The Coach Stays Coach Bobby Knight got an early piece of coal last Christmas when a 7 foot sophomore named Jason Collier announced that he was leaving Indiana Universities' basketball program. Collier told the press that Knight made him feel bad about how he was performing so, despite Knight's promises of greater sensitivity in the future, Jason took a powder. Explaining his departure, Collier said, "how would you like being told, every day, that you weren't doing your job right... I just didn't feel I should stay." We may be assured that Mr. Collier will never make in politics or talk radio. Being told you aren't doing your job right is more than a daily experience for most people in highly competitive positions. In the immediate aftermath of Collier's decision, media pundits began the predictable calls for Coach Knight's resignation. The basic argument goes like this; Knight is too hard on kids...kids in the 90's won't put up with it... so get a 90's kind of coach who will kinder and gentler but still kick Kentucky's butt. Sounds reasonable enough until you reflect on why Bobby Knight has managed to hang three national championship banners on the wall of Assembly Hall without even a whiff of scandal or rules violations. Namely, Bobby Knight knows how to get more out of young men than most scouts ever realized was there. Is Bobby Knight too tough on kids? Absolutely, but that is precisely how he has managed to build teams that hold a game plan together even in the fabled final four. The concept is simple; if you can live through the high stress environment of playing for Coach Knight, keeping your cool when a national championship is on the line is a piece of cake. All of this reads like common sense. So why can't the sports media see it that way? Two reasons; few in the sports media have ever been a part of a winning program and our country has gone soft. The first assertion is easy to defend. The next time you read or hear a vitriolic attack on Bobby Knight's tactics, ask the pundit, 'and how many winning programs have you been a part of?'. For most, the answer will be none. In my own business (talk radio) the airwaves are full of people with no experience commenting with authority on matters about which they have no experience. (Ain't the First Amendment great?) As bad as talk radio can be in this regard, it pales in comparison to the pretensions of sports commentating. The other reason we fail to recognize the value of Bobby Knight's toughminded approach is that we are going soft as a country. We no longer accept the concept that people need to be "toughened up" to achieve excellence. We have gone from 'if it feels good-do it, to if it doesn't feel good, nobody should do it'. Since we have gone soft as a country, we are more willing to accept the illogic of those who would call for an end to Coach Knight's career. The best scene in the movie "Hoosiers" is where the locals gather to vote on keeping the character played by Gene Hackman on as head coach of the Hickory Hicks. When it comes to a choice between whiners in the sport and media versus standing up for a tough minded approach to making boys into men, I would borrow a simple line at the end of that scene..." the coach stays."