AMHERST — Mark Whipple knows he isn’t always the most pleasant person to talk to on the sidelines during a game.
The UMass coach said as much after the Minutemen’s 49-31 win over Charlotte on Sept. 22. In his postgame press conference, Whipple said he told his son Spencer, the team’s quarterbacks coach, to talk with Michael Curtis more during the game because “he’s more of a calming influence where I can be not be so kind at times to the quarterbacks.”
The two work in tandem with the quarterbacks on a daily basis with Mark Whipple serving as the offensive coordinator and Spencer the designated passing game coordinator in addition to being the quarterbacks coach.
“He coaches them and I oversee it,” Mark Whipple said Tuesday. “He does a really good job with them. Sometimes he knows what to say when I get tough on somebody. It’s a good cop-bad cop relationship, which is always good to have. No player likes to be reamed out, but in this day and age, (the good cop-bad cop dynamic is) probably more effective than ever.”
Whipple’s temperament on the sideline has earned him some flags during his college coaching career. Most recently, he was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct against Ohio on Sept. 29 for arguing with the official over what he perceived as a missed defensive penalty that would have negated an Andrew Ford interception.
Ford said he remembers there were moments early in his UMass tenure when he perhaps wanted to stay away from Whipple’s wrath after a drive. However, he said those tough conversations were necessary to correct mistakes that have led to fewer occasions of those types of chats.
“Maybe my sophomore year, I tried to (avoid him at times), but he finds you pretty quick,” Ford said with a chuckle. “If you just go over, sometimes it’s not the most pleasant conversation, but you get it over with and it’s on to the next drive. As I’ve progressed on and off the field, those conversations have gotten less and fewer and farther between. I don’t try to avoid him too much, I know we’re both just really competitive and trying to win.”
The arrangement between father and son is not any different than the one Whipple had with Scott Woodward, UMass’ tight ends coach who was previously a quarterbacks coach under Whipple. Spencer Whipple said the dynamic on the Minutemen’s sidelines between offensive drives is the same as every other team whose primary play-caller is the head coach.
“It happens more than people see in a lot of offenses,” Spencer Whipple said. “You have your play-caller, and a lot of times he is the quarterbacks coach as well, but sometimes you have someone else who can speak to them positionally and give them feedback and reinforce what the play-caller said and also give their own advice and tidbits on the side.”
The relationship between Mark Whipple and his quarterbacks is strong, especially since he’s been coaching Ford for three years and redshirt senior Ross Comis for five. Ford said their connection has blossomed to the point where he has a pretty good of idea of which play he’s going to receive every time he glances at the sidelines for the play.
“Each and every single year, it’s gotten better on and off the field,” Ford said. “We had a great relationship when I first got here. It’s rare in this day and age to be with the same coach and same coordinator for more than one year, so I’m lucky and appreciative for that.”
The continuity has also allowed a very honest quarterbacks room to bloom at UMass. No matter which quarterback is playing, the other signal-callers as well as Mark and Spencer Whipple chime in with their observations during a game to help the Minutemen’s offense.
Spencer Whipple said Comis and Ford should receive just as much credit as he does for helping Curtis be successful against Charlotte because the two of them were constantly chatting with him between drives about what they saw on the field. Those types of conversations will certainly continue Saturday when UMass (2-5) hosts Coastal Carolina (3-3) at 3:30 p.m.
“It’s all pretty much the same conversations we’re having throughout the game and what we’re seeing between all the quarterbacks whether you’re on the field playing or on the side,” Spencer Whipple said. “Everybody can talk to each other, and that’s the good thing. We have a room of guys who are close and they all see things and they’re able to talk about them.”
Josh Walfish can be reached at jwalfish@gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshWalfishDHG. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage.