Win Forever
Page 10
When I look back on that night in the desert, I realize we had reached a crossroads that we all are faced with now and then, where an opportunity presents itself for things to change forever. I will always be grateful for that weekend when all seemed lost. It felt like we were ready to crumble, but when we needed it most, we stayed with our basic philosophy and continued to compete to the end. Of course, we didn’t win every game from then on, but we won a lot of them, and it began when it looked like we were going to hit rock bottom.
After that first season we started a tradition in spring practice. Every year, on the first day of our monthlong spring practice, we would begin with a team meeting. Predictably, the veteran guys would settle into the same seats they had gotten used to during the previous season. That just seems to be human nature.
This meeting would begin by congratulating the guys on being there and on the job they had done the previous season. We’d remind them that we had last year’s highlights on a DVD for them to take home and watch whenever they wanted. Then I’d tell them how fired up I was about spring practice and I would tell them to get up and find a different seat. My message was that there was no room for anybody to be thinking that last year’s success guaranteed anything for the upcoming season. If they wanted to compete at an uncommon level and live our philosophy, they needed a brand-new perspective on the upcoming season; by changing their seats, at least symbolically, they now found themselves with a new perspective. They could take that DVD and put it in their back pocket. By finding a new seat, they would recommit to capturing the work ethic that would allow them to maximize their potential.
This little ritual may have been a small thing, but it sent a powerful message on a number of levels. Yes, we may have been champions, but it had to be understood that as a program we were never about winning one championship or one Rose Bowl—we were about owning the Rose Bowl. That’s why, in spite of my pride in our accomplishments as an organization, I never wanted to get too excited about wearing our championship rings or make a big deal about our past success. Why? Because we can’t do anything about what has already happened. All we ever really have is the very next moment we are facing. Of course, we always can celebrate, learn, and grow from past experiences, but the very next step we are about to take may be the most important one and we don’t want to miss it.
So at the beginning of each spring practice, we’d change seats to look at our world with new eyes. We were making the statement that it was a new year and we were making a fresh start. It’s a competitive thought. If we are truly competing, we can never afford to look at things from an old perspective. In essence, we opened each year by celebrating a new beginning from an appropriate and new vantage point.
The football program that we pulled together at USC was composed of millions of details, but we structured those details by always keeping the big picture in view. We wanted to maximize our potential and do everything we did better than it had ever been done before. This meant everything, not just as football coaches and players but as human beings. We sought to instill a way of looking at not just football but everything in life as a series of opportunities to become the best versions of ourselves—not according to anyone else’s definition of success but according to the one we set for ourselves.
If our vision was to “do things better than they have ever been done before,” we knew we would have to support that with a structure—not just an intellectual or conceptual structure but a consistent and clearly expressed set of expectations. These expectations had to be specific and concise enough to be enforceable, but they also needed to be broad enough to work as a flexible teaching tool in a wide variety of situations.
At USC I introduced “Three Rules,” which became foundational elements for our program. They may not have translated exactly into all situations but they offered a basic framework that would apply to almost any organization seeking to establish a culture that gets the most out of its people. Here is how we laid it out:Rule 1. Always Protect the Team
Rule 2. No Whining, No Complaining, No Excuses
Rule 3. Be Early
Protecting the team was all about our players’ consciences. We wanted them to be fully aware of what they were doing at all times and to understand that for every decision they made there would be a result that affected the team and ultimately everyone who depended on our success. We wanted them to seek outcomes that would protect their family, their teammates, and their university. It’s a great rule, I think, because it’s both open-ended and uncompromising.
We utilized Rule #1 in many ways in our program, but collectively we probably leaned on it most of all when dealing with our losses. Fortunately, we didn’t have a lot of them, but each one was monumental for us. At times the public perception after a loss was that our program was way off course. In fact we were a lot more resilient than that, and part of that resiliency came from our ability to lean on Rule #1 as a core element of the program. Whether it was Oregon State in 2006, Oregon or Stanford in 2007, or Washington in 2009, when tough losses occurred, we were sure to examine every snap of the game. Whether it was a missed blocking assignment, a personal foul, or a blown read on defense, it was vital that our players understood the importance of every decision they made on every snap. It is easy for a young athlete to lose focus or fail to comprehend the importance of his assignment on each play, but it was our job as a staff to tap into each player’s conscience. Rule #1 allowed us to do that. When a play didn’t turn out well, we were careful not to frame the analysis in terms of laying blame but rather to point out that when someone failed to execute, it may have been because he did not fully understand his responsibility. As coaches, we wanted to make the impression that everything counted and sometimes experiencing a loss created the best opportunity for that.
