Sometimes I listen to Coach Pete at a press conference and I think, “ what did he really mean by that”? Pete measures his words and considers their impact. I think he considers his team first, then Boise State and the fans. So, often times, he gives neutral answers to specific questions by sayng I don’t think like that, I don’t think about it or I don’t know enough to comment about that. At Mountain West Football Media Days , I watched Bruce Feldman of CBS Sports.com interview Coach Pete for this article. He answers some questions and leaves others alone but I thought I would play along and fill in my own interpertaion to What Pete Really Thinks. Here are a few portions of the Feldman piece and my “Pete” comments in italics.
Q: So when did it all change and start to go downhill? Like when you had to do more media?
Petersen: Ha ha. Yeah. Probably that. Dealing with a lot of the stuff that is so important to your program, and I get that. I don’t have a natural affinity for that. I like teaching. I like coaching. I like being with our staff. I don’t enjoy the media thing. Who would?
When they started asking me to do things other than prepare for success is when I looked harder at it. How does an interview prepare my team to win more games? When the media wanted me to second guess myself or my players out loud. Embarrass them or talk badly about them.That’s when I noticed the fun wasn’t in the job.
Q: Well, some guys probable are more comfortable with it, maybe because they know there’s more of an ego component to it?
Petersen: I wish I was like that because I’d be a better fit for the job. I’m just not.
I am starting to think about the goal line as a Head Coach because I don’t enjoy talking about other people. I like talking directly with them. It’s rude to talk about others, at least that’s how I was raised. I always knew I wasn’t a great fit for the total job of Head Coach.
Q: Whenever a big job comes open or is about to, your name gets thrown out there. It happens even with speculation that one day you’d be a guy who could succeed Mack Brown at Texas, where they have the biggest media responsibilities in the country.
Petersen: It’s all about the fit. There’s so many beautiful things about certain places. But then you think about, what are your strengths and weaknesses? And what do you want more of or less of?
I want more time for football and less time for EVERYTHING ELSE. This Boise media market is smaller and more manageable BUT the national media is increasing its footprint to put me on the interview list. I would never go to Texas, way too much time away from football.
Q: And you know yourself pretty well by now.
Petersen: Wuh. I mean this is painful for me.
Q: Sorry.
Petersen: No, I don’t mean this. I just mean this Media Day.
I can’t think of anything worse than doing 30 interviews in 8 hours, answering the same questions over and over. I don’t believe in public predictions. I have used those against my opponents too often.
Q: And this one is small and relaxed.
Petersen: And for some of those guys at certain schools, it’s ‘Media Day’ every week. That’s just college football. Even at Boise State, it’s completely different now than it was a few years ago. It’s relative.
And it is getting worse, it is what will drive me away from being a Head Coach probably the most.
