There are countless stories about the former head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, Jimmy Johnson, but perhaps none of them are as notorious as the time he deprived his team of a postgame meal on the plane flight home after an embarrassing loss.
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Johnson stated that after a flight attendant began to bring out the food, he immediately decreed, “No. No meal. They don’t deserve to eat. I want them to be nauseated, to be sick to their stomach when they lose.”
According to the NFL Hall of Famer, Shannon Sharpe, Johnson’s idea that day was anything but original. “That happened to us,” Sharpe explained. “We lost a ball game and [Dan Reeves] took lunch away.”
Such punishments, which some would consider to be cruel and unusual, were relatively common just a few decades ago. However, Sharpe no longer sees much value in those “old school” types of disciplines.
The head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes, Deion Sanders, is still adhering to those ideas and principles, but the former Denver Bronco is fearful that it will drive players away from the program.
“I don’t know if this style of punishment works,” Sharpe offered. “You can’t really coach a kid. Now, you coach a kid hard, he’ll jump in the transfer portal.”
Therein lies the rub. Players and coaches from past generations believe that grit and tenacity must be instilled through hard work, discipline, and corrective measures, while modern athletes expect to be treated fairly and with some semblance of respect at all times.
There’s a generational divide over how punishments and playing time should be dolled out, and thanks to the transfer portal, players now have the freedom to leave whenever they believe that their needs aren’t being met. In the eyes of Sharpe, “This is real business. This is like a real job. I’m on a job and I don’t like my boss, I’ll quit and go find me another job and leave you high and dry.”
Nevertheless, Sharpe’s co-host and former Cincinnati Bengal, Chad Ochocinco, doesn’t share those fears with him. In fact, he believes that the prestige of Coach Prime is more than enough to keep players around, even when things get tough.
“Even if a player can jump in the portal, people want to go play for Deion Sanders… You understand what that comes with. You understand the discipline that he expects out of you to be at your best. If it comes down to you having to run the god d*mned stadium stairs if you hit the quarterback, then so be it. They’re not going to tolerate it at the next level, so don’t tolerate it here.“
Sanders’ has made it abundantly clear that his goal is to prepare his players for what comes next after college football, no matter whether that’s a regular day job or the NFL. It may seem excessive, but it’s that same type of gritty mindset that helped to make him one of the greatest players in all of gridiron history, so until someone is able to produce better results with a more thoughtful system, it’s rather hard to argue against his methods and results.
