A Shifting of Cultures: A Thought for The Herd
By Mat Smith
With Kickoff of the 2013-2014 campaign just days away, the Colorado
Buffaloes Football program is set to begin a new era under Head Coach Mike
MacIntyre. If you have paid close attention to the program then you already know
that since Coach Mac has taken over the reins, the culture of the program has
already begun to significantly shift. Coaches are getting players more engaged and
inspired in practice and the coaching staff is focusing on player development far
more than they have under the previous two regimes. So why is this important?
The Buffs are coming off a 2012 season that saw them finish 1-11, 1-8 in
Pac 12 conference play. The Buffs have had three different head coaches, including
Coach Mac, over the last 3 years. The Buffaloes are only three years removed from
a changing of conferences and the culture that comes with them, from the Big 12 to
the Pac 12. Colorado has amassed a 20-54 record over the past 7 years dating back
to the days of Dan Hawkins. Yet, the program ranks 23rd in NCAA history in wins
and 33rd in winning percentage, a former national champion that has not sniffed a
bowl game since 2007.
You can hire and fire as many head coaches as you want, upgrade the
facilities, appoint a new athletic director, but when it comes down to it, you have to
shift the culture. This is a significantly underestimated contributor to what it takes
to install or in this case, restore a winning tradition. At the end of the day, that
responsibility comes from the intention set forth by the head coach, “When you get a
chance to be around him and you talk to him, two things are clear. His passion and
his energy, and good teams have that as part of their culture,” says Chad Brown, a
four-year starter at CU, member of the 1990 National Championship team and three
time pro bowler in the NFL. “We had such a great culture built up with Coach (Bill)
McCartney of high dedication and high expectations and believing in our success,”
Brown continues, “That part took care of itself”. Without the proper leadership, a
team who barely won one game last season might see that as a daunting task.
Coach Mike MacIntyre began with the San Jose State program as head coach
in 2010 and in his first year and went 1-12, and just two seasons later led the
Spartans to a 10-2 record. What happened? What changed? Well, the majority of
modern sports society requires wins in order to measure success. In today’s world,
a new coach is hired because for whatever reason a change is needed. Many coaches
do not end up having success in their new positions because they may over-look the
most crucial aspect to branding a winning tradition. They approach the situation
from a problem first mentality, taking weaknesses or the “problems” and trying to
fix them.
While on the surface this approach may seem appropriate and many would
probably tell you it is. In order to take a program from the depths of the NCAA
standings and become the thriving, successful program they hope to become,
none of the “problems” can be viewed as problems. However, the key to shifting a
culture is not fixing your problems, it is implementing solutions. You implement
solutions and move toward your true intention as a head coach, which is to establish
a winning tradition and build a program for the future, not a season. “Our future
is bright, no matter what you hear out there, our future is going to be right, we’re
going to work hard and we’re going to make the right steps and do it the right
way,” said an honest Coach MacIntyre at the 2013 Pac-12 Football Media Day in Los
Angeles earlier this summer.
In Coach Mac’s case, he is actually fortunate for the struggles of a season ago. Due to
the poor season CU had last year, a vast majority of the program was in favor and more
importantly, open, to a positive culture shift. Those who were
not, or chose to pursue other avenues, found their way out of a Buffalo uniform one
way or another. While some may feel Embree wasn’t given his proper chance, there
is no question that the culture of the program needed to change. Buff fans don’t
want to see the disappointment and disgrace on the face of their Head Coach on the
sidelines and at times, the befuddlement of the surrounding coaching staff when
things went from bad to worse last season. They don’t want to see poorly attended
games, where it’s customary for fans to leave at halftime because the game was no
longer competitive. It sets a poor example for the fans but more importantly, it is the
polar opposite of the example a Coach should set for his players, “When you are
coming off a season like last year, sometimes just trying to find the fun is the most
important part of it all,” explains Brown. Players deserve the opportunity to look to
a leader who is not disappointed or upset with their performance, but in a constant
state of expectance of the best versions of the players they can be. Not someone who
will go through the motions when the game has been decided early in the third
quarter. There is no fun in allowing on average 46 points per game and there is
definitely no fun in losing every home game of the season, “When you can make
football fun again, then the guys can go out and play loose, then it’s possible that
they can play past their ability,” says Brown. “A team that’s not having fun is never
going to play up to their ability. With that sense of fun, that sense of passion, that
sense of energy, then you may be able to go out there and upset some people and
have a season far better than most would’ve expected.”
