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True Story...

LaserCoog

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Feb 5, 2002
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https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2016/12/1/13809438/kevin-wilson-resigns-indiana-head-coach

I was gonna hold back on this, but then i saw former Indiana HC Kevin Wilson mentioned as a candidate for the UTEP HC position in waiting. Attached article gives solid background on the "issues" associated with Wilson's departure from IU.

True story, Saturday before last I attended the All American Futurity in Ruidoso (helluva good time, BTW). Randomly met a local who mentioned he had attended several UTEP pre-season workouts there. Said he has zero UTEP connections but played CFB several years ago at a P-5 program. I casually asked him for any "takeaways" from those sessions. He paused for a moment, then mentioned his impression that the UTEP FB staff in general and the HC in particular were the most profane, vulgar, and aggressive toward their players he had ever been around. He recalled one case in which Kugler called the team together and challenged anybody who had any issues with him to meet him in his office and try to kick his ass. Quotes.

Point? More than a few UTEP supporters are looking for answers these days about the state of the program. Most UTEP fans seem to now agree that Kugler 1.0 and 2.0 has been out-coached and out-recruited from jump start. However, this is not the first time I've heard similar stories about player mistreatment by Kugler and FB staff members, maybe this is just corroborating evidence.

In business, people don't work for companies, people work for people. In college football, players don't play for schools, players play for coaches. You ask them to 100% buy in and to run through walls for you for 4-5 years, you'd better have their respect - and their backs. And how you treat one of them translates to what you'll do to any of them. No, not be their best friend or their surrogate parent. But not abuse, play politics, demean, and threaten to kick their asses, either.

Some people think this is just effective, "old school" football, that today's player is soft and coddled. It's not and they're not. But if you want their respect, you'd better be willing and able to first give it.

Maybe something to think about when the time comes to get serious about the next HC hire at UTEP...
 
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Mike Price was a players' coach and from what I've heard there was very little discipline, with rumors of drinking parties at the New Mexico Bowl and low graduation rates and the like. Under Kugler, there has been an emphasis on discipline and graduation rates have soared. In preparing the student-athletes for life beyond football, who has done a better service to the students?

Is it always the best thing for punk teenagers to coddle them?
 
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Mike Price was a players' coach and from what I've heard there was very little discipline, with rumors of drinking parties at the New Mexico Bowl and low graduation rates and the like. Under Kugler, there has been an emphasis on discipline and graduation rates have soared. In preparing the student-athletes for life beyond football, who has done a better service to the students?

Is it always the best thing for punk teenagers to coddle them?

"From what you've heard..."? "New Mexico Bowl drinking parties"? You see, Feral, there's your problem, you and others keep repeating unsubstantiated myths and simply REFUSE to take a quantum leap forward - to the present. What was that, 8-9 years and two administration ago? And I was at that game and can tell you I saw zero evidence of your unsubstantiated allegations. Like Kugler and a certain president, if you got nothing, you incessantly talk about the past and bad mouth your predecessor.

Kugler deserves credit for substantially upgrading UTEP football academics, which began with outstanding performance by a large group of graduating seniors in 2013, his first year. Ever consider that 100% of those graduates were NOT Kugler recruits? You think they just magiclally got smart or serious about school? How about the year after that? And the year after that? So give Kugler credit where it's due but try to be just a little objective.

And if you think current and former UTEP athletes are "punk teenagers", I got nothing for you...
 
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LaserKook, an obvious pretend UTEP "fan" that trolls these boards with nothing but negative shit, is someone we're supposed to believe that he "heard" this "True story" about alleged player mistreatment? Uh no.
And before the collection of trolls that populate this board start accusing me (and anyone that's not always bashing our coaches, players, school and city) of being a "Kugler lover that embraces "mediocrity", I have posted my share of criticism of the state of our football program under Coach Kug.
 
"From what you've heard..."? "New Mexico Bowl drinking parties"? You see, Feral, there's your problem, you and others keep repeating unsubstantiated myths
Fair enough. I can't substantiate them. Can any of the posters who have floated these rumors in the past provide any insight?

As Vegas pointed out, you created this thread with quite an unsubstantiated anecdote of your own.

