Columbus Aviators head coach Ted Ginn Jr. didn't mince words following his team's 31-20 defeat to the St. Louis Battlehawks, putting the blame squarely on coaching and execution rather than external factors.
"You can't beat yourself," Ginn Jr. said in his postgame press conference. "First half, we didn't— it wasn't what we wanted."
Coach Takes Accountability for Critical Decisions
Ginn Jr. was particularly critical of his own coaching decisions, especially regarding a missed extra point that proved costly in the loss. The Aviators coach refused to make excuses for the team's performance.
"It's coaching, you know. There's no real explanation to that, you know. We just— we were playing ball. I could have made a better decision as a coach, but, you know, we missed the extra point and the rest is history."
The loss drops Columbus to 2-5 on the season, keeping them in the bottom tier of the UFL standings while St. Louis improved to 5-2 and solidified their playoff positioning.
Special Teams Struggles Continue
The Aviators' special teams woes were on full display, with the team starting from their own 3-yard line at one point during the game. Ginn Jr. acknowledged the unit's struggles but emphasized the need for better execution.
"You can't start off on a 3-yard line," he said. "We end up getting back to the 40 or something like that. But it's just part of this game. We got to take a little bit more pride into it."
Controversial Calls Add to Frustration
While Ginn Jr. largely avoided blaming officials, he did acknowledge that several penalty calls didn't go the Aviators' way. The team was flagged for what appeared to be questionable calls, including a personal foul when an Aviators defender was pushed into the quarterback.
"Some of them look like they're our fault. Some of them, we just didn't get the right call on them," Ginn Jr. explained. "We got a pass interference on a receiver. My guy got pushed into the quarterback. They called it a personal foul."
Focus on Self-Improvement Moving Forward
Despite the frustrating loss, Ginn Jr. maintained his philosophy of focusing on controllable factors rather than dwelling on what went wrong. His message remained consistent with his season-long emphasis on attention to detail.
"Every time I talk, I always talk about the little things to make the big picture. You gotta look yourself in the mirror and see, did you do everything right? No matter if you're a coach or player. And come back to the drawing board."
The coach acknowledged that while reviewing film won't change the outcome of this game, it's essential for future improvement. "The only thing we can do is go back and look at the film and see what we did right, what we did wrong," he said.
With three games remaining in the regular season, the Aviators face an uphill battle to reach the UFL playoffs, but Ginn Jr.'s emphasis on accountability suggests the team will continue fighting to improve despite their disappointing record.