Originally Posted by
OZZIE4DUKE
Well, according to the widely circulated rumors at the time, the players had no respect for the man - during the halftime (?) pep talk during the carolina game the team was laughing at him. Steve Spurrier ran the offense, and the team, and when he left to become a head coach, the administration knew they had to make a change.
Red Wilson was a respected, successful coach at Elon. I don't know why he "lost" his players at Duke. The ensuing 25 years certainly didn't turn out the way we wanted for Duke Football.
Ozzie, I have no inside knowledge about the players laughing at Red Wilson. I do know that several of the trustees didn't like Red's "folksy" image, especially during the Football tv show.
But I would guess that these rumors came from some folks who didn't want to look bad for firing a successful coach because of his image. For me, it would be surprising to find out that a man who succeeded at every other coaching job (high school legend, Elon winner, Duke winning records) all of a sudden lost his touch and became laughable to his players. His subsequent Duke Hospital stint only reinforces my point.
It would be very enlightening if any former Wilson-coached players from that era would help to clarify this issue. I've always felt that Duke made a large mistake when they let Red go.
Also, I find it fascinating that David Cutcliffe, who uses an "ole ball coach" approach just like Red Wilson, is seen very differently today. I do grant that Cut is more polished in front of the camera than Red was.
Last edited by killerleft; 09-02-2010 at 03:50 PM.
Reason: better wording
Man, if your Mom made you wear that color when you were a baby, and you're still wearing it, it's time to grow up!