I’ve been to a few practices this spring but it wasn’t until Wednesday that I really tried to watch the linebackers and focus in on what Jon Tenuta was doing with his unit.
I didn’t think much of it as I wandered over, but boy, was I in for an earful when I arrived.
I know football isn’t for small ears and foul language is part of the landscape, but holy &@#% does Tenuta have a lively mouth.
In the short time I watched, Notre Dame’s new defensive coach launched at least 15 f-bombs. Walk-on or letterman, nobody was safe. Interestingly, all were delivered during the 20 minutes visitors and cameras were allowed into practice.
Not to sound like a prude, but it seemed over the top for a coach to filter nothing when “teaching” his players. How long will it take for that coaching style to start growing mold, especially at a Christian-based university? It was slightly disconcerting because I initially found it disrespectful to the guys and contradictory to the ND mission statement.
With all due respect to Tenuta’s previous career stops, the Notre Dame players are smarter and more sophisticated than the guys you typically find at other programs. So my initial reaction was that a more cerebral approach to coaching might fit this group better than profanity-laced putdowns.
But as I watched, it became clear that like it or not, this is Jon Tenuta’s style. And instead of getting caught up in the language – as difficult as it was not to – it was more important to realize that every four-letter word came with an important lesson and some encouragement for his guys.
“Downhill, everything has to go downhill. Keep the head up, helmet on the ball. No drop-step when you take off, too slow, that’s not downhill, it’s got to be downhill!”
Tenuta got their attention, the guys listened, and no player made the same mistake twice in this particular set of footwork and technique drills.
Clearly, the style can be crude. It will rub some visitors the wrong way, and a future recruit or two may be lost. But it’s hard to second-guess a guy that has had so much success with his approach. Notre Dame knew what it was signing up for, and I guess Tenuta shouldn’t be expected to change, even with priests roaming the sidelines.
With experience and results come the freedom to coach with whatever style, and Tenuta has earned that right. Without a proven track record, Tenuta’s rough style wouldn’t hold with today’s players, neither as a coach nor as a recruiter.
Could you imagine young coaches such as Brian Polian, or even Corwin Brown, using such strong-armed tactics to send a message, especially with the cameras rolling? No, and that might be why Tenuta’s hiring brings this program something that has been missing for the last several years.
It’s X-rated at times, but Tenuta brings a fire to practice that I haven’t seen the last seven years during the open sessions. The newness of his approach creates the shock value, and I’m still not convinced that his style might not become counterproductive, but he’s been a terrific defensive coach, Notre Dame signed off on it, so what the &$#@.
“He’s straightforward and he challenges us,” said Irish linebacker Toryan Smith. “I like that a lot. I need to be pushed every day. I need to be called out. I respond to tough coaches. I need a guy in my face all the time.”
It’s been an overplayed storyline but it became especially clear again during practice that Tenuta’s harsh approach will either complement or clash with Brown’s more laid-back, player-friendly style. Not that one way is better than the other, but the polar differences in coaching style are evident, and they will continue to be worth monitoring as these two men try to blend their methods.
This was my first close-up experience with coach Tenuta, but Mike Knobler of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote this terrific description of a tranquil Georgia Tech spring practice with Tenuta no longer around.
“You don’t have to watch Georgia Tech’s football team practice to know things have changed. All you have to do is listen. In the past, one growl could be heard from one end of the practice field to another. It belonged to Jon Tenuta, and it could either make you cringe or blush or laugh, or sometimes do all three at once.”
In the short time I watched, Notre Dame’s new defensive coach launched at least 15 f-bombs. Walk-on or letterman, nobody was safe. Interestingly, all were delivered during the 20 minutes visitors and cameras were allowed into practice. 
