Thursday, November 13, 2008

The hardest part of rebuilding is changing the mindset

Had a post about Coach June Jones before the college football season began. With the season winding down, it's been a rough first season for Coach Jones at SMU.

The Mustangs are 1-9 with two games left.

Says Coach Jones:

"The hardest thing about this type of (rebuilding) situation -- and I've been in six of them -- is changing the mindset, the culture, everything. I've come in a situation where they haven't won and teaching them what it takes to win, off the field more than on the field, sometimes."

Earlier this week, Coach Jones suspended three of his starters for the rest of the season. According to this article, "Jones said the suspensions will serve notice about what it takes to build a winning program."

"No team wins with players that don't pay attention to detail. You can't do it," Jones said. "It's hard to make these tough decisions, but as a leader you have to do them. This happens everywhere you go when people have been losing. I would guarantee you, after we set the standard, it's not going to happen any more. You've got to be a leader; you've got to be accountable in all the other areas. You're representing me, the university and your teammates. That accountability is what winning is about."