Gruden is 100% right about Kirk Cousins here.. This is something I have STRONG feelings about.
Reminds me of Tony Dungy in The Power of Habit:
“Players spent their lives building the habits that got them to the NFL. No athlete is going to abandon those patterns simply because some new coach says to.
Dungy didn’t erase habits — he kept the same cue, same reward, and just slipped in a faster, cleaner routine"
That is what real coaching is all about. Too many coaches today put players in a box and pay zero attention to how they actually process information.
They don’t take the time to understand a player’s strengths and maximize them. Something as “small” as changing footwork can completely screw up decision making and paralyze players.
I’ve lived both sides and the bad one sucks. I had a coach who completely changed my entire vision of the game and demanded I change key fundamentals, keys, and reads. I tried to be the good soldier, stay coachable, and do it his way… and I played like absolute shit. Couldn’t play fast or confident because everything felt foreign.
On the other hand, early in my career I had a great coach who looked at me and said:
“I would never teach it that way, but you know how to make it work, as long as you can keep making plays like that - go ahead”
That’s the difference. Certain coaches understand which details actually matter. The goal is to arm your players with the tools they need to play fast and instinctive, not build technical robots.
I know I'm not alone on this one and plenty of players can relate.
#NFL #Coaching #Gruden 👇