Rolls Royce, Threats, and a 42-6 Loss

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If you listened carefully to Coach Prime’s press conference after getting obliterated yesterday by the Oregon Ducks, you heard him say this: “You better get me now.”

Meaning, you better beat me now because real soon when he starts getting all the best high school and transfer portal players to join his squad, there won’t be any more chances to “get him.”

Let’s unpack this a bit. So this is about him, the coach, not his players, even though he says it’s about the players. I think that’s called double-speak or manipulation or some other unimpressive mind game.

It’s not about “getting you,” Deion. It’s supposed to be about lifting up your players and teaching them life lessons. Maybe you’re doing that but regardless it’s not about “getting you” or shouldn’t be, except that you make this whole thing about you and infuriate and motivate people – such as the entire Oregon coaching staff and team – to whip your team.

Which they did.

But in the presser, you had to remind us you’ve won a gold jacket given to Hall of Fame football players. Not sure what that has to do with your team getting annihilated 42 to 6. Hall of Famers don’t mention their Hall of Fame credentials after being crushed nor at many other times. Secure people don’t feel the need to mention their personal accomplishments after the players on the team the coach has just been humiliated. But you’re a mix, Prime, of insecurity and security, confidence and sanctimony, self-righteousness and false modesty, bluster and bling. You’re fascinating, I’ll give you that. But you’re also to be questioned and not trusted. Because this is all about you and always has been.

Your words “You better get me now” are a threat to all other coaches, teams, and the entire college football world that you’re going to dominate everybody soon and their chances of being top dogs will be obliterated by you and your program.

Threats don’t scare college football coaches and players; they motivate them. You’ve just given every coach of every team you will play the rest of your career bulletin board motivational content. So if you want to win all the time, you just said something that will make it much harder to do so which means you’re not helping your cause. You’re putting more pressure on you and your players, which isn’t smart coaching.

Speaking of not being smart, answer this Mr. “We better you now.” What are you teaching your son by approving of him buying a Rolls Royce to drive around a college campus? Are you teaching him that luxury cars show your status in society? Do you want your son to show off how much money he has?

Do you want him to be cocky? Do you think other people admire cockiness? If you do, you’re not as smart as you think you are.

You shouldn’t allow your son to get a Rolls Royce while in college. If he insists, you should cut him from your team. Tell him he doesn’t deserve that kind of life or riches at such a young age because he’s going to find out eventually that first, driving a fancy car will not make him happy and, second, showing this off doesn’t make people like or respect you more and, third, people need to defer gratification, not snag it immediately.

Maybe get a Rolls after you’ve been in the workforce for thirty years if you really have to but not before you’ve ever had a real job.

People spend their whole lives grinding it out at work and never make enough money to afford a Rolls Royce. Your son hasn’t worked enough, lived enough, done enough, to deserve a Rolls Royce. If he worked for 20 or 30 years and made enough money, then – and only then – would such an ostentatious purchase be even close to reasonable.

But he’s not that. He was just a teenager a minute ago. He has no appreciation for how hard it is to make enough money to deserve such a car and doesn’t realize that all the other college students on Colorado’s campus aren’t impressed with his car. They’re probably a little jealous but also quite a bit turned off by the abject in-your-face materialism. It’s gross; it shows what he and you value: money and material things. That’s not impressive to anyone and never has been.

It shows you lack judgment about what’s important to teach your son. Flaunting money isn’t cool at all and never will be.

Materialism and greed never, ultimately, make people happy. Your son needs to get rid of the car, the hat with the dollar sign on it, and the gold chains and come back to the real world where students don’t act like they deserve to be rich because they’re talented football players.

He’s talented. You’re charismatic. You’re going to build a good college football program. But probably not as great as you imagine especially if you keep taunting and threatening your opponents. Do you have any appreciation for the multitude of smart, hard-driving, super-ambitious college football coaches out there who have more experience in this profession than you do, sweating night and day for decades to rise in the profession? My guess is you don’t appreciate all the hard work they’ve put in and don’t care about them nearly as much as you care about you and your son. Here’s where you need to be especially careful. You don’t think they’re as smart as you. You figure once you get the best players they won’t have a chance. You’re being presumptuous and foolhardy.

Sports history is filled with stories of the most talented teams underachieving. You think the other teams better get you now because eventually, you’re going to dominate.

I kind of doubt it. Arrogance always crashes. Comeuppances strike time and time again.

So take it down a notch, Coach Prime. It’s time.

You got annihilated yesterday.

Be humble for once in your life. Be quiet.

Stop all the manipulation and nonsense.

And watch out: Everybody’s coming after you and your team. The onslaught has begun.

Oregon kicked things off by kicking you and your team’s ass in Prime Time yesterday. And it won’t be the last time.

They’re comin’ prime. And they’re about to get comfortable.