Isaiah Thomas once told Bill Simmons that the secret about basketball is that it’s not about basketball. The main point of his theory is that basketball is about more than what’s actually taking place in that moment. It extends to relationships, and psychology. Being a great point guard is as much about personal interactions as it is about on-court abilities.
Much of the same is true about college coaching.
The secret about being a college football coach is that it’s about much more than the coaching of players. Eli Drinkwitz seems to understand that part of the job more than most.