coaching - The Latremie Post

Peers say Purdue's Matt Painter best at Xs and Os: 'His sets are almost impossible to stop'

**Matt Painter Ranked No. 1 Coach at Xs and Os in CBS Sports Candid Coaches Survey**

WEST LAFAYETTE — Purdue men’s basketball coach Matt Painter has long been known for his detailed and sometimes complex explanations of strategy and play design in postgame interviews. This knack for strategy has helped amplify Painter’s national reputation as a top-tier tactician—not just among the media, but also among his coaching peers.

A recent CBS Sports candid coaches survey polled roughly 100 college basketball coaches to determine who is the nation’s best at Xs and Os. Painter earned the largest share of the vote, capturing 19% and edging out UConn’s Dan Hurley, who received 18%. Creighton’s Greg McDermott followed closely behind with 16%—the only other coach to garner more than 7% of the votes.

Painter and Hurley notably faced off in the 2024 national championship game, where Hurley’s Huskies defeated Purdue 75-60 to repeat as champions.

Voters praised Painter for his ability to scheme Purdue to victory even when faced with talent disparities. They also highlighted how he has elevated the games of unheralded recruits like Braden Smith and Zach Edey.

One anonymous coach said, “When he has a dynamic playmaker, his sets are almost impossible to stop. Then he has a ton of counters. You think you know what’s coming, then he flops it. Then he flips the flop. You gotta turn them over, ’cause you can’t get enough misses.”

In other recent CBS Sports candid coaches features, Purdue was also selected as the nation’s best team for the 2025-26 season, and Braden Smith was named the nation’s best player.

Matt Painter’s strategic prowess continues to earn him high praise, solidifying his status as one of college basketball’s elite coaches.
https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/college/purdue/2025/10/01/purdue-basketball-coach-matt-painter-best-xs-os-survey-candid-coaches/86459005007/

Jaguars’ Coen and 49ers’ Saleh clash over sign-stealing accusations

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The pregame tiff between San Francisco defensive coordinator Robert Saleh and Jacksonville coach Liam Coen over accusations of legal sign stealing by the Jaguars spilled over into the postgame.

Coen could be seen yelling at Saleh as he was being held back by offensive lineman Robert Hainsey following Jacksonville’s 26-21 win over San Francisco on Sunday.

“No big deal,” Coen said. “I’m just going to keep that between us right now. That’s it.”

It seemed like a bigger deal than that, as the two coaches were yelling at each other while walking off the field.

Saleh had called Coen’s staff elite when it comes to stealing defensive signals in a legal fashion. Coen brushed aside those remarks when asked during the week and wouldn’t talk about it with the media after the game.

But his players saw what had happened and used it as motivation on Sunday.

“You use everything you can,” quarterback Trevor Lawrence said. “If you’re going to give me free fuel, you take it. That’s something that you always do. But at the end of the day, you’ve got to go play the game. That stuff doesn’t really matter. You take care of business and execute and find a way to win the game, which we did today. So it feels great.”

Saleh said on Thursday that many coaches who worked under Sean McVay on the Rams or Kevin O’Connell in Minnesota are skilled at stealing signs. Coen spent four seasons on McVay’s staff in Los Angeles while Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski spent the past three seasons working for O’Connell on the Vikings.

“They’ve got legally, a really advanced signal-stealing type system where they always find a way to put themselves in an advantageous situation,” Saleh said. “They do a great job with it. So, we’ve got to be great with our signals and we’ve got to be great with our communication to combat some of the tells that we might give on the field. They’re almost elite in that regard.”

Niners coach Kyle Shanahan said he believed Saleh was trying to compliment the Jaguars staff but that the use of a loaded phrase like “sign stealing” took away from that. Shanahan said he didn’t see the postgame interaction but doesn’t believe the whole kerfuffle means that much.

“I tried to clear it up (this week). I didn’t see what happened, so I’m not sure,” Shanahan said. “I don’t think (Coen) should be that sensitive about it. But it is what it is. I don’t worry about it.”

Jaguars defensive lineman Arik Armstead, who spent four seasons playing under Saleh in San Francisco, said he believes it’s not a major issue.

“I know coaches get competitive,” he said. “They’re two great coaches and obviously both fiery. I don’t really know what that was about.”

___

AP NFL
https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/football/nfl/2025/09/28/jaguars-coen-and-49ers-saleh-clash-over-sign-stealing-accusations

Mike Elko calls out "gloomy" Texas A media

Mike Elko has his team rolling, but the Texas A&M head coach made it clear Saturday night that the media hasn’t exactly kept up with the program’s momentum.

After the Aggies’ 16-10 win over Auburn—which pushed A&M to 4-0 for the first time since 2016—Elko spent just five minutes fielding questions before putting reporters on the spot. His tone shifted from measured to pointed as he challenged what he described as a dreadful and gloomy line of postgame questioning despite a dominant defensive performance.

“Does anyone want to ask a question about us being 4-0 for the first time since 2016 or how did the defense bounce back?” Elko asked. “Or how about you held them to 176 yards on offense and you had five sacks and they were 0-for-12 on third down and 0-for-2 on fourth down. And, you got the return game going again. I don’t mean to sound like someone else but my gosh would you guys stop being so dreadful and gloomy?”

Texas A&M’s defense delivered arguably its sharpest effort of the season, holding the Tigers to one touchdown and a field goal while suffocating Auburn’s passing attack.

With the win, Texas A&M improved to 4-0 and will host Florida on October 11, one week after the Gators face the Texas Longhorns. A&M will meet Texas in November at DKR Stadium in Austin.

MORE COLLEGE FOOTBALL NEWS:
https://www.sportingnews.com/us/ncaa-football/news/mike-elko-calls-out-gloomy-texas-am-media/8557c8d482391ab27eda1e97

Roy Keane tells Pep Guardiola to stop complaining about Man City’s schedule

Roy Keane had little sympathy for Pep Guardiola following the Manchester City manager’s comments about his team’s schedule after Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Arsenal.

Guardiola felt his players showed the effects of a busy week that included last weekend’s derby and a Champions League clash with Napoli. “Hats off to the team, their resilience,” he said on Sky Sports after seeing Erling Haaland’s early opener cancelled out by Gabriel Martinelli’s stoppage-time strike.

“To score is so difficult when you’re not effective at high pressing, you’re not effective in the build-up. The mindset has to be strong, but we have a lot of fatigue with the same players, we have, you know, how many injured.”

When asked why he felt his team were not effective, Guardiola explained: “(Arsenal) were better and we were incredibly tired. Sometimes people don’t realise, the game against Napoli in the Champions League was so emotional. After that, a recovery day and the day after you have to (travel) four, five hours (to London).”

Pressed on his feelings regarding the schedule, he added:
“But if you want to bring up the fact that now I’m complaining about the schedule, OK. OK, I’m complaining about the schedule! Are you satisfied? OK!”

Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane, speaking as a pundit on Sky Sports, responded bluntly:
“If you’re talking about fatigue and schedules, we’re in September and they’re on the back of two home matches. The United game they were fairly comfortable, Napoli had a man sent off after 20 minutes. They’ve not travelled from Russia or Poland when you’ve had a tough away game.

“We all know the challenges of being a footballer is being robust and playing two or three games a week. We look at their players on the bench, I’m sure there must be other managers in the Premier League looking at Pep thinking, ‘Pep, if you think you’ve got problems with schedules and the strength in depth, my goodness.’ I didn’t like that angle Pep was coming from.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/roy-keane-pep-guardiola-napoli-champions-league-sky-sports-b2830922.html