And I was at that game and can tell you I saw zero evidence of your unsubstantiated allegations.
Why would you have seen evidence of this at the game (aside from the on-the-field results)? The rumors were about parties the night before, etc. If those parties did happen (and I have no idea if they did), why would you have been invited? The act of sitting in attendance at the bowl game makes you a witness only to what happened on the field during the bowl game.
 
Fair enough. I can't substantiate them. Can any of the posters who have floated these rumors in the past provide any insight?

As Vegas pointed out, you created this thread with quite an unsubstantiated anecdote of your own.

Why would you have seen evidence of this at the game (aside from the on-the-field results)? The rumors were about parties the night before, etc. If those parties did happen (and I have no idea if they did), why would you have been invited? The act of sitting in attendance at the bowl game makes you a witness only to what happened on the field during the bowl game.

Yep, right on. I showed up 30 minutes before the game, had a couple of shots of 1800 then flew my Lear Jet to Nova Scotia to see a total eclipse of the sun. Fun day...
 
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LaserKook, an obvious pretend UTEP "fan" that trolls these boards with nothing but negative shit, is someone we're supposed to believe that he "heard" this "True story" about alleged player mistreatment? Uh no.
And before the collection of trolls that populate this board start accusing me (and anyone that's not always bashing our coaches, players, school and city) of being a "Kugler lover that embraces "mediocrity", I have posted my share of criticism of the state of our football program under Coach Kug.

Rest easy, Vegas, nobody would stoop so low as to childishly denigrate your internet handle or label you a dumbass homer. Nobody.
 
Just a thought. I don't condone asshole coaching, especially below the professional level. There are many ways to coach. This is not an excuse, but keep in mind though that kids usually have a difficult time implementing what a coach really wants or tells them to do in the game. Kids usually have a hard time bringing what they practice to game time situations. They often can not make the adjustments or decisions fast enough (or dont even try). They don't understand some concepts or schemes like coaches or older players do. This drives coaches crazy and leads to asshole coaching because the coaches want them to be like adults that know what they are doing. Coaches that win below the professional level on a consistant basis win 99% of the time because of talent.
 
Just a thought. I don't condone asshole coaching, especially below the professional level. There are many ways to coach. This is not an excuse, but keep in mind though that kids usually have a difficult time implementing what a coach really wants or tells them to do in the game. Kids usually have a hard time bringing what they practice to game time situations. They often can not make the adjustments or decisions fast enough (or dont even try). They don't understand some concepts or schemes like coaches or older players do. This drives coaches crazy and leads to asshole coaching because the coaches want them to be like adults that know what they are doing. Coaches that win below the professional level on a consistant basis win 99% of the time because of talent.

Uh, WHAT?!?
 
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whether he did or did not... He still is doing a crappy job as coach... Maybe he can become professor Kugler.. Since he can get them academically better... Coaching, ehh... lets start from scratch...
 
Hold up, UNM coach is under fire right now for player mistreatment.
Do we still have to payout Kugler's contract for firing him for player mistreatment?
 
Would yelling and berating players constitute breaking a morality clause if one were to exist?
 
Cuss, pray after practice or discuss the philosophy of Aristotle; different strokes for different folks.

But on the other hand, I do agree that the coaching style of "Go ahead! You want a piece of me? See me in my office!" coaching style is not only unfruitful, it is counterproductive and you can go ahead and kiss the season goodbye. Now when a player is strutting around like he is the be all and end all of the land then a little talking to in the coaches office and laying down the law is a totally different story. We're talking about a 18-20 year old muscle head testosterone binged young dumb and full of wonderment young men. That is not easy to control.
 
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https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2016/12/1/13809438/kevin-wilson-resigns-indiana-head-coach

I was gonna hold back on this, but then i saw former Indiana HC Kevin Wilson mentioned as a candidate for the UTEP HC position in waiting. Attached article gives solid background on the "issues" associated with Wilson's departure from IU.

True story, Saturday before last I attended the All American Futurity in Ruidoso (helluva good time, BTW). Randomly met a local who mentioned he had attended several UTEP pre-season workouts there. Said he has zero UTEP connections but played CFB several years ago at a P-5 program. I casually asked him for any "takeaways" from those sessions. He paused for a moment, then mentioned his impression that the UTEP FB staff in general and the HC in particular were the most profane, vulgar, and aggressive toward their players he had ever been around. He recalled one case in which Kugler called the team together and challenged anybody who had any issues with him to meet him in his office and try to kick his ass. Quotes.

