The Anti Fraud Graham Presser

[pittbb80]

Clearly Capel gave a great presser. What impressed me the most was that it was HIGH energy while being genuine and composed. They guy has a way to generate excitement for the future without being a cheerleader or being over the top like the huckster Graham. He uses his life experiences, successes as well as failures, to get you to buy into his vision. I can see why he is so effective on the recruiting trail Now I dont expect Pitt to go toe to toe with the Dukes of the world for 5 star players but like at OU, he'll get his share, or at least far more high level players than we've seen here in a long time

Just a very impressive and like-able person. With him and Duzz, I really like the direction of both programs.

 

[below0w]

You mention Graham, but I think the most illuminating comparison is with Stallings. There were so many differences between Capel's and Stallings' press conferences that may seem minor but spoke volumes to me. First, Stallings has Barnes sitting next to him the entire time. In contrast, Lyke introduced Capel and then got out of his way. The press conference should be all about meeting the new Pitt coach and letting him speak for himself, which Lyke clearly understood. On the contrary, Barnes wanted to be in the spotlight as well and Stallings was content to share it with him. There's a moment right around the 4 minute mark where Stallings is preparing to speak, but Barnes interrupts him to show off the jersey with Stallings' name on the back. In and of itself, that isn't a big deal, but the way that Barnes puts his hand on Stallings' arm and literally pulls him up like he's a child is a really bad look. Compare the body language and mannerisms of the two men - Barnes is vastly more confident and assertive, Stallings seems timid and submissive. Perhaps part of that is the hostility that Stallings faced (and Capel didn't), but I don't think that's a valid excuse. You're going to face hostility as a coach, you have to ignore it and believe in your ability. Speaking of which, Stallings opens with an anecdote about how poorly he played in the Dapper Dan All Star Game. He then goes on to say that he hopes his tenure as basketball coach is more successful. Perhaps he's just trying to be self-effacing, but instead it comes off as insecure. He says that he "hopes" he'll do better, not that he will do better. In fact, he uses that word repeatedly throughout the conference. Hope hope hope. Capel talks about what he's going to accomplish, the goals that he's set and how he's going to achieve them. He doesn't say that he hopes it turns out alright. The devil is in the details. One final key difference is that Stallings clearly has a sheet of notes in front of him and you can see him looking down at it throughout the press conference. Capel spoke off the cuff, without being overly rehearsed. He didn't need a piece of paper that he had prepared to guide him. It's really easy to see why one of them is an ace recruiter and the other complains about how circumstances out of his control are why he can't bring in talent. In spite of all that happened here, I'm sure that Stallings is a decent enough human being, but I would never, ever play for someone who makes such a poor first impression and that clearly isn't a minority opinion given his recruiting results. Sorry for the wall of text, but it's like night and day with those two. We're very fortunate to have a highly competent athletic director and a highly qualified coach in place of a charlatan and a coach in completely over his head.

 

[PittPoker]

You mention Graham, but I think the most illuminating comparison is with Stallings. There were so many differences between Capel's and Stallings' press conferences that may seem minor but spoke volumes to me. First, Stallings has Barnes sitting next to him the entire time. In contrast, Lyke introduced Capel and then got out of his way. The press conference should be all about meeting the new Pitt coach and letting him speak for himself, which Lyke clearly understood. On the contrary, Barnes wanted to be in the spotlight as well and Stallings was content to share it with him. There's a moment right around the 4 minute mark where Stallings is preparing to speak, but Barnes interrupts him to show off the jersey with Stallings' name on the back. In and of itself, that isn't a big deal, but the way that Barnes puts his hand on Stallings' arm and literally pulls him up like he's a child is a really bad look. Compare the body language and mannerisms of the two men - Barnes is vastly more confident and assertive, Stallings seems timid and submissive. Perhaps part of that is the hostility that Stallings faced (and Capel didn't), but I don't think that's a valid excuse. You're going to face hostility as a coach, you have to ignore it and believe in your ability. Speaking of which, Stallings opens with an anecdote about how poorly he played in the Dapper Dan All Star Game. He then goes on to say that he hopes his tenure as basketball coach is more successful. Perhaps he's just trying to be self-effacing, but instead it comes off as insecure. He says that he "hopes" he'll do better, not that he will do better. In fact, he uses that word repeatedly throughout the conference. Hope hope hope. Capel talks about what he's going to accomplish, the goals that he's set and how he's going to achieve them. He doesn't say that he hopes it turns out alright. The devil is in the details. One final key difference is that Stallings clearly has a sheet of notes in front of him and you can see him looking down at it throughout the press conference. Capel spoke off the cuff, without being overly rehearsed. He didn't need a piece of paper that he had prepared to guide him. It's really easy to see why one of them is an ace recruiter and the other complains about how circumstances out of his control are why he can't bring in talent. In spite of all that happened here, I'm sure that Stallings is a decent enough human being, but I would never, ever play for someone who makes such a poor first impression and that clearly isn't a minority opinion given his recruiting results. Sorry for the wall of text, but it's like night and day with those two. We're very fortunate to have a highly competent athletic director and a highly qualified coach in place of a charlatan and a coach in completely over his head.

