larry-fedora

Focus on being 1-0 each week. Give one more inch. Find a way. Do whatever it takes.

The Head Coach of the Tar Heel football team Larry Fedora is known for a lot of things. His fiery persona. His Red Bull addiction. His warp-speed offensive philosophy. His recruiting ability. His usual preoccupation with the officials on Saturday. The list goes on and on.

But maybe, just maybe he is creating a new persona for himself that will trump all of those things we listed above.

Picture this: Larry Fedora, the Master Motivator.

Yes, the guy can work the inner psychology of a team like few coaches can. He channels the focus of a group of teenagers and early twenty-something’s admirably.

Let’s shuffle through some of the highlights of Larry Fedora the Master Motivator’s reign at Carolina:

He ushered in his tenure posting the Countdown to State. From day one, Coach Fedora knew exactly how many days remained for the rivalry game against N.C. State. He understood the importance of winning this match-up and how long it had been since Carolina had asserted their dominance in the series. He made the game an absolute priority for the school, the University, and most importantly, the players. When the week of the game rolled around? He did a little interior decorating in the UNC locker room. Let’s just say there was a lot of red involved. This year? He plastered ‘This is Our State’ posters all over player’s lockers.

And the proof is in the pudding: Tar Heels 2, NCSU 0

 –1-0 Each Week: This year, most outside observers left the team for dead. Who can blame them? These 1-5 Tar Heels couldn’t even make a proper tackle, let alone find away to win a game. But Master Motivator Larry Fedora never had any doubts of an eventual Tar Heel turnaround.

“I never doubted it actually. I knew if we continued to get a little bit better, if we continued to believe, hold this team together, they keep working hard and have great attitudes, there was no doubt in my mind,” Coach Fedora says.

 And like a broken record, Coach Fedora continues to hammer home the patented mantra of the 2013 Carolina football season until the cows come home. He probably murmurs it in his sleep.

“That’s what they’ve done. They focused on being 1-0 each week. They’ve given one more inch. They’ve found a way, and they’ve done whatever it takes. Again, that will be our entire focus this week,” Coach Fedora says.

But it’s not just Coach Fedora. The players have truly bought in. You can see it in their eyes. They prescribe to the procurement. The belief is there. You can even say they were brainwashed, willingly.

The turnaround is astonishing. Carolina is just the sixth team since the regular season expanded to 12 games in 2006 to start the season 1-5 and make a bowl game. And what’s more, only one – Rutgers in 2008 – came from a BCS conference. Sweet Caroline!

-Duke Victory Bell Video Assault: Coach Fedora the Master Motivator doesn’t want his kids to forget the sour memory in Durham a year ago. He’s making sure of that this week. Just ask freshman sensation Ryan Switzer.

“Here we go again. They did the same thing with N.C. State. It gets tiring looking at it on the TV’s all day-in the weight room, training room, and locker room. It gets old. I just can’t wait for Saturday to get here, where we can finally just go out and play and not worry about all that,” Switzer says.

What’s on the TV? Footage of the Duke players spray painting the Victory Bell that ugly shade of blue following their upset of the Tar Heels a year ago. You think that will motivate the players at all? I’d say they’ll be fired up to play on Saturday.

But despite all the other mind games and motivational techniques, Larry Fedora, the Master Motivator is wedded to his tried and true banner.

Focus on being 1-0 each week. Give one more inch. Find a way. Do whatever it takes.