Communication Lessons from Coaching Conversations #3 (Part 2)
Featuring Football Coach Hue Jackson
Let’s evaluate another clip of Hue Jackson, but this time in a one-on-one setting.
In this short clip, Jackson tells Baker Mayfield of his decision to make him the backup quarterback.
While you watch the clip, pay close attention to:
How rushed this conversation feels.
How uncomfortable Baker Mayfield seems.
The lack of interaction. Jackson asks no questions and leaves no room for questions or discussion.
Important Note: This clip belongs to the NFL, so you won’t be able to watch it directly within this article. You’ll need double-click on the video below to watch on YouTube, then come back to this article to evaluate Jackson’s approach with me.
Double-click on the video below to watch, then return to this post.
Now that you’ve seen how Jackson communicates in a group setting and a one-on-one setting, what do you think?
Does it surprise you that his team had a record of 3–36–1 in the two years he was head coach?
We’ve only watched Jackson communicate for less than five minutes. Imagine this type of communication multiplied across an entire season. Oof.
…
Let’s evaluate Jackson’s one-on-one communication approach:
1/ He rushes a career-impacting conversation.
Red flags flew up for me within the first few seconds of this clip…
🚩 Jackson doesn’t greet his athletes verbally or physically.
🚩 He sits behind his desk instead of sitting with his athletes.
🚩 He doesn’t have seats for his athletes; they must grab them themselves.
🚩 He tells Baker Mayfield he’ll be the backup quarterback before he even sits down!
Just look at the faces from this screenshot of Mayfield and Stanton the moment Jackson delivers the news:
This is what surprise and discomfort look like.
I’m not suggesting Jackson should have waited to deliver the bad news because it’s often best not to delay or skirt around it.
I’m suggesting Jackson should have been at the door to greet his athletes for this career-impacting conversation, sat down with them around the big circular table to remove the intimidation factor that sitting behind a desk brings, give the guys a moment to settle in, and THEN deliver the news.
Jackson only considered himself in the way he went about setting up this conversation.
For your enjoyment, here are a few of the comments on this YouTube clip:
Baker's face as he left was just like "Contain hatred explosion for at least four more seconds... I. HATE. EVERYTHING."
That was embarrassing and disrespectful.
You can see Baker was pissed.
One of the weirdest things about this is that he invites Baker and Drew to sit down and then doesn't even let them do that before breaking the news.
Holy cow Hue Jackson is inept.
Jackson isn’t fooling anyone but himself.
2/ Jackson didn’t consider Baker Mayfield (a critical member of their organization) in how he planned and executed this conversation.
Just for a moment, imagine you’re Baker Mayfield.
How does it feel to receive career-impacting news in front of the teammate you lost out to?
Shitty.
Drew Stanton’s presence changes the entire dynamic of this conversation.
Stanton’s presence limits Mayfield’s ability and willingness to have a genuine reaction to the news.
Instead of truly receiving the news, Mayfield is forced into image management.
He knows his reaction to the news will influence Stanton’s perception of the situation, so he’s forced to “play it cool” and limit his comments and questions.
If Jackson had any respect for Mayfield as a person and athlete, he would have had a one-on-one conversation with Mayfield first before inviting Stanton in.
3/ Jackson doesn’t give Mayfield any information to explain the decision or guide him in what he needs to do to win the starting position.
Here’s a transcription of what Jackson says to Mayfield after Stanton leaves the room:
“I’m proud of what you’ve done. You’ve come in here the right way. You’ve handled EVERYTHING the right way. And I think that’s important for this football team. You’re a very talented young man. Keep grinding. Okay, and I’m going to keep creating situations for you to even do more. You keep doing your part. Every day. This is going to be your life for a long time. So, uh, I hope you understand the opportunity that’s in front of you right now. But you’ve earned it. I’m not just giving it to you. You’ve earned it. Okay?”
Jackson uses a lot of words to say nothing at all.
If you were Mayfield, you might be wondering…
“If you’re so proud of me, and I’ve done everything right, why didn’t I get the starting position?”
“Why should I keep grinding (for you)? Clearly, what I’m doing isn’t enough.”
“What exactly do you want me to do more of in these situations you’re going to create for me?”
“This is going to be my life for a long time — a backup quarterback?!”
“What exactly is the opportunity in front of me?”
“I earned backup quarterback?!”**
“What do I need to do to earn starting quarterback?”
**If you read Part 1, this is another example of gaslighting. Jackson tries to manipulate the narrative of this situation by telling Mayfield he’s “earned” the backup quarterback position. No one in their right mind perceives this news (from Mayfield’s perspective) as good news.
Even worse, Jackson doesn’t invite any questions or discussion from Mayfield. He says what he wants to say and then pressures Mayfield out of his office.
It says a lot about Mayfield that he shook Jackson’s hand at the end of this meeting. He’s a better person than me.
Two other questions came up for me while working on this post…
Why doesn’t Baker ask any questions? Even though Jackson didn’t create space for questions or discussion, that shouldn’t have stopped Mayfield. It’s just as important to teach athletes how to lead and manage crucial conversations as it is to teach coaches.
How does someone like Jackson get into a head coaching role? Is it the Peter principle? The Peter principle is a management concept developed by Laurence J. Peter which observes that people in a hierarchy tend to rise to "a level of respective incompetence.” Employees are promoted based on their success in previous jobs until they reach a level at which they are no longer competent, as skills in one job do not necessarily translate to another
If you’re willing, please share your thoughts in the comments of this post.
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If you’re interested in working together or bringing me in to assess your team/organization’s communication, let’s talk.
Thanks for reading!
Jenny
Oh dear , yes I Love the reference to the
Peter Principal 👏🏻
I Haven’t heard that before .
Thanks Jenny