Doug Moe once described his personality as “Jekyll and Hyde,” a passionate, foul-mouthed renegade of sorts whose Denver Nuggets teams led the NBA in scoring for five consecutive years in the 1980s.
“I clown around a lot before and after a game, but once a game starts, my emotions just take over,” Moe told The New York Times in 1983.
Moe died Tuesday. He was 87.
In its obituary, the Associated Press painted a picture of an eccentric but deeply knowledgeable coach who left a lasting impact on his players and the larger sport.
“The coach stalked the sidelines in one of his well-worn sports coats, usually without a tie (he had a small stash of ‘emergency suits’ in his closet for bigger events), his hair a mess and his overtaxed voice barely at a croak by the end of most games,” AP reporter Eddie Pells wrote.
“The Nuggets bench, along with the 10 rows behind it, was no place for children, but within hours, Moe would be at the bar or coffee shop hanging with many of those same players he’d excoriated, often himself wondering where that foul-mouthed man on the sideline had come from.”
Moe’s obituary — and its foray into the duality of a coach — was one of the more illuminating leadership pieces I read this week. Here are six others:
2. ‘It’s every day’
The Athletic profiled John Wroblewski, the head coach of the United States women’s national hockey team, describing his style as both emphatic and empowering.
“For all the confidence he works to instill, Wroblewski can be demanding and believes there’s a certain way the game should be played,” the Athletic wrote.
What gives Wroblewski credibility with his players, ultimately, is the countless hours they see him pouring in behind the scenes.
“When it comes to the details, the X’s and O’s, the film, I mean, it’s unbelievable, the amount of work he does,” said Kendall Coyne Schofield, a four-time Olympian.
“You guys don’t see it, we don’t see it, but it’s every day. He’s prepared to make us the best that we can be. And it’s obviously showing.”
It was a reminder that just as coaches frequently admire players who live in the gym, the appreciation is often reciprocated when athletes see their coach pour in hours behind the scenes to make them better.
3. “It’s not over”
As Ryuichi Kihara left the ice in disappointment last week following a slip-up in the pairs, his coach, Bruno Marcotte, uttered a few simple words of encouragement.
“It’s not over,” Marcotte said, referencing a pair of 2018 Olympic champions who also overcame a significant deficit.
The message proved prophetic.
Kihara and his partner, Riku Miura, later delivered a world record free skate, catapulting the Japanese pair to an improbable gold medal.
“I never, never stopped believing,” Marcotte said.
My takeaway was that great coaches have the ability to quickly draw relevant parallels and pull from history to inspire their players.
4. Seeking player input
As the Boston Celtics headed to Toronto in December, a pair of questions lingered for Coach Joe Mazzulla:
1. Who should start in place of the injured Jaylen Brown?
2. Who should guard Toronto’s stars?
Mazzulla could’ve made those decisions on his own or huddled with his staff, but instead, he left it to the players to decide.
“I've never been in a film session like that. It was awesome,” forward Luka Garza told Boston Sports Journal. “It was kind of just like a team project, if you will, where we all kind of were able to put our imprints on what the starting lineup looked like, what our coverages were going to be, based on the scout, and stuff.”
That willingness to collaborate and seek team member feedback likely earned Mazzulla a bit of additional credibility. Players typically invest more when they have some ownership in the decision-making process.
5. The CEO trend
Not a sports piece, but I was surprised to read that more than 10 percent of CEOs were replaced last year across 1,500 of the biggest publicly traded companies, with many turning to younger and less experienced new leaders, according to the Wall Street Journal.
This year alone, Walmart, Proctor & Gamble and Disney, among several others, have already tapped new top executives.
“The result is a grand experiment in leadership as companies grapple with the swift rise of artificial intelligence, the unraveling of long-established trade practices and an unsettled economy and geopolitical order,” the Journal wrote.
6. More about work
Jordan Ott grew up in a western Pennsylvania town of just 1,200 residents.
But that didn’t stop the now-Phoenix Suns coach from dreaming big as a child.
“Kids see the next 10 seconds instead of the next 10 years,” one of Ott’s former teachers said. “Jordan Ott could see the next 10 years. Matter of fact, you can make that 20. Because it’s taken him 20 years to get to where he’s at. But he didn’t quit on his dream.”
Despite his meteoric rise, Ott, by all accounts, hasn’t changed.
“Ott will accomplish everything and take credit for nothing. More about work, less about glory,” the Athletic wrote. “It’s how he’s gotten to basketball’s highest level.”
7. The art of the runner-up speech
In the moments after championship defeat, when disappointment is palpable, tennis players face an unusual challenge.
They must step in front of a microphone to address thousands of fans while delivering a runner-up speech.
“It's hard to imagine the losing team in the Super Bowl or the NBA or WNBA Finals, speaking in front of a packed stadium or arena, searching for the right words about what the experience meant,” ESPN.com wrote.
While the piece questions whether the routine should be done away with altogether, it also insinuates that it’s a valuable opportunity to convey character and earn good will with fans.
“A player must congratulate their opponent, and their respective team, then everyone involved in making the tournament a success, from the officials to the ball kids to the sponsors, and then they can turn their attention to their own team, family and friends and perhaps even mention how the loss will fuel them in the future,” ESPN wrote.
“It's typically during the later parts that a player can show a glimpse of their personality.”