Fair or foul? Dan Patrick question

Yeah, not odd at all! A good one.

 

Sirs, Madames,

"Odd" as it's oddly and awkwardly phrased, an attempt to be cute that misses by a lot. Not exactly incisive.

But the gist of it, asking a young coach if he always really thought/knew he was up to it, is legit.

o-<

 

How is a question about whether he believed he was ready for his first head coaching job in the NFL an attempt to be cute?

 

Mr Glass,

"Cute" is: You are the youngest coach in Super Bowl history, and therefore the youngest coach to win a Super Bowl.

Doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, especially the tacked on underline. Not the simplest way to ask the question pertaining to the coach's youth. Calls too much attention to the guy asking the question. Phrasing has sorta a smarmy smart-ass feel. Ditto the over-your-head. If he was asked if he believed or knew that he had the ability to coach team to a Super Bowl win, probably better. If you were doing a sit-down, I guess, you could ask him: Q1. What was the toughest stretch for you since being hired by the Steelers? At least you'll get something more than a denial, a stiff no, which is exactly what the Patrick question begs for. So let's say it was the loss to the Giants. You could follow it up: Q1. How did you feel about your ability to guide this team through that next week and get the team to a Super Bowl?

o-<

 

Not inappropriate but kind of stupid. If you know anything, anything about Tomlin and his short tenure, it's that he's supremely confident. Not that Dan would waste his team reading up on him...

And you don't expect every fan still watching the broadcast to know everything, hence the leading questions broadcasters use, BUT this is a guy who just won a Super Bowl in his second year after easily making the playoffs in his first. Why is that a good question? Just because the masses never heard of Mike Tomlin doesn't mean he didn't have faith in himself. He had coached in the NFL for a number of years.

Dumb question, given the circumstance.

 

We're over-thinking this. It was not an inappropriate question, nor a particularly brilliant one, and certainly not a dumb one. Given his youth and the circumstances of his hiring, it's only natural to wonder if, deep down, he had any uncertainty when he took the job. Patrick doesn't deserved to be bashed or praised for coming up with it. I would bet he's not even the first guy who's asked Tomlin that question.

 

Like I said on the last page, the precise reason why I think it's at least an above-average question is that you didn't really KNOW how it was going to be answered.

 

Kudos to you, broadway joe, for delivering the Lombardi Trophy Sunday to the podium. Guaranteed on-time!

 

Fixed.

 

Sirs, Madames,

If you ask him if he was over-his-head, he'll say, no, I believed in myself.

If you ask him if he was sure that one day he'd coach a SB winner, he'll say, no, nothing is guaranteed.

If you ask him a question that can be answered with no, it will be. Push on way and he'll push back. Ask a neutral, non-judgmental question. And cut the lead-in to the bare minimum, leave some oxygen for him to breathe.

o-<