Thinking through a problem vs. an emotional reaction

[GoVols64]

I am reading through a lot of the panic posts that have become to typical when things don't fit into whatever expectation the particular poster has and it reminded me of my days in the military.

The leaders who "got it," regardless of rank, were the ones that could control their emotions and think through a problem. They had realistic expectations based on the current situation and adapted their behavior, decision making and approach as needed to best accomplish the mission. To my surprise this has mirrored itself in the corporate world as well.

The point is this: We have a ton of emotional people (followers) reacting viscerally instead of thinking through toward a solution (Leading).

CJP isn't happy about the flips or final result, no one is nor should they be. We should not, however, try and throw him and the staff off of a bridge because teenagers acted like, well.....teenagers.

The fact that we even made the top three of some of these players the program hadn't even talked to all year is impressive. CJP now has to lead and that means thinking through the problem, building a strategy that puts the talent he has in the best position to win and then executing.

I hope everyone with their hair on fire will take a step back and support this team and this staff instead of reacting senselessly on a thread. It's okay to be disappointed but please don't act like the kids that we are recruiting. I'm wearing my UT gear proudly today, hope you are too!

 

[ptcarter]

I hope everyone with their hair on fire will take a step back and support this team and this staff instead of reacting senselessly on a thread. It's okay to be disappointed but please don't act like the kids that we are recruiting. I'm wearing my UT gear proudly today, hope you are too!

Good post. A lot of folks here are in denial of the events of the 2017 season. UGA/Bama playing for natty, 0-8 SEC, Currie/Haslam crapshow.

Snowflakes need instant gratification. Given the circumstances in the last paragraph, it is a) unrealistic to expect 5* to flip to us, and b) blame CJP as incompetent at this stage.

edit: Oh, and also this was the first time an early signing day ever happened. Think that's easy to respond too when you haven't even pulled your whole staff together?

Patience, grasshopper.

 

[IPleadInsanity]

I don't understand why anyone would think recruits would want to come here. We became the "joke of collegiate sports" just a few months back. Hiring a good coach is not going to put the train back on the track, only time will do that. Yes, we Vol fans were immediately satisfied but the rest of the country will take some time. The Butch Jones hiring may have been the most important hire in our history and we botched it in retrospect. Still had drawing power then but not the case now. The new coach will need to start from scratch, which he did yesterday. My expectations were low and he exceeded them. Onward with the rebuild.

 

[Boca Vol]

This whole place is 1 big emotional reaction! Lulz!

 

[FlyFishnVol]

I would suggest that anyone that is so emotionally connected to something like this take a few steps back and collect your thoughts and realize that this is something you have not control over, its not personal nor is it pervasive. I had to come to terms about my emotional attachment with UT Sports and now I believe it actually is better from a more "mature" place. Coach Pruitt will right the ship, Tennessee has had ups and downs on the recruiting landscape......its hard to bring in kids, especially in today's society.

I will tell you this, the way Copeland handled his announcement........UT dodged a bullet, he embarrassed his mom on a national stage.......can you imagine his attitude when she not around to keep him out of trouble?

We have young men who want to be at UT + we still have a group that want to get back to winning............2018 will be a good year.

GBO!

 

[Vol524]

I agree 100% with everything that has been said in this post. I have been reading this site for a long long time. I have never seen so many unreal expectations in my life.
We are on the right track. Was CJP supposed to hold a gun on recruits to make them sign with a team that 4-8 and 0-8 in conference play last year? Toss in the crazy unreal posts on this site and I would run from UT if I were a 5 star player. Why would some kid from GA or AL come to TN when their home state team played for a NC last year? We will get there. For cryin out loud give the new coach a chance. Try and use some common sense or stop posting. JMHO

 

[UT Hill Man]

Pruitt strikes me as the kind of coach who will make top 20 classes play like top 10 classes.

Of course that's coming off a guy, CBJ, who could turn top 5 classes into dog food.

