snake oil salesman coaches

**AntiSnob** · 02-22-2010, 01:34 PM

a lot of people complain about Lane Kiffin being unethical and being pretty much a sleazebag. But now that I think about he isn't the first coach with that mentality.

I remember someone telling me that Barry Switzer was the first of the "snakus oilus" species and he pioneered it back when he coached at OU. I looked him up and Switzer was also a young coach when he took over at OU (35 or 36).

So for you guys who remember when he coached at OU, would you say that he kind of invented that style of coaching?

**Wingback** · 02-22-2010, 03:58 PM

Sorry, I never considered Barry Switzer anything but one of the greatest football minds of his time and one of the great motivators of all time. Barry gets a bad rap because over the years he had some players who didn't represent the University of Oklahoma very well. Most teams have that type of players on their rosters, they just go unnoticed by the sports media because they aren't winning the way Oklahoma was when they had those problems. Nobody really cares when a player from Southwestern College of Meatcutters knocks his girlfriend silly. But if that same player was at Oklahoma, USC, Notre Dame or Florida it would be front page headlines.

**GeronimusClone** · 02-22-2010, 04:03 PM

Originally Posted by Wingback

Sorry, I never considered Barry Switzer anything but one of the greatest football minds of his time and one of the great motivators of all time. Barry gets a bad rap because over the years he had some players who didn't represent the University of Oklahoma very well. Most teams have that type of players on their rosters, they just go unnoticed by the sports media because they aren't winning the way Oklahoma was when they had those problems. Nobody really cares when a player from Southwestern College of Meatcutters knocks his girlfriend silly. But if that same player was at Oklahoma, USC, Notre Dame or Florida it would be front page headlines.

Maybe the girlfriend's dad...

**Cyched** · 02-22-2010, 04:20 PM

Gene Chizik

**AntiSnob** · 02-22-2010, 04:27 PM

Originally Posted by Wingback

Sorry, I never considered Barry Switzer anything but one of the greatest football minds of his time and one of the great motivators of all time. Barry gets a bad rap because over the years he had some players who didn't represent the University of Oklahoma very well. Most teams have that type of players on their rosters, they just go unnoticed by the sports media because they aren't winning the way Oklahoma was when they had those problems. Nobody really cares when a player from Southwestern College of Meatcutters knocks his girlfriend silly. But if that same player was at Oklahoma, USC, Notre Dame or Florida it would be front page headlines.

I would agree with that. The guy was an offensive genius. I'm surprised he never ran the wishbone with the cowboys (draft someone like Frazier and move Aikman to TE)