The San Antonio Raiders? (Or, dickhead coaches)

Re: The San Antonio Raiders?

The NFL is better than colleges, but it used to be much, much better than it is now. The first team I covered had the locker room open for the hour before practice started, when everyone would be in there. We could also get players and coaches after practice, either coming off the field or as they left the locker room.

 

Re: The San Antonio Raiders?

I think the "no media work room" thing was probably about not wanting reporters hanging around the facility except for press conferences and practice viewing periods.

There's a media work room at Alabama, but it's in the coliseum, not in the football building.

 

Re: The San Antonio Raiders?

I covered a college team that in a week where they were playing a huge rival, the only three players they made available were a backup lineman who had not played a snap that season, the holder and the longsnapper.

 

Re: The San Antonio Raiders?

I have heard Bowden would take evening calls from reporters at his home, like he was a high school coach.

 

Re: The San Antonio Raiders?

Who got it from Parcells, right?

 

Re: The San Antonio Raiders?

Taking the coach's perspective, what are they going to do, stop watching on TV or attending games if a sports journalist doesn't get their way?

 

Re: The San Antonio Raiders?

Could be. I don't remember if Parcells allowed his coordinators to talk or not.

 

Re: The San Antonio Raiders?

He was listed in the Tallahassee phone book and would answer his own phone.

 

Re: The San Antonio Raiders?

I don't think Parcells was as strict as Belichick is. There were writers who Parcells liked. I don't think Belichick likes anyone.

 

Re: The San Antonio Raiders?

BTW, I haven't been on here in awhile so forgive me for backtracking away from the current tangent, but I had to laugh when I read to posts about Al Davis' intimidating presence.

Not that it isn't true -- he was definitely a major player and a feared man in NFL circles. But when I think of Al Davis, a very different picture comes to mind.

While covering a league meeting years ago, I was in the hotel bar with a few other writers one night and got up to go to the rest room, which was tucked away in a corner of the lobby area. As I turned the corner, I saw a guy, apparently too drunk to stand up by himself, leaning against the wall and mumbling incoherently.

You guessed it. It was Al Davis. When I left the rest room a couple minutes later, he was still out there, all alone, making unintelligible noises.

One of the more surreal experiences of my career.

 

Re: The San Antonio Raiders?

I was a student reporter at LSU during the Gerry DiNardo era, and that man was amazing with the access he gave. He'd have an informal Sunday afternoon press conference each week that he'd usually attend wearing sweats and sandals, and it would typically wrap up with a few minutes of just hanging out and bullshitting with the beat guys.
The locker rooms were always open after games, and it never seemed to be a problem getting whoever you needed. I think the one major restriction was access early in the week, when they'd have one big thing Monday or Tuesday with a bunch of players and then try to limit it the rest of the week. Even that wasn't a huge hang-up, since most of the key players and coaches were there.
He even gave me a sit-down once when I was working on a story for a class. I hadn't worked with the student paper yet, had no idea how the whole SID filtering process worked, and he didn't know me from Adam. I just went to the football office and asked his secretary if I could talk to him or set something up, and she called me back later in the day with an appointment the following morning. The whole thing was awkward and took 10 times longer than it should have, but he was cool and answered every question and never seemed mad for wasting his time.
And then Saban came in.
I was gone by the time that era rolled around, but I'm guessing for the beat guys that 180-degree turn was like a record screeching and everything coming to a halt.

 

Re: The San Antonio Raiders?

Herb Vincent, LSU's longtime SID who now works for the SEC, quit shortly after Saban was hired and went back to work there shortly after he left. Tells you all you need to know about working for Saban.