Baylor Coaches Media Luncheon -- 11/5/02
11/6/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 5, 2002
Baylor head football coach Kevin Steele and senior OL Derrick Pearcy spoke to the media at Tuesday's press luncheon. Below are excerpts from their comments.
Head Football Coach Kevin Steele:
On last week's game against Texas Tech:
"We didn't play very well. We didn't execute very well. I said after the game that that was my responsibility."
On this week's game against Texas:
"We have to regroup a little bit. We've got a challenge this week with the No. 4 team in the country, in Austin... No matter what the challenge is, you line up and try to find a way to overcome it. We've got a great challenge here, so that means a great opportunity."
"I'm not going to approach this week any different than any other week. If you're gonna don the green and gold and put the 'BU' on our chest, then it's our job to go out and try and win with all the vim and vigor as usual."
On Texas QB Chris Simms:
"Chris is a very, very good football player. He's smart. He has a passion for the game. He throws the ball well, and he has a lot of good players around him. I really respect him, because he's not only quarterbacked that team to a lot of wins, but he had handled adversity pointed directly at him very well."
On his immediate response Sunday after being relieved:
"The first thing is that you turn to your faith, immediately... By doing that, my thoughts were clear and concise... Then I dealt with my family, and the staff and their families, and then the players."
"I was fired, then asked to coach the last three games. I didn't feel any obligation contractually to do that. I didn't feel any obligation personally to do that. Frankly, it would have been a whole lot easier to go home. But after meeting with the players, I felt that we started this together, we need to finish it together... I look at it as a great opportunity for the next 21 days to practice what you preach."
"This is uncharted waters. I'm not sure how to play in this situation, or how to practice in this situation. We're just gonna go by faith."
On the players' reaction to the news:
"This whole thing is not about me; it's about a football family, of whom the focus of that family is the student-athletes. The focus shouldn't be on what's transpired with Kevin Steele; it should be on what's best for these student-athletes."
"It's nice to know that you preach family, and the same elements of family are there."
Comparing his initial expectations on the job to how things unfolded:
"The difficulty I expected has unfolded pretty close. I thought maybe we'd be a little more competitive on the scoreboard; I think the scoreboard was the thing most different from what I expected."
"I've been given the support I've needed... I had an opportunity; this staff had an opportunity... but I failed here. Not this university, not these players, not this staff. That's my responsibility."
On what the next coach might find at Baylor:
"There's opportunity here... I hope and pray that the next coach at Baylor is a great coach and very successful, for the student-athletes; that they will reach the goals and success we'd hoped for... It's difficult, and challenges are there, but I really hope that things unfold and it's like a fairy tale."
On what might be next for Coach Steele:
"I love to coach; I love to teach. I don't know what the future holds or what my desires are gonna be... I'm still relatively young for the coaching profession. I think that if I choose to, there will be another opportunity out there down the road to head another program. I may want to, I may not. If another opportunity comes up, I'd assess the situation very closely and then decide."
Senior Offensive Lineman Derrick Pearcy:
"Anytime you get that sort of announcement, a big shock goes through the locker room. The integrity and character of these guys is unmatched anywhere. I'm really glad they're gonna stick around and coach the last three games."
"It wasn't really anger; just a lot of confusion. There was no resentment."
"The consistent theme of this is taking it day-to-day, that this is uncharted territory. It's tough being the last three games. We just have to take pride in ourselves and finish it out."
"Things are infinitely better now [than when Steele came to Baylor]. Coach Steele and his staff have done so much for us as student-athletes... Coach has done a great job all the way through. The administration made a decision; there's nothing any of us can do about it."
"They've really done a good job keeping us all together. It's a big family here. That's what this institution is based on. We've stuck together."
"It means a lot [that Steele will finish out the season]. It's life lessons, you know. When you see a man with that integrity and character, who's willing to stick it out, it makes you proud to get to be a part of it."