Rule #1 was instrumental in protecting our program off the field as well. We were fortunate not to have too many disciplinary issues at USC, and Rule #1 was a major reason why. Our staff understood that we were operating in a college setting bordering Hollywood, where the social scene never lacks excitement, but we needed our players to look out for one another at all times. Understanding what it means to “Always Protect the Team” was enormously beneficial to our program. The upperclassmen became the beacons for Rule #1, taking the younger players under their wing while championing our staff’s message.
Rule #2 was almost as simple: “No Whining, No Complaining, No Excuses.” Where Rule #1 was about recognizing the consequences of our actions, this one was about our language, or what we refer to as self-talk—and how important it was to take responsibility for yourself and make no excuses. I strongly believe in the power of intentions and wanted everyone in our program to speak in the affirmative. Whereas a negative mentality attracts negative thoughts, a positive approach creates the power of possibilities. (By the way, this rule was borrowed from Coach Wooden’s book—thanks, Coach!)
This is not to say that I wanted to sweep problems under the rug or deny that they existed. Far from it. If a player had a direct problem with me or how I was coaching, I not only wanted to hear about it, I felt I needed to. However, there are appropriate times to express these frustrations and that meant my door was always open. If a player was unhappy about his playing time, I wanted him to talk to his coaches before he complained to his teammates. As coaches, we would prefer to deal with issues head-on instead of burying them and would discourage members of our program from complaining or making excuses. By encouraging our players to communicate in such ways, we developed a positive mentality for the entire team.
Rule #2 got its first major test at USC in 2001. It was my first spring as head coach, and our starting QB, Carson Palmer, was having as good a month throwing the football as I had ever seen. An exceptional athlete, Carson stood six feet five inches, weighed 235 pounds, and ran, at that time, a 4.6-second forty-yard dash. In the first fourteen spring practices he had played extremely well and had yet to throw an interception. He was becoming a team leader and hi
s confidence was growing with each workout.
During the final workout which was our annual spring game, Carson tossed his first two interceptions of the spring, and as we stood at the team barbecue afterward, they were obviously affecting him. I asked him what he thought about his performance, and his response was the last thing I expected:
“It’s just so typical. I always play well and then screw it up when it matters most.”
At that moment I stopped him in his tracks, made him put his tray down, and firmly told him one simple thing. “Carson, you never, ever, get to talk that way again.”
It was a great example of the power of Carson’s negative self-talk. Rather than accepting the challenge to compete to get the best of his self-doubt, he had given in to a negative expectation and expressed it as fact.
Self-talk can be powerful and ultimately can create anticipated outcomes. In Carson’s case, it helped to create a negative outcome. But it can also be used to create positive outcomes, and I was determined to help Carson alter his language.
Throughout the summer and fall, when Carson and I spoke, positive affirmations and self-talk were central themes. It wasn’t a case of hiding from or sugarcoating the truth. The fact was that Carson was a fabulous football player. I knew it and everyone around him knew it. He just needed to know it too. Two years later, he led our team to a 10-2 record and an Orange Bowl title and captured the Heisman Trophy. He left USC as the Pac-10 all-time leader in passing yards, completions, and total offense. He was also the number one overall pick in the 2003 NFL draft, selected by the Cincinnati Bengals. Those accolades only confirmed the extraordinary level of expectations he deserved to own. As soon as he stopped doubting himself and began to envision positive outcomes, his natural gifts propelled him to great success.
In the 2003-2004 season, our ability to utilize Rule #2 was put to the test. We finished the season 11-1, ranked number one in the Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN coaches’ poll, but ranked lower in the all important computer poll. The result was that we were left out of the BCS national championship game.
After beating Oregon State to end the season, I can remember sitting at home wondering how the bowl game scenario would shape up. When the polls were released the next morning, my youngest son, Nate, and I were on the computer going through each possibility. We could see the writing on the wall and anticipated that we would likely be left out of the title game.
Driving in to campus that day, I had to prepare a message to deliver to our players during the team meeting that afternoon. I called senior associate athletic director Daryl Gross to discuss the situation, and he told me history proved that whoever was number one in the Associated Press poll usually remained number one, if they won their bowl game. Thus, the message would be simple. If we could beat Michigan in the Rose Bowl, we could still be national champions.
It ended up being a great example of how we use Rule #2, as our players easily could have walked out of that meeting addressing the media with complaints or excuses about the computer poll and the BCS title matchup, but they never wavered. Each member of the team spoke with the same positive voice regarding our bowl game. We were fortunate to represent the Pac-10 in the Rose Bowl, and if we won, we would be crowned national champions. We focused on what we could control and didn’t look back as we defeated the Wolverines 28-14, with Matt Leinart tossing three touchdowns and catching another.
