While I disagree with his actions, I am not trying to paint O’Leary as some sort of Jack Nicholson-like Colonel Jessup ordering “Code Reds” to his platoon leaders and then covering up dirty details.
On second thought, maybe I am.
O’Leary is no stranger to controversy, but this situation is unlike anything he has ever faced—and it appears the coach is not equipped to manage it.
Not only is O’Leary refusing to speak to the only paper that actually knows his program well, he has also banned any UCF players from speaking to the Sentinel.
The question is: Why? What is there to hide?
Why drag family and friends into this even further? Why carry on this painful and emotional memory? Why invite—heck, practically beg for—lawsuits?
Regrettably, with all the attention the story has received, people are likely going to lose their jobs.
But not O’Leary.
Perhaps George O’Leary forgets that not too long ago, he wasn’t such a big deal.
After the embarrassing Resume Gate fiasco at Notre Dame, no big program would dare to touch him. Desperate for a big-name and a better football team, UCF took a chance on O’Leary.
And since then, the school has backed their coach on nearly every issue possible.
They supported him when UCF professors protested O’Leary’s hiring and gigantic salary. They backed him when O’Leary posted a winless (0-11) first season. They were patient as he built the team into what he wanted, and they supported O’Leary’s wish for an on-campus stadium.
O’Leary no doubt ruffled some feathers along the way—nothing new for big time college coaches—but for the most part, UCF’s belief in O’Leary has paid off, as the team and its fan base are both much improved, and much more a part of the national landscape of college football.
But now it’s time for UCF to take a stand.
It is time they order O’Leary to make peace with the hometown paper that covers his football team. It is time they insist O’Leary make a public acknowledgement of his seemingly insensitive mishandling of the situation.
And it’s time UCF itself sets the record straight once and for all about what happened on March 18th.
After all, this isn’t about college football, or George O’Leary’s ego, or even about the University of Central Florida.
It’s about respecting the memory of Ereck Plancher—a good kid who died way too early.
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