 

[WesternNCVol]

I think this team has enough talent to be competitive as long as this staff can actually coach and develop players. I feel like at a minimum this staff will plan the game around the players strengths.

If so, they can win 8 games and a bowl.

This with a year to build relationships will certainly boost recruiting to match our rivals.

Like everyone else who coached here, I’ll give them a fair shot at winning. The leash is short based on past failures.

I can say this about Pruitt. He seems to be very genuine and if that’s true I don’t see why he won’t succeed. Player and recruits/parents will be draw to him and work hard.

 

[Behr]

This whole place is 1 big emotional reaction! Lulz!

Funny how some seem surprised by it.

 

[pastorvol]

Very good and sensible summation!

 

[CAVPUT]

Good luck with this OP.

 

[FLVOL_79]

But reacting based on emotion is so much more fun and waaaaaaaaaaay easier/faster than actually thinking!

 

[RollerVol]

thinking rationally is so passe...we want everything and we want it now...:furious3:......and, as always...

GO VOLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Boca Vol]

Funny how some seem surprised by it.

Shhhhh! I hope it never changes. It makes for really entertaining reading. :good!:

 

[Boca Vol]

But reacting based on emotion is so much more fun and waaaaaaaaaaay easier/faster than actually thinking!

thinking rationally is so passe...we want everything and we want it now...:furious3:......and, as always...

GO VOLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Exactly!

What fun is sitting around having civilized conversations with no emotion?

Does anyone recall the outrage from the summer of 2013 when the Athens CoC hired Saban as their keynote speaker? I'm curious if the boycott is still in effect?

 

[VolsR#1n98]

Good observation OP. My 30 years of USAF service has tough me some hard lessons. it's usually better to slow down and aim, think through a situation (not necessarily a problem at this stage) vs shooting from the hip.

Here's are my thoughts and consideration on why we had some of the misses yesterday:

1) Early Signing Period. Two significant impacts on yesterday's outcome:

a) Staff had about a week to load up for the early signing period. Pruitt's staff did well leaning on previously established relationships. The early signing class in my opinion was solid considering.

b) And this is significant to the outcome yesterday: The large percentage of the solid backup pool signed early. That pool was unavailable this year...a major change from previous recruiting cycles. After the early signing period, there were less than 100 of the top 300 players available to sign; only 40 or so uncommitted. All of those top players had a secure landing spot. The rest were the "projects" and less fortunate/lower rated recruits. So in my opinion, Pruitt had to swing for the fences and use 3 or lower "star" recruits for the back-ups. The staff just couldn't close the deal and flip many of the top remaining players. To the staffs credit, they at least had them listening, got them on campus and got the "hat" on the table. He swung for the fence and hit just slid outside the foul pole. Next year should be the better litmus test...better timing.

2. Many of the players previously committed to UT (Butch boys) did not fit this staffs recruiting profile...This staff will play a completely different brand (thank God) and they need players that fit that mold. They had to wave "by" to those they felt wouldn't be able to contribute. They simply had to hit F5/refresh on the current recruiting roster and this left a significant void to fill. If I remember right, they signed about 13 new recruits where TN wasn't on their radar...that's significant as well.

Hang in there...next season should give us an idea on player development and the next recruiting cycle should give us some insight to how this staff can recruit. We simply don't have enough data to make an informed decision at this point.

 

[Crazy Ivan]

I would say that at least 50%, if not more, of the posters on VN should not follow recruiting at all. Some seem to be too emotionally fragile for the roller coaster ride that recruiting is. I thought more than a few posters yesterday had become unhinged judging by their posts.

 

[82_VOL_83]

I would suggest that anyone that is so emotionally connected to something like this take a few steps back and collect your thoughts and realize that this is something you have not control over, its not personal nor is it pervasive. I had to come to terms about my emotional attachment with UT Sports and now I believe it actually is better from a more "mature" place. Coach Pruitt will right the ship, Tennessee has had ups and downs on the recruiting landscape......its hard to bring in kids, especially in today's society.

