Jim Gray and Bill Belichick locked down some of the most legendary coaches across sports for a roundtable episode of their Let's Go podcast this week as Mike Krzyzewski, Nick Saban and Joe Torre all shared their championship insights.
In addition to talking about their philosophy for building winning programs and sustaining a winning culture, the quartet of coaches also delved into how coming so close to winning a title but falling just short is a pain that never goes away.
It's a really interesting conversation and was one because of the environment the coaches were speaking in. The public is not used to getting these candid looks into the psyche and humanness of the greats but being amongst similarly accomplished peers caused the group to be more open.
We went to 13 Final Fours, we won five," Krzyzewski said. "When I look back, we don't have the guys for all these games. You have them for that one little period of time. JJ Redick, who was one of the great players for me, we had a chance in 2004 to win a championship, but we lost in the semis. And he has always said to me, he says, ‘Coach, I've loved being at Duke, loved playing for you. I never won the championship.’ And so I think as coaches and managers, we've had many opportunities, but these guys have a limited amount. And when we are not able to come through in that moment with them, that's what disappoints you more, that loss, the loss of those guys being the ultimate champion.”
"What Mike said really hit home with me," Belichick responded. "Two of the greatest players I've had, both in the Hall of Fame, Junior Seau and Randy Moss, didn't win with us. And I think that I have the same feeling for them that Mike just mentioned with JJ Redick. Those guys were such great players and we came close. It's heartbreaking for me that I couldn't deliver for them.”
“I had the same situation when we had that 3-0 lead on the Red Sox, and then we lost four straight," Torre added. "And the thing that hurt me more than anything, I had Don Mattingly on my coaching staff and Tony Clark on my team, and these guys had never gotten to the World Series. And if there was anything I was sorry about and couldn't get it done, was to have these guys get the taste of winning."
The entire extended conversation is worth a listen. Also worth thinking about is the trend of notoriously guarded or objectively opaque coaches transforming into open books upon retirement. Saban and Belichick are two of the biggest and best examples of this but it's interesting that there's a market for such thoughts. Especially because they are offered so sparingly when a coach is actively coaching.
These stories and touches may be a long time coming and seem overdue, but there's a countless amount of memories and lessons they can draw upon to share in their second acts and media personalities.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Star-Studded 'Let's Go' Coaching Roundtable Tackles the Tough Losses.
