Excerpt from a DMN interview with Kevin Sumlin right before the season in 2012. Oh Chollie you could have learned so much. ****ing graduate level schooling right here on how to come in and take over a program.
quote:
Q: Fans and media obviously are focused on Saturday's opener against Florida. I'm wondering how you visualize the program being in 'x' number of years. Pick a timeframe.
A: I've never put a time on it. Didn't put a time on it in Houston. I think you owe it to the players who are here, particularly the seniors, to try to win now. I'm not a big believer in going in and scrapping everything and throwing out everything. Because the guys who have been here four or five years have invested a lot.
I've said a bunch. Transition is hard on everybody. It's hard on fans. It's hard on coaches. It's hard on coaches' families. But transition is hardest on the players, particularly the seniors. Realistically, they didn't sign up for me. They just didn't. I think in order to be successful, you've got to get people to trust you. It's hard for people to trust you if they don't know you.
You can fool grownups a lot easier than you can 18-year-olds. I think they see right through phoniness. That's the first thing that they're looking for, who you are and are you a fake? Is that really you?
Great teams lead from within. As the coach, you're the director of that. But you don't play. If people don't buy into what you believe in and trying to preach, it'll show.