In today's media landscape, assistant coaches are overhyped, overshadowing their role, as illustrated by Ben Te'o's resignation fallout.
In the 24-hour media cycle where every story gets a run and every disagreement is treated like a constitutional crisis, we've become obsessed with the "Next Big Thing."
We treat assistant coaches like Silicon Valley startups-everyone's looking for the unicorn, the tactical wizard who's going to disrupt the game. Historically, an assistant leaving a club was barely a footnote, but in today's landscape, it's a lead story.
The fallout at Red Hill from Ben Te'o's resignation proves a lot of these young guns have forgotten the most basic rule of the road. The job title is Assistant Coach. Read that first word again. It's not a suggestion; it's a job description.
The Bennett Rule
In 20-plus years in the box-working under the likes of Wayne Bennett, Ricky Stuart, and Neil Henry-I've seen plenty of paint stripped off the walls. I've been "taken to task," disagreed with the boss, and walked out of meetings ready to kick the cat. That's just a Tuesday in a high-pressure workplace.