Actually, it's worse than the OP suggests. The players hear week in and week out that they're "young and have no margin for error". While these may be facts, it is counterproductive and, frankly, unwise for coach Kill to keep saying this. Like it or not, what it conveys to the players and implies is that excuses are okay, that their coach doesn't expect them to win, that their coach doesn't believe they're capable of overcoming their youth (which is done all the time in sports and other areas of life) and that if they fumble or throw an interception or miss an assignment they're not good enough to overcome such errors. Even if this is all true, that's not what a head coach should be saying. He should be saying the following: " I don't give a damn if we're old, young, whatever, I coach up my players better than anyone out there and I see in practice that they're capable of beating any team in the conference if they play to their ability each week. All teams make mistakes from time to time and I know my players have the resiliency to overcome these mistakes if they occur. These boys know how to execute and work their tails off in an effort to approach perfection. By the way, I don't want any further questions from the media about whether we're a young team or where we're at in building a program. We're the 2012 Minnesota Golden Gophers. What you see is what you get and we work our butts off to get better each and every day. We're a scrappy, strong, fast football team of which I am very proud and in which I have a lot of faith and confidence. I'll take these tough young men to play anywhere. We might not win, but we'll give them a good battle." This would do far more to inspire his players, the fans, his boss and the State of Minnesota. If reporters keep trying to dig and manipulate by asking probing questions, all he has to do is hit the replay button. If he takes this approach mind you, he doesn't promise any wins, he doesn't tell the world that they're going to the Rose Bowl, but he fires up his players, instills hope and confidence, and furthers his objective of developing a confident group of young men. Unfortunately, Kill is as political as any coach I've observed. If I wasn't aware of his track record, I'd predict he's destined for failure.
