awkward few minutes. As Spurrier concluded his remarks, Cooper told reporters that they should not blame USC’s defensive backs; the blame should fall on his shoulders. He said players must improve their communication and that coaches would smooth out the rough edges in the two weeks before the Gamecocks’ game at Vanderbilt.
Cooper said later that he did not mind being put on the spot in front of both the media and his boss. He admitted that he was surprised; he added that he had just gotten out of the shower when Fink found him and told him that Spurrier needed to see him — and so did everyone else.
“We just sort of blew it,” Cooper said after Spurrier left the room.
It all made for a tense few minutes in which Cooper stood at Spurrier’s left and could do little more than explain himself, explain the secondary’s shortcomings and fiddle with a necktie that appeared to tighten after each of the questions Spurrier needed to hear for himself.
Reach Babb at (803) 771-8357.
Article Link (http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/sports/15710988.htm)