Bottom line: the coach needs coaching. I work with CEOs and senior managers coaching them on what to say to the media, typically in preparation for or response to a crisis. Guess what? Football is entertainment, but when you are facing the next opponent that is ready to humiliate you and beat you by 60 points, that's a crisis. Same rules apply.
Jauron is a nice guy, but I wince everytime he's standing in front of that backdrop with the Bills and sponsor logos and open his mouth to speak. If I had two hours with the guy, and about two minutes before each media session, I could fix him. Not his coaching, but he'd be a lot smoother with the media.
I'm no Belicheat fan, but someone in that organization had the insight to hire a media coach for him and his staff. First, that lockdown they have on players talking about anything isn't by chance, and it isn't BB. It's an organization-wide policy. Second, BB always sounds like the other team is going to destroy him because he's had training. However, in the midst of his, "Well, they are well-coached and present a challenge" riff, you get the feeling in the pit of your gut that he's really telling you he's going to rip your insides out and feed them to you.
Jauron's hokey, aw-shucks, brutally-honest "It's going to be very difficult" material is NOT the image a team wants to convey. If he's being himself, then he needs to be coached to change that persona. Last Thursday, did you hear the response Mike Tomlin and any Steeler gave when asked having something to prove as returning champs? To a man, they said, "That was last year. This year, we need to win games." Same with the Terrible Towel incident. Last year.
If the Bills were smart, their head coach would be saying, "The pre-season is the pre-season. We're ready for the Pats, the guys are fired up, and we're going to make sure we execute." None of this "we need to get better fast" tripe.
Get me Brandon's e-mail and I'll take care of this mess.
Mike Quinn
mike@strategiQbrand.com
45-year Bills fan
GO BILLS!