Steven Sipple: Matt Rhule lays it on the line with candor, saying top players “need to show up”
Nebraska coach Matt Rhule occasionally quotes the late, great Bill Walsh.
He did it again Monday.
“Bill Walsh said it, ‘Champions behave like champions before they’re champions,’” Rhule told reporters. “They have a winning standard. I want a winning mindset.”
Rhule didn’t see that type of mindset from his team in Nebraska’s 45-7 loss to second-ranked Michigan on Saturday in Memorial Stadium. He expanded on the subject at length during his weekly media session Monday. If you’re a Husker fan, you perhaps appreciated his candor. I know I did.
I’ve said it before: Rhule is a bona fide leader. He studies leaders. He takes that aspect of his job very seriously.
This just in: Not every head coach is a strong leader. Some are scheme magicians who fall into top leadership roles and scramble to understand what it takes.
Rhule isn’t scrambling. His leadership ability has been clear to me since he took over the Nebraska job in late November. But he’s guiding a program that has struggled mightily for the past half-dozen seasons or so. He’s trying to get his messages ingrained throughout the program, but it takes time.
That was painfully evident against Michigan.
I asked Rhule after the game if his team matched the Wolverines’ intensity. He gave a good answer. But he gave a better one Monday, saying he had given it more thought over the weekend.
He said his team played with hesitancy when it needed to be in attack mode.
He takes personal responsibility, as any good leader would do.
“We have some really good players who are going to play in the National Football League,” Rhule said. “They need to show up. They need to show up.”
Michigan’s wealth of talented players obviously showed up ready for a scrap. The Wolverines showed up with a proper mindset, presumably ingrained in UM’s culture during the course of Jim Harbaugh’s eight-plus years in charge.
Eight-plus years in charge. Keep that in mind.
“Our really good players need to show up,” Rhule said. “That’s not me calling anybody out. That’s me giving them confidence that I believe they can do it. There’s a big difference, right? I’m not calling anybody out by name.
“We have guys on our team that I believe can absolutely wreck a game, and I want to see them wreck a game.”
They’ll have another chance Friday night when Nebraska (2-3, 0-2 Big Ten) plays Illinois (2-3, 0-2 Big Ten) in Champaign, Illinois.
“This whole, ‘I’m just overthinking a little bit, coach, and I’m worried about this and I don’t want to make a mistake’ … OK, enough,” Rhule said.
Bottom line, Rhule wants to see his players show up and play with confidence, as opposed to being afraid to make mistakes and being afraid to lose.
“When people say, ‘Learning how to win,’ if you haven’t won a lot, it’s hard to figure out how to win,” Rhule said.
I grow sort of tired of all the mental gymnastics in sports and in life, but what Rhule says here makes sense.
He’s talking about the subject openly because he says he wants to essentially speak a proper mindset in his program into existence. That makes sense, too.
“That’s my job,” he said. “I haven’t gotten it done, yet. So, I’m anxious to play on Friday.”
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Rhule clearly wanted to get some things off his chest
Rhule’s extensive answer Monday regarding mindset in his program was interesting in part because it was in response to my question that really had nothing to do with the subject.
I asked Rhule if this might be a good time for Nebraska to hit the road for a quick-turnaround Friday night game. My line of thinking is simply that this particular road trip gives Rhule and company a chance to take its best 74 players on the road and regroup.
Many coaches have told me over the years that there are fewer distractions when a team goes on the road. Sometimes going on the road leads to better overall focus and a team’s bond growing tighter.
A Friday night game leads to a slightly altered schedule. Something different than the norm also can be a good thing for any organization.
That’s all I meant with the question.
My read of Rhule’s answer was he really wanted to get the mindset comments off his chest and, once again, speak the proper mindset into existence.
Rhule is clear on Nebraska’s offensive identity
At one point during the Bo Pelini era at Nebraska (2008 to 2014), as the Husker offense was struggling, I pulled Pelini aside and asked him a simple question: What is your offense’s identity.
“It’s multiple,” he said flatly.
Can you expand on that, I asked, hoping to write a full column on the subject.
“Multiple,” he repeated.
So much for that column.
I thought of that moment Monday as Rhule once again spoke publicly in clear terms about Nebraska’s offensive identity.
“I would not confuse identity — knowing what you want to do and who you are — with always having success,” he said before expanding on the topic.
Nebraska essentially abandoned much of its identity once it fell behind by three touchdowns early in the second quarter Saturday.
Rhule added, “We know exactly who we are. We’re going to run the ball. We’re going to run a little bit of option. We’re going to play-action pass here and there. We’re going to convert third downs.
“I think we’re just trying to do it better.”
That starts with knowing exactly what you’re trying to do. Rhule explains it well, in clear terms — as good leaders tend to do.
I’m here for the Tommi Hill praise
Rhule said he showed the entire team video clips of Husker defensive back/return man Tommi Hill as an example of what he wants in terms of competitiveness.
Regular readers know I’m a fan of Tommi Hill and his aggressive manner and love for the sport. So, yes, my ears perked up.
Near the end of Saturday’s game, Rhule told Hill he was going to put in a younger player in his place. Hill said no way, coach.
“Tommi Hill, just give me a bunch of guys like that,” Rhule said. “He doesn’t want it easy. He wants it to be difficult. Loves to compete, so I showed the team (video) so that they all know.”
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