Sound Off: Coach's Discovery and Gordon-Being-Gordon

In the modern era of sports, being a college coach carries with it the burden of constant media attention. Facing dozens of reporters at press conferences, head coaches have gotten savvier—they say what they need to and leave the rest up for speculation. Here at The Back Page, we’re happy to decode some of these media sessions, showing the average fan what we think coaches’ answers “really” mean.

Lehigh coach Andy Coen enjoyed a nice comeback win after his Mountain Hawk squad stormed back from 17 points down to topple Harvard football last Saturday. The coach was humble going into the press conference, citing how fortunate his team was to walk away with the win. But when it came time to give the players some love, Coen got a little bit stingier.

What Coen said: “[Ryan Spadola] works incredibly hard. Just looking at him you can tell he likes the weight room, but he’s still young, and he’s still learning. Our first ballgame at Drake, he had an outstanding game, but this was certainly a breakout day for him. And he’ll be the first to tell you he’s got to keep working.”

What Coen meant: This is certainly some tepid praise for a gamechanger whose 206 yards receiving and two touchdowns made Harvard’s secondary look about as formidable as the Slovakian women’s national hockey team. Basically, Coen is admitting that he had absolutely no idea that Spadola—one year removed from practice-squad duty—was capable of this type of performance. “Breakout day” is head coach lingo for, “I wouldn’t have bet on that in Vegas if you gave me 500:1 odds.” But after Saturday, neither Coen nor opponents will underestimate the sophomore playmaker again.

What Coen said: “We gave up some big plays in the run game largely due to missed tackles. And [senior running back] Gino Gordon I think is a fabulous back, I think he’s proved that here. But we didn’t tackle him as well as we could.”

What Coen meant: It’s so strange that every week opposing coaches seem to lament poor tackling on Gordon. It’s as if the senior standout has a magical influence that makes Patriot League defenders leave their fundamentals at home. Oh wait, that’s just called being a good running back. Gordon has been one of the Ancient Eight’s most elusive backs for the past couple of years, making defenders miss with a combination of sharp cuts and powerful running. His spin move to escape a Bulldog tackler on a fourth down during last year’s playing of The Game was a classic Gordon moment, and the senior has made a habit of similar moves this season. While Coen was certainly right in pointing out the Mountain Hawks’ sloppy tackling, Lehigh is not the first squad to come up empty against Gordon.