Dan Hawkins. Colorado Buffaloes football. Head coach. The latest casualty in a never ending string of firings. Hawkins tried to accomplish something that was a set up for failure...he brought his son Cody with him. Cody Hawkins. Quaterback. Team leader...the guy who takes the rest of the blame after we question the coaching. In life, we realize anew that perception often rules the day. Dan may have been able to step outside the hard wired drive to see his son succeed...theoretically...maybe he was that one in a million that was able to draw some kind of invisible boundary and see his son as just another player. But the only chance Dan...and Cody...had was to win and win big. CU didn't...and nepotism...in football and in life... can be a set up for failure. Would Dan have survived as CU Head Coach if Cody had gone elsewhere? Who knows. What is always true however, is that coaches have to be perceived as fair...beyond reproach. As in life, we look to our leaders for inspiration, for vision, and for doing the right thing...always...no matter the cost. Dan Hawkins may be a great father...a great human being even...but he came into that program with an extra layer of expectation. He had to prove he was a great coach...and he had to prove that his son was just another player. That was an impossible task...research bears out the fact that we are hard wired in our very DNA to favor our children. And...great coaches , like great parents, know their players and gain their respect and their trust by their words and their actions. Athletes will go to war with these coaches. Sadly, these guys are rare. As has always been true, respect must be earned...can't demand it...or expect it. Humility...broadly defined...is power under control. Find that guy with character, humility, and vision and you'll change a culture. Better yet, you'll create an environment where magic can happen.
