Mekhi Blackmon passionately defends Alex Grinch on social media
The Christmas spirit often means going against the Grinch. At USC, though, defensive coordinator Alex Grinch has a large heart and is by all accounts a great guy, a stand-up individual who does something very important for college coaches: He doesn’t throw his players under the bus when he fails. He takes personal ownership for failures and does not sugar-coat or (worse) avoid reality.
Grinch has earned a lot of respect for how he carries himself, how he goes about his business, how he relates to his players, how he faces up to the truth. It is definitely important to treat other people well — that’s certainly part of the Christmas spirit — and this Grinch, unlike the cartoon Grinch in Whoville, passes that test with flying colors. In a people-driven business, Alex Grinch treats other people well. It matters, and it’s Alex Grinch’s best quality.
This is why you see things such as this from the past weekend: USC cornerback Mekhi Blackmon felt the need to respond to criticism of Alex Grinch in public:
I Speak For A Lot Of People When I Say Grinch A Great MF Coach..
stop just tweeting for likes https://t.co/zOuM0AydmP— Candace Son. (@MekhiBlackmon) December 26, 2022
Whether you personally agree with Blackmon or not about how good a coach Alex Grinch is, we can all agree that it’s great to see players backing up their coach and supporting him. Players trusting coaches and wanting to play for them is part of a healthy culture at a football program. That’s a very good thing.
We should want to see it.
Now, though, after a player supports an oft-questioned coach in public, we need to see one more thing: The players (especially after a four-week break) coming out of the tunnel in Arlington, Texas, and playing well in the 2023 Cotton Bowl against Tulane. That would be the biggest and most important statement from USC players about the extent to which they admire, respect, and enjoy playing for Alex Grinch.
Supporting a coach can take the form of words shared in public, but the biggest sign of support from a player to a coach is to play well on game day.
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