Ole Miss Rebels head football coach Hugh Freeze used a very unorthodox motivational exercise. He staged his own mock funeral.
The Ole Miss Rebels should be a very good football team this fall. Ole Miss is coming off its second straight year in a New Years’ Six bowl. In addition, it should be an SEC team that realistically fights for a College Football Playoff spot in 2016.
Knowing that overcoming adversity will be a huge part of success or failure, head coach Hugh Freeze thought of creative ways to motivate his team. His most unorthodox method? Staging his own funeral for his Ole Miss players to see.
This odd motivational tactic was spoken about in depth with Ole Miss Spirit editor Ben Garrett on Tuesday. It stemmed from a question about when the metaphorical light came on for wideout Damarkus Lodge. Freeze’s response is worth a few reads, quoted on Garrett’s Twitter account.
Well, that certainly took an unexpected turn. pic.twitter.com/8PKkyrMHKv
— Ben Garrett (@SpiritBen) August 23, 2016
It’s understandable that Freeze would want to take a deeper look into case studies about motivational behavior. But to stage his own funeral has to be one of the strangest ideas concocted by any coach.
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Is it creative? Of course. Is it dark? Definitely. If Freeze wants to continue pushing the envelope in hopes of motivating 20-year-old kids, more power to him.
Freeze hopefully won’t be leaving us this upcoming football season. That said, if any team in the Power 5 is equipped to handle the loss of a head coach, why not Ole Miss?