Alabama strength coach Scott Cochran explains why he smashed the runner-up trophy
ATLANTA — Alabama strength and conditioning coach Scott Cochran is no fan of participation trophies.
Earlier in the week, the eccentric strength coach smashed Alabama’s runner-up trophy from the Tide’s National Championship Game loss to Clemson a year ago. He explained his decision to Yahoo Sports.
“It was sitting in my office all year,” Cochran said. “Players got sick of it. And they asked me why it was still there. I said ‘good question’ so we took it.”
If you’re wondering how Alabama coach Nick Saban felt about what Cochran did, he didn’t seem bothered by it. Saban said he’s not “big on the gimmick stuff,” which is fun to read when you realize how often Saban uses perceived disrespect to motivate his team.
“I didn’t really have a reaction to it,” Saban said. “You know, I’m not big on the gimmick stuff. But if it works for the players, I’m all for it. Coach Cochran likes that kind of stuff, and the players usually respond to it, and they have fun with it, which I think is important. It’s a long season, and I think for guys to be able to have a little fun — I don’t think it was meant to be any disrespect to anybody or anything but more of a reflection on the fact that we didn’t finish the way we should have, and maybe we have another opportunity to do that now.”
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of Dr. Saturday and From the Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
