Forget transfers, here's how Michigan State football's Mel Tucker is changing the culture
Jeff SeidelDetroit Free Press
EAST LANSING — You are listening to Michigan State football coach Mel Tucker talk about his rapidly-improving team and he says something you’ve never heard before.
“Today was Coach-me-Coach Tuesday,” Tucker says. “It used to be Bloody Tuesday but we re-branded it this morning to Coach-me-Coach Tuesday.”
You think: What the heck is he talking about?
I’ve heard of Margarita Mondays.
And Taco Tuesdays.
And Sunday chicken after church.
Not to mention Cold Beer Fridays — OK, admittedly, that might just be a me thing.
But Coach me Coach Tuesdays?
This was new.
“It's a mindset that a player will accept coaching, receive the coaching and not be offended when the player is being coached with constructive criticism or harsh criticism, because it's not personal,” Tucker said. “It's the performance. It's not, 'I don't like you as a person.’ It’s, ‘I don't like what you just did and I'm gonna tell you how to get it right, and let's work on that.’ So if you have a Coach-me-Coach mentality, you can get better a lot faster as part of our culture.”
In some ways, this is a sign of the times.
Many of today’s athletes have never been coached with direct, harsh criticism. They have been coddled and praised all through high school, pumped up on social media and expect instant results.
They freak out when they are told they are doing something the wrong way and don’t even know how to react to it.
“Tuesdays and Wednesdays are our longer days,” Tucker says. “We've got the pads on. They are our most difficult days and they're extremely demanding. And if you don't have a Coach-me-Coach attitude as a player and mentality, you can't get as much out of the practices and the meetings.”
This is a great example of why MSU has improved so fast.
Sure, Tucker has shuffled his roster, thanks to the transfer portal, bringing in more talent. And there is no question that has helped tremendously.
But adding talent doesn’t guarantee anything.
You have to change the culture.
And Coach-me-Coach Tuesday is an incredible example of that.
Maybe, it’s just coachspeak.
But it’s a direct, honest way to tell players: You have to be willing to accept criticism. You have to recognize you aren’t doing it right.
It is clear, concise communication.
And there is something else: it kind of flips the whole idea of criticism.
Instead of being freaked out about it, the slogan forces the players to ask for it.
That’s exactly how you build a team. That’s how you change a culture. By having clear communication and setting a new expectation. That’s how you change the way of thinking.
You get guys to want to get better. You get them to focus on the small details. And if it takes a slogan to get college kids to understand it, so be it.
I think it’s brilliant.
There’s no question this program is on the rise.
But how good are the Spartans?
We will get a better read on Saturday when they play at Miami (Fla.), a team that lost, 44-13, to Alabama and had to hang on to beat Appalachian State, 25-23.
Yes, App State.
Even though MSU is about a touchdown underdog, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Spartans won this game. I’m not guaranteeing anything because MSU hasn’t played anybody yet, no offense to Northwestern.
I’m just not sure how good this MSU team is. I have a suspicion that it could be better than anybody realizes.
When you see Kenneth Walker run for 264 yards and score four touchdowns against Northwestern, you think: this kid is something special, even if it was against a bad football team. He’s the kind of difference maker who could change a game against Miami, a team that gave up 4.5 yards per carry against App State.
When Payton Thorne connects with Jayden Reed, you think: this is something special, even if it was against Youngstown State, even if it was against a FCS team. You need guys like this to win games you aren’t supposed to win.
The Hurricanes converted just 5 of 16 third-down attempts last week, and you think: man, what if the Spartans clamp down on them?
If MSU wins this game, it will be a monster statement and a clear indication of just how much this team has grown.
You will be able to say: the rebuild is way ahead of schedule, the rebranding is working, and so are Coach-me-Coach Tuesdays.
(Detroit Free Press)
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