Univ. Miami football locker room no longer "open"

[hondo]

Damn shame, considering how much fun it was to be in an FSU or Miami locker room during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Never knew what quote you were going to get, but whatever it was, it would be great (example: Lamar Thomas, after FSU Wide Right II: "FSU is the best three-quarter football team in America.").

I've said this before, and I'll tell any coach or SID the same thing: The two best college football programs from 1980 to 2000 was Miami and FSU (seven national championships between them). They were also the two most open and accessible programs in the nation at the time. Therefore, the correlation between being restrictive in access of players to the media and winning does not exist.

Meanwhile, in Gainesville, the access is considered to be among the worst in the nation, on the same level as Alabama, Michigan and Penn State.

But USC is the best.

Basically, it doesn't have any impact on a team's play, one way or the other.

So, ultimately, it's just a good barometer of how controlling a coach is.

You'd think, because coaches are notorious copy-cats, that they'd see the FSU and Miami examples and throw everything open.

 

[armageddon]

Randy Shannon just doesn't come across as a particularly bright guy. This explanation, when all he had to say was they decided to cut locker room access since most schools already have, reinforces that impression.

In my limited experience with him -- when he was D coordinator -- I wasn't that impressed.

Covered the Fiesta Bowl in which OSU upset Miami. One of the interview sessions before the game I'm picking his brain about OSU's offense.

As we're breaking down the weapons, I was stunned to hear him say they didn't fear Krenzel as a running threat. I went back at him a few times, noting how many big play the kid had made that season with his feet.

Didn't matter to Shannon.

If memory serves, Krenzel had more rushing yards than anyone else that night. Regardless of the total, he killed Miami with his feet, as he had done to other teams all season.

I still have no idea why Shannon didn't view that aspect of his game as a threat.

 

[armageddon]

I've covered a couple games at FSU over the years and their access was as good as I've seen. Granted, the last time I was there was Weinke's senior year, but access was unbelievable compared to most schools.

I've heard Georgia is great. I've heard Auburn is great.

Have had the pleasure of dealing with both teams and SID staffs.

Hall of Fame access and cooperation.

 

[Ace]

Seriously. You guys get whoever you want after games? No problems?

I'd say that your experience is different from mine; you're writing a gamer on deadline and a quote from the QB is all you can squeeze in; or you're a sad sack journalist who has become happy with whatever crumbs are set out before you.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

I guess it shouldn't surprise me that Carroll allows reporters good access. He's always seemed like he's pretty easy to deal with...

It's good to know there are still a few top coaches left who aren't control freak assholes.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Claude Felton may be the best SID out there.

I don't remember the name of the SID at Auburn, but I needed Tuberville for a question about a former player a few years back. My timing was terrible. They were playing LSU and I didn't call until Wednesday or so. The SID said they would call me back. I thought I was getting blown off. They called me back 15 minutes later and said Tuberville would call me at 7:15 my time, 6:15 their time.

To the minute, that's when my phone rang.

Some of that's the coach, but a lot of that is a damn good SID.

 

[WaylonJennings]

Claude Felton may be the best SID out there.

I don't remember the name of the SID at Auburn, but I needed Tuberville for a question about a former player a few years back. My timing was terrible. They were playing LSU and I didn't call until Wednesday or so. The SID said they would call me back. I thought I was getting blown off. They called me back 15 minutes later and said Tuberville would call me at 7:15 my time, 6:15 their time.

To the minute, that's when my phone rang.

Some of that's the coach, but a lot of that is a damn good SID.

Let me add Frank Beamer and his VaTech SIDs to the list - I remembered I needed to talk to him for a story I was doing about special teams, and thought, "Oh, great, time to deal with another Berlin Wall of access - 'What's the story about? Why are you doing it?' " Instead, they set it right up for the next day or day after, and Beamer called me exactly when he said he would. Wild change of pace from the guy I deal with.

 

[chilidog75]

I've covered a couple games at FSU over the years and their access was as good as I've seen. Granted, the last time I was there was Weinke's senior year, but access was unbelievable compared to most schools.

I've heard Georgia is great. I've heard Auburn is great.

Have had the pleasure of dealing with both teams and SID staffs.

Hall of Fame access and cooperation.

It will be interesting to see how much this changes when Bowden retires. He's of course always been incredibly media friendly. I have a feeling that Jimbo Fisher --- who was partly groomed under Nick Saban after all --- might have a different view of media access when he takes over.

Of course, with the way the old man is still clutching onto his job, Fisher might retire before he does.

 

[Wenders]

Am I the only one really offended by the line "what you call reporters." What exactly is he trying to insinuate?

And isn't Randy the one with about 10 kids by eight women? And he's going to call out female student reporters as being sex-crazed peakers?

Glass houses, Randy. Glass houses.

I was offended by that as well. I don't know whether he just means girl sports reporters or whether he means there are women posing as reporters, hanging around the locker room, trying to get in.

If it's the former, guh. Remind me never to go there to cover anything. If it's the latter, their sports info department isn't working very hard.

And I remember the first time I went to do a locker room interview. I've never heard a winning locker room that quiet in my life before. These high school boys were staring at me like I was an alien who had crash-landed, right there in their locker room. (The only reason I went in was I was shadowing someone who was showing me the ropes and he never thought twice about me going in the locker room. After that, I just met the coaches outside and requested the players from there.)

 

[Omar_dont_scare]

Let me add Frank Beamer and his VaTech SIDs to the list - I remembered I needed to talk to him for a story I was doing about special teams, and thought, "Oh, great, time to deal with another Berlin Wall of access - 'What's the story about? Why are you doing it?' " Instead, they set it right up for the next day or day after, and Beamer called me exactly when he said he would. Wild change of pace from the guy I deal with.

You can always count on special teams to get Beamer chatting.

 

[Registered_Muser]

Both USC and UCLA have open locker rooms. Guess it has something to do with being in the No. 2 market in the country.

 

[Shaggy]

Virginia Tech is great for football. Very helpful, they'll let you film practice so long as you "keep the shot tight!" according to Beamer.

It's amazing to think, that when football players are treated like babies and protected with the force of a small army, these players leave school without any communication skills whatsoever.

But at least the coach can shift his irrational paranoia to another aspect of his crappy life.