Toughness Isn’t a Cotton Sweatshirt
I watched this clip today because I’m a big Ducks fan — excited for the USC matchup and genuinely impressed with a lot of what Dan Lanning has built. And I get the bit: the host doing a Lou Holtz impression, Coach Lanning playing along, everyone keeping it light.
But when we see performative manboxing, we have to call it out — even when the stakes are low.
Coach Lanning froze his ass off in the rain at Iowa a few weeks ago, and somehow that moment has now become a rallying cry for the “toughness = suffer loudly” crowd. The narrative became: Look how wet he got. That’s leadership. That’s why they won.
Except… Oregon’s players — the ones who actually blocked, tackled, caught passes, and competed in a downpour — wore Nike’s best rain-proof gear, rotated coats between drives, and stayed functional. That doesn’t make them soft. That makes them prepared.
An umbrella doesn’t make you weak. Not enjoying being drenched doesn’t make you less of a man. And being miserable on purpose doesn’t make you a better coach.
This clip is another low-hanging example of the Man Box selling the same tired message: real men suffer, real men reject comfort, real men tough it out because their mama “didn’t raise…” — you know the rest.
Coach Lanning and his staff did a great job with the football in that win. Being soaked had nothing to do with it. We’d all be better off if we stopped confusing avoidable discomfort with real toughness, and stopped pretending theatrics equal leadership.
COACH PROMPTS
Where in your program are you modeling “toughness” in ways that don’t actually help your players?
Do you ever reward suffering more than preparation — and what message does that send?
If your definition of leadership requires performative pain, who’s being left behind?
PLAYER PROMPTS
What’s the difference between real toughness and just trying to look tough?
Have you ever pushed through something just to match an image — not because it made you better?
Which teammates earn your respect through consistency, not theatrics?
