Top 10 Press Conference Coaching Rants
Today is the ten year anniversary of Herm Edwards' career highlight, his famous "you play to win the game" rant. As Herm's quote was being celebrated this morning on SportsCenter, I thought to myself that perhaps nobody in sports has gotten more mileage out of one single quote than Herm Edwards. Maybe it's because he's on ESPN and his quote is referenced so much from SportsCenter to PTI to almost any NFL situation covered by Bristol. You probably can't go a week watching ESPN's coverage of the NFL without at least one person shouting in that classic Herm Edwards cadence, "Hello! You PLAY to WIN the GAME!"
But is it the best press conference rant of all-time? Herm's anniversary and Jim Harbaugh's gobbledygook from last night got me thinking about the best press conference rants from coaches. With that in mind, here's our Top 10...
10) David Bennett
This is far from the most well-known coaching rant, but its unintentional comedy is off the charts good. Last September, former Coastal Carolina head coach David Bennett wanted more dogs and less cats. Hopefully he got his screen door fixed.
9) Kevin Borseth
In 2008, when he was at Michigan, women's basketball coach Kevin Borseth took the unique step of beginning this press conference by slamming a paper on the podium. Things got more intense from there.
8) Mike Singletary
Remember when Mike Singletary was 49ers head coach and Vernon Davis was getting dismissed from the sidelines way back in 2008? Eventually, the 49ers must have figured out how to be winners... just without Singletary.
7) Dan Hawkins
Dan Hawkins is currently an ESPN college football analyst. Once upon a time in 2007, he was Colorado's head coach and the Buffaloes weren't one of the worst FBS programs of all-time. Maybe Colorado's current crop of players should follow the Hawk's advice and just go play intramurals.
6) Mike Ditka
Mike Ditka's tenure as Saints coach is remembered most for his Ricky Williams trade and ESPN The Magazine wedding cover. As a Saints fan though, the Ditka Era will always be summed up by this classic press conference in 1999. The Saints were 2-7 in Ditka's third year of misery and da coach was asked about his quarterback situation. It's no wonder Ditka was so angry, his quarterbacks were Danny Wuerffel, Billy Joe Hobert, Billy Joe Tolliver, and rookie Jake Delhomme. That's why Ditka failed in New Orleans.
5) Jim Mora - Diddly Poo
Another classic rant from a former Saints coach. (And Sean Payton thinks he has it bad with this bounty stuff?) When Jim Mora was Saints coach, he unleashed "diddly poo" on the unsuspecting masses after an especially humiliating loss to the Panthers in 1996. The next day, Mora resigned.
4) Herm Edwards
Ten years ago today in 2002, Herm Edwards told us all why we play the game. Who would have thunk it? I thought we played the game to see who could have the worst clock management.
3) Denny Green
After a wild Monday Night Football game in 2006 where the Bears came back from 23-3 down in the 2nd Half without an offensive touchdown to defeat the Arizona Cardinals, Denny Green was less than thrilled with losing to a team that was what he thought they was.
2) Jim Mora - Playoffs
After Jim Mora left New Orleans, he went to Indianapolis to be head coach of the Colts. He also stepped up the quality of his rants. After a loss to the 49ers, Mora's Colts fell to 4-6 in 2001. They didn't make the playoffs in Mora's last season on the sidelines.
1) Mike Gundy
But the unquestioned king of all coaching rants has to be this epic from Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy in 2007. He's still a man, and 45 now.
BONUS: A couple tweeters (@GMMohr & @Cold_Silos) brought to my attention the rant of former Cubs manager Lee Elia. Since I wasn't born yet when Elia managed the Cubs, my first reaction was to ask, "who is Lee Elia?" After I finally found this video from 1983, I take back what I said, this is the best coaching rant ever.
How could you NOT include Hal McRae's infamous (and violent!) rant from back in the day??? "Put that in your pipe and smoke it!" LMBO!!!
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What away to end the day. That lee one was funny reminds me of Rodney dangerfeild.
Here is the legendary Bobby Knight clip. I love Old School coaches.
I'm tired of losing to Perdue. Your gonna run until you can't even suffer. LOL classic line
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yw7KijRfU-c
This gem from Tommy Lasorda is on my Top 10 list: He ramps up the critique all the way to the end:
Matt Yoder...what a pinhead. Maybe this should be called "Top 10 Rants that I know of"
How can you write a story like this and not know of Lee Elia?
Sad.....
@MichaelBradley In EVERY "top-10" type of countdowns out there on the web, there's ALWAYS that one TROLL who, of course, can NOT put together HIS on top-10 and comes puking on the creator of it on account of having forgotten this or that. Could it be that maybe just maybe Matty here is way TOO YOUNG to have even ever heard of Lee Elia? How old are you, Man? Fifty something? If so, pile on those your (cranky) age and leave young CREATIVE minds such as Matt alone! (frown)
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I do like #7 a lot too..."Go play intramurals brotha!" Makes me laugh every time
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From the "older" days, this one also ranks "right up there":
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kamDqL-AGzI
Great job on the top 10, though! Gotta love Jim Mora and Denny Green here... LMFAO
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39 'f*cking" rants counted on the last clip. wow! What a (bleep)ing foul-mouthed coach!
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@4U2NV I laughed my face off at the Elia clip - I couldn't believe a professional coach would let fly like that. My wife laughed because she knows how much Australians like myself pepper our language with profanity, and said I probably use the F word about as many times in one sentence as Elia did when I'm angry - but still! I don't think even in my worst moments that I would fly off the handle like that publicly, because you KNOW it's going to come back to bite you. I'm guessing he lost his job for that rant?
I was reading through the list thinking "they better have Mike Gundy #1". I love hearing "I'm a man, I'm 40", it never stops being hilarious. Forget Lee Elia, he's not a man, or 40.
