"Everyone heard it. As the head coach, he actually blamed the loss on the players. He's basically saying our kids aren't good enough…" Gritt seized the opportunity and deliberately twisted Coach George's words.
Seated below was a row of sponsors, almost all of them parents with kids on the team. Stirred up by Gritt's remarks, they immediately turned their criticism toward Coach George.
What parent would ever want to admit that their own child wasn't good enough?
Seeing how worked up the crowd had become, Coach George hurried to explain. "I never said your kids aren't good enough. In fact, they worked hard enough this year. What I meant was that they could have been even better."
To be honest, Coach George had also imagined how much easier it would be to get good results if the team had a few more players as naturally gifted as Mike.
In football, raw talent can sometimes matter more than hard work.
And right now, there really weren't many truly gifted players on the Melford football team.
You can't cook a meal without ingredients. Given the team's current roster, expecting Coach George to win even more honors was honestly asking the impossible.
But the sponsors didn't care about any of that. All they knew was that the team had done well this year—and had a real chance to do even better.
At that point, it became a question of expectations.
In a way, the team's strong performance this season actually became a weakness for Coach George, something people could use to attack him.
Gritt kept fanning the flames. "You all heard him. He admitted it himself—he thinks our kids aren't good enough."
That instantly reignited the sponsors' emotions.
No matter how much Coach George tried to explain that he didn't mean it that way, one mouth simply couldn't compete with more than a dozen voices shouting back at him.
In the end, he couldn't get a word in at all. He could only stand there helplessly on the stage, looking like he was being put on trial by the crowd below.
"How can they treat him like this?!" Outside the room, Little George clenched his fists in anger.
"This really can't go on…" Mike said, as he pushed open the conference room door and walked in.
When the sponsors saw a young, good-looking student enter, the room quieted for a moment. Then they began whispering among themselves, guessing who he might be.
"I just want to remind everyone of one thing," Mike said, sweeping his gaze across the room. "This year, the Melford football team achieved the best results in its history. Coach George absolutely deserves credit for that. So you have no reason to be blaming him right now.
"If you want the team to do even better, then what you should be doing is continuing to support Coach George and his work."
Mike's words left the sponsors silent. Truth be told, they didn't actually have that much resentment toward Coach George. Gritt was the one who had started all of this.
Seeing their attitudes begin to soften, Gritt quickly jumped in. "Kid, don't think I don't know about your relationship with the Cooper family. You're all on the same side—of course you're going to defend him."
As he spoke, Gritt explained Mike's background to the sponsors.
Then he went on, "And in the final game, if George hadn't put you in as quarterback, maybe the team wouldn't have lost. Your performance on defense was practically criminal. So both of you need to take a big share of the responsibility for that loss."
Everyone sitting there was at least a football fan, and they had clearly watched the final game.
While they weren't experts, they understood basic tactics well enough.
At that moment, they finally connected Mike to the quarterback from the final game. As for the outrageous no-defense strategy used by the quarterback, some of them began voicing their opinions.
None of those opinions were flattering.
Mike took in their reactions and had no intention of letting it slide. "Anyone who watched that game knows what kind of situation the team was in. Do you really think someone else would have done better than I did under those circumstances?"
Passing the blame? Anyone could do that.
And Mike's performance in the final game was obvious to anyone with eyes. If his teammates had been stronger, he would've gone even further.
"Even if you have some skill, your no-defense strategy in that game was absolutely the key reason the team lost. You need to take responsibility for that," Gritt insisted, refusing to back down.
He hadn't forgotten that Mike had once sent his son to the hospital.
Looking at Gritt's aggressive expression, Mike shot back, "What responsibility am I supposed to take? Do you honestly think swapping in another quarterback in that situation would've let the team beat Austin? Could your son have done it?"
Mike made it clear—nothing was sticking to him.
Since Gritt was targeting him so hard, Mike didn't mind dragging his son Sam into it as well.
"You—you're twisting logic!" Gritt snapped angrily. Still, he had to admit that his son's football skills were nowhere near Mike's level.
If Sam had been thrown into that situation, the outcome would've been even worse.
But Gritt wasn't about to admit he was wrong. He doubled down. "If Sam had proper training, he could definitely become a qualified quarterback. At the very least, he wouldn't have made the team completely give up on defense."
Mike sneered. "You said it yourself—after training. Where was there time for training in that situation? Now that is twisting logic."
Based on what Mike knew about Sam, even with training, becoming a great quarterback would be a long shot.
Being the "brain" of the team wasn't something just anyone could handle.
"Alright, Mike. That's enough…" Coach George tugged at his arm and shook his head slightly.
As the head coach, George didn't want the conflict pinned on any single player—even if that player was Sam.
After that, George no longer felt like arguing with the sponsors. He motioned for Mike, and the two of them left the conference room together.
Coach George wanted to speak with the principal and find out where the school stood. After all, the school decided his salary. There was no point continuing to argue with the sponsors.
Outside, they met up with Little George, and the three of them walked together to the principal's office.
"You two stay out here. I want to talk to the principal alone," Coach George said firmly.
Before either of them could respond, he walked into the office by himself.
"Coach George, you're here. Would you like a cup of coffee?" Principal Tom asked with a warm smile.
"No, thank you." George shook his head, stood across from the desk, and got straight to the point. "I want to know how the school plans to handle my situation."
Principal Tom looked at him and stayed silent for a moment before speaking. "You know the school's situation. Our athletic budget has always been tight. This time, those sponsors donated a significant amount of money. It's enough to completely upgrade the football team's training equipment. With better equipment, the team's performance should improve next year…"
Public schools struggling with funding was a real issue. As principal, Tom had to think about his own record. In certain situations, he had no choice but to cater to the sponsors.
In the current situation, bringing in sponsorship for the football team also counted as an achievement on his résumé.
Listening to the principal ramble on, Coach George frowned and cut him off. "I just want to know what the school's decision about me is."
"Taking the sponsors' feelings into account, the school has decided to have you serve as an assistant coach for now," Principal Tom finally answered directly.