North Carolina Central head coach Trei Oliver didn’t need to throw anything around the locker room to make his point after his team’s 42-30 loss to Texas Southern.
Instead, Oliver took a measured approach — and placed plenty of the blame on himself and his coaching staff.
During Monday’s MEAC coaches video media conference, Oliver acknowledged that North Carolina Central’s shortcomings against Texas Southern went beyond what his players did on the field.
“I didn’t go in the locker room after the game throwing coolers and cussing my staff out and all that stuff,” Oliver said.
Oliver said he spoke with his players following the loss and made it clear that while the team’s performance contributed to the defeat, coaching also played a significant role.
The Eagles had first-half leads of 14-0 and 24-14 before ultimately losing a season opener for the first time since 2019.
“I talked to the guys and I think the players had a little bit to do with it. Coaching had a lot to do with that loss,” Oliver said. “So I’ll get better. I’m gonna coach better this week, and I’ll have my guys prepared.”
For Oliver, the message is less about dwelling on what went wrong against Texas Southern and more about making sure North Carolina Central improves from it.
The Eagles entered the season with expectations, but Oliver isn’t allowing one loss to create panic or derail the season.
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“You know, it’s one loss, and we’re not going to panic over one loss,” Oliver said.
That doesn’t mean Oliver is brushing off the defeat.
If anything, his comments reflected an expectation that everyone — coaches and players alike — must respond by getting better.
Oliver repeatedly emphasized that improvement has to happen every week, regardless of whether the Eagles win or lose.
“You got to get better every week, week by week,” Oliver said. “You got to get better. You know, after a win or especially after a loss.”
That approach will guide North Carolina Central as it moves forward.
Rather than allowing the Texas Southern loss to linger, Oliver wants his team to learn from it, make the necessary corrections and be better prepared for the next challenge.
“Regardless of whatever … we’ve got to get better,” Oliver said.
For Oliver, the loss was a setback — not a reason to panic.
Now, the challenge is turning the lessons from Texas Southern into improvement when North Carolina Central takes the field again.
