Spy Wars

[JohnDeere 0]

kentucky.com

Spy wars: coaches know they're watching

A paranoid pack, coaches.

Take Frank Beamer, the Virginia Tech football coach, who, while trying to explain how his Hokies lost a 21-3 third-quarter lead and ultimately the Chic-Fil-A-Bowl to Georgia last December, offered up a conspiracy theory last week.

'We practiced out at Georgia Tech, and we let all kinds of people through there, people we didn't really know,' Beamer told the Roanoke Times. 'And I thought it hurt us in the bowl game. I'm not blaming anybody ... but I thought Georgia knew exactly what we were doing in several situations.'

A day later, Beamer was backing off his statement, but you know what he really thinks. They all do. They're coaches.

'You always worry a little bit about it,' said UK's Rich Brooks last week when asked out the possibility of snoops, 'especially if you're going to try something a little new, a little different.'

It goes with the territory. Football isn't war, it's just treated that way. Inside information is protected like state secrets. Playbooks are regarded as nuclear codes. Injury reports are classified documents.

Brooks said, yes, over the years, he has run people out of practice who were deemed suspicious.

'Our practice area is not the most secure place in the world,' said the coach. 'We've mixed up numbers and done some things in the past, like we did in the (Music City) bowl practice. We had guys come out in different numbers, so they couldn't be identified who was at what spot.'

UK football practices are closed to media and fans. They have been for the past few years. This was once a big deal, a news story. Now it's treated as par for the paranoid course.

Two years ago, Brooks was so sure information was being leaked over the Internet, he had dark screens placed around the practice field fence to keep peeping toms blind.

But then the information highway runs both ways. Brooks admits he has received tidbits from well-meaning fans. 'But you never know whether to pay attention to it or not,' said the coach.

Tim Couch's freshman year at UK, head coach Bill Curry closed practice. So Elbert Couch, Tim's father, and a local relative would park in a driveway off Cooper Drive and peer over the fence to watch offensive coordinator Elliot Uzelac tutor the Deuce on the fine points of the triple option.

When new coach Hal Mumme arrived, the UK offense wasn't the only thing opened up. Mumme threw the practice gates open to both media and fans. In fact, when the team did its weekly Thursday workout at Commonwealth Stadium, viewers could jot down the script for the upcoming Saturday game as Mumme always practiced the plays in order.

Consider that arrogance or naivete, but the fresh approach didn't hurt matters when Couch was connecting with Craig Yeast. Once Mumme had different Jimmy and Joes, he became more secretive about his Xs and Os, actually closing practices.

'The paranoia is even greater in the NFL,' said Brooks, who spent three years as head coach of the St. Louis Rams and four years as defensive coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons.

His assistant head coach, Steve Ortmayer, agrees. Ortmayer has seen it from both sides, as an assistant with the Oakland Raiders, considered the most paranoid and clandestine of NFL's franchises, and the San Diego Chargers, a Raiders' rival convinced that Oakland would secure information by any means necessary.

'We always felt, when I was both with the Chargers and with the Raiders, there were some opportunities from the buildings near the practice field for people to very well be watching,' Ortmayer said. 'Hopefully we let out enough paranoia on that that we scared them off.'

There is the great old story of Chargers Coach Harland Svare looking up during a pre-game speech at the Oakland Coliseum and yelling into a light fixture, 'Al Davis, I know you're up there!'

'We felt there was a couple of instances when I was with the Chargers where people were where they weren't supposed to be in practice,' said Ortmayer.

Then again, just because people watch doesn't mean they see.

A controversy at the SEC Media Days one year involved Auburn Coach Pat Dye's decision to ban the media from practices. Alabama Coach Gene Stallings was asked about his archrival's policy.

'I'm sure Pat has a good reason,' said the gracious Stallings. 'But if you guys who come to our practices can tell me what we're doing, then I'll hire you.'

[BamaGrad03 0]

I don't understand closing fall workouts. It's not like the cat won't be out of the bag after the first game or two. Sure if you want to put something special in for an upcoming opponent, great...but during the summer? Really?

[CircleDrill 180]

I'm glad that has worked out so well for Coach Brooks over the years.