How does Gus Malzahn view his coaching staff

My day job, that I have been doing for more than a few decades, is to teach communication to undergraduates. One of the courses I teach is Business and Professional Communication. In one section of this course, I talk to the students about how people, who ascend a corporate ladder from worker to management, either succeed or fail based on how they communicate with those they oversee. The overview of this section is the idea that the best management hires carpenters, while ineffective management hires hammers. You need a carpenter when you want someone to use their skills and talents to move forward towards your goals. You need hammers when you are doing a direct job and you need a tool to swing that will complete a task. This is the choice that Gus Malzhan seems to be facing, and hopefully learning, as he is staring down the barrel of his second consecutive losing season. 

The reason that so many people fail in management is that they still operate as if they are front line employees instead of management. This is actually understandable because the reason that they were promoted was because they were actually really good at their jobs. Whether they sold insurance, worked in factories or restocked shelves in a warehouse, they usually were good at doing their hands-on job to the point that they were recognized and singled out for promotion. In short, they made their living and found success as a carpenter, swinging a hammer to get a job done. So it stands to reason that when they make the jump to management that they will want to continue to do what brought them success in the past. For UCF, this is compounded for Coach Malzhan because, by his own admission, he really enjoys calling plays. Unfortunately, life and business do not work like that. The best managers will hire good carpenters and make sure they have the resources, motivation and guidance to be the most successful they can be as they swing their own industry hammers. The worst managers treat people like hammers and insist on swinging them directly to do exactly as they want to get a job done.  

This is the pivot point that Gus Malzhan seems to find himself in currently (and honestly, he’s been here before). From his days as a high school coach to the heady days as an SEC Offensive Coordinator, Gus was hands-on with creating a scheme and calling plays to much success. Yet, when he ascended to the role of a head coach, he still tried to be the same hammer swinging carpenter that he built his success on. As a head coach, he was great at identifying and hiring good carpenters for his team. Look at the names in his coaching tree: Chip Lindsay, Rhett Lashlee, GJ Kinney, Mike Norvell, Eli Drinkwitz, Kenny Dillingham and others. All of these accomplished signal callers have something in common: they worked and learned under Gus Malzhan, but ultimately moved on quickly. This is the classic sign of those who are talented, but working under conditions where they can’t fully do the job they were hired to do. People want to be trusted to be carpenters and not swung like a hammer. Treating people like hammers in these situations leads to what is called micromanagement. The challenge for managers as they assemble a team of carpenters, is that it requires them to give something important to the people they hire: trust.   

None of this is to say that Coach Malzhan should not be deeply involved with his team.  Quite the opposite is true. He should continue to work with his carpenters, advise and teach them, while also learning from them. In short, he should still keep his fingers in the dirt. I recently had a conversation with my brother who reminded me that Nick Saban, one of the most successful college football coaches in history, didn’t call his own plays, but always remained active with the team, communicating with coordinators and assistants throughout his long career. This allowed him to know what was going on within his organization, solve problems, and provide guidance, while letting his coordinators do the jobs they were hired to do (in fact, many of his coaches have gone on to be successful head coaches throughout college football).

As of this writing UCF fans are still basking in the glow of another Space Game blowout victory. Was this the product of playing against an inferior opponent? Was it the result of a surge of player support for the elevated role of Tim Harris and the newly promoted (again?) Addison Williams, spurred by Coach Malzhan letting his carpenters do their jobs? Only time will tell if the Space Game represents a new upward trajectory, or if the stars will fall back to earth in the last three weeks of the season.

When Coach Malzhan announced that he was giving up play calling to focus more holistically on the entire team, I lauded him for this move on Twitter, and my post was met with everything from hope to skepticism. This could become his new way of doing business, instead of a temporary move to placate those who are displeased. By doing this, Coach Malzhan gives himself a chance to find a new level, and type, of success that scratches his itch to be a winner. We are all well aware that one of the aspects of football that Coach Malzhan likes is calling plays. If this new approach works out, Knight fans can only hope that he finds as much satisfaction in winning as he used to get in calling plays.