Player Motivation: Miles v. Saban

Your freshman punter has never played in front of 100,000 screaming fans. He's on the road in the biggest game of his life. He is pinned back a the 9 yard line and kicking out of his end zone in the fourth quarter. Alabama smells blood, and you know they're sending the house. A blocked punt or safety means game over. There are a lot of things you could say to your punter, e.g., (1) Watch the ends, they're coming hard; (2) You have two seconds to get the kick off, don't hesitate; (3) Kick away from Maze; (4) You cannot bobble the snap here, son; (5) Concentrate, there's no room for error.

Here is how Miles handles it:

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Yes, the punter, an Australian named Brad Wing who Miles likes to stop just before he goes out to kick and give some quick coaching. Such as in the fourth quarter, when LSU was pinned deep on its own 9 and was desperate for a big kick to help hold off Trent Richardson.

“He stopped me and said, ‘go out and have fun,’” Wing said.

With such strategy in his mind, Wing blasted a 73-yard punt.

“It turned out pretty good,” he said with a shrug.

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Do you think those words ever came out of Saban's mouth last night? He was raging like a maniac, dressing down players, and just oozing with anxiety about every little thing. And when his bigger, stronger, maybe even better prepared team needed to make big plays, they choked.

There is both a science and an art to coaching. It's not all Xs, Os, and "process." It's emotion, pyschology, and an understanding of the flow of the game. Miles may not be the ultimate scientist, but he has coordinators for that. He is however, one of the best I've seen at getting his players to play hard and to fight through adversity.

Long live Les. Geaux Tigers