Unlike Prime, Dabo, Napier, & Norvell Man Up

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By Rock Westfall

As we examined here last week , Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders struck quite a nerve with his censorship of media members of his choosing who refuse to act as his stenographers. Coach Prime even had such a stipulation put in his contract. What’s worse, the questions that triggered him were harmless and standard. The media is terrified of being called racists despite being dedicated social just warriors, and most are sympathizers, if not overt Sanders fanboys, making the entire situation absurdly unnecessary and nauseating.

But Sanders has a media paranoia that few in any of life’s endeavors can match. After beating TCU in his first game as Colorado coach, in a moment that should have been joyous, he attacked the media, repeatedly screaming, “DO YOU BELIEVE, NOW?” And then he revealed his enemies list by warning that, “We keep receipts.” One wonders if that also pertains to the many who stood with him in 2023 during a 4-8 season.

Last week, Dabo Swinney of the Clemson Tigers, Billy Napier of the Florida Gators, and Mike Norvell of the Florida State Seminoles suffered humiliating, soul-crushing losses. Yet they made no demands of the media. Despite getting their asses kicked in front of the country, they stood up like men and answered all questions with calm and professionalism.

The contrast and comparisons are shameful. But one luxury Deion Sanders is allowed to partake in is utter shamelessness.

Dabo, Dabo, Don’t

After his Clemson Tigers were mauled 34-3 by the Georgia Bulldogs, Dabo Swinney knew what to expect. He is known for not taking players in the transfer portal and for his unenthusiastic, grudging acceptance of NIL . In a game that gave his program an opportunity to prove that old-school ways can still win, Clemson was run off the field, looking like a junior varsity team by comparison. Yet after the game, Dabo sacked up and took it like a man.

“They just kicked our freakin tails in the second half. Just really disappointed. When you get beat like that, that’s on the head coach. That’s on me. That’s complete ownership of an absolute crap second half.”

And regarding criticisms of him and the transfer portal, Swinney owned it by saying, “People are gonna say whatever they wanna say. We do what’s best for Clemson, year in year out. When you lose like this, (they’ve) got every right to say whatever they wanna say. Say whatever you wanna say, write whatever you wanna write. That comes with it. It’s just part of it.”

Swinney impressively came off as a realist without entitlement or special privileges.

The Burning Chair of Napier

It’s hard to imagine a worse day than what Swinney had but Billy Napier pulled it off. Napier’s Gators were routed at home by the Miami Hurricanes 41-17 in a game that was considered a measuring stick of progress for both programs that are under third-year head coaches. Napier is fully aware of his hot seat and that Saturday’s game was a catastrophe for his career. Yet after the game, Napier sacked up and took it like a man.

"It's embarrassing, to be quite honest with you," Napier said. "That's how I feel. That's how our kids feel. There's no excuses. Keep our mouths shut, show up and work. We have to do better. I do think that our players will show up and they will respond.

"I felt strongly that we would perform better," he continued. "But I'm not here to make excuses. We've got to get it fixed. We're going to get another opportunity next week, and we've got to play better and coach better."

At no time did Napier, at the low point of his career, rant about the media being out to get him or asking questions that were too difficult. He also lacked “receipts” from all of the preseason hot seat talk. Hmmm...

Norvell Stands Tall During FSU’s Fall

Since Mike Norvell’s Florida State Seminoles were passed over by the College Football Playoff committee for the Alabama Crimson Tide, it's been a perpetual storm. Monday night’s 28-13 home opener loss to the lightly regarded Boston College Eagles gave FSU an 0-2 start.

Norvell signed a big new contract after the 2023 ACC championship campaign but knows that many Nole fans want him out and would be thrilled to have their favorite son, Coach Prime, take over. Yet after a terrible, stand-alone Monday Night nationally televised game, Norvell sacked up and took it like a man.

"I'm sick to how this season started,” Novell said. “Tonight, I failed in preparing the team to go out and respond. You've got a football team that nobody envisioned ever being where we are and having disappointment, having failure, but I do believe in what this team can do. "I believe in what this team can accomplish.

"There's going to be plenty of negativity around this program. I understand that. When we perform the way we just did, that's all part of it. But for our football team, you've got to stay together, and you've got to make sure that you're there for each other. We've been knocked down. We know how to get up, but we've got to go do that. It's one thing to talk about it. It's another thing to put into action and then to be able to perform in the moment."

At a moment of despair, Norvell set the tone for his program with realism and determination.

Although he could learn something from Dabo, Napier, and Norvell, it’s doubtful that Deion Sanders took notes. He’s too busy collecting receipts from his lapdogs.