Point? More than a few UTEP supporters are looking for answers these days about the state of the program. Most UTEP fans seem to now agree that Kugler 1.0 and 2.0 has been out-coached and out-recruited from jump start. However, this is not the first time I've heard similar stories about player mistreatment by Kugler and FB staff members, maybe this is just corroborating evidence.

In business, people don't work for companies, people work for people. In college football, players don't play for schools, players play for coaches. You ask them to 100% buy in and to run through walls for you for 4-5 years, you'd better have their respect - and their backs. And how you treat one of them translates to what you'll do to any of them. No, not be their best friend or their surrogate parent. But not abuse, play politics, demean, and threaten to kick their asses, either.

Some people think this is just effective, "old school" football, that today's player is soft and coddled. It's not and they're not. But if you want their respect, you'd better be willing and able to first give it.

Maybe something to think about when the time comes to get serious about the next HC hire at UTEP...

It's interesting that you mentioned this. In watching UTEP play under Kugler, the players always look like they are playing tight. Like they are afraid to make a mistake. I was relating back to my days when I played High School Baseball and we had a royal A-hole for a coach, and we played like that. I pitched, and if I pitched a good game, he had no problem taking the credit. If I had a bad game, which happened from time to time because we had such a small rotation I often ended pitching 2 or 3 times a week between starts and reliefs, my arm would turn to jelly, the coach would dress you down in front of the team. If you made an error or a base running mistake he'd talk smack to you while you were on the field making your way into the dugout so not only your team heard it but so did the other team. Shoot, one time I hit a home run which was the greatest moment of my high school playing days and all he could say as I rounded 3rd was "let's see you do that when he doesn't throw that into your wheelhouse". It was so bad my Dad said he had no problem if I decked him. Needless to say that the team was always "tight" and we made silly mistakes and played conservatively because we didn't want to get bitched out on the field. I still have nightmares of that prick.

I was thinking maybe the UTEP players are going through that. They look very robotic and not looking like there is any fun involved, like they are going through the motions. It wouldn't surprise me if the players and even possibly the coaches are doing their jobs badly just because they don't want to screw up and hear it from him.
 
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Two years ago during the mid season UTEP players begged Kugler to "open it up". According to his radio show he allowed it and they won. The next week it was back to Kugball.

I got a queasy felling four and half years ago when he spoke on the radio that he wanted to emulate the program based on Rice and what Bailiff has done. That was the best four years of Rice football in seventy years. [facepalm].

This is getting uglier than Lee, Bailey, Nord and Price era.
 
It's interesting that you mentioned this. In watching UTEP play under Kugler, the players always look like they are playing tight. Like they are afraid to make a mistake. I was relating back to my days when I played High School Baseball and we had a royal A-hole for a coach, and we played like that. I pitched, and if I pitched a good game, he had no problem taking the credit. If I had a bad game, which happened from time to time because we had such a small rotation I often ended pitching 2 or 3 times a week between starts and reliefs, my arm would turn to jelly, the coach would dress you down in front of the team. If you made an error or a base running mistake he'd talk smack to you while you were on the field making your way into the dugout so not only your team heard it but so did the other team. Shoot, one time I hit a home run which was the greatest moment of my high school playing days and all he could say as I rounded 3rd was "let's see you do that when he doesn't throw that into your wheelhouse". It was so bad my Dad said he had no problem if I decked him. Needless to say that the team was always "tight" and we made silly mistakes and played conservatively because we didn't want to get bitched out on the field. I still have nightmares of that prick.

I was thinking maybe the UTEP players are going through that. They look very robotic and not looking like there is any fun involved, like they are going through the motions. It wouldn't surprise me if the players and even possibly the coaches are doing their jobs badly just because they don't want to screw up and hear it from him.

I know nothing about what's going on within the program but I can agree with what you're saying. I had a coach like that in basketball and I was more concerned with not messing up as opposed to making plays. Everyone minus the first stringers sucked because we were always treated like garbage and berated because and confidence was run into the dumps. And the sad thing was we won a ton of games and we were not a confident bunch.

Those 04-06 UTEP teams played loose, and you could tell they were having a ball airing it out and doing trick plays. But with that being said I feel like as the years wore on that loose attitude slowly morphed into lazyness because they essentially turned into what this team is now.
 
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