Houston – Brad Smith didn’t necessarily want to talk about it, the precise behavior that led to this line of questioning in the first place.
What happened last season?
Maybe it wasn’t the Missouri quarterback’s fault the Tigers went 5-6. Maybe his coach, Gary Pinkel, was to blame.
Neither was talking about what mattered, it appears. No player had a private conversation with Pinkel during the season to say what needed to be said. Relationships broke down, just as the team did on the football field.
Wisteria Lane, eat your heart out. The real drama is in Columbia, Mo., where in 2004 feelings were hurt, games were blown and everyone threw up their hands and stomped to their rooms.
“There were a lot of things that needed to be fixed and worked on internally with the way we handle each other,” Smith said.
The Tigers are getting a quick test of how well they have resolved their issues as they attempt to recover from the shocking death of redshirt freshman linebacker Aaron O’Neal, who collapsed July 12 during a voluntary conditioning workout.
“Our players are just leaning on one another, what you do in a situation like this,” Pinkel said. “Through time, we will get through it.”
A year ago, communication went as such: Coach tells players what to do; players don’t like what Coach has to say; some players express displeasure in front of the team and through the media; no one talks about the issues; the distractions derail what was predicted to be a Big 12 North title-contending season.
“We had some problem guys that we needed to get rid of and that I’m very glad we got rid of,” Missouri safety Jason Simpson said. “You can’t have people giving their own opinions on what you should have done, what I could have done, you didn’t play your best, you should have picked a different play or something. Stuff that they are not even entitled to say.”
One of those guys was Simpson’s good friend, running back Damien Nash, who was so put off by Pinkel he left school after his junior season and entered the NFL draft. Simpson didn’t mince words Wednesday describing Nash’s negative impact on the team at Big 12 media days.
“He hurt us,” Simpson said. “As much as the leadership tried to lead, it was just being brought down in other areas. And it wasn’t just him.”
Pinkel points the finger at himself. This year’s seniors met with Pinkel after the season and held a no-holds-barred session.
“We didn’t bite our tongues; we told him what we felt,” Smith said. “It was kind of tough to take, I’m sure, but it was something that needed to be done.”
Said Pinkel: “We just talked about a lot of different things internally to build relationships with each other, the staff and players. It was very, very good information.”
For the first time, real communication.
“Now, you actually feel that you can go talk to (Pinkel), that you have an ear that will make a change,” said Smith, who hopes that will translate into wins. “That’s exciting for a lot of guys on the team who thought there was a barrier between coaches and players.”
Staff writer Chris Dempsey can be reached at 303-820-5455 or cdempsey@denverpost.com.
