According to Geoffrey C. Arnold of The Oregonian/OregonLive, Oregon Ducks football coach Dan Lanning delivered a memorable pregame address that went viral on social media.
Lanning’s remark — “They’re fighting for clicks, we’re fighting for wins” — received both acclaim and condemnation.
Nick Saban, Alabama’s coach, spoke out Thursday.
Saban claimed Lanning’s speech was effective in energizing his guys, but he seemed to believe it should have been kept within the locker room.
There’s still this hallowed period in the locker room where you should be able to say things to your team, to motivate your team, that maybe they’re not disrespectful to the opposing team, but it’s not for everyone else to know,” Saban remarked on the “Pat McAfee Show.” “I understand what Dan Lanning was trying to communicate, and it was probably good for his team to hear in some respects, but it wasn’t likely good for everyone else to hear, and that’s always the argument. Where do you draw the line and say, ‘OK, there’s got to be some time when you can talk to your team and say what you have to say, but it’s really not for everyone else to hear.’?”
Coaches useSaban appeared to question the timing of Lanning’s speech.
“I believe you can use the media to convey a message to your team. “I don’t think you should do that right before the game,” Saban stated. “That is something you do on Monday, when you speak to the press. You want to get a message out there because your team will hear it and you can repeat it in a team meeting, but you want everyone to think that way, and sometimes you want your supporters to think that way as well, so that rat poison does not reach them.””
