As Kansas State looks for its new head coach, there have been a few names circling now that the season is officially over.
But interim coach Matthew Driscoll's BYU postgame comments were a bit concerning for the next man up. Driscoll described this rollercoaster of a season as "absolutely miserable," stepping into the helm once Jerome Tang departed.
"I can’t use another word than absolutely miserable," Driscoll said in his postgame interview. "Every day, ulcers, not sleeping, not feeling good. I have an issue that I’ve had my whole life, and when I reached out to our psychologist, he said that’s just the way I'm wired. 'All you’re about is making sure things are organized, and things are right. So if somebody gives me a task, my dad says that your last name is on everything, so don’t ever screw up our last name."
Granted, Driscoll was thrown into a chaotic state, which made his individual experience that much more uncomfortable. He took a position he had no intention or desire to inherit, filling in a role that was left vacant once his partner in crime was fired from the program.
"It’s been very hard to mourn or be emotional," Driscoll said. "I even asked my psychologist why I wasn't emotional. [Coach Tang] was one of my best friends; his daughter's my goddaughter. But it’s because he asked me to do something, and I told these dudes I’m gonna do it. And when someone asks me to do something, that’s the one thing I am: consistent. So it’s been miserable from that perspective."
The Wildcats won just three conference games, and only one when Tang went viral for his heated Cincinnati presser. Another embarrassing defeat at home frustrated Tang to new levels, where he declared that "very few" of the active players would return to the team next season. He was released on the premise of cause, but his impact remained on Driscoll and the players.
"It took a lot to hold it together," Driscoll said. "But if you’re a man, and you make a decision to come to Kansas State, no matter what the outcome is or whatever the responsibilities are, when somebody asks you to do something, you do it."
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