Bleacher Report recently did a really insightful piece on the "Dysfunctional Hell" of being a college football coach and the major decisions that ultimately decide what path guys decide to take their new program down.
The article notes a quote from Charlie Strong, who noted at one point that "You're either going to do it the right way, or the wrong way. You have to pick a side the first day on the job." That means choosing right when faced with engaging in recruiting violations that could improve your program that might (or might not) go unnoticed at the end of the day, letting unacceptable behaviors slide with players and coaches, and tolerating things like booster misconduct.
30 current and former major college coaches were asked by Bleacher Report: Is it possible to win in college football without cheating? The overwhelming response was, no - at least not right off the bat.
Surely, plenty of coaches out there would disagree.
According to David Cutcliffe (who has a wealth of experience to draw on during a career where he's consistently done things the right way) in order for a coach to come in and build things the right way, it takes two things.
"It takes time. It takes patience. The two things no one has these days."
Cut went on to provide some great perspective to guys struggling with which path to take.
"Here's the bottom line: At the end of your career, what [you 're] held accountable for is how you've mentored young people and if you did it the right way."
Head here to read the full article, including a variety of fascinating stories from anonymous coaches who have faced those types of difficult decisions, some of them pretty ridiculous.