Let me be the first to say that following Rule #2 can be difficult. It’s often much easier to whine, complain, and make excuses. Trust me, I’ve been tempted to go down that road many times. It was hard seeing my name on the front pages of the New York Post and Boston Globe as writers were calling for my job. It was difficult to hear from two different owners that they didn’t feel I had what it took to lead their franchises. It was awful to get fired on five separate occasions and move my family around the country. I disliked every minute of it but I found a way not to sanction those opinions and decisions. I held on to the competitive thought that I just needed another chance.
The third and final rule in our program, “Be Early,” was all about being organized and showing respect. At USC, we wanted our players in meetings before they started, and more important, we wanted them there with their playbooks open and minds ready to learn. To be early, you must have your priorities in order. You have to be organized to the point where you have a plan and can execute it effectively. Part of teaching players to execute on the field is teaching them to execute off the field as well. We wanted them to understand that by being organized they demonstrated respect for the coaches who called the meeting, for their teammates, and ultimately for themselves. Our players could not choose when to be early and when not to, just as with any other commitment they had made. This made it possible for them to be at their best in our program, by respecting the process and those involved in it.
Rule #3 was also an opportunity for new arrivals to understand the uncommon level of performance we expected from them in every aspect of their lives. This could be an issue with freshmen in particular. Every year there were always one or two young players who wanted to demonstrate their individuality by being the last guy into the meeting, sneaking in right before we started. When we noticed something like that, we would bring the player into our staff room and place him in what we called a roundtable discussion. The player would sit at one end of a long table surrounded by the staff. The coaches would then discuss the importance of being early and being organized. We would tell the player that by being early, he would make every aspect of his life easier. By being organized he would play with more confidence, and by taking notes he would be more prepared. Typically, the player had not realized the rationale behind the rule or how much we thought it said about what we expected from him on and off the field. Once he got the message, not only would he become the first guy in the meetings, but over time he would improve his play and also recognize an important chance to prove his commitment to his teammates.
Limiting ourselves to three rules was a very conscious choice. The scope they cover is broad and is enough to encompass any issue or indiscretion that might arise. It started with a player’s conscience, dealt with his language and self-talk, and ended with the discipline and respect it took to do things right. Just like any other organization, a team needs rules and guidelines.
12
COACH YOUR COACHES
The Win Forever philosophy is not just about maximizing the potential of our players. It is about maximizing the potential of everyone in a program or organization. All the principles we use with our players apply to our coaches and other staff members as well. Right down to the core of our being, we believe that our success depends on ensuring that everyone is completely engaged, committed, and in a relentless pursuit of a competitive edge. A big part of my job is creating an environment where this will happen.
As head coach, I set the vision and the philosophy, but it is the coordinators and other coaches who are charged with implementing it on the ground with the players every day. They have to be comfortable with the plan, confident in themselves, and armed with a competitive spirit to do their jobs better than they have ever been done before. We work to ensure this by empowering our coaches and putting them in positions where they are given the opportunity to succeed. I put great emphasis on making sure that I coach our coaches and that our success also helps them develop their own vision and teaching styles.
Just as with our players, I do everything I can to elicit my coaches’ competitive drive and strengthen their sense of themselves in their work. I even use many of the same methods that I use with our players to stir up my coaches’ competitive energies. I love to stoke little rivalries between the coaches of various position groups. If I do this effectively, the energy trickles right down to the players. If I start messing with someone in the morning staff meeting, you can count on his guys playing that much harder in practice that afternoon. It is a great illustration of how contagious that competitive drive can be.
When Lane Kiffin and Rocky Seto came aboard as young coaches in our first year at USC, they were surrounded by a variety of veterans—all fiery, tough coaches whose energy was infectious. As Lane and Rocky were developing, they watched those coaches and observed how hard they were on their players. Predictably, Lane and Rocky both began to coach hard themselves, with a demeanor that didn’t necessarily fit their personalities. They would yell and scream, but it was evident to me that they were acting outside themselves. After a few weeks, I sat down with each of them individually to discuss their approach.
We discussed how they were coaching outside their personalities and how that would weaken them in the long run. For them to maximize their players’ ability, I explained, they would have to teach from inside themselves, because that was what would make them the most authentic and effective coaches possible. They listened to my advice and it was a blast after that to watch Lane and Rocky develop each season into more efficient teachers and more confident coaches. As the two of them grew up within our system, they worked to develop their own personal coaching style.
Ultimately, the most critical point in coaching our coaches is to understand that we don’t want every coach to have the same style. What we need on our staff are unique competitors who can each find a way to deliver the same message with one heartbeat. The coaches need to internalize the message and then convey it in their own voice. When each person does that, we get a diversity of styles and approaches that makes the whole team stronger.