{"id":65760,"date":"2020-11-30T18:22:44","date_gmt":"2020-11-30T18:22:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportscroll.com\/?p=65760"},"modified":"2020-11-30T18:22:44","modified_gmt":"2020-11-30T18:22:44","slug":"25-coaches-who-threw-their-players-under-the-bus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/develop.sportscroll.com\/25-coaches-who-threw-their-players-under-the-bus\/","title":{"rendered":"25 Coaches Who Threw Their Players Under The Bus"},"content":{"rendered":"

The relationship between coaches and players is a difficult one. It’s important that coaches organize their players and ensure millionaires with larger-than-life egos respect their authority. When something goes wrong, it can be very tempting to throw primadonna stars under the bus. However, most coaches agree that this is very bad for team morale, especially if they focus on individuals.<\/p>\n

Despite this, there are occasions when the coach chooses to pick on one player. Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians recently made headlines for burning Tom Brady in front of the world. But he’s not the only coach or manager to do so. Some of these coaches were under severe pressure<\/a> and wanted to deflect the blame to someone else. Others were in a position of success and wanted to light a fire underneath an underperforming athlete. Today, we’re going to look at 25 coaches who threw their athletes under the bus. Check out the list below via GQ.<\/a><\/p>\n

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Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

25. Bill Peters<\/h3>\n

Former Carolina Hurricanes coach Peters left hockey in shame. However, his former goaltender Eddie Lack will only regret that the Canadian didn’t depart earlier. Peters was relentless in his verbal destruction. He threw him under the bus and lit him on fire after a series of bad performances in 2017. But Peters didn’t help Lack with his confidence.<\/p>\n

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Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Peters accused Lack of letting down his teammates. Now that was definitely a good comment for morale. “Well, you’ve got to push,” Peters said. “One guy has played 10 games. Eddie has played 10 games and was poor in his last outing, let’s not kid ourselves, right? There were 16 shots, four went in. Not good enough. You look at his numbers in the league, they’re not good enough.”<\/p>\n

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Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

24. Manny Robles<\/h3>\n

Robles has trained Team USA as well as a host of professional boxers. However, he is most famous for being the head coach of former heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz. The Mexican boxer stunned the whole by KO’ing Anthony Joshua. However, after Ruiz lost the rematch in disappointing fashion, Robles took the rare step of criticizing his fighter in public. He also quit his position as Ruiz’s coach because the fighter partied too hard.<\/p>\n

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Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Robles slammed Ruiz for his under-preparation. He said, “I don’t think I lost the connection with my fighter, I just think it’s more him, it’s more the individual. The individual has to be disciplined, you got to be hungry. I can’t want it more than him. He’s got to want it.” To be fair, he had a point but also threw his athlete under the bus. Robles is not someone who minces words.<\/p>\n

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Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

23. Ozzie Guillen<\/h3>\n

Venezuelan baseball legend Guillen is one of the most colorful characters in the sport. He was also the first Latino manager to win a World Series during his time in charge of the Chicago White Sox. But it wasn’t all happy sailing during his tenure. When they missed out on the playoffs in 2011, Guillen threw his players under the bus. In short, he accused them of not caring supposedly unlike the coaches.<\/p>\n

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Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Guillen made a fascinating point that definitely didn’t help morale after a defeat. “Their fight left three days ago,” Guillen said. “I don’t care what they say. We’ve got coaches and all this stuff, we’re still out there and hopefully, win some games. You know what’s funny? Some coaches might need the $5,000, $3,000 to be in second place. The players might not. But the coaches do. They can buy Christmas gifts for their kids.<\/p>\n

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Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

22. Ben McAdoo<\/h3>\n

The New York Giants had a miserable 2017, going 3-13 overall. Head coach Ben McAdoo felt the pressure early as they lost their first two games. When franchise quarterback Eli Manning made a mistake in one game, McAdoo didn’t sugarcoat his feelings about the situation. Instead, he threw the Giants’ icon under the bus, laying the blame at his feet.<\/p>\n

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Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Manning mishandled a key play in the third quarter of a game against the Detroit Lions. But McAdoo didn’t sympathize or play down the error. He said, “Sloppy quarterback play. Quarterback and center need to be on the same page there. We need to get the ball snapped.” There are times when brutal honestly is effective but McAdoo was unable to find that balance. Now wonder Giants players and fans didn’t like him.<\/p>\n

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Mandatory Credit: Sky Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

21. Steven Gerrard<\/h3>\n

One of the most talented players of his generation, Gerrard faced a frustrating first season as manager of Glasgow Rangers in Scotland. The former Liverpool star expected high standards from his players. In sum, he didn’t accept them underperforming and not delivering on the field. However, when they didn’t deliver, Gerrard didn’t hesitate to throw them under the bus. That is always a dangerous tactic, but he didn’t hold back.<\/p>\n

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Mandatory Credit: Sky Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After one damaging defeat to Kilmarnock, Gerrard was furious. He said: “I think the players need to learn that even if you’re playing well, you get yourself in front, you can’t get overconfident. It’s incredible how you can have so much control and be playing with confidence and swagger, and then completely lose your way for such a long part of the game from that first mistake.” It was noticeable that he didn’t take any responsibility at all. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

20. Patrick Roy<\/h3>\n

In 2016, the St. Louis Blues crushed the Colorado Avalanche 5-1. It was a terrible performance from the Avalanche although Matt Duchy had a personal reason to be happy. He scored his 30th goal of the season when they were down by four goals. This was the first time he broke that ceiling in his career and he celebrated viscerally. However, his coach Roy was unimpressed.<\/p>\n