I will tell you this, the way Copeland handled his announcement........UT dodged a bullet, he embarrassed his mom on a national stage.......can you imagine his attitude when she not around to keep him out of trouble?

We have young men who want to be at UT + we still have a group that want to get back to winning............2018 will be a good year.

GBO!

Excellent post. The best thing we as fans can do is give those that return from last year the hope that all their work will not be in vain. We have kids that have worked 3 and 4 years as hard as they can that are looking forward to going out as winners. I can support that.

 

[BACKDOC]

I am reading through a lot of the panic posts that have become to typical when things don't fit into whatever expectation the particular poster has and it reminded me of my days in the military.

The leaders who "got it," regardless of rank, were the ones that could control their emotions and think through a problem. They had realistic expectations based on the current situation and adapted their behavior, decision making and approach as needed to best accomplish the mission. To my surprise this has mirrored itself in the corporate world as well.

The point is this: We have a ton of emotional people (followers) reacting viscerally instead of thinking through toward a solution (Leading).

CJP isn't happy about the flips or final result, no one is nor should they be. We should not, however, try and throw him and the staff off of a bridge because teenagers acted like, well.....teenagers.

The fact that we even made the top three of some of these players the program hadn't even talked to all year is impressive. CJP now has to lead and that means thinking through the problem, building a strategy that puts the talent he has in the best position to win and then executing.

I hope everyone with their hair on fire will take a step back and support this team and this staff instead of reacting senselessly on a thread. It's okay to be disappointed but please don't act like the kids that we are recruiting. I'm wearing my UT gear proudly today, hope you are too!

I've got two words for ya.........Grant Williams!!

 

[AM64]

I am reading through a lot of the panic posts that have become to typical when things don't fit into whatever expectation the particular poster has and it reminded me of my days in the military.

The leaders who "got it," regardless of rank, were the ones that could control their emotions and think through a problem. They had realistic expectations based on the current situation and adapted their behavior, decision making and approach as needed to best accomplish the mission. To my surprise this has mirrored itself in the corporate world as well.

The point is this: We have a ton of emotional people (followers) reacting viscerally instead of thinking through toward a solution (Leading).

CJP isn't happy about the flips or final result, no one is nor should they be. We should not, however, try and throw him and the staff off of a bridge because teenagers acted like, well.....teenagers.

The fact that we even made the top three of some of these players the program hadn't even talked to all year is impressive. CJP now has to lead and that means thinking through the problem, building a strategy that puts the talent he has in the best position to win and then executing.

I hope everyone with their hair on fire will take a step back and support this team and this staff instead of reacting senselessly on a thread. It's okay to be disappointed but please don't act like the kids that we are recruiting. I'm wearing my UT gear proudly today, hope you are too!

The other part is that nobody seems to realize why Pruitt didn't even try to fill all the positions. Let's say you inherited a set of tools and a job. Now you haven't had time to inventory the tools, but there are a few essentials you know you need and fit your way of working, so you get them. Somebody else put some tools in the cart, and you know they don't fit your methods, so you take them out.

You leave some of your budget open because you don't even get to look into what you have or condition for a while (like the start of spring practice); then you can assess what's missing or broken and do some remedial shopping to fill the holes.

Pruitt played it all very intelligently - like someone who has been around the block a few times. He'll do the rest of his gathering when he can fully evaluate what Butch really left in the cupboard. May not look pretty on NSD, but it will be more impressive when the play begins.

 

[Crazy Ivan]

Pruitt played it all very intelligently - like someone who has been around the block a few times. He'll do the rest of his gathering when he can fully evaluate what Butch really left in the cupboard. May not look pretty on NSD, but it will be more impressive when the play begins.

Yep, he has already indicated this class isn't finished.

 

[VolRoger]

I think this team has enough talent to be competitive as long as this staff can actually coach and develop players. I feel like at a minimum this staff will plan the game around the players strengths.

If so, they can win 8 games and a bowl.

This with a year to build relationships will certainly boost recruiting to match our rivals.

Like everyone else who coached here, I’ll give them a fair shot at winning. The leash is short based on past failures.

