Had an opportunity after church today to briefly chat with former U of L football player Chris Thieneman who received honorable mention on the 1988 Associated Press All America team and played two years each under coaches Bob Weber and Howard Schnellenger.

Without much prompting, Thieneman was eager to launch into an analysis of the challenges facing the current team, expressing the view that the coaching staff doesn’t seem to place too many demands on the players.

“You can’t be too nice to players; they don’t respond to it,” he said. “Bob Weber was a nice guy but he was ineffective. We hated Schnellenberger because of the way he treated us. But we went out there and laid it on the line for him every game.

“Bobby Petrino was despised but look what he did for the program.”

Thieneman, who is the owner of Thieneman Real Estate, Inc, a commercial property development company, and an investor in the Louisville Fire Arena League franchise, is also a major supporter of the U of L athletic program.