Coach MacIntyre’s optimism and inspiration has already made it’s way to
every locker in the locker room and all Colorado Football fans will be able to tell
from the moment the Buffs take the field on Sunday. “I don’t know much about the
last seven seasons, I just know what we’re going to do as a program. I have a
phenomenal coaching staff and that'll be a reason we’re successful, but it’s the
overall program. What the University’s doing to get things moving in the right
direction is exciting,” said MacIntyre. There is a renewed spirit around the likes of
Folsom Field and Dal Ward, a flash of optimism, a glimmer of hope that hasn’t been
seen around these parts for what has only been about 5 years but has felt like a
decade. That being said, there is still one remaining question. Can the community be
in complete support of the team? Can the fan base see the positives in the team and
recognize the journey not measured by wins or losses but by the feeling you get
when you walk into Folsom? Will Buffaloes fans be patient enough to weather the
bumps in the road? Will a program that has been united by the direct intention of a
staff under Coach MacIntyre restore its adoration within the community and return
to its once glorious ways? Will fans show up on Saturdays and voice their support
for the program with positive expectations and the same optimistic outlook their
head coach has? Or will this be another season of under performing, under supported
Colorado Football? A great opportunity lies ahead for BuffNation to instill
a long lost fervor for a program with outstanding passion and tradition. When they
walk into Sports Authority Field at Mile High on Sunday, all CU fans must consider
what role they play in the success of the Colorado Football Program. As a
community we must vow to bring the energy and excitement to the games and
restore the Pride of the once Mighty Herd. Coach Mac is has brought back the fun on
the field, it is up to us to do the same in the stands.
Follow Mat Smith on Twitter at https://twitter.com/RealMatSmith
By Mat Smith
With Kickoff of the 2013-2014 campaign just days away, the Colorado
Buffaloes Football program is set to begin a new era under Head Coach Mike
MacIntyre. If you have paid close attention to the program then you already know
that since Coach Mac has taken over the reins, the culture of the program has
already begun to significantly shift. Coaches are getting players more engaged and
inspired in practice and the coaching staff is focusing on player development far
more than they have under the previous two regimes. So why is this important?
The Buffs are coming off a 2012 season that saw them finish 1-11, 1-8 in
Pac 12 conference play. The Buffs have had three different head coaches, including
Coach Mac, over the last 3 years. The Buffaloes are only three years removed from
a changing of conferences and the culture that comes with them, from the Big 12 to
the Pac 12. Colorado has amassed a 20-54 record over the past 7 years dating back
to the days of Dan Hawkins. Yet, the program ranks 23rd in NCAA history in wins
and 33rd in winning percentage, a former national champion that has not sniffed a
bowl game since 2007.
You can hire and fire as many head coaches as you want, upgrade the
facilities, appoint a new athletic director, but when it comes down to it, you have to
shift the culture. This is a significantly underestimated contributor to what it takes
to install or in this case, restore a winning tradition. At the end of the day, that
responsibility comes from the intention set forth by the head coach, “When you get a
chance to be around him and you talk to him, two things are clear. His passion and
his energy, and good teams have that as part of their culture,” says Chad Brown, a
four-year starter at CU, member of the 1990 National Championship team and three
time pro bowler in the NFL. “We had such a great culture built up with Coach (Bill)
McCartney of high dedication and high expectations and believing in our success,”
Brown continues, “That part took care of itself”. Without the proper leadership, a
team who barely won one game last season might see that as a daunting task.