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Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To sum up, Roy thought it was inappropriate considering the score at the time. He proceeded to throw Duchy under the bus in front of the media. “The thing I have a hard time with is the reaction of Duchy after his scores,” said Roy. “It’s a 4-0 goal. Big cheer. Are you kidding me? What is that? I mean, it’s not the reflection that we want from our guys. Not at all.”<\/p>\n

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Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

19. Brian Kelly<\/h3>\n

In 2016, Notre Dame head coach Kelly was apoplectic following a loss to Duke. He totally threw his players under the bus, accepting exactly zero blame for the defeat. “Coaching had nothing to do with the outcome today,” insisted Kelly. Of course, college coaches earn millions of dollars per year while players don’t. So this was definitely one of the harshest rants we’ve ever heard.<\/p>\n

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Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But Kelly had more. He continued to lay the blame at his players’ feet as you can see. “Every position, all 22 of them, will be evaluated,” Kelly said. “Each and every position. There is no position that is untouchable on this football team. And that’s the quarterback, all the way down to — maybe the long snapper’s OK. We’re not going to touch him. But everybody else is vulnerable.”<\/p>\n

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Mandatory Credit: Bleacher Report<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

18. Bob Knight<\/h3>\n

Knight brought player criticism to the next level. He didn’t just throw them under the bus. He literally threw chairs at them. That’s exactly what Knight did in one bad performance against Purdue. One of the toughest coaches in the history of the sport, the Indiana Hoosiers legend was undoubtedly brilliant but also horrible to play under. Were the victories worth it?<\/p>\n

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Mandatory Credit: Bleacher Report<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He once grabbed one of his players and dumped him in a seat after two turnovers as well as screaming at his son in public. However, Knight defended his style passionately. “People want national championship banners,” said the coach. “People want to talk about Indiana being competitive. How do we get there? We don’t get there with milk and cookies.”<\/p>\n

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Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

17. Sam Mitchell<\/h3>\n

In 2004, Mitchell was a rookie head coach and feeling the pressure. After his Toronto Raptors side lost against the Washington Wizards, he wore the stress openly on his face. Furthermore, he ranted about his players’ character and desire. There’s nothing like totally disowning responsibility for a poor result and laying the blame on your players. Throwing them under the bus is character building.<\/p>\n

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Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Arguably Mitchell was responsible for motivating his players. However, he didn’t see it this way. “Somewhere we’ve got to find some men who want to play basketball to where this means more than just something to do,” he said. “And for the ones who don’t want to play, do everyone a favor and quit. And the ones I’m talking about, they know who they are because I’ve told them they need to quit. It’s embarrassing.”<\/p>\n

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Mandatory Credit: Edmonton Journal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

16. Kavis Reed<\/h3>\n

One of the most emotional entries on this list, the Edmonton Eskimos head coach was inconsolable after a game against the B.C. Lions in 2013. His team played terribly and Reed knew it. When he attended the post-game media interview, he allowed his feelings to be known. The head coach struggled to maintain his composure and continued to pause for deep breaths during his epic tirade.<\/p>\n

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Mandatory Credit: Edmonton Journal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In sum, Reed went on his famous ‘consequences’ rant. He had nothing good to say about any of his athletes. “There has to be consequences now,” fumed Reed. “Enough talking about it, there has to be consequences, it’s just not acceptable. “We’re not good enough to be as undisciplined as we are at home and allow teams to continue drives and allow our drives to be stalled because of it.”<\/p>\n

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Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

15. John Tortorella<\/h3>\n

The Columbus Blue Jackets’ head coach is famously one of the most confrontational in pro sports. He’s not afraid to lay into his players. When in charge of the Lightning, he regularly called out goaltender John Grahame. “It’s deflating to see sixteen shots and four of them in the net, let’s call a spade a spade,” said Tortorella. “He’s trying like hell, but we need an occasional save.”<\/p>\n

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Mandatory Credit: ESPN<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Meanwhile, check out what he said about Sean Avery following the ‘Sloppy Seconds’ incident.”He’s embarrassed himself, he’s embarrassed the organization, he’s embarrassed the league and he’s embarrassed his teammates, who have to look out for him,” said Tortorella. “Send him home. He doesn’t belong in the league.” It’s nice when a player’s coach has their back like that.<\/p>\n

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Mandatory Credit: Sky Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

14. Peter Fury<\/h3>\n

Tyson Fury is one of the best heavyweights in the world, but his career almost took a bad turn in 2013. He fought Keith Cunningham in New York but had to recover from a bad knockdown to seal the victory. The boxer’s display disgusted his uncle and coach Peter. The Furys never hold back and Peter threw Tyson under the bus. “That wasn’t him last night – I give it two out of 10,” said the elder Fury.<\/p>\n

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Mandatory Credit: Sky Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Peter didn’t attend the fight because of visa issues. But he didn’t stay silent. “That’s what happens when I’m not there,” he said. “He didn’t follow procedure, he just went out of control. Tyson ignored everyone. He did nothing of what we’ve been doing in the gym.” It is rare that combat sports coaches shred their athletes in public but the Furys aren’t a regular boxing family.<\/p>\n

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Mandatory Credit: Sports Illustrated<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

13. Jim Mora<\/h3>\n

Mora’s famous ‘playoffs’ rant is one of the NFL’s most infamous moments. The former Indianapolis Colts’ head coach was furious after a horrific game against the San Francisco 49ers. The loss effectively eliminated their chances of making the playoffs. Mora was disgusted with his players and soundly threw them under the bus for their lack of composure and ridiculous number of turnovers.<\/p>\n