Two coaches were fired recently, Houston Nutt and Joe Paterno. They represent, to this writer, two very different models of the college football coach. In examining them I am drawn to Dicken’s novel , “A Tale of Two Cities”, and its examination of duality. Recall the opening line: ”It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”. Dickens then recites a litany of absurdities related to the prevailing historical circumstance, absurdities which will prove not comic, but tragic. For our purpose we examine his psychological narrative in which personal strength becomes weakness, and vice versa. In all the dualities, best/worst, London/Paris, hero/villain Dickens shows contrasts that defy linear exposition, and the inherent contradictions within each lead to the opposite of the implied conclusion.
Houston Nutt gives us the rugged American individual, Richard Boone’s Palladin, Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry. All about the job, he has no real allegiance to anything outside self and the job is an extension of that self, a solipsism that allows him “Room to Move” (ref John Mayall). Such individuals never become ”legendary” coaches regardless of their success. A rolling stone gathers no moss, but moss is akin to mineral “tooth decay.” He moved from Boise literally in the middle of the night, without so much as a “fare thee well”, after promising this then struggling program that he would stay to right it. Dickens give us a similar character, Sydney Carton. A dissolute attorney, he sees nothing to live for until he falls in love, which is unrequited. It Is Carton’s non-attachment, however, that gives him the power to perform the most extremely unselfish act, to die so that the lovers (his love) can survive. “It is a far far better thing I do”. I doubt Nutt had any similar thought, but I also would bet he didn’t live much if any of his skin at Mississippi, nor did he at Arkansas. “They pay you to win in the SEC”. Functional, pure-job as job, nothing personal. In this case, a triumph of sorts. He’ll move on as the rolling stone he is, and “wherever he lays his hat is his home”(ref “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” Jackson 5/Temptations).
Point of emphasizes is at the 4:58 mark on the video below
Paterno represents the other extreme, the self given to over identification. We are not given a clear character representing this in Dickens novel, but there are 2 very real historical ones, Robespierre and St. Just, who as the leaders of the Committee of Public Safety inspired, created and instigated the Reign of Terror, condemning hundreds to the guillotine until they were too beheaded. Paterno’s dedication, labor, and intense love for the Penn State program drew him in too far in the same way. The personality and the abstraction melded, and in that alchemy the conscience ceased to exist as an independent check. Joe as “Penn State” did not revel in the arbitrary exercise of power, like Stalin. But when the individual and the ideal become one, the human is unable to step outside, gain perspective, and use the calculus of simple empathy, make the right call. It will develop that many, many calls were not made. Melville said all human greatness is disease; Paterno wanted to be forever identified with Penn State and now he will be , like Captain Ahab to Moby Dick, lashed and bound in an ocean of horrific sordidness which at this writing appears unfathomable.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ryIK9TLAoAs
And what of our Coach Pete? As a Boise State fan, analyzing him is like playing Texas Hold “Em with him. We know we has hole cards, but what they are we can only guess (Why did he “check” at Stanford? Is he betting on the “river” (Oregon)?) Dickens novel reminds us that every prominence of character casts a shadow, the “dark side of the force (Obie). His relentless equanimity is his defining feature, but nature sides with the hidden flaw (Murphy’s Law). Don’t over read; I respect him. But respect contains elements of affection and fear, with the proportions adjusted according to the individual. He is just a human being “with all the faults, all the traps” (ref Jerry Lewis “The King of Comedy”). I am not saying NOT to light a bonfire in honor to him, but let’s save some kindling for ourselves. Dickens (and Melville) would approve.
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