Good stuff.

 

[Saboteur]

You mention Graham, but I think the most illuminating comparison is with Stallings. There were so many differences between Capel's and Stallings' press conferences that may seem minor but spoke volumes to me. First, Stallings has Barnes sitting next to him the entire time. In contrast, Lyke introduced Capel and then got out of his way. The press conference should be all about meeting the new Pitt coach and letting him speak for himself, which Lyke clearly understood. On the contrary, Barnes wanted to be in the spotlight as well and Stallings was content to share it with him. There's a moment right around the 4 minute mark where Stallings is preparing to speak, but Barnes interrupts him to show off the jersey with Stallings' name on the back. In and of itself, that isn't a big deal, but the way that Barnes puts his hand on Stallings' arm and literally pulls him up like he's a child is a really bad look. Compare the body language and mannerisms of the two men - Barnes is vastly more confident and assertive, Stallings seems timid and submissive. Perhaps part of that is the hostility that Stallings faced (and Capel didn't), but I don't think that's a valid excuse. You're going to face hostility as a coach, you have to ignore it and believe in your ability. Speaking of which, Stallings opens with an anecdote about how poorly he played in the Dapper Dan All Star Game. He then goes on to say that he hopes his tenure as basketball coach is more successful. Perhaps he's just trying to be self-effacing, but instead it comes off as insecure. He says that he "hopes" he'll do better, not that he will do better. In fact, he uses that word repeatedly throughout the conference. Hope hope hope. Capel talks about what he's going to accomplish, the goals that he's set and how he's going to achieve them. He doesn't say that he hopes it turns out alright. The devil is in the details. One final key difference is that Stallings clearly has a sheet of notes in front of him and you can see him looking down at it throughout the press conference. Capel spoke off the cuff, without being overly rehearsed. He didn't need a piece of paper that he had prepared to guide him. It's really easy to see why one of them is an ace recruiter and the other complains about how circumstances out of his control are why he can't bring in talent. In spite of all that happened here, I'm sure that Stallings is a decent enough human being, but I would never, ever play for someone who makes such a poor first impression and that clearly isn't a minority opinion given his recruiting results. Sorry for the wall of text, but it's like night and day with those two. We're very fortunate to have a highly competent athletic director and a highly qualified coach in place of a charlatan and a coach in completely over his head.

Focus on the AD for a moment.

Lyke did her job tirelessly and quietly.
The department has no leaks.
They don't respond to rumor and they don't feed into the frenzy.
The press conference yesterday was the result of polished professionals doing their job and setting the stage (pun intended) for success.
The relative placid group of men sitting and asking questions came about because they were outclassed, outworked and out of their league.
Rarely do I call the "old boys" club card, but that gaggle of "media" more resembled a card game of sad sack dudes from the Odd Couple than a meeting of literary pros.
They were one dimensional and they were relatively speachless.
In short, the room full of poorly dressed crumudgeons were put to shame by the professionalism of Lyke and Capel.
And it's all recorded on film.

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

Focus on the AD for a moment.

Lyke did her job tirelessly and quietly.
The department has no leaks.
They don't respond to rumor and they don't feed into the frenzy.
The press conference yesterday was the result of polished professionals doing their job and setting the stage (pun intended) for success.
The relative placid group of men sitting and asking questions came about because they were outclassed, outworked and out of their league.
Rarely do I call the "old boys" club card, but that gaggle of "media" more resembled a card game of sad sack dudes from the Odd Couple than a meeting of literary pros.
They were one dimensional and they were relatively speachless.
In short, the room full of poorly dressed crumudgeons were put to shame by the professionalism of Lyke and Capel.
And it's all recorded on film.

Great synopsis

 

[mbe 34]

Focus on the AD for a moment.

Lyke did her job tirelessly and quietly.
The department has no leaks.
They don't respond to rumor and they don't feed into the frenzy.
The press conference yesterday was the result of polished professionals doing their job and setting the stage (pun intended) for success.
The relative placid group of men sitting and asking questions came about because they were outclassed, outworked and out of their league.
Rarely do I call the "old boys" club card, but that gaggle of "media" more resembled a card game of sad sack dudes from the Odd Couple than a meeting of literary pros.
They were one dimensional and they were relatively speachless.
In short, the room full of poorly dressed crumudgeons were put to shame by the professionalism of Lyke and Capel.
And it's all recorded on film.

Let’s not forget Gallagher.
He came out of the blocks and fell flat on his face with the Barnes and Stallings fiasco.
Dusted himself off and started running.
Never seen this kind of commitment since Majors part 1.
Since Peterson came back it seems like disaster has always been looming.
Pitt is starting to fight back with good hires - Narduzzi, Lyke and JC.

Rally round the flag - H 2 P