I can say this about Pruitt. He seems to be very genuine and if that’s true I don’t see why he won’t succeed. Player and recruits/parents will be draw to him and work hard.

I somewhat disagree respectfully.

1. Why is the leash short on a guy coming in to rebuild
a team that just had its worst season in UT football history? Coach Pruitt has had no past failures that I know of. Most of his staff are winners as well. I would make the case that the failures lie squarely with our athletic department's ineptitude aided by out of control or apathetic big boosters, board members, chancellors, and presidents. That is a long term problem that will take years to fix just as it took well over 15 years to form. The loser mentality has oozed into the fan base as well. That could change in a couple seasons, however.

2. 8 wins, while a good goal, is not very realistic unless we have a lot of guys over there that have been severely underdeveloped for whatever reason. I do believe there are some of those and hopefully we'll see some light bulbs come on this spring, summer and fall. However, I think this team has suffered massive attrition due to players leaving and the suffering of serious injuries, so I'm more skeptical of the talent of non freshman players remaining from past classes. That said, I cannot believe that JG is as ineffective as he has shown. He didn't get that high rating out of high school for nothing. JG played some big teams and lit them up. Hopefully, he gets that winning mentality and ability back. One concern I do have is his athletic build. He really looks small which may point to a lack of effort in the workout room off season.

My recommendation for all Vol fans is get behind this new HC and his staff. Promote the program as if it were your own team, coaches, and players. Make sure our administration and AD knows that we will continue to hold their feet to the fire just like we did during the coaching search circus.

 

[Bassplayer30074]

Finally!!!! A thread that doesn't make me want to pull my hair out. This was the reason I signed up on Volnation. Reading realistic info and good commentary. I can't tell you how many post and threads I've read on hear that make me wish I'd never signed up.

 

[UT-Rex]

Good luck with this OP.

Post 24, and still holding over-all positive responses to OP ...

 

[AM64]

I somewhat disagree respectfully.

1. Why is the leash short on a guy coming in to rebuild
a team that just had its worst season in UT football history? Coach Pruitt has had no past failures that I know of. Most of his staff are winners as well. I would make the case that the failures lie squarely with our athletic department's ineptitude aided by out of control or apathetic big boosters, board members, chancellors, and presidents. That is a long term problem that will take years to fix just as it took well over 15 years to form. The loser mentality has oozed into the fan base as well. That could change in a couple seasons, however.

2. 8 wins, while a good goal, is not very realistic unless we have a lot of guys over there that have been severely underdeveloped for whatever reason. I do believe there are some of those and hopefully we'll see some light bulbs come on this spring, summer and fall. However, I think this team has suffered massive attrition due to players leaving and the suffering of serious injuries, so I'm more skeptical of the talent of non freshman players remaining from past classes. That said, I cannot believe that JG is as ineffective as he has shown. He didn't get that high rating out of high school for nothing. JG played some big teams and lit them up. Hopefully, he gets that winning mentality and ability back. One concern I do have is his athletic build. He really looks small which may point to a lack of effort in the workout room off season.

My recommendation for all Vol fans is get behind this new HC and his staff. Promote the program as if it were your own team, coaches, and players. Make sure our administration and AD knows that we will continue to hold their feet to the fire just like we did during the coaching search circus.

Pruitt went after the biggest identified needs. Jones went shopping for the best "bargains" - star power whether they fit or not - like a woman and a shoe sale. There are a lot of unused "high value" never worn leftovers in Jones' cupboard.

Jones QBs are an interesting case in point. Dormady was a pro style QB in a whacko Jones offense - didn't fit at all. Guarantano was really considered pro style until it looked like being more flexible was better for recruiting - he can't run. It's doubtful that Jones ever figured out that only another Dobbs could make his plan work - and he sure never found another one of those.

After shopping wisely and not blowing the budget by simply filling vacancies with warm bodies and inflating the recruiting (body) count, Pruitt will finally be able to assess the needs when spring practice starts and fill holes with the additional players he needs.