Tennessee Vols DL coach Rodney Garner thinks there's too much attention placed on one aspect of his coaching style
Tennessee Vols defensive line coach Rodney Garner has developed a reputation over his last 35 years in the SEC as a coach who dishes out "tough love" to his players. For example, Vols defensive lineman Chandavian Bradley detailed to reporters during fall camp last season how Garner promised to be on him "about every little […]
Tennessee Vols defensive line coach Rodney Garner has developed a reputation over his last 35 years in the SEC as a coach who dishes out "tough love" to his players.
For example, Vols defensive lineman Chandavian Bradley detailed to reporters during fall camp last season how Garner promised to be on him "about every little thing" after signing day.
"Coming into the year — let's say after signing day — he came into my school, because we have other people in our school that are being recruited, I met up with him," explained Bradley. "And the first thing he said is 'You're signed now. It's over. We're not treating you like a baby anymore. I'm gonna be on you about every little thing, no matter what it is, even though you're still in high school'. And he did not lie. I got texts at least once every week. Just him checking up on me, making sure that I'm doing everything that I need to do. And since I've been here, he's been on me about every little thing and I love it."
There's no doubt that Garner practices "tough love", but that's an aspect of his coaching style that the Tennessee defensive line coach thinks some folks pay a little bit too much attention to.
"I think there's probably, maybe, a little too much attention paid to how intense I'm coaching," said Garner during a recent episode of The Juice. "I think if you talk to my guys, they would tell you first thing, it starts with love. You know, I try to love them harder than I do anything."
Garner's coaching style — holding players to a standard while making sure they know they're loved — is essentially how the entire program operates under Josh Heupel. It's all about family at Tennessee, but it's also all about handling business, being on time, attacking every day with intensity, and being accountable to teammates and coaches.
It just so happens that Garner receives a little more attention for that style of coaching, perhaps due to his status as an elder statesman in the SEC, than the rest of Tennessee's coaches.