Coach Mike MacIntyre began with the San Jose State program as head coach
in 2010 and in his first year and went 1-12, and just two seasons later led the
Spartans to a 10-2 record. What happened? What changed? Well, the majority of
modern sports society requires wins in order to measure success. In today’s world,
a new coach is hired because for whatever reason a change is needed. Many coaches
do not end up having success in their new positions because they may over-look the
most crucial aspect to branding a winning tradition. They approach the situation
from a problem first mentality, taking weaknesses or the “problems” and trying to
fix them.
While on the surface this approach may seem appropriate and many would
probably tell you it is. In order to take a program from the depths of the NCAA
standings and become the thriving, successful program they hope to become,
none of the “problems” can be viewed as problems. However, the key to shifting a
culture is not fixing your problems, it is implementing solutions. You implement
solutions and move toward your true intention as a head coach, which is to establish
a winning tradition and build a program for the future, not a season. “Our future
is bright, no matter what you hear out there, our future is going to be right, we’re
going to work hard and we’re going to make the right steps and do it the right
way,” said an honest Coach MacIntyre at the 2013 Pac-12 Football Media Day in Los
Angeles earlier this summer.
In Coach Mac’s case, he is actually fortunate for the struggles of a season ago. Due to
the poor season CU had last year, a vast majority of the program was in favor and more
importantly, open, to a positive culture shift. Those who were
not, or chose to pursue other avenues, found their way out of a Buffalo uniform one
way or another. While some may feel Embree wasn’t given his proper chance, there
is no question that the culture of the program needed to change. Buff fans don’t
want to see the disappointment and disgrace on the face of their Head Coach on the
sidelines and at times, the befuddlement of the surrounding coaching staff when
things went from bad to worse last season. They don’t want to see poorly attended
games, where it’s customary for fans to leave at halftime because the game was no
longer competitive. It sets a poor example for the fans but more importantly, it is the
polar opposite of the example a Coach should set for his players, “When you are
coming off a season like last year, sometimes just trying to find the fun is the most
important part of it all,” explains Brown. Players deserve the opportunity to look to
a leader who is not disappointed or upset with their performance, but in a constant
state of expectance of the best versions of the players they can be. Not someone who
will go through the motions when the game has been decided early in the third
quarter. There is no fun in allowing on average 46 points per game and there is
definitely no fun in losing every home game of the season, “When you can make
football fun again, then the guys can go out and play loose, then it’s possible that
they can play past their ability,” says Brown. “A team that’s not having fun is never
going to play up to their ability. With that sense of fun, that sense of passion, that
sense of energy, then you may be able to go out there and upset some people and
have a season far better than most would’ve expected.”
Coach MacIntyre’s optimism and inspiration has already made it’s way to
every locker in the locker room and all Colorado Football fans will be able to tell
from the moment the Buffs take the field on Sunday. “I don’t know much about the
last seven seasons, I just know what we’re going to do as a program. I have a
phenomenal coaching staff and that'll be a reason we’re successful, but it’s the
overall program. What the University’s doing to get things moving in the right
direction is exciting,” said MacIntyre. There is a renewed spirit around the likes of
Folsom Field and Dal Ward, a flash of optimism, a glimmer of hope that hasn’t been
seen around these parts for what has only been about 5 years but has felt like a
decade. That being said, there is still one remaining question. Can the community be
in complete support of the team? Can the fan base see the positives in the team and
recognize the journey not measured by wins or losses but by the feeling you get
when you walk into Folsom? Will Buffaloes fans be patient enough to weather the
bumps in the road? Will a program that has been united by the direct intention of a
staff under Coach MacIntyre restore its adoration within the community and return
to its once glorious ways? Will fans show up on Saturdays and voice their support
for the program with positive expectations and the same optimistic outlook their
head coach has? Or will this be another season of under performing, under supported
Colorado Football? A great opportunity lies ahead for BuffNation to instill
a long lost fervor for a program with outstanding passion and tradition. When they
walk into Sports Authority Field at Mile High on Sunday, all CU fans must consider
what role they play in the success of the Colorado Football Program. As a
community we must vow to bring the energy and excitement to the games and
restore the Pride of the once Mighty Herd. Coach Mac is has brought back the fun on
the field, it is up to us to do the same in the stands.
Follow Mat Smith on Twitter at https://twitter.com/RealMatSmith