Last Chance U

In other words, he's Donald Trump.

 

IIRC, the D-line coach was staying. He was the best guy there. He had the academic credentials and the desire to move up. The D-coor was kind of a tool, but it's hard when you are instructed to "Just figure something out, it's your job." Then the head coach grabs the white board and throws it out of the locker room like a bouncer tossing a drunk.

 

Completely agree. Used to coach at an inner city hs and those kids had it tough. But you have to teach them discipline. She needs to take off the kid gloves sometimes. She has a big heart and those kids need someone who cares about them, but they also need someone to teach them discipline and accountability.

 

Was thinking he has to do more than they show. He pretty much doesn't do any teaching or coaching. Never seems to do any scouting of the opponent or game planning either. He has to do more than they show, no?

 

By the way, best part of the season for me was then they asked Ollie, from last season, about Coach Stephens:

"Fuck that boy."

 

Almost to the end of the season and some more insights:
-- I am surprised the quarterback for Coahoma (sp) didn't leave the field on a stretcher. Looking at him and comparing him to the Emcc guys... Not even in the same world.
-- also liked how Coahoma, which was a terrible team, seemed to enjoy the game and each other more than the lions.
-- Stephens kicking a players mother out of the stadium may have been his biggest dick move yet. (Sounds like it gets worse next episode so that it was why I say yet)
-- the trainer for emcc needs to find a new line of work. Holy crud, is he a idiot.
-- the trip to the d line coach's high school was enlightening. His team from 20 years ago appeared to be 50-50 white and black. Appeared the current team was all black. Makes me what has happened at that school. White flight?

 

That Coahoma episode was probably my favorite of season 2. It was very enlightening seeing the compare-contrast between the football factory and the program that's a little closer (from the other side) to a normal JUCO program.
And agreed on the Coahoma QB. When I saw him in that episode, he kind of reminded me of Steve Rogers in the first "Captain America" movie -- before he took the special serum.

And as far as Stephens kicking Courtney Rivers' mom out of the stands, yeah a dick move. And I loved how he went over to Rivers and told him he had to take care of it. One, Rivers is right in the middle of a game; you'd think coach would want him to concentrate on that. Two, we've already seen how strong-willed his mom is; does Stephens actually expect him to go over to her and tell her to shut up?

And it does get worse (though not with Ma Rivers), especially in the last episode.

 

I got the sense that Buddy started to feel that Wood was milking his "good-guy" persona for the cameras, and it made him look bad. Personally I thought Wood was/is in fact a good guy, and that it wasn't an act. But from reading articles about the show where Buddy says he believes the filmmakers made him out to be the villain because it's good drama, I think he resented that viewers thought Wood was a much better guy than him. (Which he is.)

Remember the scene at halftime of one of the games when the two are behind closed doors and Buddy is chewing out Marcus over the offense, and Marcus responds with something chipper and can-do like, "I'll just have to coach them up harder." Then Buddy was like, "Don't do that," and got upset. Then he turned their mics off. To me, that was Buddy feeling like Marcus was making him look like the ass that he is, but in Buddy's mind, Marcus was doing it by "playing" the nice guy who turns the other cheek at Buddy's abuse and therefore makes the abuser look even worse. I got the impression that Buddy had told Marcus this before, that it was an ongoing issue that Buddy had with him.

Then

Spoiler

, in the bowl game when Buddy is demoting Marcus, I couldn't believe when he said something like, "Don't try that [sympathy card/guilt trip/nice guy act] with me; it might work on your ex-wife but it won't work on me." Right on the sidelines in front of everyone! Just when I thought he couldn't sink any lower, he drained a little more water out of the tub. But I bet when Buddy watched later and saw how Marcus dealt with this truly emasculating experience by staying positive and telling his players not to worry about him but to focus on the game, he got even more pissed that Marcus made him look bad by comparison once again. At least, that's what I like to think.

And I agree that it doesn't seem like Buddy does much but bluster while his assistants do the coaching, and caring, for the kids. I think the only actual football phrase I ever heard him use was "Set the edge!" He did like to yell that. His other strategic gems were tactics like yelling at his DC, "I don't care what you do, just get a f-ing stop!" Thanks, coach.

 

I am not sure why Buddy still has a job. What a prick, and an embarrassment.

 

87-12 record in nine seasons with three national titles buys him some leeway. But I can imagine his leash became a lot shorter after the release of this series. He seems like the type of guy that puts on a good front when in the company of the higher ups, but when the camera is rolling 24/7 it catches all the times he lets his guard down.

Judging from reactions of the people in that community, they were shocked with how Stephens was "portrayed" in the series. Part of that is editing (if you're a dick to the film crew, they'll be dicks back) and part of that is just the real Buddy Stephens being exposed.

 

You talk about a guy who is a front runner.

EVERY time the team was in a competitive game, he did nothing but snipe at players and his coaches. The last person you want to go into battle with pressure on.

The way he stabbed that OC in the final game (chronicled elsewhere here) was such a dick move, its hard to believe.

 

Just finished the second season and was as impressed as I was with the first.

I think Stephens does a lot more "coaching" than you see in those videos. That first week, in that coaches meeting, he bemoans the fact that the guy they have playing guard "just can't play." The OC goes with the "we're just gonna have to keep working" bit, and Stephens cuts him off and says, yeah, but this guy can't play.

Also, the DC ... what a disaster. Dude, if you've had 12 jobs in 14 years and you're in Scooba, it's time to start thinking about doing something else.

Really had a hard time with the big defensive lineman ... Kam Carter. That kid's wrapped around some serious pain ... possibly a transcendent talent, but you don't have to be an armchair psychologist to wonder if he's never wanted anything more than to be back with his mother. I wonder what he'd have done had Georgia State offered him.

Also, the defensive lineman ... Tim Bonner ... I was really touched by his developing relationships with the defensive line coach and the academic advisor.

Finally ... the running back. My God what an awful story. Really hope things go OK for him.